(Photo By Flickr User Chris Murphy)

Black History Today for February 3rd:

1810- Antonio Ruiz, national hero of Buenos Aires, Argentina, died for his country.

1874- Blanche Kelso Bruce elected to a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate by the Mississippi legislature.

1920- The Negro Baseball League founded.

1947- Marlene Nourbese Philip is the winner of the 1988 Casa de las Americas prize for poetry. She is a writer, poet, university lecturer, and lawyer who lives in Canada but who hails from Tobago. Her published works include the novel Harriet’s Daughter and three collections of poetry including Thorns, Salmon, Courage.

1956-  Autherine J. Lucy becomes the first black student to attend the University of Alabama. She was expelled three days later “for her own safety” in response to threats from a mob. In 1992 Autherine Lucy Foster graduated from the University with a master’s degree in education. The same day, her daughter, Grazia Foster, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in corporate finance.

1964- School officials reported that 464,000 Black and Puerto Rican students boycotted New York City public schools. More than 267,000 were absent during second boycott on March 16.

1988- In Montgomery, AL, Thomas Reed, president of the Alabama chapter of the NAACP, was arrested after he and 11 others attempted to strike a Confederate flag flying atop the state capitol building.

1989- Former Saint Louis Cardinals first baseman Bill White, is named president of the National League. He is the first African-American to head a major sports league. Also,
Tennis professional Lori McNeil defeated Chris Evert in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan.

(Courtesy of blackfacts.com)