Jet back issues from May 1995:
Boston Univ. will keep King papers, State Supreme Court rules. (correspondence and manuscripts of Martin Luther King, Jr.)
May 01, 1995 ... Coretta Scott King suffered another legal setback in her attempt to gain control of Martin Luther King Jr.'s papers currently being held by Boston University.The Massachusetts Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court decision to award the slain civil rights leader's papers to ...
Florida's first black sheriff. (Nat Glover elected sheriff of Jacksonville, FL)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Nat Glover and his wife Doris raise their arms in victory after it was recently announced that Glover has been elected ...
New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman apologizes for racial slur.
May 01, 1995 ... New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman recently apologized for a derogatory remark she made in a British newspaper on the "cultural problems" that underlie welfare reform.In the newspaper article Whitman described a game called "jewels in the crown," which is allegedly a competition ...
Mandela remains committed to changing government 1 year after S. Africa's all-race vote. (South African Pres Nelson Mandela)
May 01, 1995 ... A year after Nelson Mandela's African National Congress was voted into power and he became the country's first Black president, his commitment to transformation of the government remains in tact.Although many Blacks are still feeling the impact of apartheid, Mandela says that for ...
Senate approves two black women for major positions on federal government agencies. (Jacqueline Williams-Bridgers confirmed as State Dept. Inspector General; Shirley A. Jackson confirmed as chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Confirmed by the U.S. Senate, two Black women nominees of President Clinton took over in unprecedented roles as the State Department Inspector General and chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington. The two Black women specialists are the first ever to serve in the posts. ...
LAPD mistakenly destroys evidence in case against rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. (Los Angeles, CA, Police Dept.)
May 01, 1995 ... Los Angeles police officials accidentally destroyed some of the evidence in the murder case against rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg."The simple fact is somebody screwed up," Deputy District Attorney Ed Nison said. He indicated that a police computer operator created an error that ...
U.S. Justice Dept. sues Louisiana nightclub for banning blacks. (La Poussiere nightclub in Breauz Bridge, LA)
May 01, 1995 ... The Justice Department recently filed a lawsuit against a Louisiana nightclub for refusing to admit Blacks, including an assistant U.S. Attorney from Chicago responsible for prosecuting criminal and civil rights cases.The department's civil suit, filed in U.S. District Court in ...
Why married couples live longer and do better than singles.
May 01, 1995; ... If single people knew what was I good for them, they'd find a mate and say "I do" just to reap such benefits as increased income, better emotional and physical health and greater sexual satisfaction.That's according to a recent body of findings that indicates married couples live ...
Bessie Coleman: April 30, 1926. (first licensed African American pilot died on this date)(This Week in Black History)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... April 30,1926A Bessie Coleman, first licensed Black pilot in the United States, died on this day in Jacksonville, FL. Early that morning Coleman and her companion William Wills took off in an old World War I surplus Army airplane to practice for an upcoming air show. At about 2,000 ...
Bert N. Mitchell. (Mitchell, Titus & Co. CEO and Chmn named to Ariel Mutual Funds board of trustees)(People)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Bert N. Mitchell, chairman and CEO of Mitchell, Titus & Co., a Chicago accounting firm, has been named chairman of the ...
Tyson buys Las Vegas mansion for $3.7 mil. (heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Mike Tyson is calling an 11,000-square-foot mansion in Las Vegas home after forking over $3.7 million for the residence, according to the New York Daily News and other reports.Tyson, who was just released from an Indiana prison a few weeks ago (JET, April 17), purchased the ...
Rep. Louis Stokes, Olympian Florence Joyner among inductees to Public Housing Hall of Fame.
May 01, 1995 ... Cleveland Rep. Louis Stokes, Olympic Gold Medalist Florence Griffith Joyner, tenant advocate Bertha Gilkey, and educator Angelita Reyes were among the first honorees chosen by Housing And Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Henry G. Cisneros for inclusion in the nation's first Public Housing ...
Head of TLC Beatrice is nation's top female CEO. (Loia Lewis named number one woman CEO by Working Woman magazine)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Loida Lewis, the Philippine-born lawyer who took over the nation's biggest Black-owned business when her husband and company founder Reginald Lewis died two years ago, is the top female CEO in the nation, according to a recent survey.Working Woman magazine ranked 50 companies owned ...
Martin Lawrence, Will Smith star in hit movie 'Bad Boys.'(Cover Story)
May 01, 1995 ... What do you get when you pair two of Hollywood's funniest men in an action-packed, laugh-till-you-cry cop movie?If the actors are hilarious Martin Lawrence and loveable Will Smith, you get the largest grossing opening movie this year. Bad Boys took in an impressive $i5.5 million ...
