2014 – Maya Angelou Passes Away
Maya Angelou was a renowned poet, author, performer, and civil rights activist best known for her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou published numerous autobiographies, poetry collections, and essays, earning many awards in her lifetime and national honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama in 2010. A professor at Wake Forest University until her passing, she inspired generations through her work on identity, resilience, and love. Angelou’s full, beautiful life came to an end May 28, 2014.
1963 – Woolworth Sit-In in Jackson, Mississippi
On this day in 1963, Pearlena Lewis, Annie Moody, and Memphis Norman sat at the whites-only counter at Woolworths in downtown Mississippi. The Tougaloo student protesters, joined by other classmates and faculty, were harassed, assaulted and verbally abused in what has come to be known as one of the most violent sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement. The sit-in lasted for over three hours while law enforcement watched the violence take place. The students’ actions were not done in vain and in the following year the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.
