Edward Brooke takes his seat in the United States Senate, the first popularly elected African American to serve.

Blues musician Ronnie Baker Brooks was born on this date in Chicago, Illinois.

Comic book artist Robert Stull is born in Boston, Massachusetts.

Attorney David Steele Ewing is born on this date in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declares his opposition to the Vietnam War on this date in New York City. He states that it was wrong for the United States to declare war on another group of oppressed people.

Muhammad Ali is stripped of his heavyweight boxing title by the World Boxing Association and New York State Athletic Commission for his refusal to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.

It was declared Jan E. Matzeliger Day on this date in Lynn, Massachusetts. Matzeliger was being honored for his shoe-making invention.

Celebrated poet Langston Hughes passes away on this day.

U.S. Solicitor General Thurgood Marshall is nominated to become the first African American to sit on the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Artist Ras Ammar Nsoroma is born.

Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane died on this date in Long Island, New York. Coltrane recorded with jazz greats like Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. Some of his albums include Blue Train and A Love Supreme.

The first National Conference of Black Power opens in Newark, New Jersey. The four day conference is attended by more than 1,000 individuals.

Former World Heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe was born on this date in Brooklyn, New York. Bowe has a career boxing record of 41 wins, 1 loss, and 1 no contest.

After two judicial appointments one by President Kennedy and the other by President Johnson, Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American member of the U.S. Supreme Court. Serving twenty-four years on the Supreme Court, Justice Marshall retires in 1991. Before serving on the Supreme Court, Marshall served as legal director of the NAACP for twenty plus years.

Carl Stokes makes history by becoming the first African American mayor of a major city by being elected in Cleveland, Ohio.

Soul singer Otis Redding died in a plane crash on this date. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.