Category: National Written by Robert N. Taylor

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Week of April 9-15

April 9

1865—Black regiments lead assault upon and eventually capture a key Southern fort helping bring the Civil War to an end. The nine regiments led by General John Hawkins smashed through Confederate defenses at Forth Blakely, Ala. The 68th Division of USCT (United States Colored Troops) had some of the highest casualties of the Civil War.

PAUL ROBESON, MARIAN ANDERSON and RICHARD ALLEN

1898—Paul Bustill Robeson is born in Princeton, N.J. Robeson would go on to become the greatest combination of entertainer and social activist in American history. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers University, while simultaneously being one of the school’s greatest football stars. After graduation he turned to entertainment—acting and singing on stage and in early movies.

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Category: National Written by NNPA News Service

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(NNPA)—The NAACP issued a statement March 24 responding to criticism from Black newspaper publishers about being excluded from the marketing campaign for its televised Image Awards.

Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the organization, said in the statement that the newspaper inserts for the Image Awards were produced and distributed by an outside firm which acquired a license to do so. The NAACP, he said, was told that Black papers would be included, but none ultimately were included in the distribution.

BENJAMIN JEALOUS

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Category: National Written by Associated Press

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by Liz Sidoti
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP)— President Barack Obama formally launched his re-election campaign Monday, urging grass-roots supporters central to his first White House run to mobilize again to protect the change he’s brought over the past two years.

The official start of his second White House bid, in the midst of three wars, a budget fight with Congress, and sluggish economic recovery, comes 20 months before the November 2012 election.

LAUNCHES RE-ELECTION BID—President Barack Obama smiles during an event to promote clean energy vehicles, April 1, at a UPS facility in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Category: National Written by Robert N. Taylor

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Week of April 2 to April 8

April 2

1855—John Mercer Langston becomes the first African-American elected to public office when he wins the position of clerk of Brownhelm Township in Ohio. Though not well known today, Langston was one of the foremost Black leaders of the 1800s. With the aid of his two brothers, he organized anti-slavery societies throughout Ohio. The Oberlin College graduate also became a lawyer and statesman for Black rights. After the Civil War, he organized the law department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The town of Langston, Okla., is named in his honor. He died in 1897.

JOHN MERCER LANGSTON

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