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T
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1867: |
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First four students enter Howard University. |
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1998: |
|
Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther, author, dies. |
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2
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F
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1844: |
|
Inventor Elijah McCoy, "the real McCoy," born. |
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1995: |
|
Shirley Jackson assumed chairmanship of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. |
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3
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S
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1964: |
|
Frederick O'Neal becomes first black president of Actor's Equity Association. |
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4
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S
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1961: |
|
Freedom Riders begin protesting segregation of interstate bus travel in the South. |
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5
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M
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1950: |
|
Gwendolyn Brooks becomes first black to win a Pulitzer Prize in poetry for "Annie Allen." |
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1988: |
|
Eugene Antonio Marino installed as first U.S. African American Roman Catholic archbishop. |
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6
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T
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1812: |
|
Physician, author, explorer Martin R. Delaney, first black officer in Civil War, born. |
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1991: |
|
Smithsonian Institute approves creation of the National African American Museum. |
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7
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W
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1845: |
|
Mary Eliza Mahoney, America's first black trained nurse, born. |
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1878: |
|
Joseph R. Winters patents first fire escape ladder. |
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|
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|
|
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8
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T
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1983: |
|
Lena Horne awarded SpingarnMedal for distinguished career in entertainment. |
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9
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F
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1899: |
|
John Albert Burr patents lawn mower. |
|
10
|
S
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1950: |
|
Boston Celtics select Chuck Cooper, first black player drafted to play in NBA. |
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11
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S
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1895: |
|
Composer William Grant Still, first black to conduct a major American symphony, born. |
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12
|
M
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1820: |
|
The New York African Free School population reaches 500. |
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13
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T
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1872: |
|
Matilda Arabella Evers, first black woman to practice medicine in South Carolina, born. |
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14
|
W
|
|
|
Mother's Day |
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|
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1913: |
|
Clara Stanton Jones, first black president of the American Library Association, born. |
|
15
|
T
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1820: |
|
Congress declares foriegn slave trade an act of piracy, punished by death. |
|
16
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F
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1927: |
|
Dr. William Harold Barnes becomes first black certified by a surgical board. |
|
17
|
S
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1954; |
|
Supreme Court declares segregation in public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. |
|
18
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S
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1896: |
|
In Plessy v. Ferguson, Supreme Court upholds doctrine of "searate but equal" education and public accommadations. |
|
19
|
M
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1925: |
|
Malcolm X born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska. |
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1993: |
|
University of Virginia professor Rita Dove appointed U.S. Poet Laureate. |
|
20
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T
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1961: |
|
U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy dispatches U.S. marshals to Mongomery, Alabama, to restore order in the Freedom Riders crisis. |
|
21
|
W
|
|
|
Armed Forces Day |
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1833: |
|
Blacks enroll for the first time at Orberlin College, Ohio. |
|
22
|
T
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1921: |
|
Shuffle Along, a musical featuring a score by Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle, opens on Broadway. |
|
23
|
F
|
1900: |
|
Sgt. William H. Carney becomes first black awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. |
|
24
|
S
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1854: |
|
Lincoln University (PA), first black college, founded. |
|
25
|
S
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1926: |
|
Jazz trumpeter Miles Dewey Davis, born. |
|
26
|
M
|
1961: |
|
During Kennedy administration, Marvin Cook named ambassador to Niger Republic, the first black envoy named to an African Nation. |
|
27
|
T
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1919: |
|
Sarah "Madam C. J." Walker, cosmetics manufacturer and first black female millionaire, dies. |
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|
1942: |
|
Dorie Miller, a ship's steward, awarded Navy Cross for heroism during the attack on Pearl Habor in 1941. |
|
28
|
W
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1948: |
|
National Party wins whites-only elections in South Africa and begins to institute policy of apartheid. |
|
29
|
T
|
|
|
Memorial Day |
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|
|
1901: |
|
Granville T. Woods patents overhead conducting system for the electric railway. |
|
|
1973: |
|
Tom Bradley becomes frist black mayor of Los Angeles. |
|
30
|
F
|
1947: |
|
The National Pharmacutical Association founded to address the interests and needs of minority pharmacists. |
|
|
1965: |
|
Vivian Malone becomes first black to graduate from the University of Alabama. |
|
31
|
S
|
1870: |
|
Congress passesthe first Enforcement Act, providing stiff penalties for those who deprive others of civil rights. |