Serena Williams

In 1999, 17-year-old Serena became the first Black woman to win the U.S Open since tennis pioneer, Althea Gibson, in 1958. From there, Serena went on to dominate tennis courts worldwide, winning a total of 21 Grand Slam titles. Training to be the greatest since she was a toddler, Serena has soared pass adversity, including racially fueled comments from commentators and audiences, with flying colors. Her tenacity and passion for the game not only paved the way for other women tennis players, but also the next generation of Black athletes. “As a Black tennis player, I looked different. I sounded different. I dressed differently. I served differently. But when I stepped onto the court, I could compete with anyone.”

Today in Disney History

Mickey Rooney, the voice of Adult Tod in Disney's The Fox and the Hound, was born on this day in 1920. Jason Alexander! Born in 1959, he voiced Hugo in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Did you know?

Did you know that Ethel Waters was the first African American to be nominated for an Emmy Award? In 1962, the legendary jazz and blues singer received the nomination for her performance in a "Route 66" episode, "Good Night, Sweet Blues.” Waters' nomination paved the way for women like Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, Alfre Woodard, Halle Berry, Kerry Washington, Regina King, and Viola Davis, now the first Black woman to win the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

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Dr. Suess

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He published his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, under the name of Dr. Seuss in 1937. Next came a string of best sellers, including The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. His rhymes and characters are beloved by generations.

Did you know?

Jesse Eugene Russell, aka the Father of the Cellphone, is a Black inventor trained in electrical engineering. A graduate of Tennessee State University, Russell became the first graduate of an HBCU to be hired by AT&T Bell Labs. He went on to receive his MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford and became an expert in digital signal processing. During his time at AT&T he suggested taking the car phone more on the go and putting one in every hand. This technology took over four years to perfect. But finally in 1988, Russell released the first digital cellular system to the world. Currently, Russell holds over 75 patents in digital cellular technologies, including but not limited to: the mobile data telephone, the base station for mobile radio telecommunications systems, & the broadband cable telephony network architecture IP ITN network architecture reference model, etc. In 2000, Russell left Bell Labs to become the CEO of incNETWORKS, which is one of the leaders in MicroLTE product platforms for 4G devices.

What was the first state-supported school for the training of African-American Teachers?

The institution that is now Alabama State University in Montgomery began in 1867 as Lincoln Normal School, a private school for African-American students in Marion, Alabama. In 1899 a new building was constructed. Its cost was covered by a group of black citizens, by the Freedmen's Bureau (an agency formed by Congress in 1865 to provide aid to African-Americans and impoverished whites), and by the American Missionary Association, whose teachers ran the school. In 1874 Lincoln Normal School was recognized as a state-supported institution for the education of African-American teachers.
The school was moved to Montgomery in 1887, its name was changed to Alabama Colored People's University, and the campus was expanded as a new buildings were constructed over the years. As the school grew to a four-year college and then added a graduate school, its name was changed several times. In 1969 it received university status, and Alabama State University grew to include colleges of arts and sciences, business administration, education, music, and aerospace studies.

Did you know?

February was chosen as Black History Month because two important birthdays occur in February—that of Abraham Lincoln, the author of the Emancipation Proclamation, and that of Frederick Douglass, an early African American abolitionist

Did you know?

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was the first Black woman in the US to be awarded a PhD, and the first woman to be awarded her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She also served as the first President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

Andrew "Rube" Foster

Born in Texas in 1879, Rube Foster began playing baseball at an early age. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade to play for a local team called the Waco Yellow Jackets. In 1902, he went to play for the Chicago Union Giants. Over the next few years, Foster played for several teams and established himself as a top pitcher, also becoming a team manager in 1907 for the Leland Giants. Around 1910, Foster started his own team. In 1920, he became famous when he helped establish the Negro National League, the first successful professional baseball league for African-American players. Foster died in Illinois in 1930.