* Today in Black History - October 17 *
1711 - Jupiter Hammon is born a slave on Long Island, New York. He
will become a poet and the first published Black writer in
America, a poem appearing in print in 1760. He will be
considered one of the founders of African American
literature. He will be a slave his entire life, owned by
several generations of the Lloyd family on Long Island.
However, he will be allowed to attend school, and unlike
many slaves, will be able to read and write. In 1786,
He will give his "Address to the Negroes of the State of
New York" before the African Society. He will write the
the speech at age seventy-six after a lifetime of slavery,
and it will contain his famous quote, "If we should ever
get to Heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for
being Black, or for being slaves." The speech draws
heavily on Christian motifs and theology. For example, He
will say that Black people should maintain their high
moral standards precisely because being slaves on Earth
had already secured their place in heaven. His speech
also will promote the idea of a gradual emancipation as a
way of ending slavery. It will be thought that he stated
this plan because he knew that slavery was so entrenched
in American society that an immediate emancipation of all
slaves would be more difficult to achieve. The speech will
be later reprinted by several groups opposed to slavery.
It is widely believed that he joined the ancestors in
1806.
1787 - Boston African Americans, led by Prince Hall, submit to
the State Legislature in Boston, Massachusetts, a
petition asking for equal educational rights and
facilities. The petition is not granted.
1806 - Jean Jacques Dessalines, revolutionist and Emperor of
Haiti, joins the ancestors after being assassinated.
1817 - Samuel Ringgold Ward is born a slave on the Eastern Shore
of Maryland. He will be considered one of the finest
abolitionist orators. He will work for the Anti-Slavery
Society of Canada and will travel to Britain to further
the society's work. His fundraising success in Britain
will allow the society to finance their support of escaped
slaves from the United States. After publishing a book
that will chronicle his anti-slavery achievements, he will
be able to retire to Jamaica, where he will join the
ancestors in 1866.
1871 - President Grant suspends the writ of habeas corpus and
declares martial law in nine South Carolina counties
affected by Ku Klux Klan disturbances.
1888 - The first African American bank, Capital Savings Bank of
Washington, DC, opens for business.
1894 - Ohio National Guard kills 3 members of a lynch mob while
rescuing an African American man.
1909 - William R. Cole is born in East Orange, New Jersey. He
will become a jazz drummer best known as "Cozy Cole."
He will begin to play professionally as a teenager and
will make his first recording at age 20 with Jelly Roll
Morton's Red Hot Peppers. Cozy Cole will join Cab
Calloway's band in 1939 and will join CBS radio in 1943
to play in Raymond Scott's Orchestra, becoming one of
the first African American musicians on a network
musical staff. In 1958, Cole will make a solo hit
record, "Topsy," that sells more than a million copies.
He will join the ancestors on January 9, 1981.
1928 - James William "Junior" Gilliam is born in Nashville,
Tennessee. He will become a professional baseball player
for the Brooklyn Dodgers and will be the National League
Rookie of the Year in 1953. He will be a key member of ten
National League championship teams from 1953 to 1978. The
Dodgers' lead-off hitter for most of the 1950s, he will
score over 100 runs in each of his first four seasons and
lead the National League in triples and walks. He will
be the first switch hitter since the 19th century to
play regularly for the Dodgers for more than three years,
and will later become one of the first Black coaches in
the major leagues. He will join the ancestors on October
8, 1978 in Inglewood, California after succumbing to a
cerebral hemorrhage.
1956 - Mae C. Jemison is born in Decatur, Alabama. She will grow up
in Chicago, become a physician and NASA astronaut. She will
become the first African American woman to travel in space
when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour
on September 12, 1992. After her medical education and a
brief general practice, she will serve in the Peace Corps
from 1985 to 1987, when she will be selected by NASA to join
the astronaut corps. She will resign from NASA in 1993 to
form a company researching the application of technology to
daily life. She will appear on television several times,
including as an actress in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next
Generation." She will be a dancer, and hold nine honorary
doctorates in science, engineering, letters, and the humanities.
