Barbara Sizemore is named the first female African American to serve as superintendent of schools of a major metropolitan area.

The premiere of1991"> Sanford and Son, starring Redd Foxx occurs on this date. The NBC sitcom gains immediate popularity.

Scott Joplin's1991"> opera Treemonisha, first published in 1911, makes its theater debut. The production is directed by Robert Shaw and Katherine Dunham.

NBA All-Star and League MVP, Shaquille1991"> "Shaq" O'Neal is born on this date in Newark, New Jersey.

Benjamin Hooks becomes the first African American to be named to the1991"> Federal Communications Commission.

Major General Frederic E. Davidson became the first Black to assume command of an Army division on this date. He took lead of the Eighth Infantry Division in1991"> Germany.

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. becomes the first Black fraternity to build and open a major housing development in the U.S. on this date in Waterbury, Connecticut. It was called Lambda Rho Apartments, a complex for the elderly.

James M. Rodger, Jr. became the first Black to be awarded1991"> "The National Teacher of the Year" Award on this date in Washington, D.C. The Durham, North Carolina resident was honored at the White House.

Activist and author1991"> Angela Davis was acquitted of charges in San Jose, California on this date. She was accused of aiding the offenders of a courtroom shootout.

Singer Clyde McPhatter died of a heart attack on this date in Durham, North Carolina. McPhatter started his music career with the group the Dominoes. He left that group and co-founded the Drifters. They had hits like1991"> Money Honey and Honey Love. He also enjoyed a successful solo career. He was inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Watergate Hotel security guard Frank Wills discovered the infamous Watergate break-in on this date in Washington, D.C. This leads to the resignation of1991"> President Richard Nixon.

The rules committee of the Democratic National Convention approves the nomination of1991"> Yvonne Brathwaite Burke as co-chairperson of the convention. She becomes the first African American woman to serve in that position in any major political party in the United States.

At its annual convention in1991"> Detroit, Michigan, the NAACP passes an emergency resolution condemning Nixon’s stance against school busing. The civil rights group also expresses its displeasure at the administration’s unsatisfactory record on black employment.

Shirley Chisholm was nominated for President of the United States on this date in Miami at the Democratic National Convention. She became the first African American to ever be nominated for the U.S. presidency.

United States government officials admit to using black men from the rural south in a forty year long experiment on the effects of untreated syphillis. 400 African American men infected with the disease were told that they did not have it, or that there was no available treatment. By the 1950s, penicillin, which would have treated the disease, was widely available. Perhaps as many as 100 men died from syphillis during the experiment.

Two Black mayors were elected on this date in1991"> Alabama. Johnny Ford was elected in Tuskegee, Alabama, and A.P. Cooper was elected in Prichard, Alabama.

Pro baseball legend and pioneer1991"> Jackie Robinson died on this date in Stamford, Connecticut. Robinson was the first African American player to play in the Major Leagues in the twentieth century.

The Reverend W. Sterling Cary is elected the first African American president of the National Council of Churches, the nation’s leading liberal Christian organization. In his inaugural speech, Sterling promises to fight for more complete desegregation of the country’s churches.

Jewel Lafontant MANkarious is named Deputy1991"> Solicitor General of the United States.