Black students' sit-in shuts down 'insensitive' paper at DePaul University. (school newspaper 'DePaulia')(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Black students at DePaul University in Chicago staged a sit-in and have shut down the school's newspaper in protest of what they consider its biased coverage.At JET press time, the students had taken over the offices of the DePaulia, which they allege has published articles which ...
UNCF honors Arthur Ashe. (United Negro College Fund honors late tennis legend with the Frederick D. Patterson Award)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... A UNCF HONORS ARTHUR ASHE: Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe (3rd , r) accepts the Frederick D. Patterson Award for her late husband, tennis star Arthur Ashe, at the United Negro College Fund's annual dinner in New York. Moutoussamy-Ashe is congratulated by (l-r) Michael Jordan, Chairman and CEO of ...
Wisconsin-based insurance co. agrees to $16 mil. settlement in bias case. (American Family Mutual Insurance Co.)
May 01, 1995 ... A Wisconsin insurance company recently agreed to pay a settlement of more than $16 million for allegedly providing Blacks with inferior policies compared to those provided Whites and, in some cases, for refusing to insure homes owned by Blacks.The settlement, agreed to by American ...
Mandela gives wife Winnie her job back; but may fire her again. (South African Pres Nelson Mandela reinstates estranged Winnie in his cabinet)
May 01, 1995 ... Two weeks after firing his estranged wife from her Cabinet post, South African President Nelson Mandela recently rehired her but is expected to fire her again.Winnie Mandela's reinstatement was only expected to last a few days and, at JET press time, President Mandela was set to ...
Basketball star Kendall Gill returns to SuperSonics after treatment for clinical depression. (Seattle SuperSonics)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Seattle SuperSonics guard Kendall Gill recently returned to the team after taking a week off for treatment of clinical depression.Gill said he feels great and urged others not to wait as long as he did to get help."My short absence had very little to do with basketball," ...
Jordan, Shaq were top earning athletes in '94. (Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal of the Orlando Magic)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Michael Jordan had a great year in 1994. So great that the then-retired basketball superstar earned a whopping $30.01 million, making him the top paid athlete for the year, according to Forbes magazine.Jordan, who had not yet unretired from the NBA's Chicago Bulls, earned most of ...
Ex-Simpson juror Harris tells Judge Ito her room was searched; cites instances of bias, tension. (O.J. Simpson trial; dismissed juror Jeannette Harris)
May 01, 1995 ... Jeanette Harris, dismissed as a juror in the O.J. Simpson double murder case, recently was called before Superior Court Judge Lance Ito to explain her allegations about racial incidents among jurors.Ms. Harris, 38, made national headlines when she told L.A. newswoman Pat Harvey ...
Branford Marsalis officially leaves 'Tonight Show,' Kevin Eubanks named new musical director. (Marsalis makes announcement during a visit to the show)(Brief Article)
May 01, 1995 ... Jazz musician Branford Marsalis has made it official--he has permanently left "The Tonight Show."The famed saxophonist had served as the show's musical director before taking an indefinite leave of absence earlier this year to tour more, promote his new album, Buckshot LeFonque, ...
Camille Cosby's Broadway play, 'Having Our say,' wins critical acclaim.
May 01, 1995 ... When the curtain finally came down following the final act of Having My Say at Broadway's Booth Theatre and shouts of "bravo" subsided, print and broadcast critics rushed to proclaim that the two-character drama was a hit-with an exclamation mark!Co-starring affable actress Gloria ...
Blacks are most likely federal workers to be fired, report reveals.(Office of Personnel Management report)
May 08, 1995 ... According to a recent report by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Black federal employees were more than twice as likely to be fired than their White, Hispanic or Asian counterparts.Regardless of their occupational category, Pay level, education, agency, geographic ...
Ito removes deputies after criticism by ex-juror; 13 remaining jurors protest move.(Lance Ito, O.J. Simpson murder case)
May 08, 1995 ... In a bizarre move, more than half of the jury panel in the O.J. Simpson murder case staged a protest, refusing to take their seats in the jury box following the reassignment of several of the deputies ordered to watch them.Court officials said 13 of the 18 remaining members of the ...
Swygert named new Howard Univ. prexy.(H. Patrick Swygert named president of Howard University, Washington DC)
May 08, 1995 ... Climaxing a year's search, the Howard University Board of Directors unanimously selected H. Patrick Swygert as the 15th president of Howard University in Washington.The announcement ended a race involving more than 300 candidates.Receiving both undergraduate and law ...
