December 11, 1916 John Edward Bush, co-founder of the Mosaic Templars of America (MTA), died. Bush was born enslaved on November 14, 1856 in Moscow, Tennessee. He and his family were freed after the Civil War and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. His mother died soon after moving to little rock leaving John and his sister […]
Archive | December, 2012
December 10th in African American History – Riley Leroy Pitts
December 10, 1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson presented the Medal of Honor to the widow and son and daughter of Riley Leroy Pitts. Riley was the first African American commissioned officer to receive the medal. Pitts was born October 15, 1937 in Fallis, Oklahoma. He graduated from Wichita State University with a degree in journalism. After being […]
December 10th in African American History – Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor, III
December 10, 2005 Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor, III, comedian, writer and actor, died. Pryor was born December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. After his discharge from the army in 1960, he began working as a professional comic in clubs throughout the Midwest. In 1963, he moved to New York City and began to gain […]