AROUND THE REGION

JUNE 22 - 28, 2023

SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB

President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 8802 prohibiting racial discrimination in the national defense indus-

1975 – Mozambique gains its independence from Por-

JUNE 26

1938 – Author, lyricist, poet and educator James Weldon Johnson, who wrote the lyrics of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" — known as the Negro national anthem —

1995 – Former NASA astronaut Bernard Harris, the first African American to walk in space, is born.

1992 – "My Guy" singer Mary Wells, "The Queen of Motown," dies of cancer at 49.

JUNE 27

1872 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, famed American poet, novelist and playwright of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is born in Dayton, Ohio.

1890 – Canadian boxer George Dixon beats Nunc Wallace and is recognized as world bantamweight champion, the first Black world boxing champion in any weight

1939 – African American inventor Frederick Jones is issued patent for ticket-dispensing machine.

JUNE 22

1937 – Famed boxer Joe Louis knocks out James J. Braddock in the eighth round at Chicago's Comiskey Park to win the heavyweight title.

JUNE 23

1940 – Sprinter Wilma Rudolph, winner of three gold medals at the 1960 Summer Olympics, is born.

1948 – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who succeeded Thurgood Marshall as the second African American to serve on the court, is born in Pin Point, Georgia. 1997 – Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, dies at 61 from burns suffered three weeks earlier in a house fire set by her grandson.

JUNE 24

1936 – Mary McLeod Bethune officially joins the National Youth Administration staff as director of the Division of Negro Affairs, becoming the first Black woman to head a department of a federal agency.

1968 – Police shut down a tent city set up on the National Mall in D.C. by the Poor People's Campaign, an anti-poverty movement organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and led by Ralph Abernathy after King's assassination. The demonstration, which had gone on for six weeks, brought thousands to the Mall, and nearly 300 protesters, including Abernathy, were arrested once the tent city was removed.

JUNE 25

1941 – The Marine Corps formally integrates after

1991 – Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the court, announces his retirement.

2007 – Jamaican-born pilot Barrington Irving lands at the Opa-Locka Airport in Miami after 95 days of travel, becoming the first Black person — and the youngest person ever at the time — to fly around the world solo.

JUNE 28

1864 – Malcolm X announces the formation of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, six weeks after returning from his pilgrimage to Mecca. 1971 – Supreme Court overturns draft evasion conviction of boxing great Muhammad Ali WI

BY SARAFINA WRIGHT

Activist, theologian and renowned academic

Cornel West announced he’s entering the 2024 presidential race. West said he’s running as a member of The People’s Party, a left-wing political party that dates back to the 19th century. What are your thoughts?

AMA BONNEY / PHILADELPHIA, PA

He’s definitely more qualified than most, I can say that for sure.

DRAY WALKER / FREDERICK, MD.

I definitely prefer West over anyone who has declared so far. He has been talking with people on the streets, in the jails, and working-class people everywhere. Having someone like Nina Turner as VP would definitely round out the ticket. Sadly, I don’t think the donors who run the country would allow such intellect and love into the White House.

KAHLIL JAHI / NEW YORK

Just give him a mirror and a microphone. He loves to see himself talk!

ALDRENNA WILLIAMS / WASHINGTON, D.C.

Who will his VP be? Tavis Smiley?

SHEILA JASPER / WASHINGTON, D.C.

If Trump can, Mr. Cornel West is more than qualified!