BO DIDDLEY DECEMBER 25 1760—The first poem written by a Black person and published in America is published on Christmas day 1760. It was written by Jupiter Hammon—a slave in Long Island, N.Y., who was allowed to attend school. The poem was entitled “An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries.” Ham­mon also wrote a poem to Phyllis Wheatley—another early and great African-American poet. Hammon is thought to have lived until he was 95 (1711-1806). He was devoutly re­ligious. 1838—At the Battle of Okeechobee on Christmas Day 1838, a force of Seminole Indians soundly defeated U.S. government troops who were trying to force them off their lands. The Seminoles were led by a Black chief named John Horse. The Seminoles were perhaps the most racially integrat­ed of all the Indian tribes. During the early 1800s, Blacks escap­ing slavery in Florida and Georgia were frequently granted safe ha­ven by the Seminoles. Significant intermarriage resulted. Their aid for escaped slaves was one of the reasons the government wanted so desperately to relocate the Semi­noles from Florida to the Midwest. 1951—Mr. and Mrs. Harry T. Moore are murdered when a bomb ex­plodes under their home in Mims, Fla. Both were teachers and coura­geous civil rights activists. It is be­lieved the bomb was planted by a White terrorist organization such as the Ku Klux Klan. In this Jan. 2, 2000 file photo, singer James Brown performs with his band of musicians and dancers during a seaside concert in Beirut. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)   2006—James Brown dies. “Soul Brother #1”—one of the most influ­ential figures in Soul or R&B music of the 20th Century dies at 73 while preparing for a performance. Born in Barnwell, S.C., Brown began his amazing career in 1953 and rose to fame to in the late 1950s. He re­mained highly popular through the 1960s and 1970s. While less pop­ular, he continued to perform until the day of his death. Brown was also known for his soulful dancing style. His full name was James Jo­seph Brown Jr. DECEMBER 26 1848—In one of the most daring escapes from slavery in U.S. his­tory, on this day in 1848, William and Ellen Craft began a 1,000- mile journey from a plantation in Macon, Ga., to freedom in Boston, Mass. The light-complexioned El­len disguised herself as an infirmed White man and the dark-complex­ioned William pretended to be the faithful slave. The escape, though harrowing, was successful. But in 1850 when Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, the Crafts found themselves being hunted down by both slave catchers from Georgia and U.S. Marshals. Then members of Boston’s powerful abolitionist and Underground Railroad commu­nities stepped in. They helped the Crafts flee to Canada and then to Liverpool, England, where the cou­ple stayed until after the Civil War. 1966—The first Kwanzaa holiday celebrations take place. The alter­native seven-day holiday period for African-Americans was originated by California Black nationalist Mau­lana Ron Karenga. Kwanzaa and its principles however, may be more widely respected then actually cel­ebrated among American Blacks. DECEMBER 27 1873—William A. Harper, one of the most gifted Black artists of the 20th century, is born in Cayuga, Canada. He was a student at the Henry O. Tanner Art Institute in Chi­cago. Unfortunately, his brilliance was cut short by tuberculosis. He died in Mexico at the age of 36 in 1910. 1956—Segregation is outlawed on public buses in Tallahassee, Fla. The decision followed a six-month long boycott by the city’s African-American population. The boycott was patterned after the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott sparked by Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a White man. DECEMBER 28 1816—The American Coloniza­tion Society is organized by White abolitionist Rob­ert Finley with the aim of return­ing Blacks to Africa. Ironically, it received support from two groups with opposing interests. Some ab­olitionists and philanthropists who wanted to end slavery supported the ACS with the hope of giving slaves a chance to start new, free lives in Africa. Meanwhile, some slave owners supported the ACS because they saw it as a way of ridding the country of free Blacks who they saw as stirring up trou­ble among Blacks who were still enslaved. It is estimated that at this time, there were 2 million enslaved Blacks and 200,000 free Blacks in America. In 10 years, the ACS re­turned nearly 3,000 Blacks to Afri­ca. They helped to form what are today the West African nations of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Indeed, the first president of Liberia was an American Black who had returned to Africa. 1905—Legendary Jazz great and pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines is born on this day in Duquesne, Pa., near Pittsburgh. He was in a class by him­self and a major influence not only in Jazz but also upon the Swing and Bebop eras of American popular music. He collaborated with such greats as Louis Armstrong, Char­lie Parker, Sarah Vaughn and Dizzy Gillespie. He died in 1983. Among his best known hits were “Stormy Monday Blues” and “Second Bal­cony Jump.” 1954—Movie star Denzel Wash­ington is born on this day in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. DECEMBER 29 1939—One of the most outstand­ing educators of the 20th century, Kelly Miller, dies in Washington, D.C. He was a champion of educa­tion for Blacks and was among that group of more radical Blacks who opposed the accommodating pol­icies of Booker T. Washington. In 1887, Miller became the first African American admitted to Johns Hop­kins University. He became a long-time professor and dean at Howard University, while also being a pro­lific writer, essayist and newspaper columnist. DECEMBER 30 1928—R&B music legend Bo Did­dley is born Ellas Bates on this day in McComb, Miss. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and received Lifetime Achieve­ment Awards from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and a Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He was known in particular for his technical innovations, including his trademark rectangular guitar. 1929—Sigma Gamma Rho So­rority is officially incorporated. The international Black sorority was actually organized Nov. 22, 1922, by seven teachers in Indianapolis, Ind. It is currently headquartered in Cary, N.C., with the theme: “Sister­hood, Scholarship and Service.” 1929—A Black boycott of unfair store hiring practices begins during the Great Depression. The “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work” cam­paign began in Chicago with the picketing of a chain of stores. It soon spread to New York, Los An­geles, Cleveland and several other major cities. DECEMBER 31 1862—This day has become known as “Watch Night”—the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation going into effect and nominally freeing slaves in the Confederacy. Thousands of free Blacks gathered in various locations throughout the nation to “watch” for midnight when the Emancipation of slaves became the law of the land. A focal point for celebration was the home of abolitionist Frederick Douglas in Rochester, N.Y. The post This Week In Black History December 25-31, 2024 appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.