Ronald H. Brown makes history when he is elected as the first African American chairperson of the Democratic National Committee.

President George Bush selects Louis Sullivan to hold the position of secretary of Health and Human Services. Sullivan is the only African American in the Bush cabinet.

Black sculptor Richmond Barthe dies on this date. He became the first Black sculptor in the National Academy of Arts and Letters.

Bill White, former St. Louis Cardinal first baseman, is named president of the National Baseball League. White paves the way as the first black to head a major sports league.

Sugar Ray Robinson, five-time winner of the world middleweight boxing championship and unbeaten welterweight champion, dies.

Peter Bynoe leads a group of investors in the purchase of the Denver Nuggets, making the team the first black-owned1991"> NBA franchise.

U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland died in an airplane crash during a mission to1991"> Ethiopia.

General Colin Powell was nominated chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff on this date. He became the first and highest military officer in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The first national Black Theater Festival was held on this date in1991"> North Carolina.

Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death on this date in Oakland, California.

Reverend Al Sharpton leads a civil rights march through the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

Army General Colin Powell assumes the post of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell is the first African American to serve in the nation’s highest military position.

Art Shell becomes the first African American to coach a team in the National Footbal League, serving as head coach of the Los Angeles Raiders.

Former seven-time gold glove winning first baseman Bill White became the first Black president of Major League Baseball's National League on this date.

The Civil Rights Memorial was dedicated on this date in Montgomery, Alabama. The memorial honors those who were involved and risked or lost their lives during the1991"> Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Lawrence Douglas Wilder becomes the first African American governor in the United States when he wins the gubernatorial election in1991"> Virginia.

David Dinkins is elected mayor of1991"> New York City, defeating incumbent Ed Koch and becoming the first African American to hold the position.

Acclaimed director1991"> Gordon Parks, Sr. is honored by having his film, The Learning Tree, registered as one of the first twenty-five films to be placed within the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. The National Film Registry recognizes films that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

Author Gloria Naylor won the Lillian Smith Award on this date for her novel, Mama Day. Naylor also wrote the books1991"> The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills.