August 22, 1989 Huey Percy Newton, co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was fatally shot. Huey Percy Newton was born February 17, 1942 in Monroe, Louisiana but raised in Oakland, California. In 1966, while at Oakland City College, he and Bobby Seale organized the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Seale became chairman […]
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August 21st in African American History – James Anderson, Jr.
August 21, 1968 James Anderson, Jr. posthumously received the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration, for heroism while serving in Vietnam, making him the first African American United States Marine recipient of the medal. Anderson was born January 22, 1947 in Los Angeles, California and enlisted in the marines in 1966. He was promoted […]
August 21st in African American History – Thaddeus Joseph “Thad” Jones
August 21, 1986 Thaddeus Joseph “Thad” Jones, jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader, died. Jones was born March 28, 1923 in Pontiac, Michigan. He was a self-taught musician and began playing professionally at the age of 16. He served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. In 1954, Jones joined the Count Basie Orchestra […]
August 20th in African American History – Eugene Thurman Upshaw, Jr.
August 20, 2008 Eugene Thurman Upshaw, Jr., hall of fame football player and labor leader, died. Eugene Thurman Upshaw was born August 15, 1945 in Robstown, Texas. He played college football at Texas A&I University and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1968. Upshaw was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 1967 AFL Draft. […]
August 20th in African American History – Stephanie Tubbs Jones
August 20, 2008 Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first African American woman elected to Congress from Ohio, died. Stephanie Tubbs Jones was born September 10, 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Case Western Reserve University in 1971 and Doctorate of Jurisprudence degree from the Case Western Reserve University School […]
August 19th in African American History – Levy Patrick Mwanawasa
August 19, 2008 Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, the third President of Zambia, died. Mwanawasa was born September 3, 1948 in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia. After earning his law degree from the University of Zambia, he worked in private law firms. In 1991, Mwanawasa was elected to Parliament and from that year to 1994 served as vice president.
August 19th in African American History – Blind Willie McTell
August 19, 1959 Blind Willie McTell, blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, died. McTell was born William Samuel McTier and blind in one eye on May 5, 1898 in Thomson, Georgia. He learned to play the guitar and loss his remaining vision at an early age. McTell began his recording career in 1927 and in the […]