April 17, 1990 Ralph David Abernathy, minister and civil rights leader, died. Abernathy was born March 11, 1926 in Linden, Alabama. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, he graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Alabama State University in 1950 and in 1951 earned a […]
Archive | Military RSS feed for this section
April 15th in African American History – Harold Lee Washington
April 15, 1922 Harold Lee Washington, the first and only African American Mayor of Chicago, was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in Bronzeville, the epicenter of black culture in Chicago. After service in the United States Army Air Force from 1942 to 1945, Washington earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Roosevelt College […]
April 15th in African American History – Benjamin Lawson Hooks
April 15, 2010 Benjamin Lawson Hooks, attorney, minister and civil rights leader, died. Hooks was born January 31, 1925 in Memphis, Tennessee. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1944, he joined the army where he found that the prisoners he was responsible for guarding could eat in restaurants from which […]
April 13th in African American History – Johnnie Clyde Johnson
April 13, 2005 Johnnie Clyde Johnson, blues piano player, died. Johnson was born July 8, 1924 in Fairmont, West Virginia and began playing the piano at the age of four. He joined the United States Marine Corp during World War II and played in the all serviceman jazz orchestra. Johnson moved to St. Louis in […]
April 12th in African American History – Sugar Ray Robinson
April 12, 1989 Sugar Ray Robinson, hall of fame boxer, died. Born Walker Smith, Jr. on May 3, 1921 in Detroit, Michigan, Robinson began boxing at the age of 14 and he finished his amateur career with a record of 85 wins and no losses. Robinson made this professional debut in 1940 but his career […]
Augustus Walley – April 9th in African American History
April 9, 1938 Augustus Walley, Medal of Honor recipient, died. Walley was born March 10, 1856 in Reistertown, Maryland. On August 16, 1881, he was serving as a private in Company I of the 9th Cavalry Regiment when he participated in an engagement in the Cuchillo Negro Mountains of New Mexico. He was cited for […]
Rodney Maxwell Davis – April 7th in African American History
April 7, 1942 Rodney Maxwell Davis, Medal of Honor recipient, was born in Macon, Georgia. Davis enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1961 and by 1966 had been promoted to sergeant. By September 6, 1967, he was serving as a platoon guide with Company B, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division in […]