People, Locations, Episodes

The First Black Woman Executive in Major League Baseball is Hired

*On this date in 1990, the first Black Woman executive in major league baseball MLB was named.

Elaine Weddington Steward was named assistant general manager of the Boston Red Sox of the American League.

F.W. De Klerk Promises To Free Nelson Mandela

*On this date in 1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk publicly promised to free imprisoned political prisoner Nelson Mandela and lift his country’s ban on Black membership in the African National Congress.

Nelson Mandela Is Released From Prison

*On this date in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison. He was (then) a South African political activist and member of the African National Congress.

Still active, he had been in Robin Island prison in South Africa for 27 years.

Namibia Gains Independence from Germany

*On this date in 1990, Namibia gained independence from colonial rule. Formerly SouthWest, Africa, Namibia’s population is 86 percent Black Africans.

The 2 Live Crew (RAP Group) is Indicted

On this date in 1990, a Florida state court declared “As Nasty As They Wanna” be by the RAP Group “The 2 Live Crew” to be legally obscene. The ruling was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In September, the group’s recording label, Luke Records, paid George Lucas $300,000 for taking the name of the Star Wars character “Luke Skywalker.” Two members of the Crew are later arrested for obscene performance after an adult-only show. They were later acquitted. All members started to pursue solo careers.

The First Black Woman Coaches a Division 1 Men’s Basketball Team

On this date in 1990, the first African American woman was named assistant coach in Division I NCAA basketball. Bernadette Locke was hired at the University of Kentucky.

Locke was born in Lockwood, TN. She was a former All-American at the University of Georgia. She holds a BA in Education and remained there as an assistant coach for four years.

Locke then moved to the head coaching position of University of Kentucky’s women’s basketball program from 1995 to 2003.

Ken Griffey Sr., and Jr. hit Home Runs for the Seattle Mariners in the Same Inning

*On this date in 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and his son Ken Griffey Jr. both on the Seattle Mariners homered in consecutive at-bats against the Anaheim Angels.

In the first inning, Senior hit a two-run homer and Junior a solo shot. Both father and son playing together was a first for major league baseball.

A Black Woman Mayor of Washington D.C. is Elected

On this date in 1990, Sharon Pratt Dixon was elected as the mayor of Washington D.C.

Dixon was sworn in to the position on January 2, 1991, and became the second African American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city. Carrie Saxon-Perry of Hartford, CT was the first in 1987.

Rodney King is Beaten by Three White Police Officers

*This date marks the anniversary of the Rodney King beating. On March 3, 1991, white police officers in Los Angeles, California, stopped a car driven by a 34-year-old African American named Rodney King, who, they said, was speeding.

S. E. Hall House (St. Paul, MN) Becomes Historic Landmark

*On this date in 1991, the S. Edward Hall House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.   Located at 996 Iglehart Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, it was listed on the National Register until 2016.   It was the home of S. Edward Hall, a Black businessman and founder of the Saint Paul […]

Latasha Harlins is Murdered

*On this date in 1991, Latasha Harlins was killed. Thirteen days after the Rodney King beating, a storeowner shot and killed Black teenager Harlins in the back of the head.

The merchant, Soon Ja Du, a 49-year old Korean woman who, with her husband, owned the Empire Liquor Market Deli in South Central LA, was charged with murder. She was later found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but Judge Joyce Karlin granted the defendant probation. The store was later firebombed.

The Sierra Leone War Begins

*On this date in 1991, the Sierra Leone Civil War began. This civil war began when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government. The resulting civil war lasted 11 […]

The Population Registration Act, Act No 30, is Repealed

*On this date in 1991, the Population Registration Act, Act No 30 of 1950, was repealed. The Act was a pillar of the Apartheid system. It required people to register from birth as belonging to one of four different racial groups, White, Black, Coloured, and Indian. The Act was repealed by the Population Registration of the South […]

The Crown Heights Riots Occur

*On this date in 1991 the Crown Heights riot occurred. The deaths of Melbourne Hasidic scholar Yankel Rosenbaum and Black seven-year-old Gavin Cato that day ignited the worst three days of race riots ever seen in New York.

The Lena O. Smith House is Preserved

*On this date in 1991, the Lena Olive Smith House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.    This house in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, was owned by Lena O. Smith, a prominent Black civil rights attorney. She graduated from William Mitchell College of Law (then the Northwestern College of Law) in 1921. […]