May 23, 2004 Vernon D. Jarrett, newspaper, television, and radio journalist, died. Jarrett was born June 19, 1921 in Paris, Tennessee. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Knoxville College in 1941. In 1946, he moved to Chicago and began his career at the Chicago Defender. For three years beginning in 1948, he co-produced […]
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May 15th in African American History – Wayman Lawrence Tisdale
May 15, 2009 Wayman Lawrence Tisdale, professional basketball player and jazz bass guitarist, died. Tisdale was born June 9, 1964 in Fort Worth, Texas and played guitar at his father’s church. As a college player at the University of Oklahoma, Tisdale was the first player in history to be named a first-team All American in […]
May 11th in African American History – Floyd Patterson
May 11, 2006 Floyd Patterson, two-time World Heavyweight boxing champion, died. Patterson was born January 4, 1935 in Waco, North Carolina. He started boxing at the age of 14 and won the Gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games as a middleweight. Following the Olympics, Patterson turned professional and on November 30, 1956 became […]
April 22nd in African American History – Spencer Haywood
April 22, 1949 Spencer Haywood, retired basketball player, was born in Silver City, Mississippi. Haywood moved to Detroit, Michigan and in 1967 led Pershing High School to the Michigan State Basketball Championship. In 1968, Haywood was the leading scorer on the United States’ Gold Medal winning Olympic team in Mexico City. Later that year, he […]
April 14th in African American History – Cynthia Lynne Cooper
April 14, 1963 Cynthia Lynne Cooper, hall of fame basketball player, was born in Chicago, Illinois. Cooper played collegiate basketball at the University of Southern California and led them to back to back NCAA tournament championships in 1983 and 1984. After leaving college, she played professional basketball in Spain and Italy from 1986 to 1996. […]
March 31st in African American History – James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens
March 31, 1980 James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens, Olympic track and field athlete, died. Owens was born September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. Owens attended Ohio State University where he won a record eight individual NCAA championships. Despite that success, he had to live off campus and was never offered a scholarship for his efforts. At […]
March 25th in African American History – Debra Janine Debi Thomas
March 25, 1967 Debra Janine “Debi” Thomas, figure skater and physician, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 1986, Thomas won the U. S. National Ladies’ Figure Skating title, the Ladies’ World Figure Skating Championship, and earned ABC’s Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year Award. At the 1988 Calgary Olympics, she won the […]