Chicago's Whitney Young High School wins second place in National Academic Decathlon.(high school academic competition)(Brief Article)
May 08, 1995 ... Whitney Young High School in Chicago recently came in second place in the U.S. Academic Decathlon.The two-day national competition was held in Chicago at Roosevelt University.The decathlon tested the students' knowledge in 10 areas: math, fine arts, literature, science, ...
Over 80 dead; day of mourning held as healing starts in Oklahoma City.(bombing in Oklahoma City, OK)
May 08, 1995 ... In the worst terrorist attack in the 219-year history of the United States, 80 people-including 12 children enrolled in a day care center-were killed when a bomb gutted the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.The number of fatalities in the devastatingly gruesome ...
Celebrated D.C. trial lawyer dies of heart attack.(R. Kenneth Mundy)(Obituary)
May 08, 1995 ... Known for his wide brimmed straw hats and his crisp courtroom manner, Washington lawyer R. Kenneth Mundy became a pacesetting widely feared Black criminal trial lawyer long before the O.J. Simpson trial. Just as Americans outside of the nation's capital were discovering this legal ...
Award-winning director Gilbert Moses succumbs.(Obituary)
May 08, 1995 ... Gilbert Moses, an award-winning director and co-founder of a pioneering Black theater company, died recently of multiple myeloma (a primary tumor of the bone marrow).Moses, 52, directed plays and musicals by Melvin Van Peebles, Ed Bullins, Imamu Baraka and other writers. ...
MSU VP Betty Colden dies in Michigan home.(assistant vice president of Michigan State University)(Obituary)
May 08, 1995 ... Betty Mitchell Colden, assistant vice president of Michigan State University (MSU) for governmental and federal affairs, died at her Lansing Township home of ovarian cancer. She was 56 years old.One of the first Black college administrators with a specialty of federal affairs, she ...
Corneal A. Davis, civil rights leader, former Illinois state Rep. succumbs in Chicago at 94.(Obituary)
May 08, 1995 ... The Rev. Corneal A. Davis, a civil rights crusader and former Illinois state representative, recently in a South Side Chicago nursing home.Davis, 94, a Democrat nicknamed "the Deacon," served in the Illinois General Assembly-at times alongside former Chicago Mayor Harold ...
Willie Mays: May 6, 1931. (baseball legend born on this day)(This Week in Black History)
May 08, 1995 ... May 6,1931Willie Mays, one of the most exciting players in baseball history, was born on this day. He electrified fans with his sensational fielding, outstanding hitting and base-running. During his major league career, he hit 660 home runs. Only Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth bit more ....
Blacks win pulitzer prizes for 1995.
May 08, 1995 ... An investigative reporter at The Washington Post, a critic at The New York Times and The Virgin Islands Daily News are among the 14 journalism and seven arts recipients of the prestigious 1995 Pulitzer Prizes.Leon Dash, a reporter for the investigative and special projects staff of ...
New study reveals black teen-agers have kicked the smoking habit, while whites remain hooked.(Journal of the National Cancer Institute report)(Brief Article)
May 08, 1995 ... A recent survey indicates that Black teens have nearly eliminated at least one bad habit from their behavior--smoking cigarettes. White teens, however, remain hooked.The survey, which appeared in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that Black teens virtually have ...
President Clinton signs bill to avert D.C. bankruptcy.
May 08, 1995 ... Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry recently promised to work with a new, federally imposed board designed to keep tight reins on the capital's battered finances.In attempting to avert an embarrassing bankruptcy in D.C., President Clinton signed a bill to set up an oversight board ...
Should white families adopt black children?
May 08, 1995; ... The planned adoption of two Black children by a mixed-race couple in Texas has sparked a national debate over whether White families should adopt Black children.Scott Mullen and his wife Lou Ann, of Lexington, TX, recently signed an adoptive placement agreement that gives them ...
NBA Players Assn. executive director Charles Grantham resigns post.
May 08, 1995 ... NBA players were reportedly outraged that they had not been informed of the recent resignation of their union chief, Charles Grantham.Grantham, who served as the executive director of the NBA Players Association since Sept. 19, 1988, cited only "irreconcilable differences ...
Black sports agents make inroads in competitive field, but still have a long way to go.
May 08, 1995 ... Black professional sports agents are on the rise in the competitive field where Black players dominate on the field, but Whites count their money.Carl and Kevin Poston, William Strickland, Lamont Smith, Eugene Parker, David Ware, Brig Owens and Harold "Doc" Daniels are some agents ...
