Aug 9, 1944

U.S. Navy and Black Sailors Mutiny

In 1944, in the midst of World War II, the majority of seamen in the United States Navy assigned to load munitions onto Liberty ships were black. During the war, the U.S. Navy was segregated and hostile to blacks.  Many black recruits were disheartened to discovered that the Navy was mostly interested in their labor, not in their abilities to help protect the nation. The ugliness of the situation became manifest on July 17, 1944, at 10:18 p.m., when two military cargo ships loaded with ammunition exploded with the force that some sources say equaled the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.  The ships were destroyed as was much of the Port Chicago area.  Three hundred and twenty men died from the blast, two-thirds of them (202) were black.  Hundreds of others were physically and emotionally injured from the blast.  The cause was never determined.  After spending several weeks picking up the remains of their fellow seamen, the surviving black sailors were ordered to return to work on August 9, 1944.  Fearful of another blast due to continued unsafe conditions, 258 black sailors refused to load a munitions ship. Several days later, after being threatened with the death penalty, 208 of the black seamen returned to work.  The remaining 50 were court-martialed, fined and imprisoned.  NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall, who would go on to become the first black to sit on the Supreme Court, represented the men.  He stated that the "Court-martial proceedings were one of the worst frame-ups we have come across."

Many years later, Congressmen Pete Stark, Ron Dellums and George Miller of Northern California tried to have the convictions cleared, but on January 7, 1994, the Navy refused to overturn the convictions following a review mandated by Congress.

Sources included: www.bherc.org; wikipedia.com

Aug 9, 1936

Victory at The Berlin Olympics

In 1936, Jesse Owens won his fourth gold medal at the Berlin Olympics as the U.S. took first place in the 400-meter relay.

Alexander Palmer Haley

Author

(born August 11, 1921 and died February 10, 1992)

An American writer, Alex Haley is best known for The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which he ghostwrote, and his book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which was developed into a landmark television series.

Matthew Alexander Henson

Employee and Companion of Robert Peary

(born August 8, 1866 and died March 9, 1955)

Henson accompanied famed explorer Robert Peary on several expeditions, including a 1909 expedition to the North Pole, which is widely regarded as the first human expedition to the North Pole.  Henson was not widely recognized for his participation in and contributions to the North Pole expedition until well after his death in 1955. 

Aug 7, 1904

Dr. Ralph Johnson Bunche

Political Scientist, Diplomat and first African American who the Nobel Peace Prize

(August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971)

Ralph Bunche, a noted political scientist and diplomat was born on August 7, 1904 in Detroit, Michigan.  The first African American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Bunche was awarded the Prize in 1950 for his mediation in the Palestinian conflict during the late 1940s.  His efforts led to an armistice agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.  In 1963, he received the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson.

Aug 9, 2003

Gregory Hines

Tony Award-winning Actor, Singer, Dancer and Choreographer

(born February 14, 1946 and died August 9, 2003)

Gregory Hines began dancing at an early age.  He and his brother, Maurice studied with choreographer Henry LeTang, and began performing with their father under several show name, beginning with "The Hines Kids," and later  "The Hines Brothers," and finally as "Hines, Hines and Dad."

Gregory Hines went on to have a successful career that included Broadway productions, feature films and television series.  His movie credits include The Cotton Club, White Nights, Running Scared and Tap.  He starred in his own television series in 1997 called The Gregory Hines Shows, and had a recurring role on Will & Grace.

Hines died in Los Angeles, California of liver cancer at age 57.

Sources include: wikipedia.com