On February 25th…
in 1853, the FIRST BLACK YMCA was FOUNDED by ANTHONY BOWEN, a freed slave, in WASHINGTON, DC. It was the FIRST NON-CHURCH BLACK INSTITUTION IN AMERICA, predating Lincoln University in Oxford, Pa., by a year. With the help of a group of friends, Mr. Bowen, the principal founder organized the “YMCA for Colored Men and Boys.” This YMCA was founded only nine years after the world’s first YMCA was founded in London, England and less than two years after the first North American YMCAs were organized in Boston and Montreal. This milestone was achieved eight years before the Civil War and ten years before slavery officially ended in the United States.
Anthony Bowen, a true trailblazer, was born a slave in 1809 and was the FIRST BLACK MAN TO BECOME A CLERK IN THE U.S. PATENT OFFICE. It was a white co-worker, William Chauncy Langdon, a member of the board of the year-old Washington YMCA for white men and boys who first told Mr. Bowen about the YMCA. With black people barred from membership in any organizations of the day, Bowen decided that a “Black YMCA” was needed.
As Anthony Bowen’s work in the 1850s indicates, African Americans embraced the YMCA early on, but social and financial conditions for black people made it difficult for the movement to grow very quickly. However, by the late 1860s, the movement grew roots in the black community and gave life to associations in New York City, Philadelphia, Charleston, SC and Harrisburg, PA. In 1867, E. V. C. Eato of New York City became the first black delegate to attend the YMCA’s annual convention.
The DC branch of the organization was incorporated on June 6, 1892. Its first building at Twelfth Street, N.W. in Washington DC was dedicated on 12 May 1912. African American citizens of Washington contributed $27,000 toward the cost. In 1972, the name was officially changed from “Twelfth Street YMCA” to the “Anthony Bowen Branch YMCA” in honor of its founder and first president.
in 1837, CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY, the OLDEST INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS, was founded in CHEYNEY, PA, west of Philadelphia. At its founding, the university was named theAFRICAN INSTITUTE however the name was changed several weeks later to THE INSTITUTE FOR COLORED YOUTH. In subsequent years, the school was named CHEYNEY TRAINING SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS, CHEYNEY STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE, and CHEYNEY STATE COLLEGE. Today the university has approximately 1,300 undergraduate students, 180 graduate students and 125 faculty members. Notable alumni include Bayard Rustin, Ed Bradley, Robert W. Bogle, Congressman Curt Weldon, and Ambassador Joseph M. Segars.
in 1870, two days after Mississippi was granted representation in Congress for the first time since it seceded in 1861, HON. HIRAM RHODES REVELS was sworn in, becoming THE FIRST BLACK U.S. SENATOR. Sen. Revels represented Mississippi from Feb. 25, 1870, to March 4, 1871, during reconstruction. However, because, there were no black delegates in the House of Representatives, Sen. Revels is also the FIRST BLACK PERSON TO SERVE IN THE U.S. CONGRESS. During the Civil War, Revels, a college-educated minister, helped form African American army regiments for the Union cause, started a school for freed men, and served as a chaplain for the Union army. Posted to Mississippi, Revels remained in the former Confederate state after the war and entered into Reconstruction-era Southern politics.
In 1867, the first Reconstruction Act was passed by a Republican-dominated U.S. Congress, dividing the South into five military districts and granting suffrage to all male citizens, regardless of race. A politically mobilized African American community joined with white allies in the Southern states to elect the Republican Party to power, which in turn brought about radical changes across the south. By 1870, all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union, and most were controlled by the Republican Party, thanks in large part to the support of African American voters. On January 20, 1870, Hiram R. Revels was elected by the Mississippi legislature to fill the Senate seat once held by Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy.
in 1919, Monford Merrill “MONTE” IRVIN, hall of fame baseball player, was BORN IN HALEBURG, ALABAMA. Irvin began playing baseball professionally in the Negro League where he starred until 1949 when he was signed by the New York Giants of the Major Leagues. Despite being interrupted by serving in the military from 1943 to 1945, Irvin was a 5-TIME NEGRO LEAGUE ALL-STAR. In his eight season Major League career, Irvin was anALL-STAR ONCE and LED THE NATIONAL LEAGUE IN RBIS in 1951. After retiring, Irvin worked as a scout for the New York Mets for two years and from 1968 to 1984 served as a public relations specialist in the baseball commissioner’s office. Irvin was inducted into the BASEBALL HALL OF FAME in 1973 and continues to campaign for recognition of deserving Negro League veterans.
