1775—Slaves and free Blacks are officially barred by the Council of Officers from joining the Continental army to help fight for American independence from England. Nevertheless, a significant number of Blacks had already become involved in the fight and would distinguish themselves in battle. Additional Blacks were barred out of fear, especially in the South, that they would demand freedom for themselves if White America became free from Britain.

1941—National Black political leader and two-time candidate for president of the United States Jesse Jackson was born on this day in Greenville, S.C. After the 1968 assassination of Civil Rights Movement icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson, who was one of his top aides, would become the nation’s most prominent and influential civil rights leader.

JESSE JACKSON

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP)—Sent to death row 20 years ago as a convicted cop killer, Troy Davis was celebrated as “martyr and foot soldier” Saturday by more than 1,000 people who packed the pews at his funeral and pledged to keep fighting the death penalty.

Family, activists and supporters who spent years trying to persuade judges and Georgia prison officials that Davis was innocent were unable to prevent his execution Sept. 21. But the crowd that filled Savannah's Jonesville Baptist Church on Saturday seemed less interested in pausing in remorse than showing a resolve to capitalize on the worldwide attention Davis' case brought to capital punishment in the U.S.

FIGHTING ON —Friends and supporters chant in the street and block traffic outside Jonesville Baptist Church following the funeral of Troy Davis in Savannah, Ga., Oct. 1. Davis died by injection for the 1989 slaying of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. (AP/Photo Stephen Morton)

by Randolph E. Schmid

WASHINGTON (AP)—If Mark Twain were alive today would he tweet, “OMG, reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated, LOL”?

When Twain did read his premature obituary, he sent a letter assuring friends the report was overblown.

But when was the last time you got a personal letter in the mail? If you live in a typical American household, it’s been a while.

According to the Postal Service’s annual survey, the average household gets one personal letter about every seven weeks. It was a letter about every two weeks in 1987.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP)—Troy Davis’ sister said Friday she’s not wasting time being angry as she presses to keep the 20-year legal fight her brother lost when he was executed. He used his final words in Georgia’s death chamber to insist he wasn’t a killer.

“We're going to keep moving forward,” Martina Correia told The Associated Press. “That’s what my brother would have wanted us to do, not be angry and wallow and those kinds of things.”

CARRYING ON—In this Sept. 11, 2008 file photo, Troy Davis supporter Jessica Peifer, left, is comforted by Davis' older sister Martina Correia, right, during an Amnesty International rally at the State Capitol in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jenni Girtman)