*On this date in 1978, Dominica gained Independence from Britain. Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The island was settled by the Arawak indigenous people arriving from South America in the 5th century. The Kalinago displaced the Arawak by the 15th century. It was later colonized by Europeans, […]
learn moreOn this date in 1978, the Jonestown Massacre occurred in which 913 people, most of them African Americans, committed suicide and died in Jonestown, Guyana.
learn more*On this date in 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state from Britain. Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. The island was previously called Iyonola, the name was given to the island by the native Arawaks, and […]
learn more*On this date in 1979, the first African American man was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Lt. General Frank E. Peterson, from Topeka, Kansas received the honor in Quantico, Virginia. Peterson spent 38 years in the Corp. He also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. He retired from the Corp in 1988.
learn more*On this date in 1979, the state of Georgia honored and issued a formal apology to musician and composer Ray Charles.
This was for an incident affecting him performing in the state in 1961. At that time Charles, who was born in Albany, GA, had refused to perform in front of a segregated (all white) audience. Charles was sued by the promoter for that position against segregation. He returned often to Georgia to perform throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
The Georgia State Legislature completed the finality when his version of “Georgia on My Mind” was adopted as the official state song.
learn more*On this date in 1979, Andrew Young (then) United States ambassador to the United Nations resigned.
His visible empathy with the Third World made him controversial and his resignation came after it was revealed that he had met with a representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
learn more*On this date in 1979, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an island country in the Caribbean, gained independence from Britain. It is in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea, where the latter meets the Atlantic […]
learn moreIndependence for Zimbabwe came on this date in 1980 from Britain. Prime Minister Robert Mugabe consolidated his power in 1982 and dismissed Joshua Nkomo from his government.
Mugabe’s party won a landslide victory in 1985, the first general election since independence. In late 1987 the constitution was amended to replace the position of prime minister with that of executive president, which combines the posts of head of state and head of government. At that time ZANU-PF and Nkomo’s Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) agreed to merge under the name of ZANU-PF.
learn moreOn this date in 1980, the “Miami Riot “occurred. This was the first major American race riot since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
The incident raised American awareness of the sometimes-explosive nature of neglected urban life. Violence erupted in Dade County, FL, that summer night, when people of Liberty City, a predominantly African American neighborhood, learned of the verdict in a case of White-on-Black police brutality. The acquittal of five White police officers who had been accused of beating a Black motorist to death sparked the violence.
learn moreOn this date in 1980, Richard Pryor attempted to commit suicide by setting himself on fire at his Northridge, CA, home.
After freebasing for several days in a row, he was in a cocaine-induced haze. He poured a bottle of rum over his body and ignited himself using a lighter. His Aunt Dee attempted to smother the flames, but Pryor jumped out of the window in a panic and ran down the street.
learn more*On this date in 1980, Lewis Place was positioned on America’s National Register of Historic Landmarks.
learn more*On this date in 1981, Knight v. Alabama was filed in federal court. The suit, brought by John F. Knight and others associated with two Historically Black Colleges in Alabama (HBCU), held that Alabama’s higher education system utilized racially discriminatory practices in allocating funding and admissions. Those schools were Alabama A&M University and Alabama State […]
learn moreOn this date in 1981, the Brixton Riots occurred. This was the first near deadly English race riots of the 20th century and the first since the formation of the Metropolitan Police in Britain.
Earlier that year crime in Lambeth caused the District Commander to establish a plainclothes operation known as Operation Swamp 81. This meant a significant number of Blacks were stopped and searched. This intensified Black resentment as they had already frequently protested against and obstructed police actions on the street.
learn moreOn this date in 1981, Ron Settles was murdered while in police custody. Settles was a Black student athlete (football) at Long Beach State University in California.
The incident began when he was pulled over for speeding by the Signal Hills Police Department (SHPD) in Long Beach, CA. He was arrested after a scuffle with SHPD white officers. That night he was found hanged in a jail cell at the SHPD station. Police officials maintained Settles committed suicide, and no criminal charges were filed.
learn moreOn this date in 1981, the Atlanta child killer was arrested.
An undercover killer of Black children plagued Atlanta and the state of Georgia youth for almost two years. After 28 lives were lost, Wayne B. Williams, an African American man, was found to be guilty and is now serving two consecutive life terms.
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