July 23, 1962 Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson became the first African American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Robinson was born January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was a star athlete, from 1939 to 1941 and served in the United States […]
Tag Archives | Congressional Gold Medal
March 24th in African American History – Dorothy Irene Height
March 24, 1912 Dorothy Irene Height, educator and social activist, was born in Richmond, Virginia. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to Barnard College, but when she enrolled she was denied admittance because at that time Barnard only admitted two African Americans per academic year and they had already admitted two. Height […]
February 4th in African American History – Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
February 4, 1913 Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, the “mother of the modern Civil Rights Movement,” was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to obey a bus driver’s order to give up her seat to a White passenger and was arrested. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and […]
January 31st in African American History – Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson
January 31, 1919 Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson, the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era, was born in Cairo, Georgia. Robinson attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was a star athlete, from 1939 to 1941 and served in the United States Army as a first lieutenant from […]
November 9th in African American History – The Little Rock Nine
November 9, 1999 The Little Rock Nine received the Congressional Gold Medal which, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is the highest civilian award in the United States. The medal is bestowed by the United States Congress on individuals who perform outstanding deeds or acts of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest […]
May 13th in African American History – Joseph Louis Barrow (Joe Louis)
May 13, 1914 Joseph Louis Barrow (Joe Louis), hall of fame boxer known as “the Brown Bomber,” was born in La Fayette, Alabama. He and his family moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1926. Louis made his amateur boxing debut in 1932 and at the end of his amateur career in 1934 had compiled a record […]
April 20th in African American History – Dorothy Irene Height
April 20, 2010 Dorothy Irene Height, educator and social activist, died. Height was born March 24, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to Barnard College but when she enrolled she was denied admittance because at that time Barnard only admitted two African Americans per academic year and they […]