in 1928, ALOYISUS LEON HIGGINBOTHAM, JR., civil rights advocate, author, and federal judge, was BORN IN EWING, NEW JERSEY. Higginbotham earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949 from Antioch College and his law degree from Yale University in 1952. From 1954 to 1962, he worked in private practice as a member of theFIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN LAW FIRM IN PHILADELPHIA. In 1962, President John Kennedy appointed Higginbotham a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, the FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN APPOINTED A COMMISSIONER ON ANY REGULATORY COMMISSION.
In 1964, he was appointed a District Court judge by President Lyndon Johnson and served 13 years before being elevated to the United States Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter. He was Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals from 1990 to 1991 before retiring from the bench in 1993. Higginbotham founded the South Africa Free Election Fund and raised several million dollars to support fair elections in South Africa and served as one of the international mediators of the 1994 election. After the election, he helped the government draft a new constitution. President William Clinton awarded Higginbotham the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM in 1995 and in 1996 the NAACP awarded him the SPINGARN MEDAL. Higginbotham died on December 14, 1998. “The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law” annually presents the A. Leon Higginbotham Corporate Leadership Award.
in 1928, “One-Man Show of Art by Negro, First of Kind Here, Opens Today,” read the headline of a front-page article in ‘The New York Times’ on this day. The article announced the opening of ARCHIBALD J. MOTLEY, JR.‘s show at the New Gallery on Madison Avenue. This was the FIRST TIME IN HISTORY THAT AN ARTIST HAD MADE THE FRONT PAGE OF ‘THE NEW YORK TIMES’ and it was the SECOND ONE-PERSON SHOW BY A BLACK ARTIST. HENRY OSSAWA TANNER had the FIRST ONE-PERSON SHOW BY A BLACK ARTIST.
in 1930, ARCHIBALD HENRY GRIMKE, lawyer, journalist, diplomat and CO-FOUNDER OF THE NAACP, DIED. Grimke was born enslaved on August 17, 1849 in Charleston, SC. He and his family were freed by their owner upon his death. Grimke went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, and a Master of Arts degree from Lincoln University in 1870 and 1872, respectively. In 1874, he earned a law degree from Harvard University. 
After doing graduate work at Princeton Theological Seminary, Grimke was ordained a Presbyterian minister. Grimke served as the American Consul to the Dominican Republic from 1894 to 1898 and in 1909, was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1919, Grimke was awarded theNAACP SPINGARN MEDAL. A biography of his life, “Archibald Grimke: Portrait of a Black Independent,” was published in 1993.
in 1948, REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. was ORDAINED as a Baptist minister
REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
in 1951, JOSEPH “CYCLONE JOE” WILLIAMS, Negro League baseball pitcher, DIED. Williams was born April 6, 1886 in Seguin, Texas. He began playing baseball professionally in 1905. Although records are sketchy, Williams was credited with 41 wins and 3 losses in 1914. He also pitched many games against major league stars in post-season barnstorming exhibitions and is credited with posting a record of 20 wins and 7 losses in those games. 
Williams retired in 1932 and although most modern sources consider Satchel Paige to be the greatest Negro League pitcher, a 1952 poll by the Pittsburgh Courier gave that title to Williams. Williams was inducted into theBASEBALL HALL OF FAME IN 2001.
in 1951, Olympic Gold Medalist, DONALD QUARRIE, One of the top sprinters in the world in his day was BORN in Kingston, Jamaica.
in 1964, before a crowd of 8,300 spectators at the Convention Hall Arena in Miami Beach, Fla., CASSIUS MARCELLUS CLAY, JR. was awarded a TKO (Technical Knockout) in 6 rounds OVER SONNY LISTON to win his FIRST OF THREE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLES. Clay was undefeated but had been knocked down and almost out by England’s Henry Cooper in his previous bout. Clay came into the match a 10-1 underdog against the seemingly invincible Liston. However, Clay predicted victory, boasting that he would “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” and knock out Liston in the eighth round. This loud taunting and high pulse rate before the bout convinced many that he was terrified of the Liston, then Champion. At the end of the fourth round, blinded by an unknown substance, Clay begged trainer Angelo Dundee to let him quit. Dundee did not oblige. Instead, Clay, nicknamed the “Louisville Lip,” proved to not be a bragging fraud. Clay danced and backpedaled away from Liston’s powerful swings and circled the onrushing Liston until his vision cleared. He peppered the Champion with quick, yet, punishing jabs to Liston’s head and a bevy of straight rights. Liston hurt his shoulder in the first round, injuring some muscles when he swung for and missed the fleet-footed and elusive. At the end of round 6, the Champ and Clay were almost equal in points. However, the Champion complained of the injured shoulder again and stayed on his stool. The loquacious 22-year old youngster had shocked the odds-makers with a seventh-round technical knockout. It is still rumored that Liston faked the injury and threw the fight, but there has never been any evidence, such as a significant change in bidding odds just before the bout, to support the claim.
