Today in Black History: July 4th
1881 – Booker T Washington Founds the Tuskegee Institute
Booker T. Washington, born April 5, 1856, was an educator and reformer, the first president and principal developer of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, and the most influential spokesman for Black Americans between 1895 and 1915.
In 1881, July 4th, Washington opened a newly established normal school for African Americans at Tuskegee, believing that the best interests of Black people in the post-Reconstruction era was education in the crafts and industrial skills. He included this curriculum in the institute and urged Blacks to cultivate their industrial and farming skills so as to attain economic security. At his death 34 years later, it had more than 100 well-equipped buildings, 1,500 students, a faculty of nearly 200 teaching 38 trades and professions, and an endowment of approximately $2 million.
1910 – Jack Johnson Defends Heavyweight Championship
Jack Johnson, first Black Heavyweight Champion, defended his heavyweight against James J. Jeffries. The fight took place on July 4, 1910, in front of nearly 20,000 people, at a ring in downtown Reno, Nevada. By the 15th round, after Jeffries had been knocked down twice for the first time in his career, Jeffries’ corner threw in the towel to end the fight.
Johnson later remarked he knew the fight was over in the 4th round when he landed an uppercut and saw the look on Jeffries’s face, stating, “I knew what that look meant. The old ship was sinking.”
2002 – Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Passes
Benjamin O. Davis, the first black general in the U.S. Air Force, was born in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 1912, fully committed to a military career. He entered West Point Military Academy in 1932 and graduated thirty-fifth out of a class of 276 in 1936. After graduating from the Academy he was assigned to the 24th Regiment then stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Davis joined a small number of African Americans in the first flying training program for blacks at Tuskegee, Alabama. His achievements led him to command the famed 99th Pursuit Squadron and later the 332nd Fighter Group in World War II.
Davis, who was awarded the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross following World War II, served at the Pentagon and in several overseas posts. General Davis retired in 1970 after 37 years of military service. In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded him with a fourth star. He died on July 4, 2002 at the age of 89.
