Category: Brandon Hardison

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was was an American minister and evangelist based in New York City.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was was an American minister and evangelist based in New York City. He was known for the slogan “You can’t lose with the stuff I use!” Though his preaching is considered a form of prosperity theology, Rev. Ike diverged from traditional Christian theology and taught what he called “Science of Living.”Today in our History – July 28, 2009 – Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II, better known as Reverend Ike (June 1, 1935 – July 28, 2009) died.Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II was born in Ridgeland, South Carolina to parents from the Netherlands Antilles, and was of African and Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) descent. He began his career as a teenage preacher and became assistant pastor at Bible Way Church in Ridgeland, South Carolina. After serving a stint in the Air Force as a Chaplain Service Specialist (a non-commissioned officer assigned to assist commissioned Air Force chaplains), he founded, successively, the United Church of Jesus Christ for All People in Beaufort, South Carolina, the United Christian Evangelistic Association in Boston, Massachusetts, his main corporate entity, and the Christ Community United Church in New York City.Known popularly as “Reverend Ike,” his ministry reached its peak in the mid 1970s, when his weekly radio sermons were carried by hundreds of stations across the United States. He was famous for his “Blessing Plan” – radio listeners sent him money and in return he blessed them. He said radio listeners who did this would become more prosperous. He was criticized for his overt interest in financial remuneration. In 1972,The New York Times described his church service: “Close your eyes and see green,” the minister exhorted. “Money up to your armpits, a roomful of money and there you are, just tossing around in it like a swimming pool.”The preacher was the Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter 2d—better known as “Reverend Ike”—urging several thousand of his devoted parishioners to think positive thoughts.From the red‐carpeted stage of what was once a Loew’s movie palace at 175th Street and Broadway, Reverend Ike evoked giggles from the predominantly black congregation. But they repeated his words obediently during a recent Sunday as, microphone in hand, he sang, “Lots and lots of money, ready for my use, oh yes, it’s ready for my use.” Rev. Ike bought the Loew’s 175th Street Theatre movie palace in the Washington Heights neighborhood for over half a million dollars, renamed it the “Palace Cathedral” – although colloquially it was known as “Reverend Ike’s Prayer Tower” – and had it fully restored. Restorations included the seven-story high, twin chamber Robert Morton organ. The “Miracle Star of Faith”, visible from the George Washington Bridge, tops the building’s cupola. In 2016, the building was designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmark Commission.Rev. Ike was also the “chancellor” of the United Church Schools, including the Science of Living Institute and Seminary (which awarded him, his wife, and his son Doctor of the Science of Living degrees); the Business of Living Institute (home of Thinkonomics); and other educational projects.Ike made a guest appearance on Hank Williams, Jr.’s single “Mind Your Own Business”, a Number One country music hit in December 1986. This song is Reverend Ike’s only chart single. In December 2005, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s personal assistant May Pang told Radio Times: At night he (John Lennon) loved to channel-surf, and he would pick up phrases from all the shows. One time, he was watching Reverend Ike, a famous black evangelist, who was saying, “Let me tell you guys, it doesn’t matter, it’s whatever gets you through the night.” John loved it and said, “I’ve got to write it down or I’ll forget it.” He always kept a pad and pen by the bed. That was the beginning of [the song] “Whatever Gets You thru the Night”.Ike and his wife, Eula M. Dent, had one son, Xavier Eikerenkoetter. Reverend Ike died in Los Angeles at age 74 on July 28, 2009, after having not fully recovered from a stroke in 2007. His son gave a moving eulogy at his father’s memorial service comparing his father to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X – as a “spiritual activist” and a liberator of minds. Xavier subsequently took over the church. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion did what no other in his position has done.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion did what no other in his position has done. It assisted our people to apply for better pay jobs, better education and housing.Today on our History – July 26, 1948 – President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981—ending discrimination in the military—on July 26, 1948.President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981—ending discrimination in the military—on July 26, 1948. Truman’s order ended a long-standing practice of segregating Black soldiers and relegating them to more menial jobs.African Americans had been serving in the United States military since the Revolutionary War, but were deployed in their largest numbers during World War II. By December 31, 1945, more than 2.5 million African Americans had registered for the military draft, and with African American women volunteering in large numbers throughout the war the U.S. Armed Forces had become the number one employer of Black people. By the time WWII ended, some 900,000 African Americans had served in the Army, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Army Nurse Corps.Black WWII veterans were eligible for a free college education under the Servicemen Readjustment Act