Mr. Clay was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942. He started boxing at age 12 and had amassed a record of over 100 wins in amateur competition by age 18. In 1959, he won the INTERNATIONAL GOLDEN GLOVES HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE and in 1960, a GOLD MEDAL IN THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CATEGORY AT THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES IN ROME. Clay turned professional after the Olympics and went undefeated in his first 19 bouts, earning him the right to challenge Sonny Liston, who had defeated Floyd Patterson in 1962 to win the heavyweight title.
To celebrate winning the world heavyweight title, Clay went to a private party at a Miami hotel that was attended by his friend Malcolm X, an outspoken leader of the Black Muslim group known as the Nation of Islam. Two days later, a markedly more restrained Clay announced he was joining the Nation of Islam and defended the organization’s concept of racial segregation while speaking of the importance of the Muslim religion in his life. Later in 1964, Clay, who was the descendant of a runaway Kentucky slave, rejected the name originally given to his family by a slave owner and TOOK THE MUSLIM NAME OF MUHAMMAD ALI.
Muhammad Ali would go on to become one of the 20th century’s greatest sporting figures, as much for his social and political influence as his prowess in his chosen sport. After successfully defending his title nine times, it was stripped from him in 1967 after he refused induction into the U.S. Army on the grounds that he was a Muslim minister and therefore a conscientious objector. That year, he was sentenced to five years in prison for violating the Selective Service Act but was allowed to remain free as he appealed the decision. His popularity plummeted, but many across the world applauded his bold stand against the Vietnam War.
In 1970, Ali was allowed to return to the boxing ring, and the next year the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Ali’s draft evasion conviction. In 1974, he REGAINED THE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE in a match against George Foreman in Zaire and successfully defended it in a brutal 15-round contest against Joe Frazier in the Philippines in the following year. In 1978, he lost the title to Leon Spinks but later that year DEFEATED SPINKS IN A REMATCH, making him the FIRST BOXER TO WIN THE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE THREE TIMES. He retired in 1979 but returned to the ring twice in the early 1980s.
The former “Draft Dodger” would go on to become a notable figure in American and International diplomatic affairs. In 1990, Ali was inducted into the INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME and in 1996, he LIT THE OLYMPIC FLAME at the opening ceremonies of the Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia. On JANUARY 8, 2005, Muhammad Ali was presented with the PRESIDENTIAL CITIZENS MEDAL BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH. At a White House ceremony on NOVEMBER 9, 2005, Muhammad Ali was awarded the PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM. On DECEMBER 17, 2005 Mr. Ali received the “OTTO HAHN PEACE MEDAL IN GOLD” from the UN Association of Germany (DGVN) in Berlin for his work with the US Civil Rights Movement and the United Nations.
in 1967, CARL J. MURPHY, journalist, civil rights leader and educator, DIED. Murphy was born January 17, 1889 in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University in 1911 and a Master of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1913. Murphy served as chairman of the German Department at Howard from 1913 to 1918. 
