Today in Black History

Image via Wikipedia

January 18

1949: Congresman William Dawson is elected Chairman of the House Expentiture Committe, becoming the first African-American to head a standing committee of Congress.

1966: Robert Weaver takes the oath of office as Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and becoming the first African-American to serve in the official Cabinet of a U.S. President.

1990: Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Berry is arrested in a hotel room on a charge of purchasing and using cocaine; he was tried and convicted on the highly contested misdemeanor charge.

 

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog

Today in Black History: December 6 2010

Today's Black History Facts:

1) 1869:the Colored National Labor Convention, the first Black U.S. labor organization met in Washington, D.C.

2) 1871: P.B.S. Pinchback was elected President Pro Tem of the Louisana Senate and acting Lieutenant Governor.

3)  1963: Dr. Ralph Bunche (Detroit native and Nobel Peace Prize winner) and Miss Marian Anderson (Opera singer) were presented the Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson. The award was announced by President John F. Kennedy who was killed before the award was presented.

Posted via email from The Black Liberal Boomer Blog