She will become the principal of the 100 Year Starship
organization.
1968 - David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley is born in Kingston, Jamaica. He will
be a musician and the leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the
Melody Makers. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita
Marley. in 1979, Ziggy and his siblings Sharon, Cedella and
Stephen will form the Melody Makers – named after the British
weekly pop/rock music newspaper, Melody Maker – and will make
their recording debut with "Children Playing in the Streets".
The track will be written for them by their father, who had
composed the song four years earlier for them and wanted to
share this gift with children around the world. All royalties
from the single will be pledged to the United Nations, to
aid its efforts during the International Year of the Child.
Later that year, the Melody Makers will make their on-stage
debut as a group on September 23, 1979, performing on the same
bill as their father for the first and only time at the
‘Roots Rock Reggae’ two-day concert series in Kingston's
National Arena. He will be 11 years old at the time. Notable
other early moments in his musical history include a
performance with Stephen at their father’s funeral in 1981,
and later that year the Melody Makers will release their
second single, "What A Plot", under the family’s Tuff Gong
record label. After Bob Marley’s passing, he will begin
performing in his place alongside the Wailers at various
shows around Jamaica, and in 1984 the group will go on tour
in support of the year’s Bob Marley ’Legend’ compilation
album release. He will receive The George and Ira Gershwin
Award from UCLA during UCLA Spring Sing on May 19, 2017.
1969 - Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr., is elected president of Michigan
State University and becomes the first African American to head
a major, predominantly white university in the twentieth century.
1969 - Nel Ust Wyclef Jean is born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. He
will become a rapper, musician and actor. He will first achieve
fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees. He
will win three Grammy Awards for his musical work. On August 5,
2010, he will file for candidacy in the 2010 Haitian presidential
election. The Electoral Commission will rule him ineligible to
stand for office, as he had not met the constitutional
requirement to have been a resident in Haiti for five years prior
to the election. His efforts at earthquake relief, highly
publicized in 2010 throughout Haiti and the United States, will
be channeled through his charitable organization, Yéle Haiti.
The charity, which will conduct education and welfare
activities in Haiti between 2005 and 2010, will effectively
close in 2012. It will be investigated for failure to file tax
returns and mismanagement of funds; a high proportion of its
money went to travel and administrative expense. The New York
Times will report that much of the money raised by the
organization in the Hope for Haiti Now telethon will be as
retained by Jean for his own benefit. In 2012, he will
publish his memoir "Purpose: An Immigrant's Story." Along
with Carlos Santana, Avicii and Alexandre Pires, he will be
chosen to perform the closing ceremony at the 2014 FIFA
World Cup in Brazil. Their single, "Dar um Jeito (We Will
Find a Way)", the official World Cup anthem, will be
released on April 29, 2014.
1985 - Legendary jazz and blues singer Alberta Hunter joins the ancestors
in New York City. She achieved fame in Chicago jazz clubs in the
1920's, toured Europe in the 1930's and, after over 20 years of
anonymity as a nurse, returned to performing in 1977.
1988 - Dorjan Lyndell Daniels is born in Monclair, California. He will
become a television actor known as Dee Jay Daniels. He will be
best known for his role as Michael Hughley on the D. L. Hughley
sitcom, "The Hughleys," playing the son of Hughley's character.
He will also appear in several shows including "In the House,"
"Coach," "The Wayans Bros.," "Grace Under Fire" and "Cold Case."
He will also have a supporting role as Ethan in the 2005 Disney
film, "Sky High." He will be last active in 2006.
1990 - Dr. Ralph Abernathy, civil rights leader, joins the ancestors.
1991 - The 100th episode of "A Different World" airs on NBC. The
acclaimed show, a spin-off of "The Cosby Show" that stars Jasmine
Guy, Kadeem Hardison, and an ensemble of young African American
actors, is directed by Debbie Allen.
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