[CrimsonTide4]

1833
Fourth national Black convention met in Philadelphia with sixty-two delegates from eight states. Abraham D. Shadd of Pennsylvania was elected president.

1854
Anthony Burns, a fugitive slave, was arrested in Boston. His master refused an offer of $1200 made by Boston citizens for his freedom.

1871 ,
Miles Vandehurst Lynk, founder of the first African American medical journal and organizer of the National Medical Association, born.

1877
Roland Hayes, first African American to give a recital in Boston's Symphony Hall, born

1904
Charles R. Drew was born on this day.

1906
Josephine Baker ENTERTAINER Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri June 3, 1906-April 12, 1975

At the age of sixteen, she starred in the musical Shuffle Along. Her vibrant and humorous act attracted attention and established her has a sparkling entertainer. She starred in the Broadway show The Chocolate Dandies in 1924. In 1925, clad only in a string of bananas, she became a sensation in Paris for her act in La Revue Negre.

Josephine was a great humanitarian also. The French honored Josephine for her efforts during World War II. After the war, she became the mother of the "rainbow tribe." which consisted of children from various ethnic backgrounds that she adopted.


1919
Liberty Life Insurance Company (Chicago), the first old-line legal reserve company organized by Blacks in the North, incorporated. U.S. Supreme Court (Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia) banned segregation in interstate bus travel.


1942
Curtis Mayfield was born on the 3'rd of june 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, where he quickly absorbed the music of that area, which consisted of the local blues, gospel and soul musicians. He was leading his first group, The Alfatones , before he was a teenager.

When the Mayfield family moved to Chicago's north side in 1956, Curtis found himself a new friend in Jerry Butler. Butler wanted Curtis to join him in a group called The Roosters , which consisted of Arthur and Richard Brooks, and Sam Gooden. The quintet later changed their name to The Impressions , and they had their first hit in 1958, "For your precious love" . In 1961, Mayfield had moved to New York, the group cutted "Gypsy woman" which re-established the group, after some years of hard feelings between the members and the record company. Mayfield was now the groups lead singer, utilising his unique vocal style on several Impressions singles.

A steady string of soul anthems followed, "I'm so proud", "Keep on Pushing", "People get ready", "We're a winner", "Mighty, mighty". The group had a strong gospel flavour in their sound, although it was'nt purely gospel. As Mayfield puts it, "They were church songs, the difference was I left the word God out."

In 1970 Mayfield left The Impressions for his solo career. His first album, "Curtis" contained the classic "Move on up" which was his only UK hit. "Curtis Live!" followed, which contained some material from The Impressions period. It was recorded at New York's Bitter End, and later the same year "Roots" followed. His early records are my favourite ones, especially "Curtis Live!" which is a wonderful record with lots of warm soul songs, and funky percussion by 'master' Henry Gibson.

In 1972, Curtis released the soundtrack album "Superfly" which went to sell over a million copies, and it was a really good album in its own right. It recieved four Grammy awards. By now Mayfield continued to record new albums, at the same time as he was producing with Gladys Knight & The Pips, Aretha Franklin and The Staple Singers .

Curtis also appeared on the big screen when he had a role in the movie "Short eyes" , in which he also wrote the soundtrack for.

In the 80'ies Curtis toured the whole world, and he was'nt releasing much new material. In 1989 he contributed to the soundtrack of the movie "I'm gonna git you Sucka", and the following year he made some tunes for the movie "The Return of Superfly" .

1990 was a truly bad year for Mayfield. While he performed at an outdoor concert in Brooklyn, a lighting rig fell down on him, which caused such severe damage to his spine, leaving him a Quadriplegic. Since then he has kept a low profile. However, in
1996 he released a new album, on which he is only singin, since he cannot play guitar anymore. Today, Curtis lives in Atlanta with his wife and family.


1949
Wesley A. Brown became the first Black graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy.