Melinda Dillon (October 13, 1939 – January 9, 2023)

Oscar and Tony-nominated actor Melinda Dillon, who played
Mother Parker in “A Christmas Story,” and appeared in
“Magnolia” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,”
died Jan. 9. No mention as to the cause of her death.

Melinda Dillon with Darren McGavin, Ian Petrella, and
Peter Billingsley (1983).

1978

On this day in history, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
was ratified — granting African American men the right to vote.

The amendment declared that the "right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude."

BRIAN THOMAS