of 1944—the GI Bill—as well as other benefits, but most faced discrimination when trying to access their benefits. This led many veterans to re-examine their poor treatment while they were in service.After witnessing racism in the service, Grant Reynolds resigned from his commission as a WWII chaplain and joined with the activist A. Philip Randolph to co-chair the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training. By composing letters and telegrams, holding protest rallies and hearings, and threatening to conduct a nationwide draft resistance campaign, the Committee worked with groups like the Committee to End Segregation in the Armed Forces and the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation to demand equal treatment for Black people in the United States Armed Forces.The pressure from these groups pushed President Truman to establish a Commission on Civil Rights which, in October 1947, issued a report calling for a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission, federal anti-lynching and anti-poll tax laws, and a bolstering of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.Truman urged the U.S. Congress to move forward with the Commission’s recommendations. When Congress rejected his pleas, Truman pushed for many of the proposals on his own. One of his most significant actions was the signing of Executive Order 9981, which states: “It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.”Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an African-American amateur golfer.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an African-American amateur golfer. Black newspapers had called her “The Queen of Negro Women’s Golf.” As stated in Arthur Ashe’s book, Hard Road to Glory, many observers called Gregory the best African-American female golfer of the 20th century. Gregory learned to play golf while her husband was away serving in the Navy during World War II. In 1948 Gregory won a tournament in Kankakee, Illinois, during which she defeated former United Golf Association champions Lucy Mitchell, Cleo Ball, and Geneva Wilson.In 1950 she won the Sixth City Open in Cleveland, the Midwest Amateur, and the United Golf Association’s national tournament, as well as tying the women’s course record at a Flint, Michigan tournament. On September 17, 1956, she began competing in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, thus becoming the first African-American woman to play in a national championship conducted by the United States Golf Association. Because she was African-American, Gregory was denied entry into the player’s banquet at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda at the conclusion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1959. Also, in Gary, Indiana, African-Americans were banned from playing the South Gleason Park Golf Course. However, in the early 1960s, Gregory played that course, stating, “My tax dollars are taking care of the big course and there’s no way you can bar me from it.” She was followed by other African-Americans who played the course soon after her, and the ban was ended. In 1963, Gregory was mistaken as a maid by Polly Riley, another contestant at the Women’s Amateur in Williamstown, Massachusetts. In 1971, Gregory was runner-up at the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur, making her the first African-American to finish as runner-up in a USGA women’s competition. In 1989, at age 76 and competing against a field of 50 women, she won the gold medal in the U.S. National Senior Olympics, beating her competitors by 44 strokes. In all, during her career, Gregory won nearly 300 tournaments. Gregory was also the first African-American appointed to the Gary [Indiana] Public Library Board, which occurred in 1954. A granite marker in Gregory’s memory stands at the sixth hole of the South Gleason Park Golf Course in Gary, Indiana. She was inducted into the United Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1966, the African American Golfers Hall of Fame in 2006, the National African American Golfers Hall of Fame in 2011, and the National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2000, the Urban Chamber of Commerce of Las Vegas began the Ann Gregory Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament, which lasted seven yearsToday in our HISTORY – Ann Gregory (July 25, 1912 – February 5, 1990) was born.Ann Gregory was a pioneering African American female golfer. Born in Aberdeen, Mississippi, on July 25, 1912, Gregory was the middle child of five born to Henry and Myra Moore. Her parents died in a car accident when she was four, and their former employer, a white family named Sanders, took her in. Gregory graduated from high school in 1930 and moved in with her sister and brother-in- law in Gary, Indiana. She worked as a caterer and began playing tennis as a hobby, but by 1937, she entered and won the Gary Amateur City Championship.In 1938 Moore married Leroy Percy Gregory, a steel mill worker, who also enjoyed playing golf. By 1944, she was receiving lessons from Pro-golfer Calvin Ingram. The following year, she entered her first professional tournament, the 8th Annual Chicago Women’s Golf Club Tournament, and finished second place. A member of the UGA, an organization for African American Golfers formed in 1925, Gregory was often invited to play in famous tournaments, causing a media uproar as she was usually the only African American woman competing.In 1948 Gregory won her first of five Chicago Women’s Golf Club tournaments, as well as a tournament in Kankakee, Illinois, where both she and her husband competed and won in their categories. In 1950 she won six of the seven tournaments she entered that year and was dubbed “The Queen of Negro Golf.” In 1956 the Chicago Women’s Golf Club became the first African American organization to join the United States Golf Association, and Gregory soon