April 12, 1981 Joe Louis, hall of fame boxer known as the Brown Bomber, died. Born Joseph Louis Barrow on May 13, 1914 in La Fayette, Alabama, Louis’ 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 […]
Tag Archives | Congressional Gold Medal
Martin Luther King, Jr. – April 4th in African American History
April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr., clergyman, activist and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. King was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He entered Morehouse College at the age of 15 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1948. He then earned a Bachelor […]
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 […]
October 24th in African American History – Jack Roosevelt Jackie Robinson
October 24, 1972 Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson, the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era, died. Robinson was born January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. After graduating from Pasadena Junior College in 1939, Robinson transferred to UCLA where he became the school’s first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports, […]
October 24th in African American History – Rosa Louise McCauley Parks
October 24, 2005 Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, the Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement, died. Parks was born February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to obey a bus drivers order to give up her seat to a White passenger and was arrested. Her arrest […]
September 25th in African American History – The Little Rock Nine
September 25, 1957 The Little Rock Nine successfully entered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education declaring all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and calling for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation. By […]
September 12th in African American History – James Cleveland Jesse Owens
September 12, 1913 James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens, Olympic track and field athlete, was born in Oakville, Alabama. Owens first came to national attention while in high school in Cleveland, Ohio when he equaled the world record of 9.4 seconds in the 100 yard dash and long jumped 24 feet 9 ½ inches at the 1933 […]