Oliver Lewis, a Black jockey, won the first Kentucky Derby on this date in 1875. Lewis rode a horse named “Aristides.”
Frederick Augustus Douglass was appointed Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia by President James A. Garfield on this date in 1881.
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James Milton Turner, educator, diplomat, and Black spokesman, was born a slave in St. Louis, MO, on this date in 1840.
Harry Thacker Burleigh, composer, pianist, and singer, received the 3rd NAACP Spingarn Medal for his achievements in creative music on this date in 1917.
Click Here to purchase your copy of “James Milton Turner and the Promise of America: The Public Life of a Post-Civil War Black Leader” by Gary Kremer
Congress declared foreign slave trade an act of piracy, punishable by death on this date in 1820.
The final statute to regulate the trade was passed in 1820, with the unlikely title “An Act to continue in force ‘An act to protect the commerce of the United States, and to punish the crime of piracy,’ and also to make further provisions for punishing the crime of piracy.” The key element of the law were two sections declaring that any American citizen engaging in the African slave trade “shall be adjudged a pirate; and on conviction thereof before the circuit court of the United States for the district wherein he shall be brought or found, shall suffer death.” The same language was applied to non-Americans found on board slavers owned or commissioned by Americans. This law was to be in force for only two years, but on January 3, 1823, Congress made it a permanent statute. This was a dramatic and important change in U.S. policy.
Click Here to purchase your copy of “The Slave Trade and the Origins of International Human Rights Law” by Jenny S. Martinez
So today Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced that he will not be seeking a second term after all. Smart decision.
It would be callous to say the man did nothing while in office, plus it would simply be untrue. In a recent column by Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor Stephen Henderson, Henderson spells out specifics of some of Bing’s accomplishments, and that’s only fair. Still, I think there’s a reason why you’ve never seen a groundswell of enthusiastic support for the man. People don’t hate him at all, but nobody really loves him either. And, in a way, that’s worse than being hated. Because when you’re hated, at least you can say you stir passions amongst the voters. At least they know you’re there.
But with Bing, to me it’s always been like his primary purpose was to calm things down after the hellacious roller coaster ride that was Kwame Kilpatrick. Between the antics of Kilpatrick and a City Council that could have been cast for a perverse comedy special, folks just got tired and they showed it at the ballot box in 2009. Bing may have thought his biggest asset was his business experience, but no. His biggest asset was that he was demonstrably not Kwame Kilpatrick. He was practically the anti-Kwame.
Now, four years later, Bing never gave Detroiters a real solid reason, other than being Mr. Anti-Kwame, for why we should have put him in there again for Round 2. He didn’t give us a reason to like him, and that does matter. Folks will forgive a lot if they at least like you. Granted, the job would have been hell for anyone who took it. And whoever wins the upcoming election is not to be envied, especially with the added ‘bonus’ of having to operate under the cloud of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. Speaking of which, this quote from today’s Huffington Post is enlightening:
After his own continued efforts to manage Detroit’s debt and financial problems, Bing was faced with the state appointment of an emergency manager for the city earlier this year. As EM, bankruptcy lawyer Kevyn Orr has more power than all city officials. Though Bing did not believe bringing in an EM was the best course of action for the city, until recently, he had reiterated his desire to work with Orr. In April, he told the Detroit Free Press he was frustrated with the EM’s lack of consideration for his advice.
“Lansing described this action as a partnership to finally stabilize Detroit’s finances,” he said Tuesday. “Today, nearly two months after the [emergency manager's]appointment … I have to wonder if the state is truly interested in a partnership.”
Yeah. Some folks kinda tried to tell you that…
