Laker Nation News

Researched and Compiled by Darrius Frazier

FEBRUARY 1

1930: Ruth Ross, a magazine editor, helped found inaugural issue of “Essence” (1970), which included articles of leading African American scholars and writers, was born in New York City.

1960: At Greensboro, North Carolina, four North Carolina A&T State University students, Ezell Blair, Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond walked a few blocks from the campus downtown to Woolworth’s Department Store for changing history of racial segregation in public accommodations. The “Greensboro Four” late in the afternoon sat on four bar stools at the segregated lunch counter and asked for coffee. When they were refused service, they remained at their seats until closing.

The next day over twenty students returned with them including some from the all-female Bennett College. The third day included over 60 persons followed by over 300 on the fourth day. With promotion of the sit-ins in the media, the sit-in tactics spread to other cities in North Carolina and eventually throughout the southeast. This Greensboro Sit-In is credited as being the major and most influential sit-in of the civil rights era. Eventually, Woolworth’s and other stores gave in to the sit-ins due to loss of financial business and the negative public relations occurring with the publicity.  Many of those participating in the sit-ins received verbal taunting and physical abuse, but attempted to abide by the non-violent method of protest advocated by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Although not the first sit-in, the non-violent Greensboro protest became the best known. Local television provided extensive coverage, and in subsequent days, similar sit-ins occurred in more than 30 other cities. The initial protest was a result of extensive planning by the students, who received guidance from mentor activists and others. In 2002, a monument to the “Greensboro Four” was dedicated at North Carolina A&T. The Woolworth’s store, which closed in 1993, became home to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum.

1965: James Brown records “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” at the Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is Brown’s first recording to feature Jimmy Nolen on guitar, who would become known for his distinctive “chicken scratch” lead guitar playing.

1965: Actress, Ruby Dee, became the first African American actress to play a major role in the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT as Kate in The Taming of the Shrew and Cordelia in King Lear.

1973: Gladys Knight & the Pips leave Motown’s Soul label for a new career at Buddah Records. In 1973 they released Top #10 singles: “Midnight Train to Georgia,” “I’ve Got to Use My Imagination,” and “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me,” and in 1974 “I Feel a Song (In My Heart).”

1978: Antislavery crusader and Civil War veteran Harriet Tubman becomes the first African American woman to appear on a U.S. postage stamp, the first in the Post Office’s Black Heritage Series. Tubman was a singular figure of the abolition movement, an enslaved woman who escaped captivity in Maryland and made at least 19 trips back to free more enslaved peoples. Tubman is estimated to have helped several hundred enslaved people find freedom in Canada via the Underground Railroad and is said to have “never lost a passenger.” During the Civil War, she freed 700 more when she led Union forces on a raid on Combahee Ferry in South Carolina.

2004: Justin Timberlake punctuates the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show at Reliant Stadium in Houston by tearing away part of Janet Jackson’s costume, revealing her right breast to a massive audience that quickly reaches for their TiVos for a replay during Timberlake’s song, “Rock Your Body.” Both artists blame it on a “wardrobe malfunction,” but while Jackson is blacklisted, Timberlake is welcomed back by the music industry and the NFL after a series of apologies. This is a result of white privilege that benefited Timberlake. He would later observe, ‘America is unfair to both women and minorities (people of color).’ The incident also led to the creation of YouTube, a popular video-sharing social media site.

2017: In a post on Instagram that is liked over 8 million times in 24 hours, Beyoncé reveals she is pregnant with twins.

 

FEBRUARY 2

1897: Black inventor and businessman, Alfred Cralle, patents the first ice cream scoop. His popular creation is part of a surge in patents by Black inventors after the end of the Civil War. Cralle was part of a post-war wave of Black patentees which peaked in 1899. The 14th amendment, ratified in 1868, ensured that all Black Americans had equal citizenship rights. Citizenship is required to obtain a patent. Cralle himself was included in the first lists of Black inventors created by Patent Examiner Henry E. Baker, eventually published as The Colored Inventor: a record of 50 years in 1913.

1957: Fats Domino makes an appearance on The Perry Como Show, singing his hits “Blue Monday” and “Blueberry Hill.”

1971: One week after toppling the regime of Ugandan leader Milton Obote, Major General Idi Amin declares himself president of Uganda and chief of the armed forces. Amin, head of the Ugandan army and air force since 1966, seized power while Obote was out of the country. Amin would later be ousted from the country in 1979 after an unsuccessful invasion attempt of Tanzania, bringing Obote back to power in Uganda. Amin’s rule was characterized by rampant human rights abuses, including political repression, ethnic persecution and extrajudicial killings, as well as nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. International observers and human rights groups estimate that between 100,000-500,000 people were killed under his rule.

1975: Stevie Wonder’s daughter Aisha (heard crying at the beginning of “Isn’t She Lovely“) is born. Aisha is Wonder’s first child, born to Yolanda Simmons. The song received so much airplay that it reached number 23 on the Adult Contemporary chart in January 1977. Since then, the song has become a jazz and pop standard, covered by many artists.

2007: The Spinners founding member Billy Henderson dies of complications from diabetes at age 67 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

2007: Joe Hunter, who played piano in the Motown house band, The Funk Brothers, dies at age 79 due to natural causes.

2009: The United States Senate confirmed Eric Holder as the first African American Attorney General in the United States by a vote in the affirmative of 75-21. Holder had been nominated by President Barack Obama on December 1, 2008. He was formally installed on March 27, 2009. After a strong and historic term as Attorney General, Holder announced he was resigning in September of 2014.  He remained in office until the installation of the second and consecutive African American Attorney General, Loretta Lynch was installed on April 27, 2015.

2014: Russell Wilson became the first ever African American QB in the NFL to win the Super Bowl as he led the Seattle Seahawks to a 43-8 rout of the Denver Broncos at Metlife Stadium in Super Bowl XLVIII.

2020: Patrick Mahomes became the second ever African American QB in the NFL to win the Super Bowl as he led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-20 comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami in Super Bowl LIV.

 

FEBRUARY 3

1935: Blues rocker Johnny “Guitar” Watson is born in Houston, Texas. Watson’s creative reinvention in the 1970s with funk overtones, saw Watson have hits with “Ain’t That a B****” and “Superman Lover”. His highest charting single was 1977’s “A Real Mother for Ya”

1943: Dennis Edwards (of The Temptations) is born in Fairfield, Alabama. He replaces lead singer David Ruffin in 1968.

1989: “Wild Thing” by Tone Loc becomes the first rap single certified Platinum, with sales of over a million. The title is a reference to the phrase “doin’ the wild thing,” a euphemism for sex. According to producer Mario Caldato Jr., who engineered and mixed the song, producer Michael Ross was inspired by an utterance of Fab 5 Freddy “Come on baby let’s do the wild thing” in Spike Lee’s debut film, She’s Gotta Have It, and asked Young MC to write the lyrics. Tone Lōc’s song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1989, only behind Paula Abdul’s breakthrough hit “Straight Up.”

2001: Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me,” based on an Eddie Murphy routine about what to do when you get caught cheating, goes to #1 in America for two weeks. The song is about a guy who gets caught cheating on his girl but denies it even though he is clearly guilty. It was inspired by a comedy routine Eddie Murphy performed in his movie, Raw. Murphy said that no matter what your girl accuses you of, never admit to anything, just say “it wasn’t me.” This wasn’t supposed to be a single, but it got some heat in Hawaii when a disc jockey on the Honolulu radio station KIKI downloaded it from the internet and played it on the air. This convinced Shaggy’s record company, MCA, to issue it. The track is built on a sample of the 1975 song “Smile Happy” from the band, War. In the video, Rikrok gets caught cheating and comes running to Shaggy’s mansion, where Shaggy schools him on the art of being a true player. To show how he got caught, Rikrok shows Shaggy a video of his misdeeds on his flip phone, which in 2001 could only be done through the magic of editing.

2013: Cardiss Collins, the first African American female congressional representative from Illinois, passed away at the age of 81 in Arlington, Virginia.  Collins was elected in a special election on June 5, 1973 to replace her husband, Congressman George Collins who died in a plane crash aboard United Airlines Flight 553 on December 8, 1972. She served twelve consecutive congressional terms from 1973 to 1997 while representing the 7th district of Illinois. Collins in 1979 was elected president of the Congressional Black Congress.  She provided leadership in congress as a chair and member of several committees. She became the first African American to serve as Democratic Whip At-Large.  Collins is remembered as a champion for the rights of African Americans, women and the poor.

2013: Beyoncé invigorates the Super Bowl 47 halftime show at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans with a performance that reunites Destiny’s Child.

