Black - African American History Facts

Daniel Alexander Payne, educator and pastor in the AME Church, was born on this date in 1811. Payne helped the church start schools such as Wilberforce University (1856), the oldest black private liberal arts university. He served as its first president.

James Forten, Sr., abolitionist, entrepreneur, and inventor of a sail-handling device, died in Philadelphia, PA, on or around this date in 1842. Forten was the first black person to receive a patent.

President George Bush named William Lucas, a Detroit, MI attorney, to the position of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights on this date in 1989.

Edward Perkins, the first black Ambassador to South Africa (1986), was nominated UN Ambassador by President George Bush on this date in 1992.

Lauryn Hill, hip-hop and R&B diva, won five Grammy Awards-the most ever by a woman-on this date in 1999. Hill, whose debut solo album was entitled "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," received ten awards nominations.