became the first African American to play in the SGA women’s national championship.Despite her accomplishments, Gregory had to fight the racism of her era. She broke down the color barrier in Indiana at South Gleason Golf Course by demanding to play the full eighteen holes when African Americans were allowed to play only nine. Once, she was mistaken for a maid by a fellow player during a tournament, which led to a very embarrassing moment for the player when she faced Gregory on the green.Gregory took home over four hundred trophies and won over three hundred golf tournaments from all over the world in a career that spanned over five decades. She won the Pepsi Cola International Championship in Puerto Rico (1963, 1964), Nassau (1965), Jamaica (1966), Spain (1967), and Hawaii (1968), playing often alongside celebrities like Althea Gibson, Joe Lewis, and Jackie Robinson. Her golfing career ended in 1989 with a Gold Medal at the Senior Olympic Games. She died the next year on February 5, 1990 at the age of 77.Gregory was deeply involved in her community and was the first African American to be appointed as a trustee of the Gary Public Library Board, an executive member of the Gary United Fund, and a member of the St. Mary’s Medical Center advisory board. She was a member and trustee of the Delaney Memorial United Methodist Church. In 2007 the Urban Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas, Nevada, held the first of seven annual Ann Gregory Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournaments, awarding up to $200,000 to deserving college students. Gregory was inducted into the United Golf Association Hall of Fame (1966), the African American Golfers Hall of Fame (2006), the National African American Golfers Hall of Fame (2011), and the National Black Golf Hall of Fame (2012).A granite marker in her memory stands at the sixth hole of the South Gleason Golf Course in Gary, Indiana. Gregory is survived by her daughter Jo Ann and three grandchildren. Research more this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American and later British actor and playwright who made his career after 1824 largely on the London stage and in Europe, especially in Shakespearean roles.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American and later British actor and playwright who made his career after 1824 largely on the London stage and in Europe, especially in Shakespearean roles. Born in New York City, Aldridge is the only actor of African-American descent among the thirty-three actors of the English stage honoured with bronze plaques at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon.He was especially popular in Prussia and Russia, where he received top honours from heads of state. At the time of his sudden death, while on tour in Poland, he was arranging a triumphant return to America, with a planned 100-show tour to the United States. Aldridge married twice, once to an Englishwoman, once to a Swedish woman, and had a family in England. Two of his daughters became professional opera singers.Today in our History – July 24, 1807 – Ira Frederick Aldridge (July 24, 1807 – August 7, 1867) was born.Ira Frederick Aldridge was the first African American actor to achieve success on the international stage. He also pushed social boundaries by playing opposite white actresses in England and becoming known as the preeminent Shakespearean actor and tragedian of the 19th Century.Ira Frederick Aldridge was born in New York City, New York on July 24, 1807 to free blacks Reverend Daniel and Lurona Aldridge. Although his parents encouraged him to become a pastor, he studied classical education at the African Free School in New York where he was first exposed to the performance arts. While there he became impressed with acting and by age 15 was associating with professional black actors in the city. They encouraged Aldridge to join the prestigious African Grove Theatre, an all-black theatre troupe founded by William Henry Brown and James Hewlett in 1821. He apprenticed under Hewlett, the first African American Shakespearean actor. Though Aldridge was gainfully employed as an actor in the 1820s, he felt that the United States was not a hospitable place for theatrical performers. Many whites resented the claim to cultural equality that they saw in black performances of Shakespeare and other white-authored texts. Realizing this, Aldridge emigrated to Europe in 1824 as the valet for British-American actor James William Wallack.Aldridge eventually moved to Glasgow, Scotland and began studies at the University of Glasgow, where he enhanced his voice and dramatic skills in theatre. He moved to England and made his debut in London in 1825 as Othello at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, a role he would remain associated with until his death. The critic reviews gave Aldridge the name Roscius (the celebrated Roman actor of tragedy and comedy). Aldridge embraced it and began using the stage name “The African Roscius.” He even created the myth that he was the descendant of a Senegalese Prince whose family was forced to escape to the United States to save their lives. This deception erased Aldridge’s American upbringing and cast him as an exotic and almost magical being.Throughout the mid-1820s to 1860 Ira Aldridge slowly forged a remarkable career. He performed in London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bath, and Bristol in King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, and The Merchant of Venice. He also freely adapted classical plays, changing characters, eliminating scenes and installing new ones, even from other plays. In 1852 he embarked on a series of continental tours that intermittently would last until the end of his life. He performed his full repertoire in Prussia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, and Poland. Some of the honors he received include the Prussian Gold Medal for Arts and Sciences from King Frederick, the Golden Cross of Leopold from the Czar of Russia, and the Maltese Cross from Berne, Switzerland.Aldridge died on August 7, 1867 while on tour in Lodz, Poland. He was 60 at the time of his death. Aldridge had been married twice and left behind several children including a daughter named Luranah who would, in her own right, go on to become a well-known actress and opera singer. There is a memorial plaque at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stafford-upon-Avon, in honor of his contributions to the performing arts. In 2014 a second plaque was unveiled in Lodz, Poland to honor his memory and legacy. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