2015: Former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight is rushed to the hospital after pleading not guilty in his connection with fatal hit-and-run just days before. His friend Terry Carter was killed in the incident and actor, Cle Denyale Sloan, was injured during an altercation over the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. Knight faces charges of murder and attempted murder, along with two counts of hit-and-run.

 

FEBRUARY 4

1913: “The First Lady of Civil Rights”, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.  Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger on December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. When Rosa Parks kept her seat on that bus, she stood up for the dignity and civil rights of every African American in the United States. Her arrest for refusing the bus drivers demand to give up her seat on the bus to a white person helped initiate support for the cause of eliminating segregation.  Parks at the time was secretary of the Montgomery Chapter of the NAACP, but she acted that day on her own. Parks died on October 24, 2005 in Detroit, Michigan at age 92.

1944: Florence LaRue (of The 5th Dimension) is born in Plainfield, New Jersey, but grows up in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

1952: Jackie Robinson was named Director of Communication for NBC. He was the first black executive of a major radio-TV network

1956: Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” reaches its US chart peak of #17, giving him his first hit.

1976: Rapper Cam’ron is born Cameron Ezike Giles in Harlem, New York.

1997: A civil jury in California found O.J. Simpson liable in the death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Goldman’s parents were awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages.

1999: Plainclothes officers of the New York Police Department’s Street Crime Unit (SCU) fire 41 shots at unarmed Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea, killing him on the steps of his apartment building shortly after midnight. Diallo’s killing sparked a public outcry and eventually resulted in the shuttering of the SCU, but the four officers who shot him were found not guilty of his murder.

2002: On the occasion of civil-rights activist Rosa Parks’ 89th birthday, Stevie Wonder sings his song “Happy Birthday” to her at the premiere of her TV-movie biography, The Rosa Parks Story. The song had originally been written by Wonder to help bring about a national Dr. Martin Luther King holiday.

2007: Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts becomes the first ever African American NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl as the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears, who were coached by fellow African American, Lovie Smith, 29-17, in Super Bowl 41 at Miami.

2007: Prince wows at the Super Bowl 41 halftime show in Miami, closing with an otherworldly rendition of “Purple Rain” in the rain. The performance was on a large, central stage which was shaped like Prince’s logo, and was outlined with lights. He played before 74,512 fans at Dolphin Stadium, who had been given flashlights to point at the stage during the performance of “Purple Rain”. The event was carried “to the biggest audience of his life” with 140 million television viewers. Overall, the show was energetic and well received by the rain-soaked audience surrounding the stage. Music critics were extremely enthusiastic about his performance, one calling it “arguably the best halftime show in Super Bowl history,” and others saying it was one of the best ever.

2012: About 100 dancers participate in a Soul Train-style line dance in Times Square as a tribute to the recently deceased founder of the show, Don Cornelius.

2016: Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) founder, Maurice White, dies at age 74 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. White formed the band in 1969 in Chicago. The original name of the band was called Salty Peppers before changing it to its current name the following year. EWF is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin, and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide.

The band has won six Grammys out of 17 nominations and four American Music Awards out of 12 nominations. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, and Hollywood’s Rockwalk, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The band has received an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, a Soul Train Legend Award, a NARAS Signature Governor’s Award, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2012 Congressional Horizon Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019. Rolling Stone has called them “innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing” and declared that the band “changed the sound of black pop.” VH1 has described EWF as “one of the greatest bands.”

 

FEBRUARY 5

1934: One of America’s greatest baseball players, Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron, was born in Mobile, Alabama. The baseball Hall of Famer held the Major League Baseball record 33 years with 755 career home runs when he broke the record on April 8, 1974 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta amidst racial death threats. Aaron acquired the nickname, the “Hammer” or “Hammerin Hank”, due to his home run prowess. His professional career lasted from 1954 to 1976.  Aaron spent the first 21 years with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and the last two years with the Milwaukee Brewers. After his retirement, Aaron worked in the Front Office of the Atlanta Braves.  Hank Aaron died on January 22, 2021 in Atlanta due to natural causes.

1969: Bobby Brown, an American singer, songwriter, and dancer, was born Robert Barisford Brown Sr. in Boston. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started his career in the R&B and pop group, New Edition, from its inception in 1978 until his exit from the group in December 1985.

Once he started a solo career, Brown enjoyed commercial and critical success with his second album, Don’t Be Cruel, (1988) which spawned five Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including the number one hit, “My Prerogative,” and the Grammy Award–winning “Every Little Step.” In 1989, Brown contributed two songs to the soundtrack of Ghostbusters II. Brown’s next album, Bobby (1992) spawned several singles including “Humpin’ Around,” “Get Away,” and “Good Enough.”

1994: White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is convicted in the murder of African American civil rights leader Medgar Evers, over 30 years after the crime occurred. Evers was gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson, Mississippi, home on June 12, 1963, while his wife, Myrlie, and the couple’s three small children were inside. Beckwith was convicted and given a life sentence by a racially diverse jury. He died in prison in 2001 at the age of 80.

2003: U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, gives a speech to the United Nations outlining the United States’ case that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, making the argument for the invasion that would happen the following month. However, it was eventually proven that Iraq never possessed weapons of mass destruction and Powell later called the speech a “blot” on his record.

2008: Lenny Kravitz releases his eighth studio album, It Is Time For A Love Revolution, which peaks at #4 in the US.

2008: On the day of the Super Tuesday primary elections in America, luminaries from across many genres of music (country – not so much) voice their enthusiastic support for Barack Obama, who wins big in the primaries on his way to the White House.

2023: Beyoncé wins four Grammys, breaking the record for most all-time Grammy wins with 32.

 

FEBRUARY 6

1820: The first organized immigration of freed enslaved people to Africa from the United States departs New York harbor on a journey to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. The immigration was largely the work of the American Colonization Society, a U.S. organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to return formerly enslaved African people to Africa.

1945: Bob Marley, a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter is born Nesta Robert Marley in Nine Mile, Jamaica. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, as well as his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley’s contributions to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, and made him a global figure in popular culture to this day. Over the course of his career, Marley became known as a Rastafari icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity. His famous songs are: “Get Up, Stand Up,” and “I Shot the Sheriff” in 1973; “No Woman, No Cry” in 1975; “Exodus,” “Waiting In Vain,” and “Jamming” in 1977; and “Is This Love” in 1978.

1950: Natalie Cole is born in Los Angeles, California, to American singer and jazz pianist, Nat King Cole and former Duke Ellington Orchestra singer, Maria Hawkins Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the hits “This Will Be“, “Inseparable” (1975), and “Our Love” (1977). She returned as a pop singer on the 1987 album, Everlasting, and her cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac” in 1988. In the 1990s, she sang traditional pop by her father, resulting in her biggest success, “(Unforgettable)… with Love” in 1991, which sold over seven million copies and won her seven Grammy Awards. Overall, she sold over 30 million records worldwide.

1993: Legendary tennis player, Arthur Ashe died in New York City at age 49. He is believed to have become HIV positive from a blood transfusion during heart surgery. He worked to educate people about AIDS after publicly disclosing his illness and died of AIDS related pneumonia. Ashe became the first African American to win the US Open Tennis Championship on September 9, 1968. He set many first on the competitive courts of tennis including being the first African American to win the singles cup at Wimbledon on July 5, 1975.   Ashe won over defending champion Jimmy Connors. He achieved the ranking of No. 1 in the world among his peers and had a singles career record of 818 wins, 260 losses and 51 titles which included wins in the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

2003: 50 Cent drops his major-label debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a joint release on Eminem’s Shady Records and Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label. It includes two #1 hits: “In Da Club” and “21 Questions.”

2013: Rihanna accompanies Chris Brown to his probation hearing stemming from when he assaulted her in 2009. They are back together as a couple; she is spotted blowing kisses his way.

 

FEBRUARY 7

1926: Dr. Carter G. Woodson began “Negro History Week” the forerunner to Black History Month during the second week of February. It was later expanded to “Black History Month” in 1976 leading up to America’s bi-centennial celebration. He was a noted, historian, journalist, author and the founder of The Association For the Study of Negro Life and History, currently known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

1974: Barry White earns Gold certifications for “Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up,” his album, Stone Gon’, and also for The Love Unlimited Orchestra’s “Love’s Theme” and their album, Under the Influence of Love Unlimited.

1988: Mike Tyson and Robin Givens were married at the Holy Angels Catholic Church in Chicago. They will later divorce a year later.

1989: The Georgia State Representative Billy Randall introduces a bill to make Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” the official state rock song. It doesn’t pass.

