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 […]
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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 15th in African American History – Jesse Brown
August 15, 2002 Jesse Brown, the first African American to serve as United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, died. Brown was born March 27, 1944 in Detroit, Michigan but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1963 and reached the rank of corporal. While serving during the Vietnam […]
August 10th in African American History – Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler
August 10, 2007 Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler, former Tuskegee Airman, died. Bohler was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1925. He enlisted in the Army Air Force at the age of 17 and trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field, earning his wings in 1944. Bohler remained with the air force until 1947, rising to the […]
August 6th in African American History – David Maurice “The Admiral” Robinson
August 6, 1965 David Maurice “The Admiral” Robinson, hall of fame basketball player, was born in Key West, Florida. Robinson played college basketball for the United States Naval Academy where he was an All-American in 1986 and 1987 and won the Naismith and Wooden Awards as the College Basketball Player of the Year in 1987. […]
August 5th in African American History – Dudley Randall
August 5, 2000 Dudley Randall, founder of Broadside Press, died. Randall was born January 14, 1914 in Washington, D. C. but raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 13, his first published poem was printed in the Detroit Free Press newspaper. After serving in the military during World War II, Randall earned a Bachelor […]
August 5th in African American History – Oliver White Hill, Sr.
August 5, 2007 Oliver White Hill, Sr., civil rights attorney, died. Hill was born May 1, 1907 in Richmond, Virginia. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1931 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Howard’s School of Law in 1933. Hill won his first civil rights case in 1940 in […]