On April 25, 1950, the Boston Celtics make Chuck Cooper, an
All-American forward from Duquesne University, the first
African American picked in NBA draft. With the selection,
the first pick in the second round, Cooper breaks the NBA’s
color barrier and changes the league for the better.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson, at age 28, became the first
African American player in Major League Baseball’s modern
era when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete
for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier
in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years.

Exactly 50 years later, in 1997, Robinson’s groundbreaking
career was honored and his uniform number, 42, was retired
from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig in
a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City’s
Shea Stadium. Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired
by all teams in the league.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson
(January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972)

An armed group of white supremacists attacked a courthouse
guarded by a mostly-Black militia in the town of Colfax,
Louisiana on April 13, 1873. A bloodbath ensued, as the
militia surrendered and the white supremacists carried out a
day-long campaign of terror that came to be known as the
Colfax Massacre.

The President’s National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders—known as the Kerner Commission—released
its report, condemning racism as the primary cause of
the recent surge of riots. Headed by Governor Otto
Kerner of Illinois, the 11-member commission was
appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in July
1967 to uncover the causes of urban riots and
recommend solutions.

Otto Kerner Jr. (August 15, 1908 – May 9, 1976)

The Kerner Commission with President Lyndon B. Johnson
seated center.

It received generally positive reviews upon its release on
December 15, 1939. While the casting was widely praised,
the long running time received criticism.

At the 12th Academy Awards, Gone with the Wind received
ten Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from
thirteen nominations, including wins for Best Picture, Best
Director (Fleming), Best Adapted Screenplay (posthumously
awarded to Sidney Howard), Best Actress (Leigh), and Best
Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, becoming the first
African American to win an Academy Award). It set records
for the total number of wins and nominations at the time.

Hattie McDaniel
(June 10, 1893 – October 26, 1952