November 13th in Black History

Today in Black History:


354. Held to be the birth date of Saint Augustine. He was a Black philosopher and doctor who was born in Numidia, (now Algeria). His birth name was Aurelius Augustinus.

1913. Medical pioneer Dr. Daniel Hale Williams became the first black member of the American College of Surgeons. Born in poverty on January 18, 1856 in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, he went on to build the first Black-owned Hospital and Black-owned Nurse-training school in the United States. Dr. Hale was the world’s first surgeon to perform successful open-heart surgery, pioneering the technology and the methods of sterilization which would be used for decades to come.
Read Dr. Hale's Story

1940. The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Hansberry v. Lee. This was a very straight-forward case that should have never made it that far. Hansberry, the wealthy father of Lorraine Hansberry ~ who later wrote the play “A Raisin in the Sun”, which loosely told the story of the case ~ purchased some land in violation of a racist covenant signed by 54% of the home-owners in the development. The covenant stipulated that no property would be sold to Blacks, but it would only be valid if signed by 95% of homeowners. The property management sued, and Hansberry lost ~ and appealed. Then he lost the Appeal and appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. Then he lost, and appealed to the U.S Supreme court, where it was found that a class action suit must represent all members of the class suing. And since 46% of property-owners were not in agreement, the case was not valid. The Hansberrys won. STRONG!

1951. Ballerina Janet Collins becomes the first Black dancer to appear with the Metropolitan Opera Co. Collins had a starring role in Verdi's Aida.

1955. Caryn Johnson is born in New York City. She will become famous as the comedienne and actress, Whoopi Goldberg.

1956. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down two Alabama laws requiring racial segregation on public buses. This ruling effectively ends the Montgomery Bus Boycott begun December 1955 when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to yield her seat (in the rear “Black” section of the bus) to a white man who had been unable to find a seat in the front “Whites-Only” secton.

1986. Giselle Jeanne-Marie LaRonde of Trinidad, 23, crowned 36th Miss World

1992. Riddick Bowe becomes the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion in Las Vegas with a unanimous decision over Evander Holyfield.