Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable founded settlementnow known as Chicago, Ill, 1773

Death of Charlie Parker (34), one of the founders of the modern jazz movement, in New York City.

New York Mets controversial star outfielder Darryl Strawberry was born in Los Angeles.

Mauritius becomes independent

Andrew Young, former US United Nations ambassador, former congressman and former mayor of Atlanta, born in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Andrew Young, Jr., came into prominence as a civil rights activist and close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the modern civil rights movement in the United States.  Young worked with various organizations early in the movement, but his civil rights work was largely done with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) where he served as an executive director and later executive vice president.  Young served on the Board of Directors until 1972.

Young was born into a prosperous upper-middle-class family on March 12, 1932 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Daisy Fuller, a school teacher, and Andrew Jackson Young, Sr., a Howard University-educated dentist.  Young, Sr. moved the family from Franklin, Louisiana to New Orleans.  Young, Sr., believed the move was necessary to take advantage of educational opportunities for Andrew and his younger brother Walter Young (b. 1934).

Andrew Young Jr. entered the Gilbert Academy—the urban preparatory academy for Dillard University—at the age of 11 and graduated from Gilbert at age 15.  Because of his age, Young attended nearby Dillard University for a year and then transferred to Howard University during his sophomore year.  It was at Howard University, Young noted, that he learned to “embrace the strengths of the black middle class.”

Young earned a B.S. degree in Pre-Med (biology) from Howard University (1951), but chose to become a minister.  He attended Hartford Theological Seminary and graduated with a degree in divinity in 1955.  Soon afterwards he became a pastor at Bethany Congregational Church in Thomasville, Georgia.  In 1961 Young resigned his pastoral position and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which had been founded in Atlanta by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. three years earlier.  Young quickly emerged as a trusted lieutenant of King and served as a principal strategist and negotiator during the Civil Rights Campaigns in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama that resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 and

Malcolm X resigned from the Nation of Islam.

On March 12, 1945, New York was the first state to established a Fair Employment Practices Commission.

Andrew Young, Jr., came into prominence as a civil rights activist and close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the modern civil rights movement in the United States.  Young worked with various organizations early in the movement, but his civil rights work was largely done with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) where he served as an executive director and later executive vice president.  Young served on the Board of Directors until 1972.

Young was born into a prosperous upper-middle-class family on March 12, 1932 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Daisy Fuller, a school teacher, and Andrew Jackson Young, Sr., a Howard University-educated dentist.  Young, Sr. moved the family from Franklin, Louisiana to New Orleans.  Young, Sr., believed the move was necessary to take advantage of educational opportunities for Andrew and his younger brother Walter Young (b. 1934).

Andrew Young Jr. entered the Gilbert Academy—the urban preparatory academy for Dillard University—at the age of 11 and graduated from Gilbert at age 15.  Because of his age, Young attended nearby Dillard University for a year and then transferred to Howard University during his sophomore year.  It was at Howard University, Young noted, that he learned to “embrace the strengths of the black middle class.”

Young earned a B.S. degree in Pre-Med (biology) from Howard University (1951), but chose to become a minister.  He attended Hartford Theological Seminary and graduated with a degree in divinity in 1955.  Soon afterwards he became a pastor at Bethany Congregational Church in Thomasville, Georgia.  In 1961 Young resigned his pastoral position and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which had been founded in Atlanta by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. three years earlier.  Young quickly emerged as a trusted lieutenant of King and served as a principal strategist and negotiator during the Civil Rights Campaigns in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama that resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 and

Virginia Hamilton, juvenile fiction writer, born

One of the major contributors to the world of art and literature, Romare Bearden, was born on September 2, 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina. During the 76 years that he spent in this world, Bearden showed remarkable flair in the fields of music, performing arts and history, including art and literature.

Starting college at Lincoln University followed by a transfer to Boston University, Bearden finally completed his studies at New York University, graduating with a degree in education. During his time at NYU, Bearden opted for art courses and served as a lead cartoonist and eventually art editor for the monthly journal, The Medley. He had also been the art editor for Boston University’s Beanpot.

While still a student, Bearden published numerous journal covers and texts showing his concern for the social and artistic issues. Attending the Arts Students League in New York and the Sorbonne in Paris, the young enthusiast became a weekly editorial cartoonist for the Baltimore Afro-American in 1935.

Joining the Harlem Artists Guild, Bearden set out on his journey of studying art which was to last a lifetime, seeking insight from a range of artists including Picasso, Giotto and Duccio. Bearden also gained inspiration from African sculptures, Byzantine mosaics, Japanese prints and Chinese landscape paintings.

From the 1930s to the 1960s, Romare Bearden worked as a social worker with the New York City Department of Social Services, devoting his nights to work on his art. His skill in the latter field was recognized at his first solo art exhibition in Harlem in 1940 after he joined the art group, The Spiral, and his first individual show took place in Washington in 1944.

Due to his exceptional work, Bearden soon became renowned for his creative and unique pieces. Experimenting with various mediums and artistic styles, he was best recognized for his richly textured collages, two of which featured on the covers of Fortune and Time magazines in 1968. Branching out his talents and interests to various fields, Bearden also

Charles Fuller wins the Pulitzer Prize for A Soldiers Play

Benjamin Banneker and Pierre Charles LEnfant, are commissioned

to lay out the District of Columbia.

In 2002, Ambassador James Irvin Gadsden, career diplomat, and educator, was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as ambassador to Iceland. Gadsden was born on March 12, 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina, to James who worked as a janitor and Hazel Gaines Gadsden who was a housewife and part-time domestic servant.

Gadsden attended racially segregated Charleston schools. From 1962 to 1964, he was a standout student at Charles A. Brown High School, where teachers, including future South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn, provided their students with the best education their resources would allow. Gadsden became interested in world studies under Clyburn. Encouraged by Principal Nathaniel Manigault, who recognized his academic talents, Gadsden completed his secondary education in Elizabeth Irwin High School in New York City, New York through an exchange program administered by The American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers). This program eventually led to Gadsden enrolling in Harvard University in 1966 and graduating four years later with a Bachelor’s degree in economics.

While at Harvard Gadsden received his first international exposure by briefly participating in a social outreach program in Peru.  This exposure let to interest in working abroad.  To that end he took an M.A. in Chinese studies from Stanford University (California) in 1972.

Gadsden’s diplomatic career began soon after graduation from Stanford when he joined the U.S. State Department as a foreign affairs officer.  His initial assignment was at Taiwan, first as a Political Officer (1972-74), then as a Market Research Officer (1974-76) during a critical period in U.S.-China relations. In the latter position, Gadsden became recognized as one of the U.S.’s top diplomats on capitalist expansion in mainland China.

In 1977, Gadsden became one of the few blacks assigned to a diplomatic mission on European soil, when he was sent to the U.S. Embassy in Hungary (1977-1981). Building on this experience and continuing through various