In 1922, he assumed control of the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper and over the next four decades solidified it as a major African American newspaper, increasing circulation from 14,000 to more than 200,000 with over 200 employees. Under his leadership, the newspaper was deeply involved in the organization of the 1965 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Murphy was awarded the NAACP SPINGARN MEDAL in 1955. The Murphy Fine Arts Center and the Carl J. Murphy Scholarship Fund at Morgan State University are named in his honor.
in 1975, ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, leader of the Nation of Islam, DIED. Muhammad was born Elijah Poole on October 7, 1897 in Sandersville, Georgia. By the fourth grade, he left school to work in the fields and at 16 left home to work in factories and businesses in the area. In 1923, Poole and his family moved to Hamtramck, Michigan. In 1931, he converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad and in 1932 he took over leadership of Temple No. 1 in Detroit. In 1934, Muhammad was named Minister of Islam. In 1942, he was charged with eight counts of sedition for instructing his followers not to register with Selective Service or serve in the military. Found guilty, he served four years in prison. Following his release from prison, the Nation of Islam grew significantly and by the 1970s they owned businesses, farmland, schools and a bank. In 1972, Muhammad stated that the NOI had a net worth of $75 million. In the early 1990s, the City of Detroit renamed part of Linwood Avenue, “Elijah Muhammad Boulevard.” Several books have been published about Muhammad, including “An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad” (1998) and “The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad” (2001).
in 1978, DANIEL “CHAPPIE” JAMES, JR., the FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN TO ACHIEVE THE RANK OF 4 STAR GENERAL IN THE U.S. AIR FORCE, DIED at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. General James was born February 11, 1920 in Pensacola, Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Tuskegee Institute in 1942. As a Tuskegee Airman, During World War II, he trained pilots but flew 101 combat missions during the Korean War. During the Vietnam War, James flew 78 combat missions, including “Operation Bolo” in which seven Communist planes were destroyed, the highest total kill of any mission during the war.
Gen. Daniel James Jr. Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Jr. (U.S. Air Force photo)
In 1975, James was promoted to four star grade and assigned as commander in chief, NORAD/ADCOM, where he had operational command of all United States and Canadian strategic aerospace defense forces. During his career, James received the DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL, LEGION OF MERIT, and the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS. James retired from the Air Force three weeks prior to his death. As a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., General James is a LAUREL WREATH LAUREATE, the fraternity’s highest honor. In 2003, General James’ name was enshrined in the Ring of Genealogy at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan.
in 1980, Asa Bundy Sheffey, a.k.a. ROBERT E. HAYDEN, poet, DIED. Hayden was born on August 4, 1913 in Detroit, Michigan and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from Detroit City College, later renamed Wayne State University, in 1942.
Hayden published his first book of poetry, “Heart-Shape in the Dust,” in 1940 and he gained international recognition in 1966 when he was awarded the grand prize for poetry at the First World Festival of Negro Arts for his book “Ballad of Remembrance.” In 1976, he was appointed the FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN CONSULTANT IN POETRY, LATER NAMED POET LAUREATE, TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
in 1987, Edgar Daniel “E.D.” NIXON, civil rights leader and primary figure in the Montgomery Bus Boycott DIED in Montgomery, AL.
in 1989, MIKE TYSON BEAT FRANK BRUNO in 5 rounds by TKO (Technical Knockout) to defend his UNIFIED HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING TITLE.
in 1991, ADRIENNE MITCHELL, the FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN TO DIE IN COMBAT IN THE PERSIAN GULF WAR was killed in her military barracks in Dharan, Saudi Arabia
in 1992, JAMES BROWN received the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT GRAMMY AWARD.
in 1994, Arnold Raymond Cream a.k.a. JERSEY JOE WALCOTT, hall of fame boxer, DIED. Mr. Walcott was born on January 31, 1914 in Merchantville, New Jersey. He made his professional boxing debut in 1930 and in 1951 won the heavyweight championship at the age of 37. Over his 23 year professional boxing career, he had a record of 51 wins, 18 losses and 2 draws. After retiring, Walcott worked as a boxing referee and in 1972 became Sheriff of Camden County. From 1975 to 1984, he served as Chairman of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission. In 1990, Walcott was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
in 1994, the mayor of MARIETTA, GEORGIA proclaimed February 25th “LONNIE G. JOHNSON DAY.” Mr. Johnson, an inventor from his childhood years, is most notably, the INVENTOR OF THE SUPER SOAKER.
in 1998, Ellas Otha Bates a.k.a. BO DIDDLEY received the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT GRAMMY AWARD.
DID YOU KNOW…
- ALAIN L. LOCKE became the FIRST BLACK RHODES SCHOLAR in 1907?
- DANIEL A. PAYNE became the FIRST BLACK COLLEGE PRESIDENT in 1856 when he took the lead atWILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY in Ohio?
- DR. RUTH SIMMONS became the FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL at BROWN UNIVERSITY in 2001?
DR. RUTH SIMMONS
On This Day In Black History 