Salon owner John Atchison is born in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Lawyer and activist E. Faye Williams is born.

Circuit court judge, author and activist D'Army Bailey is born in Memphis, Tennessee.

Astronaut & NASA Administrator Col. Frederick D. Gregory, Sr. is born.

Jerome Gourdine is born.

Organic chemist and former president of Clark Atlanta University Thomas Winston Cole, Jr. is born on this date in Vernon, Texas.

The 99th Pursuit Squadron, and all African American flying unit, is formed, as is the Tuskegee Training Program. In a year of combat, the 99th flies more than 500 missions and more than 3,700 sorties before being combined with the 332nd Fighter Group.

Criminal justice activist Howard Saffold is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Originally formed in 1917, the 366th Infantry is reactivated. It becomes the first regiment to have all of its officers be African Americans. The unit will see combat in Italy and North Africa before being disbanded in 1945.

Honorable Marvin S. Arrington, Sr. is born on this date in Atlanta, Georgia.

Founder of the United Bank of Philadelphia Emma Chappell is born on this day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Singer 1885">Irma Thomas is born.

Florida A&M University band and music director Julian E. White is born on this date in Jacksonville, Florida.

Civil rights volunteer Hellen O'Neal-McCray is born on this date in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Corporate Executive George Lewis is born.

Minister, historian, and civil rights advocate Reverend Dr. Calvin S. Morris is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Urban League sponsored its first radio broadcast on this date. The broadcast was used to urge for equal opportunities for Blacks in the defense industries.

After a four week long boycott led by Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., New York bus companies agree to hire black drivers and mechanics.

In a case brought by Congressman Arthur Mitchell of Illinois, the United States Supreme Court declares that blacks are entitled to trains that feature first class cabins and all other services that white passengers are entitled to. This decision is another important stepping stone in overturning the entire doctrine of "separate but equal."

Originally formed as the 78th tank battalion on January 13, 1941, the 758th Tank Battalion is the first all-black armored division in the Army. It will be joined by a number of other battalions of all-black soldiers before the war is over.

Educator & Author Delores P. Aldridge is born.

Fashion Editor & Consultant Alfred Fornay is born.

Writer and professor John Edgar Wideman was born on this date in Washington, D.C. Wideman was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. He went on to teach and started writing novels. Some of his books include The Lynchers, Sent For You Yesterday, and Philadelphia Fire. He was the first author to ever win the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction twice.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt holds a meeting with A. Philip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in an attempt to dissuade Randolph and other African American leaders from leading a march on Washington. The march, scheduled for July 1st, is to protest discrimination and segregation in the national defense program.

Journalist Ed Bradley is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He will become a CBS correspondent in Vietnam and later will co-anchor 60 Minutes.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 8802, which prohibits discrimination in certain government sectors, including government-training programs.

Journalist and author Les Payne is born on this date in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Educator and founder of Kwanzaa Maulana Karenga is born in Parsonsburg, Maryland.

Singer Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas is born in Eufaula, Alabama

President Franklin D. Roosevelt forms the Fair Employment Practices Committee to enforce his Executive Order 8802 of the preceding month, which called for an end to discriminatory practices in defense industries and government training programs. Although African Americans laud the initiative, the Committee becomes paralyzed by bureaucracy and proves largely ineffectual.

Actress Denise Nicholas is born Donna Denise Nicholas on this date in Detroit, Michigan.

Charlene Drew Jarvis, president of Southeastern University, is born in Washington, D.C.

A racial clash explodes between white and black soldiers and civilians on a bus in North Carolina.

Retired Architecture Professor & Artist Jose J. Mapily is born.

Educator Dr. Conrad Worrill is born in Pasadena, California.

Controversial criminal defense attorney Standish Willis is born in Chicago, Illinois.

Accountant James Hill, Jr. is born in Baltimore, Maryland.

Former Congressman and minister William H. Gray, III was born on this date in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Gray is now president and chief executive officer of the United Negro College Fund.

Danny Davis is born in Parkdale, Arkansas. He will go on to be a U.S. Congressman from Illinois.

Soul singer Otis Redding was born on this date in Macon, Georgia. Some of Redding's songs include (Sittin'On) The Dock of the Bay, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, and I've Got Dreams to Remember.

Museum director Harry Robinson, Jr. is born on this date in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Author Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright is born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Employment rights activist Ernest Green is born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Corporate general counsel Leroy Richie is born in Buffalo, New York.

Urban League executive Maudine Cooper is born in Benoit, Mississippi.

The South Side Community Arts Center, founded by Dr. Margaret Burroughs, opens its doors in Chicago, Illinois.

Pop star Chubby Checker was born Ernest Evans on this date in Spring Gulley, South Carolina. Checker is best known for his hit song and the dance it inspired, The Twist. Some of his other hits include Pony Time and Limbo Rock.

Event planner and business owner Sonjia Young is born on this date in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. was born on this date in Greenville, South Carolina. Jackson was active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and a Baptist minister. He is the founder, president, and CEO of Operation PUSH and ran for the U.S. presidency in 1984 and 1988.

Civil rights leader and minister Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is born on this date in Greenville, South Carolina.

Entrepreneur Emory Shaw Campbell is born on this date on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Campbell has worked to preserve the Gullah language and culture.

University Professor Rosalyn Terborg-Penn is born

Biologist and educator Ernest Everett Just died on this date in Washington, D.C.

Al Spearman wins Golden Gloves Championship weighing in at 160 pounds at 15 years-old.

Gastroinstestinal surgeon Dr. Keiffer J. Mitchell, Sr. is born in Baltimore, Maryland.

The National Negro Opera Company was co-founded by Mary C. Dawson and opera singer Lillian Evanti on this date in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Television Station President 1928">George L. Miles, Jr. is born.

Composer Edward Margetson was honored by the Schubert Music Society at the American Academy of Arts and Letters on this date.

Attorney Wayne A. Budd is born on this date in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Elnora Daniel, president of Chicago State University, is born in Oxford, North Carolina.

Little Rock Nine Member & Psychologist Dr. Terrence James Roberts is born.

Japanese forces launch a surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor. During the attack, Dorie Miller, a mess cook, mans a machine gun and shoot down four enemy planes. He will later be awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism.

Civic leader Leola "Roscoe" Dellums is born in Berkeley, California.