(Photo By Flickr User LittleO2)
Black History Today for February 27th:
2002- Alicia Keys took home five Grammys at the 44th Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Song of the Year & Record of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Fallin'" on this day.
1998- Janet Jackson surprised Rosie O’Donnell by dropping by her talk show and bringing her tickets to her show. Janet also brought CDs and t-shirts for the entire audience.
1997- The Four Tops received the Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award at the 8th annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Ceremony at New York’s Hilton Hotel.
1993- After 14 weeks at Number 1, Whitney Houston’s "I Will Always Love You," became the longest-running chart topper on this day. It became the second largest selling single in U.S. history. First place is "We Are the World" by USA for Africa.
1992- Eldrick "Tiger" Woods (at age 16), became the youngest PGA golfer in 35 years on this day.
1988- Figure skater Debi Thomas, becomes the first African-American to win a medal (Bronze) at the Winter Olympic Games.
1984- The first Olympian athlete to win consecutive long-jump gold medals, Carl Lewis, jumped the world record indoors (8.675m) on this day.
1982- Wayne Williams was found guilty and sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the murders of two young blacks who were among 28 black youths murdered in Atlanta, GA over a 22-month period.
1981- Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder recorded “Ebony and Ivory” on this day. The song reached number one on both the UK and the U.S. charts.
1980- On this day, Michael Jackson was awarded the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male Grammy at the 22nd annual Grammy Awards for "Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough" on this day.
1971- R&B singer & actress Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, was born on this day in Atlanta, GA.
1964- Anna Julia Cooper, champion for the rights of black women, dies at the age of 105.
1961- Aretha Franklin made her pop chart debut on this day with "Won’t Be Long" on Columbia Records. It was the first of 74 hits for the Queen of Soul.
1959- Award winning actress Tracey Ross was born on this day in Brooklyn, NY.
1945- Singer, actor of film and theater, Carl Anderson, was born on this day. He lost his battle with leukemia in February of 2004.
1942- Journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault was born this day in Due West, SC.
1923- Jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon was born. He passed away in 1990.
1897- Born this day, singer Marian Anderson and one of the best American contraltos of all time. In 1955, she became the first African-American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She passed away in April of 1993.
1883- Walter B. Purvis patented hand stamp.
1872- Charlotte E. Ray graduated from Howard University School of Law on this day and became the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar.
1869- John Menard became the first black to make a speech in Congress. Also on this day, Congress adopted the 15th constitutional amendment, making it illegal for the US or any single government to deny or abridge the right to vote "on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude."
1844- Independence Day for Dominican Republic
1833- On this day, Maria W. Steward delivered one of the four speeches which confirmed her place in history as the first American-born woman to give public lectures. Steward's lectures focused on encouraging African-Americans to attain education, political rights, and public recognition for their achievements.
