ON THIS DAY IN BLACK HISTORY: September 17th 642 The Royal Library of Alexandria was destroyed when Muslims, under Caliph Oman, conquered Alexandria, Egypt. 1787 The U.S. Constitution was ratified at the Philadelphia Convention with a clause equating slaves to 3/5 of a white citizen and provisions that the slave trade would end within 20 years. 1858 Dred Scott, who waged one of the most important legal battles in the history of the United States in an unsuccessful suit to gain his freedom, died. 1861 The first day school for freedmen was founded at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. 1922 António Agostinho Neto, leader of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), was born in Ikolu-in-Bengu, Angola. 1923 Nancy Green, the worlds first living trademark (Aunt Jemima), was struck and killed in an automobile accident. 1940 Black leaders met with the Secretary of the Navy and the Assistant Secretary of War to present a seven-point program for the mobilization of African-Americans. Included were demands for flight training, the admission of black women into Red Cross and military nursing units, and desegregation of the armed forces. 1960 Puppeteer Kevin Clash was born. Clash is the voice of one of Sesame Streets most popular characters, Elmo. 1962 In a spate of church burnings in Georgia, a fourth black church was burned near Dawson. In this instance, the crime was admitted by three white men, who were convicted and sentenced to seven-year prison terms. 1962 The first school integration suit was filed by the U.S. Justice Department. 1972 Ugandans who had followed former president Milton Obote into exile in Tanzania staged an invasion, but were immediately repelled. 1973 Illinois became the first state to recognize Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.s birthday as a holiday. 1983 Vanessa Williams became the first African-American to be crowned Miss America. 1988 In Haiti, Henri Namphy was deposed by a group of young officers led by Lieutenant-General Prosper Avril.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 08:37:04 +0000
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