Cowboys' Williams and friend are accused of raping 17-year-old Dallas dancer.(Erik Williams)
May 08, 1995 ... Dallas Cowboys All-Pro offensive tackle Erik Williams and an out-of-town friend recently were arrested and face charges of sexual assault after a 17-year-old woman accused the men of rape.Williams, 26, and his friend Roderick Carson, also 26, will be charged with sexual assault, ...
George Foreman retains IBF title in close fight with German challenger Axel Schulz.(International Boxing Federation Heavyweight Championship)
May 08, 1995 ... Despite having his left eye closed and his face swollen up like a child with mumps, 46-year-old IBF heavyweight champion George Foreman was just good enough to beat 26-year-old German challenger Axel Schulz during their title bout in Las Vegas.Foreman (74-4) hit Schulz with a ...
Rashaan Salaam, Steve McNair among future black pro stars selected in 1995 NFL draft.(National Football League draft)
May 08, 1995 ... Heisman Trophy-winner Rashaan Salaam from the University of Colorado and Alcorn State University star quarterback Steve McNair were among some of the highly-rated Blacks picked in the first round of the recent NFL draft.Salaam, an explosive running back who rushed for 2,000 yards ...
Stevie Wonder returns with 'Conversation Peace,' his first album in four years.(Cover Story)
May 08, 1995; ... All for one, one for all/There's no Away we'll reach our greatest heights/Unless we heed the call/Me for you, you for me/There's no chance of world salvation/Less the conversation's peace.Stevie Wonder is a musical superstar who is blessed and possessed. He is blessed with the ...
HHS removes race as barrier to adoptions of minority children.(Department of Health and Human Services)
May 15, 1995 ... The long searches that states have conducted to find Black adoptive families for Black children are illegal and can no longer be the primary factor in placing children for adoption, according to new guidelines published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).Federal ...
Anthropologists conclude Africans were first to make tools about 90,000 years ago.
May 15, 1995 ... Stone Age humans first learned to make sophisticated tools about 90,000 years ago in Africa and not in Europe as had been widely believed, new research reveals.The findings, reported in the journal Science, means that technology of that level reached Africa about 75,000 years ...
Atty. Gen. Reno picks Calvin Buchanan for nomination as 1st black U.S. Attorney for Miss.(Janet Reno, Mississippi)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... Attorney General Janet Reno has recommended that President Clinton nominate 37-year-old Calvin D. "Buck" Buchanan to be Mississippi's first Black U.S. attorney.An assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District's Oxford, MS, office, Buchanan, if confirmed by the Senate, would take ...
Boesak cleared of wrongdoing after probe, but his handling of church funds called 'sloppy.'(investigation of South African church leader Allan Boesak)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... An inquiry by the South African government in Johannesburg recently cleared the former church leader Allan Boesak of charges that he money intended to help child victims of apartheid.But while the inquiry ordered by President Nelson Mandela cleared Boesak of criminal wrongdoing, ...
Fund-raising drive launched to help raise $500,000 for burdened Selma University.
May 15, 1995 ... A campaign was launched recently to raise $500,000 for financially strapped Selma (AL) University and the National Baptist Convention (NBC) is spearheading the drive.The Rev. Henry Lyons, NBC president, said the organization will donate $100,000 to the effort during its annual ...
10 year old inspires adults at D.C. Mayor Barry's prayer breakfast.(Marion Barry)
May 15, 1995 ... From the mouths of babes ...flows wisdom. And so it was at a recent prayer breakfast for D.C. Mayor Marion Barry when 10-year-old Ashley Danielle Oubre asked the 1,500 adult diners to think about the wisdom they share with children and apply it to their own lives."Children play ...
Atlanta hospital apologizes to staff for patient who wanted white-only care.(DeKalb Medical Center, Atlanta, GA)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... Hospital administrators at DeKalb Medical Center in Atlanta recently apologized to 54 minority and White nurses who were insulted after a patient requested and received care from White physicians and nurses only.The unidentified woman who gave birth at the center in late March ...
Settlement reached in murder-for-hire case against Malcolm X's daughter, Qubilah Shabazz.
May 15, 1995 ... Prosecutors recently agreed to drop their murder-for-hire charges against a daughter of slain leader Malcolm in a deal that requires her to abandon her allegations of an FBI frame-up and drug and psychiatric treatment.The settlement was presented at Qubilah Shabazz's scheduled ...
Black Colombian senator visits U.S. (Pledad Corboda de Castro)
May 15, 1995 ... During a recent trip to the United States, the first Black woman to be elected to the Senate in the country of Colombia tried to build a relationship between Black Latin Americans and Black Americans.Sen. Pledad Corboda de Castro, who wrote a 1993 law recognizing equal rights for ...