/ In Brandon Hardison / Tags: / By Herry Chouhan / Comments Off on GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American and later British actor and playwright who made his career after 1824 largely on the London stage and in Europe, especially in Shakespearean roles.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American surgeon and civil rights activist.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American surgeon and civil rights activist. In his position at Harlem Hospital he was the first African-American on the surgical staff of a non-segregated hospital in New York City. He was influential for his medical research as well as his efforts pushing for racial equality in medicine and involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which he served as chairman for nearly two decades.Today In Our HISTORY – July 23,1891 – Louis Tompkins Wright, MD, FACS (July 23, 1891 – October 8, 1952) , was born in LaGrange, Georgia.Born in LaGrange, GA, Louis Tompkins Wright, MD, FACS, was exposed to the harsh realities of being African American in the southern United States during a turbulent, racially charged time in U.S. history. But Dr. Wright was also exposed to the presence of achievement within his own family. His father, Ceah Ketcham Wright, MD, was born a slave, but pursued education and received a medical degree—as valedictorian of his class—from Meharry Medical School, Nashville, TN. After Dr. Louis Wright’s father died, his mother, Lula, remarried another African American physician, William Fletcher Penn, MD, who was the first African American medical graduate from Yale University, New Haven, CT.With encouragement from his stepfather, Dr. Wright applied to Harvard Medical School Boston, MA. However, his experience in seeking admission to the institution was not free from controversy. Upon visiting the school for his interview, the interviewer—Channing Frothingham, MD—realized that the applicant was African American and had attended “Clark University in Atlanta, a school that offered elementary, high school, and university instruction to blacks—not the Clark University in Worcester, MA.”1 After convincing Dr. Frothingham to have his abilities tested, tests that deemed the future Dr. Wright as having “adequate chemistry for admission to this school,” he was admitted and earned a medical degree—cum laude and graduated fourth in his class.1Following medical school, his internship applications at three major Boston medical institutions were rejected, which led him to take a position at Washington, DC’s Freedman’s Hospital, now Howard University Hospital. He eventually went on to join the U.S. Army, and served as first lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps, stationed in France, where he was given charge of the surgery wards at a field hospital. At the end of his military career, he was discharged as a captain and was given a Purple Heart after a phosgene gas–based German assault.Dr. Wright went on to have an illustrious career, serving at Harlem Hospital in New York City for more than three decades, from 1919 to 1952. During that period—the height of the Jim Crow era—he was a trail blazer for the rights of African American medical personnel. For both his scientific work and his civil rights activism, he received many honors and awards.Dr. Wright’s affiliation with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) began in 1934 when he was admitted as a Fellow of the organization—an admission that brought much debate and division among ACS leadership and members. While African American surgeons did apply for Fellowship in the College and for membership in other national surgical and medical societies, issues of race often resulted in controversy and discord.However, the cause of getting African American surgeons into the ACS was one that Dr. Wright was willing to face and he became part of a group that actively worked to assist the process of admitting more black surgeons into the College. Ultimately, the effort was successful and by the end of 1950, at least 38 black surgeons had gained ACS Fellowship. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an African American member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, best known for being the “Richest Colored Girl in the world” or the “millionaire girl a member of the race”