2012: Alicia Keys and Nas join Jay-Z at the second of two charity concerts he holds at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The concerts raise $3.5 million for the United Way and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation.

2023: LeBron James, forward, Los Angeles Lakers, scored 38 points as he broke the NBA’s scoring record held previously by Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, while as a Lakers. Jabbar had held that record since April 5, 1984 on the road against the Utah Jazz. Despite James’ effort, the Lakers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 133-130 in Los Angeles.

 

FEBRUARY 8

1965: The Supremes release “Stop In The Name Of Love.” Written and produced by Motown’s main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, “Stop! In the Name of Love” held the #1 position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 27, 1965, through April 3, 1965, and reached the #2 position on the soul chart. In 2021, it was listed at No. 254 on Rolling Stone’s Magazine “Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

1968: In what is known as the Orangeburg Massacre in Orangeburg, South Carolina, three South Carolina State students, Samuel Hammond Jr., (age 18), Delano Middleton (age 17) and Henry Smith (age 18) were shot dead by officers with the South Carolina Highway Patrol on the campus of the predominately African American South Carolina State University that evening. Twenty-seven others were injured when the State Troopers opened fire on the group of approximately 150 to 200 protesters.

It all precipitated after several nights of attempted integration of the segregated “All Star Bowling Lane” a bowling alley in Orangeburg. Injured student, civil rights activist and National Program Director for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Cleveland Sellers was the only student prosecuted for events associated with the protests of that week.  He served seven months in prison and received a full pardon twenty-five years later.  Nine police officers were tried and acquitted although witnesses testified there was no gunfire prior to the police shooting (and no guns were found in the crowd).  This mass shooting of students on a college campus by law enforcement was the first of its kind in the United States.

1975: The Ohio Players’ single, “Fire,” hits #1 and stays there for two weeks.  The song was the opening track from the album of the same name. The song is considered to be the band’s signature song along with “Love Rollercoaster.”

1986: Anthony Jerome ‘Spud’ Webb, who at 5’7” was one of the shortest players in the history of professional basketball, wins the NBA slam dunk contest, beating his Atlanta Hawks’ teammate and 1985 dunk champ, the 6’8” Dominique Wilkins.

2002: The Chicago Police Department receives a videotape allegedly showing R. Kelly engaging in lewd acts with a young girl. Kelly is indicted on child pornography charges, but found not guilty at trial. Kelly was convicted of federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges in 2022, stemming from decades of criminal allegations involving minors. He is currently serving a 31-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina.

2009: Ne-Yo wins the Grammy awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song for the Year of the Gentleman single “Miss Independent.”

2021: Mary Wilson, the only member of The Supremes with the group throughout their tenure, passes away at 76 due to hypertensive heart disease. She gained worldwide recognition as a founding member of The Supremes, the most successful Motown act of the 1960s and the best-charting female group in U.S. chart history, as well as one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. The trio reached number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 with 12 of their singles, ten of which feature Wilson on backing vocals. Wilson later became a New York Times best-selling author in 1986 with the release of her first autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme, which set records for sales in its genre, and later for the autobiography, Supreme Faith: Someday We’ll Be Together.

 

FEBRUARY 9

1906: Accomplished poet, novelist and playwright, Paul Laurence Dunbar, died of tuberculosis at the young age of 33 in Dayton, Ohio. He became one the first African American poets to achieve national and international notoriety.  Dunbar completed four collected volumes of short stories, four novels, three published plays, lyrics for thirteen songs, fourteen books of poetry and over 400 published poems with his writings featured in many national publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly and Saturday Evening Post. He was able to create an amazing amount of literary work during his short life.

1943: Barbara Ann Lewis, an American singer and songwriter whose smooth style influenced rhythm and blues, is born in Salem, Michigan. Her signature hit was her debut single, “Hello Stranger” in 1963. Other hits were: “Baby I’m Yours” and “Make Me Your Baby” in 1965, and “Make Me Belong to You” in 1966.

1970: Sly and the Family Stone’s single, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” is certified Gold. Sly Stone wrote this song because he felt listeners were not hearing the messages in his songs even though the band was more popular than ever. Sly & the Family Stone were an integrated band and tried to spread the message of racial harmony, but Stone thought that message was getting lost. The title is a funky way of spelling “Thank you for letting me be myself again.” The lyrics include references to some of Sly & the Family Stone’s earlier 1968 hits, including “Dance To The Music” and “Everyday People.”

1971: Pitcher, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In August of that year, Paige, a pitching legend known for his fastball, showmanship and the longevity of his playing career, which spanned five decades, was inducted.

1974: “Love’s Theme,” a groovy instrumental composed by Barry White for his Love Unlimited Orchestra, hits #1 in the US. It was one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The recording (with a large string orchestra, modified guitar and big rhythm) was considered to be an influence on the disco sound, which would increase popularity the following year.

1982: In Chicago, Andrew Wilson and his brother, Jackie, murdered two white police officers, James O’Brien and William Fahey, to avoid being arrested since they had an arrest warrant out for them. Unbeknownst to the slain officers, Wilson had already murdered three white Chicago police officers that month and three African American men were later wrongfully implicated in the homicides.

It led to one of the biggest manhunts in Chicago police history as the Chicago Police Department held the South Side under siege as one African American chief, Renault Robinson described the scene as ‘sloppy police work, a matter of racism.’ Jessie Jackson complained, ‘that the black community was being held under martial law.’ The Wilson brothers would be arrested five days later in Chicago.

1992: After stunning the world three months earlier with the news he had contracted the HIV virus and was immediately retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers, basketball great Magic Johnson returns to play in the 42nd NBA All-Star game in Orlando, Florida, where the crowd greeted him with a standing ovation. The West All-Stars blew out the East All-Stars, 153-113. Johnson was given the MVP award as he scored a game high of 25 points along with 9 assists in 29 minutes of playing time. He also took the final shot of the game, a three-pointer, and the final 14½ seconds of the game were not played. As the game ended, players from both teams came onto the court and hugged Johnson.

2004: At the Grammy Awards, OutKast is the first hip-hop act to win Album of the Year, for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, and Evanescence takes Best New Artist, beating out 50 Cent, who comes on stage anyway.

2005: Soul singer Tyrone Davis dies of complications from a stroke in Chicago, Illinois, at age 66. Known for his #1 R&B hits, “Can I Change My Mind” (1969), “Turn Back The Hands Of Time” (1970), and “Turning Point” (1975).

2009: Chris Brown and his girlfriend Rihanna miss the Grammy Awards, where they are scheduled to perform, after he assaults her. The assault occurred the previous day in Los Angeles when an argument escalated to a physical altercation. A witness calls 911. Police arrive to find a battered Rihanna, who identifies Brown as her assailant. Brown turns himself in, and is released on $50,000 bail. According to the police report, Brown punched, bit and choked Rihanna, resulting in a number of injuries to her face that appear in a shocking leaked photograph.

Despite the abuse, weeks later the couple are back together, spotted in Miami on vacation. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, Rihanna explains that the argument was over a text message Brown received from an ex-girlfriend; he lied about it and she pressed him on the issue, which is when he turned violent.

The story brings up the issue of why women often return to their abusers. Both Brown and Rihanna came from abusive households; Brown’s stepfather used to hit his mother, and Rihanna’s father was abusive toward her mother, even breaking her nose at one point, according to Rihanna.

There is a backlash against Brown, who loses his endorsements (including a deal with Wrigley’s gum, for which he wrote the song “Forever”) and is banned on some radio stations. His career quickly recovers though, as friends and collaborators stick by him.

Brown serves no jail time over the incident; he pleads guilty to assault and is sentenced to five years of probation and 1,400 hours of community service. He is also ordered to undergo domestic-violence counseling. At the hearing, Rihanna asks that no restraining order be issued, but the judge insists, ordering him 50 yards away from her (10 yards at industry events). The judge, Patricia Schnegg, says she may lift the order after Brown does his counseling. (Rihanna never files charges against Brown; the case against him is made by the state prosecutor based on physical evidence and statements Rihanna made to detectives at the scene.)

2022: Snoop Dogg buys Death Row Records, the label he started with in 1992. He plans to take the label into the metaverse and issue non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

 

FEBRUARY 10

1939: Roberta Flack is born in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Flack is a retired American singer who topped the Billboard charts with the No. 1 singles “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Killing Me Softly with His Song,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Where Is the Love,” “You Are My Heaven,” “Back Together Again,” and “The Closer I Get to You“, the latter four duets with Donny Hathaway. She also sang a duet with Peabo Bryson with the 1983 single, “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love.”

1940: Jimmy Merchant (of Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers) is born in New York City. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 as a member of the Teenagers. He retired from The Teenagers in 2005.

