18 Years Ago Today

* Today in Black History - September 22 *

1853 - George Washington Murray is born near Rembert, South Carolina. A two-term congressman from his home state, Murray will also be an inventor and holder of eight patents for agricultural tools.

1862 - Five days after Union forces won the Battle of Antietam, President Lincoln issues a preliminary emancipation proclamation. It states that if the rebelling states did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863, he would declare their slaves to be "forever free."

1906 - Race riots occur in Atlanta, Georgia, killing 21 people.

1915 - Xavier University of Louisiana opens in New Orleans, the first Catholic college for African Americans in the United States.

1941 - Chester Lovelle Talton is born in Eldorado, Arkansas. At 49, he will become the first African American Episcopalian bishop to be ordained in the western United States. As suffragan bishop of the diocese of LosAngeles, he becomes the religious leader of Episcopalians in the fourth-largest diocese in the United States.

1949 - Lee Harold Carmichael is born in Jacksonville, Florida. He will become an American football wide receiver in the NFL. He will play 13 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1971 to 1983, and one season for the Dallas Cowboys in 1984. He will play his college football at Southern University. He will be selected to four Pro Bowls in his NFL career, and will lead the league in receptions during the 1973 season. He will also be the Eagles' top receiver of Super Bowl XV, with 6 catches for 91 yards. He will end his career with 590 receptions for 8,985 yards with 79 career touchdown catches, along with 64 rushing yards on 9 carries. He will rank 18th all-time in career touchdown receptions. He will be selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He will become Director of Player Programs for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2006.

1950 - Dr. Ralph J. Bunche, director of the UN Trusteeship division and former professor of political science at Howard University, is awarded the Nobel Peace prize for successful mediation of the Palestinian peace accord.

1954 - Shari Belafonte(Harper now Behrens) is born in New York City, New York. She will become is an American actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte, she will be best known for her role as Julie Gilette on the 1980s television series "Hotel" and as a spokesperson for the diet supplement "Slim-Fast" during the 1990s.

1960 - The Republic of Mali proclaims its independence.

1961 - The Interstate Commerce Commission issues regulation prohibiting segregation on interstate buses and in terminal facilities.

1969 - San Francisco Giant, Willie Mays, becomes the first player since Babe Ruth to hit 600 home runs.

1985 - Robert Guillaume wins an Emmy for best leading actor in a comedy for Benson while The Cosby Show wins for best comedy series.

1989 - Edward Perkins, the first African American ambassador to the Republic of South Africa, becomes director-general of the United States Foreign Service. The first African American named to the post, Perkins will be credited with bringing more minorities into the foreign service.

1990 - After a long courtship and 9-month engagement, plezWorld marries plezWife in a momentous ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia. They remain married to this day and have one precocious 7-year old daughter from their union, the SugarPlum.

You can review a daily list of Black History here.


plez sez: celebrating 18 wonderful years with the plezWife...