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an African American member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, best known for being the “Richest Colored Girl in the world” or the “millionaire girl a member of the race”Today in our History – July 22, 1967 – Sarah Rector (March 3, 1902 – July 22, 1967) dies.Sarah Rector was born in 1902 near the all-black town of Taft, located in the eastern portion of Oklahoma, in what was then Indian Territory. She had five siblings. Her parents, Rose McQueen and her husband, Joseph Rector (both born 1881) were African descendants of the Muscogee Creek Nation Creek Indians before the Civil War and which became part of the Muscogee Creek Nation after the Treaty of 1866. As such, they and their descendants were listed as freedmen on the Dawes Rolls, by which they were entitled to land allotments under the Treaty of 1866 made by the United States with the Five Civilized Tribes.Consequently, nearly 600 black children, or Muscogee Freedmen minors as they were called, were granted land allotments, and Sarah Rector was allotted 159.14 acres (64 hectares). This was a mandatory step in the process of integration of the Indian Territory with Oklahoma Territory to form what is now the State of Oklahoma. Sarah’s father Joseph was the son of John Rector, a Muscogee Freedman. John Rector’s father Benjamin McQueen, was enslaved by Reilly Grayson who was a Muscogee Creek Indian. John Rector’s mother Mollie McQueen was enslaved by Muscogee leader, Opothole Yahola who fought in the Seminole wars and split with the tribe, moving his followers to Kansas.The parcel allotted to Sarah Rector was located in Glenpool, 60 miles (97 km) from where she and her family lived. It was considered inferior infertile soil, not suitable for farming, with better land being reserved for white settlers and members of the tribe. The family lived simply but not in poverty; however, the $30 annual property tax on Sarah’s parcel was such a burden that her father petitioned the Muskogee County Court to sell the land. His petition was denied because of certain restrictions placed on the land, so he was required to continue paying the taxes. To help cover this expense, in February 1911, Joseph Rector leased Sarah’s parcel to the Standard Oil Company. In 1913, the independent oil driller B.B. Jones drilled a well on the property which produced a “gusher” that began to bring in 2,500 barrels (400 m3) of oil a day. Rector began to receive a daily income of $300 from this strike. The law at the time required full-blooded Indians, black adults, and children who were citizens of Indian Territory with significant property and money, to be assigned “well-respected” white guardians.Thus, as soon as Rector began to receive this windfall, there was pressure to change Rector’s guardianship from her parents to a local white resident named T.J. (or J.T.) Porter, an individual known to the family. Rector’s allotment subsequently became part of the Cushing-Drumright Oil Field. In October 1913, Rector received royalties of $11,567. As news of Rector’s wealth spread worldwide, she began to receive requests for loans, money gifts, and marriage proposals, despite the fact that she was only 12 years old. Given her wealth, in 1913 the Oklahoma Legislature made an effort to have her declared white, under the guise of allowing Rector to reap the benefits of her elevated social standing, such as riding in a first class car on the trains. More importantly, however, as a white woman, white men could legally propose to, marry, and seize control of Rector’s land and finances, thereby appropriating her wealth to the white community. In 1914, an African American journal, The Chicago Defender, began to take an interest in Rector, just as rumors began to fly that she was a white immigrant who was being kept in poverty. The newspaper published an article claiming that her estate was being mismanaged by her family and that she was uneducated, and had a poor quality of life. This caused National African American leaders Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois to become concerned about her welfare. In June of that year, a special agent for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), James C. Waters Jr, sent a memo to Dubois regarding her situation. Waters had been corresponding with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the United States Children’s Bureau over concerns regarding the mismanagement of Rector’s estate. He wrote of her white financial guardian:Is it not possible to have her cared for in a decent manner and by people of her own race, instead of by a member of a race which would deny her and her kind the treatment accorded a good yard dog?This prompted Dubois to establish the Children’s Department of the NAACP, which would investigate claims of white guardians who were suspected of depriving black children of their land and wealth. Washington also intervened to help the Rector family. In October of that year, she was enrolled in the Children’s School, a boarding school at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, headed by Washington. Upon graduation, she attended the Institute. Rector was already a millionaire by the time she had turned 18. She owned stocks, bonds, a boarding house, businesses, and a 2,000-acre piece of prime river bottomland. At that point, she left Tuskegee and, with her entire family, moved to Kansas City, Missouri. She purchased a house on 12th Street, that is still there and known as the Rector House. The house has been purchased by a local nonprofit with the intention of restoration and historical and cultural preservation. Soon after moving to Kansas City she married a local man, Kenneth Campbell. The wedding was a very private affair, with only her mother and the bridegroom’s paternal grandmother present. The couple had three sons before divorcing in 1930. Rector lived a comfortable life, enjoying her wealth. She had a taste for fine clothing and cars. She had lavish parties, entertaining celebrities such as Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Rector died on July 22, 1967, at the age of 65. Her remains were buried in the city cemetery of her hometown of Taft. Research more about this great American and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

/ In Brandon Hardison / Tags: / By Herry Chouhan / Comments Off on GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an African American member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, best known for being the “Richest Colored Girl in the world” or the “millionaire girl a member of the race”

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox (1959–62) and New York Mets (1963).