1946: Jackie Robinson Sr. and Rachel Isum were married. They had three children: Jackie, Jr. (1946–1971), Sharon (born 1950), and David (born 1952). They will remain married until Jackie Robinson Sr.’s death due to complications of diabetes on October 24, 1972. After his death, Rachel founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a not-for-profit organization providing educational and leadership opportunities for minority students. The Foundation has provided support for over 1,000 minority students and has maintained a 97% graduation rate among its scholars

1956: Little Richard records “Long Tall Sally.” The single reached number one on the Billboard rhythm and blues chart, staying at the top for six of 19 weeks, while peaking at number six on the pop chart. The song as sung by Little Richard is listed at number 55 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It also ranked at number 45 on Billboard’s year-end singles of 1956.

1964: The United States House of Representatives passed The Civil Rights Act of 1964 after 70 days of debate. The Act made discrimination illegal on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, and sex in public accommodations, employment, and programs that are federally funded. A substitute bill of this major piece of civil rights legislation was finally approved on June 19, 1964 by the United States Senate after a 50-day filibuster organized by senators from the South.

1967: After seven years at Columbia, Aretha Franklin releases her first single on Atlantic Records, “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You).” It becomes her first big hit, clearing a path to the throne of the Queen of Soul.

1992: Former heavyweight boxing champion, Mike Tyson, accused of raping 18-year-old beauty-pageant contestant, Desiree Washington, the previous July at the Miss Black America pageant in an Indianapolis hotel room, is found guilty by an Indiana jury. The following month, Tyson was given a 10-year prison sentence, with four years suspended. As a result of his conviction, Tyson is required to register as a Tier II sex offender under federal law.

1993: Michael Jackson appears on Oprah’s prime time special, where he talks about having a skin condition called Vitiligo, and claims he’s had just 2 plastic surgery operations.

2004: Kanye West, known for producing tracks on Jay-Z’s 2001 album The Blueprint, releases his debut album, The College Dropout.

2008: Ne-Yo’s sophomore album, Because Of You, wins the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. It’s the singer-songwriter’s first Grammy win.

2008: Daft Punk make their first televised live appearance at the 50th Grammy Awards, joining Kanye West in a performance of “Stronger” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

 

FEBRUARY 11

1974: R&B singer, D’Angelo, is born Michael Eugene Archer in Richmond, Virginia. His debut studio album, Brown Sugar (1995), received widespread acclaim from music critics, who have credited the album for ushering in the neo soul movement; and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its third single “Lady“, in 1996, reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

1977: Motown Productions debuts its first film, Scott Joplin, based on the life of the ragtime composer. Billy Dee Williams earns accolades for his performance as the “Maple Leaf Rag” mastermind, but the film is widely criticized for being too grim.

1979: Brandy, an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and model, is born Brandy Rayana Norwood in McComb, Mississippi, but grew up in Carson, California. As of August 2020, she has sold over 40 million records worldwide, with approximately 8.62 million albums sold in the United States alone. Her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award and an American Music Award.

1981: Kelly Rowland is born in Atlanta, Georgia. She becomes the first member of Destiny’s Child to land a hit away from the group when “Dilemma,” her 2002 duet with Nelly, goes to #1 in America.

1989: Eazy-E’s solo song “We Want Eazy” becomes his first hit to enter the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it debuts at #43.

1989: Rev. Barbara Harris became the first woman elected bishop in the American Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion worldwide at a ceremony held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

1990: African National Congress leader and future South African President Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison after 27 years due to his anti-apartheid activities in which he was convicted of treason. Mandela became South Africa’s first Black president on May 10, 1994. As South Africa’s oldest elected president at age 75, President Mandela served one term in office. His administration presided over the dismantling of apartheid throughout South Africa.

1990: In Tokyo, Japan, James “Buster” Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round to win the heavyweight championship. According to many boxing oddsmakers, Tyson was a 42:1 favorite to win against Douglas. Douglas will lose to Evander Holyfield eight months later in his first defense of the heavyweight championship.

1993: In Chicago, Police Detective, Jon Burge, was fired by the Chicago Police Board after it findings that it was proven that he brutally assaulted and tortured Andrew Wilson to confess to the murder of two white police officers. Wilson was far from the only victim as it was proven that over 120 African American and Latino men falsely confessed to violent crimes, especially murder, after being beaten and tortured.

In the aftermath of the Burge saga, on May 6, 2015, the Chicago City Council passes a landmark $5.5 million reparations ordinance for victims of police torture at the hands of Burge or those under his command.

2011: Ne-Yo plays a charming hitman on the “Smooth Criminal” episode of CSI: NY.

2012: Whitney Houston, one of the world’s top-selling singers from 1985-2000, is found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Houston’s death was the result of accidental drowning; heart disease and cocaine, which was found in her system, were determined to be contributing factors. The 48-year-old pop diva, known for her soaring voice, won a total of six Grammy Awards and 22 American Music Awards (more than any other female), and was credited with influencing several generations of singers, from Mariah Carey to Jennifer Hudson.

2024: In Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, Patrick Mahomes became the first African American QB to win consecutive Super Bowls as well as eighth overall QB to win consecutive Super Bowls as the Kansas City Chiefs rally to defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 25-22, in overtime. It was the second ever overtime game in Super Bowl history.

 

FEBRUARY 12

1793: Congress passes the first fugitive slave law, requiring all states, including those that forbid slavery, to forcibly return enslaved people who have escaped from other states to their original owners.

1909: America’s largest and oldest civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in response to a race riot in Springfield, Illinois the previous August. The founding members were: W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard.

1935: African American singer and songwriter, Gene McDaniels, who scored the 1961 US No.3 hit ‘A Hundred Pounds Of Clay’ was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Gene also wrote Roberta Flack’s 1974 No.1 hit ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love,’ which won a Grammy Award.

1961: The Miracles’ “Shop Around” is certified gold. This was the first million-seller for Motown Records. It was also the label’s first Top 10 single in the US.

1968: Jimi Hendrix’s tour stops in his hometown of Seattle, Washington, where he sees his family for the first time in seven years. His father, Al, meets him at the airport.

1972: Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” hits #1 in the US. Eleven years later, Tina Turner revitalizes her career with a hit cover of the song.

1982: In Chicago, the Wilson brothers are arrested for the murder of two white police officers. Led by Commander, Jon Burge, along with fellow white police officers, Peter Dignan, John Bryne, Charles Grunhard, James Lotito, Ronald Boffo, James Pienta, William Marley, John Yucaitis and Patrick O’Hara brutally assaulted and tortured the Wilson brothers.

The abovementioned white police officers since 1970 were implicated in the forced confessions of over 120 African American and Latino men for violent crimes, especially murder, in which more than half did not commit. The officers engaged in official misconduct such as address the said men in racial epithets along with using an electric device to be place on their genitals, cranking it up to cause shock, placing a plastic bag over their heads, either beating them with phone books or rubber hoes, threating to murder them and utilize the system by enlisting judges known to harbor deep racist animosities toward non-whites by either sentencing them to life in prison without parole or given the death penalty while denouncing them for the crimes but not allowing evidence of torture in regards to forced confessions.

The beating and torture of the Wilson brothers proved to be the beginning of the end of Burge’s reign of terror in Chicago. Andrew Wilson filed a civil suit against Burge. Burge was acquitted in a hung jury but was later fired on February 11, 1993 by the Chicago Police Board after it was proven that he did torture Andrew Wilson. The civil suit filed by many African American and Latino men against the Chicago Police Department during the Burge era of 1970-92 led to a combine $85 million as of September 5, 2013.

Many white along with African-American police officers did not approve of the beatings and torture of the innocent men and in an operation known as Deep Badge Blue, sent documents to the People’s Law Office, who was assisting Andrew Wilson in his civil suit against Burge in addition to filling lawsuits on behalf of the aforementioned men that were beaten and tortured to confess to violent crimes that a majority did not commit. The officers did not want to be identified for fearing retaliation from the racist white police officers that engaged in the behavior.

1989: Aretha Franklin lost a court case against Broadway producer Ashton Springer, who sued for $1 million when Aretha failed to turn up for rehearsals for the stage show Sing Mahalia Sing, blaming her fear of flying on the non-appearance.

1997: Snoop Doggy Dogg and Sean “Puffy” Combs hold a press conference where they call for an end to the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry that has claimed the life of Tupac Shakur. The detente fails to quell the violence: Less than a month later, The Notorious B.I.G. is killed in a shooting.

1997: Kevin Johnson reached 1,000 career steals as the host, Phoenix Suns, defeated the Boston Celtics, 131-100.

2000: D’Angelo’s Voodoo replaces Santana’s Supernatural as the #1 album in America. It stays for two weeks before Supernatural returns to #1.

2023: In Super Bowl LVII at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cardinals, Patrick Mahomes became the first African American QB to win 2 Super Bowls as Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 38-35 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was notably the first ever Super Bowl which featured two teams with African American QBs as the Eagles was led by Jalen Hurts.

In addition, it was the first championship game in professional football since the 1981 Grey Cup which both teams featured African American QBs. In the 1981 Grey Cup at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the Edmonton Eskimos led by Warren Moon defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders, 25-22, who were led by Julius Ceasar (J.C.) Watts.

 

FEBRUARY 13

1882: A great orator of the 19th century, minister, abolitionist and educator (Rev. Henry Highland Garnet) died in Monrovia, Liberia at age 66 due to malaria. As a member of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Garnet was a regular speaker at abolitionists conferences. A few years later prior to the American Civil War he became an advocate of African Americans emigrating to Liberia, Mexico or the West Indies.  His great oratorical ability was in use when he became the first African American minister to preach to the United States House of Representatives on February 12, 1865.  He spoke on ending slavery.

1905: President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a speech to the New York City Republican Club. Roosevelt had just won reelection, and in this speech, he discussed the country’s current state of race relations and his plan for improving them. Roosevelt’s solution was to proceed slowly toward social and economic equality. He cautioned against imposing radical changes in government policy and instead suggested a gradual adjustment in attitudes.

1923: The New York Renaissance, the first all-Black professional basketball team, is organized. The Renaissance, commonly called the Rens, become one of the dominant teams of the 1920s and 1930s. With Black players barred from professional basketball leagues, the Rens barnstormed throughout the country, often competing against all-white teams.

1945: Soul singer King Floyd, known for the 1970 hit “Groove Me,” is born in New Orleans. It was a crossover hit, spending four non-consecutive weeks at number-one on Billboard Soul chart and peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1977: Julius “Dr. J” Erving played in his first NBA All-Star Game at the Milwaukee Arena. He was voted MVP with 30-points and 12-rebounds.

1983: Marvin Gaye performs a very memorable national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles, doing a sultry version with a beat. Gaye’s rendition is an early example of an artist putting his own spin on the song, which becomes commonplace in the following years. However, after this performance, this proves to be among his final television performances as he would eventually be murdered by his father following an argument on April 1, 1984.

1988: Michael Jackson buys a ranch in Santa Ynez, California, which he renames “Neverland.”

1996: Tupac Shakur’s All Eyez on Me is released. The first rap double-album on a major label, it sells over 10 million copies in the United States.

1996: The Fugees release their second album, The Score. It’s a landmark, topping the charts around the world and pushing the boundaries of hip-hop. It’s also their last album, as they disband soon after.

1997: Michael Jackson’s first child, a son named Prince, is born. The mother is his second wife, Debbie Rowe, who later relinquishes custody.

2022: Dr. Dre anchors the first hip-hop-heavy Super Bowl halftime show at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles, performing with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent.

 

FEBRUARY 14

1817: Frederick Douglass, an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman, was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Cordova, Maryland. Born a slave, after escaping slavery Douglass became one of the world’s foremost abolitionist and human rights leaders.  Douglass was known for his brilliant and persuasive oratory which drew listeners of all races to hear him expound upon the merits of freedom for all people. He was named Minister-Resident and Consul-General to Haiti on July 1, 1889.  Douglass was the first African American to have a position that high in the United States Government.

1967: In New York City, Aretha Franklin r-e-c-o-r-d-s her famous cover of the Otis Redding song, “Respect.” As the title track became a hit on both R&B and pop radio, Atlantic Records arranged for the release of this new version of “Respect” as a single. In 2021, when The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time was updated, Franklin’s cover of “Respect” was moved up to #1.

1970: Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” hits #1 in America.

1981: The Funky 4 + 1 become the first hip-hop group to perform on national TV when they do “That’s The Joint” on Saturday Night Live. Debbie Harry of Blondie, an early proponent of rap music, is the host.

1991: Boyz II Men release their debut album, CooleyHighharmony, with Michael Bivins of Bell Biv DeVoe as executive producer. Bivins’ former group, New Edition, inspired the Boyz’ name with their 1988 track “Boys To Men.”

1996: Prince, 37, marries the 22-year-old model/belly dancer, Mayte Garcia, at a ceremony in Minneapolis.

1998: Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is named Entertainer of the Year at the 29th NAACP Image Awards.

1998: Apropos for Valentine’s Day, Usher’s “Nice & Slow” goes to #1 in the US. It’s the first of his nine chart-toppers.

2001: Prince launches the NPG Music Club, one of the first music subscription services. The club acts as a virtual hub for the Prince faithful, with a thriving community, online access to his music, VIP passes to concerts and other exclusives. It runs until 2006, when Prince shuts it down, saying it “has gone as far as it can go.”

2014: With their music in legal limbo, De La Soul give away free downloads of their first six albums to anyone who signed up on their website. Their catalog isn’t available digitally because of rights issues with the samples.

2019: Kanye West hires Kenny G to play his sultry sax in a room full of roses for his wife, Kim Kardashian, as a Valentines’ Day surprise. They end up collaborating, with Kenny G playing on Kanye’s Jesus Is King track “Use This Gospel.”

2024: The biopic, Bob Marley: One Love, produced by Bob’s son Ziggy Marley, opens in theaters. It gets plenty of love at the box office, going to #1 its first week of release.

 

FEBRUARY 15

1941: Duke Ellington records “Take the A Train.” It is a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn that was the signature tune of the Duke Ellington orchestra. This song was written by Billy Strayhorn, who played piano and wrote arrangements for Duke Ellington’s band. Strayhorn recalled that the song that became the signature opening piece for Duke Ellington and his Orchestra came to him with very little effort.

1964: Sam Cooke announces a major reduction in his touring schedule, made so that he can concentrate on the day-to-day activities of his two new record labels, Sar and Derby.

1965: Nat King Cole, an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor, dies of lung cancer at age 45. Cole’s career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. He received numerous accolades including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, a Special Achievement Golden Globe Award and a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. Despite achieving mainstream success, during his career he faced intense racial discrimination. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March on Washington. He regularly performed for civil rights organizations. From 1956 to 1957, he hosted the NBC variety series, The Nat King Cole Show, which became the first nationally broadcast television show hosted by an African American.

1968: 36-year-old Henry Lewis makes history when he is chosen, over more than 150 other candidates, as the first African American conductor of a major U.S. orchestra: the New Jersey Symphony.

1969: Sly & the Family Stone land their first #1 hit when “Everyday People” tops the Hot 100 for the first of four weeks. The song’s message: we’re all essentially the same, no matter what we look like. Of the seven members in the group, two are white and five are black.

1975: Performing “People Gotta Move,” Gino Vannelli becomes the first white singer to perform on Soul Train, beating Elton John by a few months. The first white musician to play the show was guitarist Dennis Coffey with his instrumental hit “Scorpio” in 1972.

1979: Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” wins two Grammys: Best Female R&B Vocal and Best R&B Song. The lyrics could be viewed as a woman looking for the love of her life, but in more literal terms, it’s the last song before closing time at the disco, and she is looking for someone to go home with for the evening.

2011: American poet, author, actress, filmmaker, educator and civil rights activist Maya Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Her career in the arts lasted over 50 years, but was further noted internationally when she delivered her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” during the inauguration of President Bill Clinton in 1993. During her career, Angelou was involved in many movies, television shows and plays.  She published numerous books of poetry, three books of essays and seven autobiographies.   Angelou’s autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” has received international acclaim since it’s publishing in 1969.

 

FEBRUARY 16

1923: In Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter enters the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King (Tut)ankhamen. Because the ancient Egyptians saw their pharaohs as gods, they carefully preserved their bodies after death, burying them in elaborate tombs containing rich treasures to accompany the rulers into the afterlife. In the 19th century, archeologists from all over the world flocked to Egypt, where they uncovered a number of these tombs. Many had long ago been broken into by robbers and stripped of their riches.

1952: James Ingram, an American singer, songwriter and record producer, was born in Akron, Ohio. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Original Song. After beginning his career in 1973, Ingram charted eight top 40 hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart from the early 1980s until the early 1990s, as well as thirteen top 40 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In addition, he charted 20 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart (including two number-ones).

