Jerry Mitchell

#OnThisDay in 1962, Cpl. Roman Ducksworth Jr., a 27-year-old Black military police officer stationed at Fort Ritchie, Maryland, was traveling home by bus to Mississippi. His wife, Melva, was expecting their sixth child and was now in the hospital because of complications. By https://t.co/jNtRrCY4xb

#OnThisDay in 1918, 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the “Harlem Hellfighters,” joined the French Army in battling German forces. “The Hellfighters, the most celebrated African-American regiment in World War I, confronted racism, even as they trained for war, helped bring jazz https://t.co/w6BU6OTZjx

#OnThisDay in 1915, Billie Holiday was born in Baltimore and went on to become one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. One critic concluded that her unique voice “changed the art of American pop vocals forever.” Born Eleanora Fagan, she endured a horrific childhood. At https://t.co/Nnc5myUozF

#OnThisDay in 1856, Booker T. Washington was born in Hale’s Ford, a community located about 25 miles from Roanoke, Virginia. He became a leading voice from the last generation of Black leaders who had once been enslaved. He promoted Black businesses and helped found the Tuskegee https://t.co/sdXQkRAGyC

#OnThisDay in 1928, poet, author, playwright, film director, music composer and activist Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis. Due to her parents’ turbulent relationship, she went to live with her grandparents in Stamps, Arkansas. When she was returned briefly to her mother’s https://t.co/pWfG8R3tiO

#OnThisDay in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his last speech, supporting more than 1,300 sanitation workers striking in Memphis to protest their poor working conditions and wages. More than 2,000 came to hear him speak. He shared the story of the Good Samaritan, where https://t.co/G8H8sZ0YrF

#OnThisDay in 1855, John Mercer Langston became the first Black public official in the U.S., serving as a town clerk in Brownhelm, Ohio. A year earlier, he had been the first Black lawyer admitted to the Ohio bar. Born free in 1829 in Virginia, he was the youngest child of a https://t.co/7QT1Cl1cAa

#onthisday in 1935, before an integrated audience of 2,000, the “Great Debaters” of Wiley College of Marshall, Texas, defeated the reigning national champion, the University of Southern California. The victory meant a defeat for scientific racism, which pervaded the day. https://t.co/OIdnwDUev7

Another story on jail trusties in Rankin County. Many said the trusty program changed – or even saved – their lives. The program offered addiction recovery courses, GED classes, mentorship and counseling. It allowed some male trusties to learn or practice their trade and, through https://t.co/lCNQOPbaAb

#OnThisDay in 1870, one day after the ratification of the 15th Amendment, Thomas Mundy Peterson became the first Black American to vote in an election under that amendment. Peterson served as a school principal in Perth Amboy NJ and later became the city’s first Black https://t.co/dnLufJBc20

#OnThisDay in 1941, CBS aired the nation’s first hour-long network radio show with an all-Black cast. Until then, Black musicians, actors and performers were often barred from radio. Ann Tanneyhill of the National Urban League conceived of the idea. Since the 1930s, she had https://t.co/Dc0s1SMiMC

In response to a @nytimes & @mstodaynews investigation, State Auditor Shad White has initiated an investigation into allegations that Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey used inmates and taxpayer-purchased equipment on his family’s chicken farm. https://t.co/3xBNSf2L3r

#OnThisDay in 1973, Tom Bradley became mayor of Los Angeles — the first Black mayor of a predominantly white major city in the U.S. He was born into poverty in Texas, the son of sharecroppers and the grandson of slaves. Seven years after his birth, his family moved to Los https://t.co/r3fIFux3ua

#OnThisDay in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. made his last march. Joined by Ralph Abernathy and James Lawson, King led a march of sanitation workers in Memphis. More than 1,300 workers had gone on strike after the deaths of two workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, who took https://t.co/d7NDoT1SC1

Marshall Ramsey's cartoon on our investigative story on allegations that Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey used inmates and taxpayer-purchased property on his mother's chicken farm. https://t.co/m1Aguzgr8r

Sheriff Bryan Bailey, who saw 5 deputies go to prison in the "Goon Squad" scandal, used inmates & taxpayer-purchased equipment at his mother’s chicken farm, according to those inmates & a former deputy. Inmates reportedly received cash or meals for work. https://t.co/IpeeBzhxOp