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played with the Boston Red Sox (1959–62) and New York Mets (1963). A switch-hitter who threw right-handed, he was listed as 6 ft (1.83 m) tall and 175 lb (79 kg).He had the distinction of being the first black player to play for the Red Sox, the last pre-expansion major-league club to integrate. In his Boston tenure, he was used mostly as a pinch runner or day-off replacement for infielders Pete Runnels and Don Buddin. He made his debut on July 21, 1959, pinch-running in a 2–1 loss against the Chicago White Sox.Today in our History – July 21, 1959 – the Boston Red Sox became the last major league baseball team to racially integrate their roster. Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie” Green (October 27, 1933 – July 17, 2019) was a Boston Red Sox.Green was born in Boley, Oklahoma, the eldest of five children. One brother, Cornell Green, was a long-time safety for the Dallas Cowboys. Another brother, Credell Green, played football at the University of Washington and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers.Green was named Elijah, after his father, but his mother called him “Pumpsie” from an early age, though Green related that he didn’t know the origin of the name. Green grew up in Richmond, California, and was a three-sport athlete at El Cerrito High School.Since major-league baseball had not yet expanded to the West Coast, Green grew up a fan of the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Green later stated that he may have been even better at basketball, but chose to play baseball when he was offered a baseball scholarship at Fresno State University. However, Green decided to attend Contra Costa College when Gene Corr, his high school baseball coach, became the baseball coach there and promised Green he would play shortstop if he attended. In Green’s final year of college, he tried out for the Oaks, and was signed to a contract.In 1954, Green batted .297 in his second season with the Wenatchee Chiefs, an affiliate of the Oaks. In 1955, he was promoted to the Stockton Ports, the Oaks’ top affiliate. Green’s contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox during the 1955 season, but he was allowed to finish the season with Stockton before playing the 1956 season with the Albany Senators, a Red Sox affiliate. Green spent the 1957 season with the Oklahoma City Indians and San Francisco Seals, and the 1958 season with the Minneapolis Millers.In 1959, Green was invited to the Red Sox’s major league spring training camp. Despite playing well and receiving much media attention, Green was sent back to Minneapolis. However, after hitting .320 through 98 games, he was promoted to the major league Red Sox. Green made his MLB debut on July 21, 1959, against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, entering the game in the top of the eighth as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and playing shortstop in the bottom of the eighth and becoming the Sox’s first black player.He started the next day at second base, batting second and going 0-for-3. His first MLB hit came in his fourth game, on July 28 in Cleveland when he singled off of Jim Perry. That same day, pitcher Earl Wilson made his MLB debut, becoming the Red Sox’ second black player. Green’s first at bat at Fenway Park was on August 4 against the Kansas City Athletics; he hit a triple off the Green Monster. Green played 50 games for the 1959 Red Sox, batting .233 and playing second base almost exclusively. Green enjoyed a much more full-time role in 1960, playing 133 games, 69 at second base, and 41 at shortstop; he batted for a .242 average. Green may have had his best season in 1961, posting career highs in home runs (6), RBI (27), doubles (12), and stolen bases (4); however, he also had the most errors of his career in 1961, with 16. Despite a hot start to the season, Green developed appendicitis in Washington, D.C. in May, which put him out of the lineup for about four weeks and kept him from playing at full strength for even longer. In 1962, after a weekend of humiliating losses to the New York Yankees, Green along with Gene Conley got off the bus in the middle of a traffic jam in The Bronx. Conley was not spotted until three days later by a New York Post sports reporter at the Idlewild International Airport trying to board a plane for Israel, with no passports or luggage. After the 1962 season, Green was traded to the New York Mets along with Tracy Stallard and Al Moran in exchange for Felix Mantilla. Green played the majority of the 1963 season with the Buffalo Bisons but also played 17 games with the Mets. He played his final major league game with the Mets on September 26, 1963.Green played two more seasons in the minor leagues before retiring after the 1965 season. In a five-season major league career, Green was a .246 hitter with 13 home runs and 74 RBI in 344 games. His 196 career hits also included 31 doubles and 12 triples.Following his retirement from playing baseball, Green worked at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California for over 20 years, serving as a truant officer, coaching baseball and teaching math in summer school. Green lived in El Cerrito, California, since seven years after his retirement from baseball. He was married to Marie for over 50 years. On April 17, 2009, Green was honored by the Red Sox in a first-pitch ceremony, in recognition of 50 years since his breaking of the Red Sox color barrier. In February 2012, Green was honored by the city of El Cerrito, and presented with a proclamation honoring his “distinguished stature in baseball history.” In April 2012, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Jackie Robinson day at Fenway Park, and also attended Fenway’s 100th anniversary celebrations later that month. In May 2018, Green was Inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. On July 17, 2019, Green died at the age of 85. No cause was given. Research more about this great American Champion day!

