Black History on March 20th

1852 - Uncle Tom's Cabin, by white abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, is published. The controversial novel will be credited by many, including Abraham Lincoln, with sparking the Civil War. Mr. Lincoln will later tell Mrs. Stowe, that she was "the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war".

1852 - Martin R. Delany publishes "The Condition, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States," the first major statement of the African American nationalist position. Delany says, "The claims of no people, according to established policy and usage, are respected by any nation, until they are presented in a national capacity." He adds: "We are a nation within a nation; as the Poles in Russia, the Hungarians in Austria, the Welsh, Irish, and Scotch in the British dominions."

1883 - Jan Matzeliger receives patent #274,207 for his shoe lasting machine. His invention will revolutionize the shoe industry, allowing for the first mass production of shoes.

1890 - The Blair Bill, which provides federal support for education and allocates funds to reduce illiteracy among the freedmen is defeated in the U.S. Senate, 37-31.

1950 - Dr. Ralph Bunche receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a mediator in the Palestine crisis. He is the first African American to be so honored.

1957 - Shelton "Spike" Lee is born in Atlanta, Georgia. He will grow up in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, New York, the son of an accomplished jazz bassist and art teacher, Bill Lee. He will become a motion picture director, producing many of his own films. His films, among them "She's Gotta Have It," "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever" explore the social, political, and interpersonal relationships between African Americans and whites similar to the early work of director Oscar Micheaux.

1970 - Students strike at the University of Michigan and demand increased African American enrollment. The strike ends on April 2, after the administration agrees to meet their demands.

1973 - Roberto Clemente is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame, 11 weeks after he joins the ancestors. He becomes the first person of African descent to be elected to the Hall of Fame in a special election (before the five-year waiting period). He also is the first Hispanic to enter the Hall of Fame.

1987 - "Hollywood Shuffle" premieres. The film is directed by, produced by, and stars Robert Townsend. Townsend also used his own money to bring his comedic vision to the screen.

2000 - Former Black Panther Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured in Alabama. He is wanted in the fatal shooting of a sheriff's deputy in Atlanta, Georgia. Al-Amin will maintain his innocence.

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