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Sammy Davis, Jr.
Davis lost his left eye in a 1954 car crash while driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles… Davis converted to Judaism in the mid-1950s… He sang the theme song to Robert Blake‘s 1970s TV show Baretta… He was played by Don Cheadle in the 1998 TV movie The Rat Pack.
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Thomas Bradley was elected mayor of Los Angeles at a time when Blacks represente
Thomas Bradley was elected mayor of Los Angeles at a time when Blacks represented only 15% of the LA electorate, becoming one of the first two Black mayors of city with over a million citizens, 1973
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Nov
6
1973
Did You Know That In...
1782 - Los Angeles, California is founded by 44 settlers, of whom at least 26 are black.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Jan
0
1782
Agrippa Hull: Revolutionary Patriot
In the following article, University of California at Los Angeles historian Gary B. Nash describes little-known Revolutionary War soldier who was attached by General George Washington to serve with Polish military engineer Tadeuz Kosciuszko. This account is part of a larger history of three
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
May
21
1848
On October 1, 1943, Willie L. Williams was born, one of seven children, in Phila
On October 1, 1943, Willie L. Williams was born, one of seven children, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He became a Los Angeles Police Chief. He is the first Black man to head the Los Angeles police force.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies
Oct
1
1943
Gordone, Charles (1925- )
Charles Gordone was born Charles Edward Fleming on October 12, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio to parents William and Camille Fleming.  He took his stepfather’s surname of Gordon when his mother remarried when he was five years old.  The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana, his mother’s hometown, when Charles
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Nov
13
1995
Bradley, Tom (1917-1998)
Thomas J. “Tom” Bradley, five-term Mayor of Los Angeles and the first major black candidate for Governor of California, was born in Calvert, Texas, on December 29, 1917, the son of Lee Thomas Bradley, a railroad porter, and Crenner Bradley, a maid.  He was the grandson of former
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Source: Black Past
Sep
30
1998
Thomas Bradley
Thomas Bradley was born on this day in Calvert, Texas and went on to become mayor of Los Angeles by winning 56% of the vote.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Pride Academy
Dec
29
1917
Ailey, Alvin (1931-1989)
Alvin Ailey was born in Rodgers, Texas during the Great Depression. He overcame racism, poverty, and homophobia to become one of the most celebrated choreographers in American history. His single teenage mother Lula Ailey washed clothes, picked cotton, and worked in domestic service in various
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Source: Black Past
Death of artist Charles White (61), in Los Angeles
Death of artist Charles White (61), in Los Angeles.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Oct
3
1979
Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman was the first female African American pilot. She was born on January 26, 1892 and was the tenth of thirteen children born to George and Susan Coleman in Atlanta, Texas. Her father was of Native and African American descent. She attended a small school which was four miles from her
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Source: Black History Resources
Jun
15
1921
Bath, Patricia (1942- )
Patricia Era Bath, a prominent ophthalmologist and innovative research and laser scientist, was the first African American woman physician to receive a patent for a medical invention.  Bath was born on November 4, 1942 in Harlem, New York to Rupert Bath, a Trinidadian immigrant and the first black
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Source: Black Past
May
17
1988
Los Angeles begins clean up and rebuilding
Los Angeles begins clean up and rebuilding after the Rodney King riots (58 deaths, 600 fires, 1 billion dollars of property damage)
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Intellitech
May
2
1992
Cosby, Bill (1937-- )
William Henry Cosby, Jr., one of Americas most influentialand successful entertainers, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on July 12,1937 to William Henry, a US Navy cook, and Anna Pearl Cosby, a maid.  The family struggled financially, and a moveinto Philadelphias crime-ridden Richard Allen
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Source: Black Past
Lionel Hampton
Best Known
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Pam Grier
American actress Pamela Suzette Grier was born on May 26, 1949, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her parents were Gwendolyn Sylvia who worked as a nurse, and Clarence Ransom Grier, Jr. who worked as a mechanic in U.S. Air Force. As a result, the family travelled a lot, and Grier lived in several
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
May
26
1949
B.B. King
Riley B. King, better known by his stage name “B.B. King” is a famous African American blues musician. He was born on September 16, 1925 on a cotton plantation in Mississippi, to Albert King and Nora Ella Farr. His father left the family when King was very young, and his mother
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Sep
16
1925
Scholarships for African Americans - Black Scholarships
Education is the ultimate right of every child regardless of which race, religion or nation he or she belongs to. To promote this ideal and get as many children to get educated, various incentives are given to people who can’t afford it. The early education is free for most people but it is the
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
First African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, California, (1872- )
The First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church is today the oldest and one of the largest African American congregations in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1872 by Bridget (Biddy) Mason who arrived as a slave in Los Angeles with her owner in 1856. However, since California was
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Source: Black Past
Bolden Jr., Charles F. (1946-)
Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., NASA’s first permanent black administrator, was born to Charles Frank and Ethel Bolden, both teachers, on August 19th, 1946 in Columbia, South Carolina.  He rose to the rank of Major General in the United States Marine Corps and was a National Aeronautics and Space
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Source: Black Past
Jul
17
2009
Percy Julian
Dr. Percy Lavon Julian was an African American chemist who is most well known for extracting medicinal drugs from plants. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama on April 11, 1899 to James Sumner and Elizabeth Lena Julian. His grandparents had been slaves in the Civil War era and Julian grew up facing
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by BARBinc
Apr
11
1899
Brown, Ruth (1928-2006)
Known as the Queen of R&B, Ruth Brown was a rhythm and blues singer and actress who crusaded for musicians’ rights. Brown was born Portsmouth, Virginia, on January 12, 1928. After a string of unfortunate events, Brown ended up in Washington, D.C. There, important people backed her such as
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Source: Black Past
Nov
17
2006
Obama, Barack, Jr. (1961- )
Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States and the first African American to occupy the White House.  Obama was born August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was a Kenyan graduate student studying in the United States and his mother, Stanley Ann
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Source: Black Past
The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G. was an iconic East Coast rapper who released only one album during his lifetime, but rose to fame after his untimely death in a shooting incident. He was born Christopher George Latore Wallace on May 21, 1972 to Voletta Wallace and George Latore and raised in Brooklyn, New
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Source: Black History Resources
May
21
1972
Birthday
Carl Weathers, 51, actor (Rocky), (In the Heat of the Night), born New Orleans, LA, Jan 14, 1948.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Jan
14
1948
Black Women Inventor
Dr. Patricia E. Bath of Los Angeles, a renowned ophthalmologist and Black woman, patented (1988) an apparatus that efficiently removes cataracts by using laser technology.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
17
1988
The Harlem Renaissance in the American West
In the following article historians Bruce Glasrud and Cary Wintz discuss their new book, The Harlem Renaissance in the American West which argues that the literary and artistic outpouring by African Americans during the third decade of the 20th Century was a national phenomenon which included the
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Source: Black Past
Ailey, Alvin (1931-1989)
Alvin Ailey was born in Rodgers, Texas during the Great Depression. He overcame racism, poverty, and homophobia to become one of the most celebrated choreographers in American history. His single teenage mother Lula Ailey washed clothes, picked cotton, and worked in domestic service in various
Read more
Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
Singer Billy Daniels dies
Jazz and ballad singer Billy Daniels dies in Los Angeles.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Oct
7
1988
Grambling State University (1901-- )
Grambling State University was founded in 1901 in Grambling, Louisiana. In the post- Civil War effort to build schools for former African American slaves, several colleges were established in Louisiana.  All of them were concentrated in the more populous southern portion of the state including
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Source: Black Past
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