He had two number-one singles on the Hot 100: the first, a duet with fellow R&B artist Patti Austin, 1982’s “Baby, Come to Me” topped the U.S. pop chart in 1983; “I Don’t Have the Heart“, which became his second number-one in 1990 was his only number-one as a solo artist. Other singles included his 1981 debut, “Just Once,” and 1989, Baby (It’s Real)” along with his 1983 collaboration with Michael McDonald, “Yah Mo B There.”

1958: Ice-T (Tracy Marrow) is born in Newark, New Jersey. He takes his stage name in honor of a notorious poet/pimp named Iceberg Slim. He began his career as an underground rapper with singles, 1986, “Six in the Mornin,” 1992, “Cop Killer.” Ice-T was also an actor, featured in the 1991 action thriller film, “New Jack City” along with TV series, New York Undercover; Law & Order and a reality show, “Ice Loves Coco,” with his current wife, Nicole “Coco” Austin.

1970: At Madison Square Garden in New York City, Joe Frazier defeated WBA World Champion, Jimmy Ellis, due to a corner stoppage after the fourth round to become heavyweight champion. Frazier knocked Ellis down twice during the fourth round.

1971: Aretha Franklin records “Spanish Harlem.” Spanish Harlem is a section of New York City with a large Latino population and a rich cultural heritage. Her version went to number one on the US Soul charts for three weeks and number two on the Pop charts for two weeks. “Spanish Harlem” was kept from the top spot by “Go Away Little Girl” by Donny Osmond. Aretha Franklin’s version earned a gold single for sales of over one million. Dr. John played keyboards on Franklin’s version with Bernard “Pretty” Purdie on drums and Chuck Rainey on bass.

1990: The Weeknd, Canadian singer, songwriter and actor, is born Abel Tesfaye in Toronto. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and melancholia, and is often inspired by personal experiences. He has received numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 17 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

1990: Ike Turner is sentenced to four years in prison on eleven separate charges, including possession and transport of cocaine. In prison when he and ex-wife Tina are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he is released after serving eighteen months.

1992: The Los Angeles Lakers officially retired Magic Johnson’s #32 jersey. Johnson was the fifth Laker player to have his jersey retired. The other players were Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. However, the Lakers lost to their long-time nemesis, Boston Celtics, 114-107.

1997: Michael Jackson sings “Elizabeth I Love You,” which he wrote for the actress Elizabeth Taylor, at her 65th birthday celebration. The event airs on ABC on February 25th.

1997: Mitch Richmond (Sacramento Kings) scored his 15,000th career point in a game against the Golden State Warriors which the Kings won at home, 105-85.

1999: Aretha Franklin responds to a story in the Detroit Free Press claiming that 30 lawsuits have been filed against her seeking payment, calling it “malicious and vicious.” Franklin, who handles business affairs herself, refuses to use a manager.

1999: O.J. Simpson’s 1968 Heisman Trophy was sold for $230,000. A court judgment ordered the trophy to be sold to help settle a $33.5 million civil judgment against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend.

2021: Lauryn Hill’s 1998 album, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, is certified Diamond for 10 million sales in America, making her the first female hip-hop artist to earn that certification.

 

FEBRUARY 17

1820: The Senate passes the Missouri Compromise, an attempt to deal with the dangerously divisive issue of extending slavery into the western territories on a temporary basis. In exchange for admitting Missouri without restrictions on slavery, the Compromise called for bringing in Maine as a free state. The Compromise also dictated that slavery would be prohibited in all future western states carved out of the Louisiana Territory that were higher in latitude than the northern border of Arkansas Territory.

1918: Charles Hayes, an American politician, was born in Cairo, Illinois and eventually moved to Chicago where he spent the rest of his adult. Hayes served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois’s 1st congressional district, from 1983 to 1993. Hayes was elected as a Democrat to the 98th United States Congress by a special election held on August 23, 1983, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Harold Washington, who had been elected mayor of Chicago. While a representative, Hayes was on the Committee on Education and Labor and Small Business Committee. He was most noted for pieces of legislation to encourage school dropouts to re-enter and complete their education.

1962: Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) scored 67 points against the St. Louis Hawks, but lost on the road, 128-121.

1963: Michael Jeffrey Jordan, considered by many basketball historians as ‘the greatest basketball player of all-time,’ was born in Brooklyn. At age of three, his family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. Jordan won a college basketball championship while at the University of North Carolina, won two Olympic gold medals for the United States in basketball in both 1984 and 1992 and won six NBA championships for the Chicago Bulls from 1991-93 and 1996-98. All in all, he played for the Bulls from 1984-93, 1995-98 and the Washington Wizards from 2001-03. He was integral in popularizing basketball and the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon following the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

1967: Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) scored the first of an NBA record 35 consecutive goals without a miss as the Warriors defeated the Cincinnati Royals, 127-118.

1982: Jazz great, Thelonious Monk, dies at age 64 due to a stroke. Monk is the second-most-recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington. Monk’s compositions and improvisations feature dissonances and angular melodic twists and are consistent with his unorthodox approach to the piano, which combined a highly percussive attack with abrupt, dramatic use of switched key releases, silences, and hesitations. Monk’s distinct look included suits, hats, and sunglasses. He also had an idiosyncratic habit during performances: while other musicians continued playing, Monk would stop, stand up, and dance for a few moments before returning to the piano.

1984: The musical drama Footloose opens in theaters with a soundtrack featuring Kenny Loggins, Deniece Williams, and Sammy Hagar. Two songs from the movie – “Footloose” and “Let’s Hear it For the Boy” – go to #1 in America.

1998: After a failed run on Elektra Records, Destiny’s Child release their self-titled debut album on Columbia. The first single, “No, No, No,” is a hit and introduces their crisp, punctuated vocal style.

2001: Shaggy’s album, Hot Shot, hits #1 in America, where it goes on to sell over 6 million copies. The most popular track is “It Wasn’t Me,” where Shaggy (in character) explains how to deny it when caught cheating.

 

FEBRUARY 18

1931: Toni Morrison, an American novelist, was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford in Lorain, Ohio. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon (1977) brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1988, Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved (1987); she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.

1941: Irma Thomas, known as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” was born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. In 2007, she won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for After the Rain, her first Grammy in a career spanning over 50 years.

1959: Ray Charles records “What’d I Say,” a song he came up with by improvising at concerts, at Atlantic Records studios in New York City. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. After his run of R&B hits, this song finally broke Charles into mainstream pop music and itself sparked a new subgenre of R&B titled soul.

1964: The Beatles meet Muhammad Ali (known at the time as Cassius Clay) when they are visiting Miami while Clay was training for his heavyweight championship bout with Sonny Liston.

1965: Dr. Dre, an American rapper and record producer, is born Andre Romelle Young in Compton, California. He becomes a member of the rap group, N.W.A., and co-founds the LA rap label, Death Row Records, which boasts Tupac Shakur as its star artist. In addition, he is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronic.

2006: In Turin, Italy, Shani Davis became the first African American to win a Gold medal in an individual Winter Olympics. Davis was born on August 13, 1982 in Chicago.  He was raised by his mother on the South Side of Chicago where as a small child he excelled in roller-skating.  He eventually transferred his talents to the ice and began to lay the foundation which would lead to his becoming one of the world’s top skaters.  At the early age of only seventeen he became the first American skater to earn spots on both the short track and long track Junior World Team.

 

FEBRUARY 19

1940: Smokey Robinson, an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director, is born William Robinson Jr. in Detroit. Nicknamed “Smokey Joe” by his uncle, he fronts the Motown group The Miracles and is a top songwriter and producer for the label.

1942: The 100th Fighter Squadron was activated in the 332 Fighter Group which is better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American soldiers to fly during World War II. These heroic soldiers fought valiantly in the war even when many initially doubted the flying capabilities of African Americans. The Tuskegee Airmen proved that not only could they fly, but they were as good as any of America’s pilots during the war.  The Tuskegee Airmen whose chief role was the protection of large bombers from German fighter planes participated in over 15,000 sorties from May 1943 to June 1945.  Approximately 1000 pilots were trained at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

1963: Seal (real name: Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel) is born in Paddington, England. He has sold over 20 million records worldwide. These include hit songs “Crazy” and “Killer“, the latter of which went to number one in the UK, and his most celebrated song, “Kiss from a Rose“, which was released in 1994 and was re-released the following year as part of the Batman Forever soundtrack.

1972: Sammy Davis Jr. appears on the TV show, All In The Family, in an episode where he famously plants a kiss on the bigoted character Archie Bunker.

1976: Donna Summer’s lascivious “Love To Love You Baby” is certified Gold. It became one of the first disco hits to be released in an extended form. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, Summer’s only selection on this list.

