Today In Black History – Feb 6th

1820 – The first organized emigration back to Africa begins when 86 free African Americans leave New York Harbor aboard the Mayflower of Liberia. They are bound for the British colony of Sierra Leone, which welcomes free African Americans as well as fugitive slaves.

1931 – The Harlem Experimental Theatre Group performed its first play at St. Philips Parish House. The group’s advisory board includes famed actress Rose McClendon, author Jesse Fauset, and Grace Nail.

1933 – Walter E. Fauntroy is born in Washington, DC. He become a civil rights leader and minister. He later become the non-voting delegate to the United States Congress for the District of Columbia from 1971 to 1991.

1993 – Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, dies at the age of 49. He succumbs from complications of AIDS, contracted from a transfusion during a earlier heart surgery.