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion event was the Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) was a part of the planning of the Black Power Conference chaired by Dr.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion event was the Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) was a part of the planning of the Black Power Conference chaired by Dr. Nathan Wright, scheduled to take place in Newark in the summer of 1967 before the Rebellion hit.The Black Power Conference Committee was composed of nationally recognized black leaders of all stripes, and Nathan Wright was selected to coordinate this 3-day event at an Episcopal Church property in downtown Newark. After the rebellion, the local power brokers said, “call it off!” but the planners said, “No way!” And so the conference convened, fresh on the heels of the dying embers of the fires that consumed Newark for five days.Today in our History – July 20, 1967 – The first Black Power Conference held in Newark, NJ in 1967. Before the 1967 Newark conference even began, the community had seen several violent riots over the course of a few days in early July. These riots started after the police brutality of John Smith, a taxi driver, was released to the public. Mr. Smith had been pulled over for traffic violations, and he was found later that day in jail battered by his arresting officers.The predominantly black community who had faced oppression by the police for countless years decided to rebel and fight for change. This riot ended up taking place over 5 days with 26 deaths, 750 injuries, and 1000 people jailed (Wang). The total cost of damage was estimated to be about 10 million dollars. Martin Luther King Jr. himself commented on how Newark had “a short fuse and a long train of abuse” (Asante).This riot started a stir that had some members of the Newark planning committee worried to continue with the conferences plans, but ultimately the conference was still held. This riot signified the increasing impatience of the black community with white oppression. This conference was needed more than ever in Newark, New Jersey to bring peace to the city.The Newark Conference was a three-day gathering in Newark, New Jersey in the summer of 1967 that focused on the oppression of African Americans and the possible solutions to obtain a better quality of life. This was the first Black Power conference ever held, and it comprised of organizations such as the NAACP, The Urban League, Afro-American Unity, Harlem Mau and Maus along with big names such as Jessie Jackson, Ron Karenga, Floyd McKissick, Rap Brown, and Charles 27X Kenyatta. (The Black Power Conference).This event ultimately turned out to be one of the largest gatherings for the Black Power leaders, which included not only American representatives, but also people from Bermuda and Nigeria. The conference included workshops and lectures for the group in order to hopefully create some sort of solution to the escalating issues that blacks every where faced. Many ideas were brought up focusing heavily on developing programs that would help better the black community and its youth.Materially, the only official consequence of this conference was the Black Power Manifesto that demanded the end of “neo-colonialist control” of black populations on the globe and they wanted to unite African Americans by promoting a “philosophy of Blackness” (Hicks). The document also demanded reparations for the black community because of the horrors they had to face during slavery.While this manifesto is the only official resolution that was passed at the conference, more than 80 others were proposed. Additionally, this conference still brought major leaders together and ignited the long journey that African Americans have faced in their goals to reach equality.The usable memory of the Newark conference has led to countless other Black Power conferences in the nation. These conferences have swept from San Fransisco to the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Particularly, the State of the Black World Conference IV held a conference in late 2016 in Newark, New Jersey; they held this conference in memory of Amiri Baraka.Amiri Baraka, or LeRoi Jones, was part of the planning committee under Dr. Nathan Wright for the 1967 Newark Black Power Conference. Baraka had participated in the Newark riots and was arrested under allege gun possession charges. He was brutally beaten by police, but was finally released from the jail and hospital to make it in time to the conference.He soon became a predominant figure after the conference writing several controversial poems and papers. (The Black Power Conference). Beyond the spectrum of just conferences, nothing had ever occurred similar to the largest Black Power gathering for leaders at that time. It helped to develop a systematic approach to combating inequality among all groups in the United States.The National Conference was the first Black Power gathering of its kind: it held workshops and presented papers for programs that would help empower black people. Following 1967, subsequent conferences were held in ‘68 and ‘69.The conferences supported the growth of these Black Power organizations and reflected the ideas that black youngsters arrived at when non-violent civil rights persuasion failed. The movement was a forerunner to many current approaches to political activism, engaging with ideas of structural and systemic inequality and identity politics. Looking at the history of the Black Power movement, it is easy to see its lasting effects in the current #BlackLivesMatter movement and the ongoing struggle for black empowerment.Even though this conference was held 54 years ago, the struggle African Americans face are still present today despite the advancements this country has made. One thing has changed, however, African Americans learned from these prior conferences and riots that they must take matters into their own hands to finally grasp their own destiny. Research more about this great American Champion event and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion is President of State University of New York College at Old Westbury and Pastor of the nationally renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church in the City of New York.