Today In Black History

1794*

Eli Whitney patented cotton gin which made cotton king and increased demand for slave labor.

1838*

Blacks held a mass meeting in Philadelphia to protest the action of the Pennsylvania Reform

Convention of 1837 which denied them the right to vote.

1917*

First training camp for "colored" officers is established by the U.S. Army in Des Moines, Iowa

1933*

Quincy Jones, Music Impresario, Born March 14, 1933 in Chicago’s South Side. He first fell in love with music when he was in elementary school. He settled on the trumpet after trying nearly all the instruments in his school band. At the age of 18 he won a scholarship to Berkley College of Music in Boston. In his prosperous career he wrote charts for musicians such as Ray Charles and Duke Ellington, composed 33 film scores for major motion pictures and also wrote theme music for television. He is the most nominated Grammy artist with a total of 76 nominations and 26 awards. He also received an Emmy award, 7 Oscar nominations and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts an Sciences Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Throughout his career his ongoing concern was to foster appreciation of African-American music and culture.

1947*

William J. Jefferson, first congressman elected from Louisiana since Charles Edmund Nash left office in 1876, born

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Losing my grandmother to Breast Cancer and complications from a severe Stroke was one of the hardest things I've faced in my life. She battled the disease for over 6 years, had a single mastectomy (right breast), and see her cancer go into remission twice before returning for the last time. Watching my mother take care of her day end and day out was truly life changing. My mother who is a RN (BSN) made sure that her every need was met. My mother is the epitome of what a daughter should be to her mother!! I remember the day she died vividly. I can still feel her hand in mine and see her smile. I remember my grandmothers doctor calling my mother after 3 am to tell her (us) to get to the hospital. Earlier that day my mother was able to recall having the BEST day ever with my grandmother. They had breakfast and lunch together. They later sat around filled with laughter/love as they talked about me, my cousins, and my aunt. One thing that was never a question was that she truly ...

Flyy Girl

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Today In Black

1864* Rachel Boone was a slave of the decendents of the Daniel Boone family who escaped to an army camp near Miami, MO. She gave birth to a son & moved to Warrensburg, MO. Her son became "Blind" Boone, famous classical pianist known all over the U.S., Canada & Mexico who also reportedly played in Europe. He became known as the "pioneer of ragtime" because he brought in ragtime music to the concert stage as an encore or when the audience became restless, saying "Let's put the cookies on the bottom shelf where everybody can reach them.". His motto was "Merit, not sympathy, wins." 1875* The first Kentucky Derby is won by African American jockey Oliver Lewis riding the horse Aristides. 14 of the 15 jockeys in the race are African Americans. 1909* White firemen on Georgia Railroad struck to protest employment of Blacks. 1915* National Baptist Convention chartered. 1954* U.S. Supreme Court in landmark Brown v. Board of Educa...

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