Jesse Owens, winner of four Olympic Gold Medals in Berlin in 1936, was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp on this date in 1990.

The African nation of Comoros gained its independence on this date in 1975.

Daniel Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, legendary trumpet player, died in Corona, Queens, NY, on this date in 1971.

The African nation of Malawi gained its independence on this date in 1964.

Althea Gibson, tennis legend, won the women’s Wimbledon Singles Championship on this date in 1957, becoming the first Black to do so.

The South Carolina General Assembly met with a Black majority among their legislators on this date in 1868. This became the first time an American legislature had a Black majority.

Ida B. Wells-Barnet, reformer who gathered the first statistical records on lynchings in the United States, was born in Holly Springs, MS, on this date in 1862.

The National Council of Colored People was formed on this date in 1853. The group’s purpose was to improve vocational training for Blacks.

Damon Keith, jurist, received the 59th NAACP Spingarn Medal on this date in 1974 for his strong defense of constitutional principles shown in his U.S. District Court decisions and for being a good role model for Black youth.

Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays, educator, theologian, and humanitarian, received the 67th NAACP Spingarn Medal on this date in 1982 for his high moral and social leadership and for his standard of excellence, honesty, and integrity.