January 17, 1942 Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. (Muhammad Ali), hall of fame boxer, was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali began boxing at the age of 12 and went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, and the Light Heavyweight Gold medal at the 1960 Rome Summer Olympic Games. Ali […]
Tag Archives | Presidential Citizens 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 […]
September 28th in African American History – Constance Baker Motley
September 28, 2005 Constance Baker Motley, civil rights activist, lawyer and judge, died. Motley was born September 14, 1921 in New Haven, Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University in 1943 and her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1946. She began her career as a law clerk at […]
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 […]
February 5th in African American History – Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron
February 5, 1934 Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron, hall of fame baseball player, was born in Mobile, Alabama. Aaron started his professional baseball career in 1951 with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League. In 1952, he signed a contract with the Boston (later to be the Atlanta) Braves and made his Major League Baseball […]