1977: Natalie Cole wins the Best R&B Female Vocal Performance Grammy for “Sophisticated Lady.” It spent one week at #1 on the Hot Soul Singles charts in 1976, and was Cole’s third consecutive #1 soul hit. “Sophisticated Lady…” would not be one of Cole’s biggest US Pop hits, rising no higher than #25 on the Billboard Hot 100

1983: The Patti Austin and James Ingram duet “Baby, Come To Me” hits #1 in America. The song is written by Michael Jackson hitmaker, Rod Temperton, composer of “Thriller” and “Off The Wall.”

1992: 24-year-old recent film school graduate, John Singleton, becomes the youngest and first African American film director nominated for an Academy Award for his movie, Boyz n the Hood. Its success created opportunities for a generation of African American filmmakers to tell their stories.

1996: Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) got his 10,000th career rebound. He became only the 10th NBA player to reach 20,000 points and 10,000 rebounds in a career as they Suns defeated the visiting Vancouver Grizzlies, 98-94, in overtime.

2020: In a promotion for Buffalo Wild Wings, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony announce they have changed their name to Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony because they love the restaurant’s boneless wings.

 

FEBRUARY 20

1895: One of America’s greatest orators, Frederick Douglass died in Washington, DC at age 77. He was born (Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey) and celebrated February 14, 1818 as the date of his birth. Douglass was born in Talbot County, Maryland.  Born a slave, after escaping slavery, Douglass became one of the world’s foremost abolitionist and human rights leaders.

1981: Rick James releases “Give It To Me Baby,” a #1 R&B hit filled with that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff. James explained: “I wrote it because I had come home one night and my old lady was in bed and I wanted to mess around, but I was too drunk. So I sat at the piano and wrote the song.”

1988: Rihanna is born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Saint Michael, Barbados. At 16, she’s discovered by Evan Rogers of the group, Rythm Syndicate, who brings her to America and helps her land a deal with Jay-Z’s label, Def Jam.

1993: Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” from the soundtrack to The Bodyguard tops Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart for the 13th week.

1996: Snoop Doggy Dogg is acquitted of murder, ending an ordeal that started in 1993 when his bodyguard shot and killed a rival gang member from the Jeep Snoop was driving.

2000: The biographical TV movie Little Richard airs on NBC, with monogynous actor Leon in the title role.

2016: Ne-Yo marries Crystal Renay Williams, who is pregnant with their son Shaffer.

 

FEBRUARY 21

1936: Congresswoman Barbara Jordan was born in Houston, Texas. Jordan on July 12, 1976, became the first African American to deliver a Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention. She also gave a keynote address at the 1992 Democratic Convention. Jordan was the first African American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives from the South (Texas) in 1972.

1965: In New York City, Malcolm X, an African American nationalist and religious leader, is assassinated while addressing his Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights. He was 39.

1970: The Jackson 5 perform their #1 hit “I Want You Back” and their new single, “ABC,” on American Bandstand. It’s their first appearance on the show; front man Michael tells host Dick Clark he likes the weather in Los Angeles (it’s much warmer than their hometown of Gary, Indiana) and digs The Beatles.

1974: Kool and the Gang’s single, “Jungle Boogie,” is certified Gold. With the million-selling success of “Jungle Boogie” and the success of other singles, “Funky Stuff” and “Hollywood Swinging,” the album was quickly certified gold by the RIAA, the band’s first certified gold album. “Jungle Boogie” hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 after receiving extensive play in dance clubs and discos, leading to the single being certified gold as well

1987: Twenty-six years after becoming a hit in America, Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” goes to #1 in the UK following its release in the movie of the same name.

2013: Cleotha Staples of The Staple Singers dies at age 78.

 

FEBRUARY 22

1911: A great African American poet, author, abolitionist and suffragist, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper died at age 85. Harper along with many great abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Henry Highland Garnet and Susan B. Anthony and others were members of the American Anti-Slavery Society.  She was also one of the founders of the National Association of Colored Women Clubs (NACWC) along with Harriet Tubman, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, Margaret Murray Washington and Mary Church Terrell on July 21, 1886 in Washington, DC.

1976: Shortly after emerging from poverty and alcoholism to make a musical comeback, Florence Ballard (of The Supremes) dies at age 32 of a cardiac arrest caused by a blood clot.

1980: In Fort Worth, Texas, Rick James launches his first headlining tour, with Prince as opening act. Both released their debut albums in 1978, but James is the more popular artist at this point.

1989: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) win the first-ever rap Grammy (Best Rap Performance) for “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” their comic tune built from the I Dream of Jeannie theme song.

1990: A jury rules that Stevie Wonder didn’t not infringe on a song written in 1976 called “I Just Called To Say” on his hit “I Just Called To Say I Love You.” The lawsuit was filed in 1985 by “I Just Called To Say” writers Lee Garrett and Lloyd Chiate, but in 1986, Garrett, a childhood friend of Wonder’s, pulls out of the case.

1993: Lenny Kravitz releases “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” a song about God.

1994: Prince is granted the trademark on the symbol he has been using as his name. Prince controls its use for sound recordings, and later trademarks it for entertainment services, posters, publications, bumper stickers and stickers, clothing, sound recordings and videotapes featuring music and entertainment.

2000: The recently departed soul legend Curtis Mayfield, is honored at a First African Methodist Episcopal Church service in Los Angeles, featuring performances from Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, and, spontaneously, Lauryn Hill.

2008: After much controversy and debate over whether or not to honor recently deceased musician and Mississippi native Ike Turner, the state legislature compromises and passes a resolution that honors his musical achievements only.

 

FEBRUARY 23

1868: William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois is born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Du Bois was a historian, civil rights activist, sociologist, author, editor and Pan-Africanist.  In 1909 he was also one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Du Bois became the first African American member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters on June 22, 1943.  He died on August 27, 1963 at age 95 in Accra, Ghana.

1974: Aretha Franklin becomes the first artist to have songs peak at each of the first 10 spots on the Hot 100 when “Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” fills in the gap at #3.

1977: A federal jury rules that The Isley Brothers recorded “It’s Your Thing” in 1969 after leaving Motown Records and the label is not entitled to royalties.

1983: After 18 nominations, Lionel Richie finally wins a Grammy when his solo debut single “Truly” takes the award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.

1987: Jody Watley releases her self-titled debut album, which earns her the Grammy award for Best New Artist thanks to hits like “Don’t You Want Me” and “Looking For A New Love.”

1993: Little Richard receives a Lifetime Achievement Grammy award.

1995: Melvin “Blue” Franklin (bass singer for The Temptations) dies at age 52. Franklin had long suffered with rheumatoid arthritis and developed diabetes in the ’80s.

1997: After declaring a truce in an effort to end violence between East Coast and West Coast rappers, Puff Daddy and Snoop Doggy Dogg appear on The Steve Harvey Show in the episode “I Do, I Don’t.”

2020: Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, is shot dead by a white father and son while out for a jog in a suburb of Brunswick, Georgia. Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested on charges of murder and aggravated assault. William Bryan, who filmed the shooting on his phone, was also arrested and charged with felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. All three men were later found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In a separate trial, a jury found all three men were found guilty of federal hate crime charges, as well.

 

FEBRUARY 24

1811: One of the most important figures in the African Methodist Episcopal Church during the nineteenth century in America, Bishop Daniel A. Payne was born a free man in Charleston, South Carolina. Serving for over four decades as a bishop in the church, Payne is remembered for being a major influence in the early growth of the church. He was also one of the founders in 1856 of Wilberforce University in Ohio which is America’s first African American owned and operated college. Bishop Payne served as the first president of Wilberforce.

1841: Former President John Quincy Adams begins to argue the Amistad case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court resulting from the rebellion of Africans on board the Spanish schooner, La Amistad, in 1839. It was an unusual freedom suit that involved international diplomacy as well as United States law. The historian Samuel Eliot Morison described it in 1969 as the most important court case involving slavery before being eclipsed by that of Dred Scott in 1857. Adams argued the Amistad case in 1841, saying the Mende were free and should be returned to their homeland. He challenged the United States to live up to its ideals. The Supreme Court sided with Adams, and the abolitionists raised money to help send the long-suffering Africans home.

1969: Jimi Hendrix’s Experience play their final UK concert, at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

1987: Fats Domino, Ray Charles and B.B. King win Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammy Awards.

1999: Lenny Kravitz wins his first Grammy when “Fly Away” is named Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. It’s his first of four-consecutive wins in the category, followed by “American Woman,” “Again” and “Dig In.”

2013: Janet Jackson reveals that she and Wissam Al Mana, a billionaire investor from Qatar, got married in a quiet, secret ceremony sometime in 2012. It is Jackson’s third marriage; her first two husbands were the singer, James DeBarge, and the director, René Elizondo, Jr.

