February 16 in Black History

 
1804 — The New Jersey Legislature approved a law calling for “gradual” emancipation of African-Americans. In so doing, New Jersey became the last Northern state to outlaw slavery.
1826 — The “Liberia Herald,” the first newspaper printed in Africa, was published by C.L. Force of Boston.
1848 — Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston. Her father, Benjamin Roberts, files the first school integration lawsuit on her behalf.
1868 — W.E.B. DuBois was born in Great Barrington, Mass.
1904 — James Baskett was born in Indianapolis. Best known for his role as Uncle Remus in the 1946 Disney film “Song of the South,” he became the first black male actor to receive an Academy Award.
1923 — Bessie Smith makes her first recording, “Down Hearted Blues,” which sells approximately 800,000 copies for Columbia Records.
1957 — Actor LeVar Burton was born in Landstuhl, Germany.
1961 — U.S. and African nationals protetesting the slaying of Congo Premier Patricue Lumumba disrupt United Nations sessions
1964 — Louis Armstrong’s “Hello Dolly” recording becomes his first and only number one record.
1965 — Nat King Cole dies from lung cancer in Santa Monica, Calif.
1968 — Henry Lewis becomes the first African-American to lead a symphony in the U.s.
1972 — Politicial activist Angela Davis is released from jail.