GOPer Val Washington, who helped Eisenhower put blacks in key posts, dies.(African American Republican National Committee official)(Obituary)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... Helping President Eisenhower break the barriers for Black professionals in sub-cabinet federal ranks decades ago, Val J. Washington left a legacy in American politics few in the Republican Party could match. He died quietly from a heart attack in the nation's capital where he worked decades ...
Joe Louis: May 13, 1914. (boxing champion born on this day)(This Week in Black History)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... May 11, 1981* A Bob Marley, the undisputed King of Reggae music, died of cancer in Miami, FL, on this day. Marley was born in the northern Jamaican village of Rhoden Hall, April 6, 1945. His family moved into the Trench-town section of Kingston when he was nine. As a teen-ager, he ...
Drew Days argues need for black voting districts before Supreme Court.
May 15, 1995 ... During a moving appearance before the Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General Drew Days argued for the retention of "minority voting districts" which have enabled the election of the a century from the Deep South.Because of the districts, a tool developed by the GOP Bush ...
World's first black quintuplets attend wedding of doctor who delivered them.
May 15, 1995 ... Dr. Frank Johnson, who delivered the world's only surviving Black quintuplets nearly 12 years ago, recently married in an elaborate ceremony in Indianapolis.The noted obstetrician/gynecologist married the former G. Elaine Bradley at the Sweeney Chapel of the Christian Theological ...
Homeless man who sued former employer for bias is awarded $1.25 million.
May 15, 1995 ... A Los Angeles man who became homeless after being fired from a job where he withstood racial slurs and intimidation, sued his former employer and recently was awarded $1.25 million by a judge.Niles A. DeGrate, 52, said his life fell apart after he was fired as an administrator at ...
5 women, 1 man from D.C. area share $1.4 million awarded in harassment suit.(Washington DC)
May 15, 1995 ... Six Black plaintiffs, five women and a man, will share $1.4 million in damages that resulted from a sexual harassment suit they filed against the D.C. Department of Corrections.Group members said agency employees, some of whom were high-ranking employees, harassed them sexually and ...
Celebrities recall best advice given by their mothers.
May 15, 1995 ... There is nothing like a mother's love.Mothers are special, great women who offer love, wisdom and guidance to their children. Mothers are the persons you can always depend on. It seems they are always there with words of comfort and love.As Mother's Day is celebrated this ...
Dizzy Gillespie's horn auctioned for $63,000 in New York.(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... Dizzy Gillespie's original bent-bell trumpet sold for $63,000 on the auction block recently in New York and the proceeds will benefit the hospital that provided care for him before his death almost three years ago.The trumpet, whose bell was bent 45 degrees when a dancer tripped ...
Gladys Knight honored by L.A. Urban League; awards dinner raises almost $700,000 for league.(Gladys Knight given Whitney M. Young Jr. Award by Los Angeles Urban League)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... Vocal superstar Gladys Knight was recently honored by the Los Angeles Urban League with its Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award at its 22nd annual gala dinner.The black-tie dinner, held at the Century Plaza Hotel, raised almost $700,000 for the numerous employment and educational programs ...
Atlanta's top cop decries lewd behavior by women at Freaknik spring break festival.(Beverly Harvard)
May 15, 1995 ... Atlanta Police Chief Beverly Harvard said she was "mad as hell" that some women attending the recent Freaknik festival in the city participated in lewd behavior and allowed themselves to be fondled by some of the men in the crowd.The annual spring break celebration attracted an ...
Wilkens named head coach of 1996 U.S. Olympic basketball team.(Atlanta Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... Atlanta Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens recently got a summer job - as head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team during the Olympic Games in Atlanta.The announcement of Wilkens' appointment came at the end of the NBA's regular season in which he surpassed Boston Celtics coach ...
Howard Cosell, broadcaster who championed cause of Muhammad Ali, dead at 77.(Obituary)
May 15, 1995 ... Known as the man who supported Muhammad Ali when he refused to be drafted and the innovator of modern-day sports broadcasting, Howard Cosell recently died at the Hospital for Joint Diseases in Manhattan. He was 77.Cosell died of a heart embolism, explained his grandson Justin ...
Larry Demery, 19, pleads guilty in slaying of James Jordan.(Michael Jordan's father)(Brief Article)
May 15, 1995 ... A 19-year-old man recently pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of basketball superstar Michael Jordan's father and agreed to testify against his co-defendant.Larry Martin Demery, who still could be sentenced to death, also pleaded guilty to robbery, weapons ...