 

FEBRUARY 25

1870: Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, is sworn into the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress. Although African Americans Republicans never obtained political office in proportion to their overwhelming electoral majority, Revels and some 15 other African American men served in Congress during Reconstruction, more than 600 served in state legislatures, and hundreds of African Americans held local offices.

1964: 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocks the odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a seventh-round technical knockout in Miami.

1992: TLC release their debut album, Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip. Their first single, “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” hits the Top 10 on both the Hot 100 and R&B charts.

1992: James Brown receives a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.

1995: Madonna’s “Take A Bow” hits #1 on the Hot 100 and stays for seven weeks. The song is produced by Kenneth Babyface Edmonds.

1997: At Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy party, DMC of Run-DMC meets Sarah McLachlan, whose music he credits with keeping him alive as he fights off depression. Years later, after DMC learns he was adopted, he collaborates with McLachlan on the song “Just Like Me” and learns that she was also adopted.

1998: Bo Diddley and Roy Orbison receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammys.

1999: Prince, who is now using an unpronounceable symbol for his moniker, sues nine websites to prevent unauthorized downloads. He takes another stand in 2007 when he sues other sites to remove images of him.

 

FEBRUARY 26

1926: Louis Armstrong introduces scat singing when he records “Heebie Jeebies.” As Armstrong tells it, he improvised his vocals when his lyric sheet fell off the stand.

1928: Fats Domino is born Antoine Domino in New Orleans, Louisiana. One of nine children, he quickly masters the piano, taking the name Fats from piano great Fats Waller (and also, he’s 5’5″ and well over 200 pounds).

1954: Responding to the rising popularity of black music, the United States congress proposes a bill forbidding distribution of “obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy publication, picture, disc, transcription, or other article capable of producing sound.” The bill fails.

1971: Erykah Badu is born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas.

1972: Joe Tex’s “I Gotcha” hits #1 on the R&B chart. This was Joe Tex’s highest-charting career single as far as the Billboard Hot 100 was concerned. It is all original Joe Tex, in his own absolutely inimitable style – he’s known as one of the precursors of rap music.

1985: “What’s Love Got To Do With It” by Tina Turner wins Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

2012: Trayvon Martin, an African American teen walking home from a trip to a convenience store, is fatally shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer patrolling the townhouse community of the Retreat at Twin Lakes in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman later claimed to have shot the unarmed 17-year-old out of self-defense during a physical altercation. Following a high-profile trial that riveted America, he was acquitted of the charges against him. The term “Black lives matter” was then used for the first time by organizer Alicia Garza in a July 13, 2013 Facebook post in response to Zimmerman’s acquittal. The phrase spread widely and became a rallying cry against racial injustice.

 

FEBRUARY 27

1952: In Chicago, 20-year-old African American man, Oscar Walden, was wrongly implicated for the brutal assault and rape of Elsie Anderson, a 48-year-old white woman on November 24, 1951. Anderson described to the police her assailant as an African-American man wearing thick-lens glasses. Anderson was not able to positively identify Walden but the police forced Walden to confess on the threat of a beating, public humiliation of being paraded nude on the streets as well as a lynching.

Walden, who was then a current student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago with no criminal record or previous contact with the police, was later sentenced to 75 years in prison by an all-white jury. Walden was paroled in 1965 and received a general pardon in 1978 from Illinois Governor, James Thompson, based not on innocence but rather on his exemplary post-prison life. Walden would receive a full-pardon from the crime he did not commit in 2003 by Illinois Governor, George Ryan, which qualified him for compensation totaling $120,300 through the Illinois Court of Claims.

In a cruel twist of fate, another African American man fitting the general description of Walden, Benjamin Sutton, was implicated in three rapes. Sutton confessed to the Cook County Jail, Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet and to the Chicago Police of the rape of Anderson and that Walden did not commit the crime. Neither believed him and Walden was sent to serve his unjust sentence.

1960: The Miracles make their first TV appearance when they perform on American Bandstand.

1961: Chubby Checker’s “Pony Time” hits #1 in America for the first of five weeks.

1964: One of America’s most prominent African American scholars of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Anna Julia Haywood Cooper died in Washington, DC at the elderly age of 105. Cooper made contributions to social science fields, particularly in sociology. Her first book, A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South, is widely acknowledged as one of the first articulations of Black feminism, giving Cooper the often-used title of “the Mother of Black Feminism”

1966: The Supremes appear on the TV show, What’s My Line.

1980: Michael Jackson wins his first Grammy: Best R&B Performance for “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” Other winners include Donna Summer (Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for “Hot Stuff“), Earth, Wind & Fire (Best R&B Group Vocal Performance for “After the Love Has Gone“), and The Doobie Brothers (Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “What A Fool Believes“).

1984: The Jacksons’ Pepsi commercial premieres on MTV.

1991: James Brown is released on parole from a South Carolina prison after serving two years of a six-year sentence on drug and assault charges.

1993: Whitney Houston’s single “I Will Always Love You” reaches its 14th week at #1, a new record. In 1995, this record is broken by “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.

2005: Jamie Foxx wins a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the movie, Ray.

 

FEBRUARY 28

1943: Soul singer-songwriter Barbara Acklin is born in Oakland, California, but is raised in Chicago, Illinois, where she plays the nightclub circuit as a teenager. She co-writes the Jackie Wilson hit “Whispers (Gettin’ Louder)” and lands a recording contract with Brunswick Records.

1967: The first African American U.S. Marine to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, Private First Class James Anderson, Jr. died during an unconscionable act of heroism during the Vietnam War by sacrificing his life for his fellow soldiers by grasping a grenade and shielding the explosion with his body to protect their lives.

1967 – Wilt Chamberlain set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive field goal as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Cincinnati Royals, 127-107, in Syracuse, NY.

1968: Frankie Lymon dies of a heroin overdose at the age of 25. He passed away while lying on the bathroom floor of his grandmother’s house with a syringe by his side in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in northern Manhattan in New York City. Lymon is well known for his 1956 single, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” when he was the lead singer for Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, a doo-wop and rock & roll group.

1984: Michael Jackson is the big winner at the Grammy Awards, winning eight trophies, including Album of the Year for Thriller and Record of the Year for “Beat It.” He makes the ceremony despite being injured the previous day when his hair caught fire shooting a Pepsi commercial.

2004: Usher’s club anthem “Yeah!,” featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon, hits #1 in America. It stays at the top for 12 weeks to become the biggest hit of 2004.

2006: Ne-Yo’s first album, In My Own Words, debuts at #1 in America.

2009: Flo Rida’s “Right Round” hits #1 on the Hot 100 for the first of six weeks. An unknown singer named Kesha Sebert provides the hook. She soon becomes a star under the moniker Ke$ha, with the $ in her name included for ironic purposes as she claims money isn’t very important to her (which explains why she isn’t too upset about getting paid very little for her contribution to this song).

 

FEBRUARY 29

1892: Augusta Savage, an African American sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Green Cove Springs, FL. She was also a teacher whose studio was important to the careers of a generation of artists who would become nationally known. She worked for equal rights for African Americans in the arts.

1896: During the First Italo-Ethiopian War, at the Battle of Adwa, in northern Ethiopia, the Ethiopian troops decisively defeated the Italian army to prevent Italy from colonizing Ethiopia as the Kingdom of Italy was looking to expand its colonial possessions at the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia was one of few African countries never colonized by any European power along with Liberia and Egypt.

1916: Dinah Shore is born Frances Rose Shore in Winchester, Tennessee. She starts out as a successful singer in the Big Band era before becoming a popular TV host.

1940: Gone with the Wind is honored with eight Oscars by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. An epic Southern romance set during the hard times of the Civil War, the movie swept the prestigious Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Film Editing, and Actress categories. However, the most momentous award that night undoubtedly went to Hattie McDaniel for her portrayal of “Mammy,” a housemaid and former enslaved woman. McDaniel, who won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award, was the first African American actress or actor ever to be honored with an Oscar.

1968: At the Grammy Awards, the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category is given for the first time, and Aretha Franklin wins it for “Respect.” She wins the award again each of the next seven years.

1972: Hank Aaron signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves for $200,000 a year.

1976: Ja Rule is born Jeffrey Atkins in Queens, New York.

1984: Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones was born in New York City.  After almost drowning at age five, Jones learned to swim. This near catastrophic incident propelled his life into becoming one of the world’s best swimmers.  Jones would go on to win his first gold medal in the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China with teammates Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale. Jones won the gold medal in the 4 x 100-meter medley and silver medals in the 4 x 100-meter freestyle relay and the 50-meter freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.

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