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion is President of State University of New York College at Old Westbury and Pastor of the nationally renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church in the City of New York.Today in our History – July 19, 1949 -Dr. Calvin O. Butts, III, becomes the first black president of State University of New York College at Old Westbury.As President of The College at Old Westbury, Dr. Butts works continuously to create an invigorating atmosphere dedicated to academic excellence and the development of leadership qualities in students. Through its broad multidisciplinary liberal arts programs, the College confers undergraduate degrees in more than 40 majors leading to Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees and 15 graduate offerings.Since being named Old Westbury’s President in September 1999, Dr. Butts has reinvigorated among the most diverse public college campuses in America. He is determined to prepare Old Westbury students to succeed in the global marketplace while fostering in each leadership qualities that will prove valuable to both themselves and the communities in which they live.In working to enable Old Westbury to achieve its fullest potential, Dr. Butts has guided the campus to its largest enrollment in 15 years, added full-time faculty, and expanded the services it provides to support and aid students. Under his leadership, the College earned accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and created its first-ever graduate programs, which now include Master of Science degrees in Accounting and Taxation, and Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees in Adolescence Education in the following disciplines: Biology, Chemistry, English Language Studies, Mathematics, Social Studies and Spanish. Dr. Butts has also overseen the College’s investment of more than $4 million in cutting-edge technologies, the introduction of five new residence halls and a new Student Union, and the financing and development of a $72 million academic building scheduled to open on campus in 2012.A native of New York City, Dr. Butts earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He returned to New York and earned a Master of Divinity Degree in Church History from the Union Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry in Church and Public Policy from Drew University. He has taught Urban Affairs and served as an Adjunct Professor in the African Studies Department at City College, New York. He has also taught Black Church History at Fordham University. Sought after internationally for his comments on social, religious, educational and ethical issues, Dr. Butts has conducted speaking engagements before a vast array of colleges and universities, business and professional organizations, religious congregations, and governmental agencies throughout his career.Along with his Presidency at the College at Old Westbury, Dr. Butts continues as pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in the City of New York — among the most historic churches in the nation. Under his leadership, Abyssinian Baptist Church is committed to playing an active role in the ongoing development of its New York City home.Dr. Butts was also instrumental in establishing the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change – a public, state-of-the-art, intermediate and high school in Harlem, and he is the visionary behind the Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School, which opened in September 2005.In addition to his professional and religious avocations, Dr. Butts serves as Chairman of the Board of Abyssinian Development Corporation, Youth On the Move, and Blue Nile Passage, Inc. He also serves as a member of the leadership boards of The Long Island Association, The Levin Institute, Sustainable Long Island, the Boy Scouts of America-Theodore Roosevelt Council, The Long Island Housing Partnership, the American Baptist College in Nashville, Tenn., New Visions for Public Schools, and the Long Island Regional Advisory Council on Higher Education. In July 2011, he was named by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve on the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, which will redesign the relationship between the state government and businesses to stimulate regional economic development and create jobs.He is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, is chairman of the Board of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) and a founding member of the organization’s Board of Commissioners.He has served as President of Africare NYC, an independent organization dedicated to the improvement of the quality of life in rural Africa. He has also served as a member of the board of the September 11th Fund. Dr. Butts has been presented with honorary degrees from Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the City University of New York/The City College of New York, New York City; Claflin College, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York; Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia; Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania; Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; and Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama.For his efforts and community activism, Dr. Butts has received innumerable honors and commendations, including Man of the Year, Morehouse College Alumni Association; The Morehouse College Candle Award; The William M. Moss Distinguished Brotherhood Award; and The Louise Fisher Morris Humanitarian Award. He has also been inducted as an Archon of the Beta Zeta Boulé of Sigma Pi Phi. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Prince Hall Masons and has received the 33rd and final degree in Masonry. Further, he has been recognized as a Living Treasure by the New York City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.In every effort, his leadership has had a pervasive impact on such wide-ranging community development initiatives as education, homelessness, senior citizen and youth empowerment, cultural awareness and ecumenical outreach. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

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GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades, from the late 1940s until just before his death in 1993.

GM – FBF – Today’s American Champion was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades, from the late 1940s until just before his death in 1993. He started out making films in the 1940s and 1950s and expanded into television work in the following decades. Davis was known for his dignified portrayals which were often in contrast to prevailing stereotypical roles. He played the role of Dr. Caldwell in three episodes in the second and third seasons of the NBC-TV sitcom series Sanford and Son, and as Dr. Ozaba in the 1968 episode “The Empath” in the original Star Trek series. He was active off-screen as well, serving several terms on the western advisory board of Actors’ Equity Association. As one of the officers of Beverly Hills-Hollywood Branch of the NAACP he helped present the first Image Awards in 1967. Today in our History – July 18, 1990 – Davis Roberts (born Robert A. Davis, March 7, 1917 – July 18, 1993) died.Throughout his career, Roberts, a native of Mobile, Alabama who was also raised in Chicago, IL, appeared in over 30 feature films, including: In a Lonely Place (1950); The Killers (1964) written by Star Trek executive producer Gene L. Coon and featuring Ronald Reagan in his last film role; The Chase (1966) with Steve Ihnat; Westworld (1973) , Demon Seed (1977), and John Schlesinger’s Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), which featured Teri Garr, Jerry Hardin and Jeffrey Combs.He also appeared in the ABC-TV mini-series Roots, (1977) as well as many television series, including I Dream of Jeannie, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Sanford and Son, and All in the Family. He also guest starred as Dr. Ozaba in the 1968 episode “The Empath” in the original Star Trek series.Davis was active off-screen as well, serving several terms on the western advisory board of Actors’ Equity Association. As one of the officers of Beverly Hills-Hollywood Branch of the NAACP he help present the first Image Awards in 1967. Davis died in the home of his brother Charles on July 18, 1993 of emphysema at the age of 76.