ED DANAHUE

On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress in Montgomery,
AL, refused to give up her seat to a white man. Mrs. Parks was
arrested marking a milestone in the civil rights movement in the
U.S.      
      
      
    
  
 

    
   
The Cleveland Avenue bus Rosa Parks was riding when she was arrested. (Henry Ford Museum)

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005)

John "Pops" Witherspoon (John Weatherspoon)
January 27, 1942 – October 29, 2019)

Witherspoon performed in dozens of television shows and films. He is
best known for his role as Willie Jones in the Friday series. The actor
died suddenly at his home.

After a bitter confirmation hearing, the U.S. Senate votes 52 to 48 to
confirm Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In July 1991, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the
Supreme Court, announced his retirement after 34 years. President
George Bush quickly nominated Clarence Thomas, a 43-year-old African
American judge known for his conservative beliefs, to fill the seat. He  
had been chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
during the Reagan administration, and in 1990 Bush had appointed him
to the U.S. Court of Appeals. As the confirmation hearings for Thomas’
Supreme Court nomination got underway, he evaded controversy over
his conservative views on issues such as abortion by refusing to state
a clear political position. He seemed headed for an easy confirmation
until Anita Hill, a former aide, stepped forward and accused him of
sexual harassment.

   
Anita Hill during the confirmation hearings.    
    

Hill is a university professor of social policy, law, and women’s
studies at Brandeis University and a faculty member of the
university’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
    
    

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas turned 71 in June.

Anita Faye Hill became 63 in July.

Diahann Carroll (Carol Diahann Johnson)
(July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019)

Carroll was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. She said the diagnosis
"stunned" her because there was no family history of breast cancer and
she had always had a healthy lifestyle. She underwent nine weeks of
radiation therapy, and was clear since. She died today in Los Angeles.

Her 1968 debut in Julia (NBC) the first series on American television to
star a black woman in a nonstereotypical role, was a milestone both in
her career and the medium. In the 1980s she played the role of a mixed-
race diva in the primetime soap opera Dynasty.

Julia, original release from September 17, 1968 – March 23, 1971

CAMILLE
BOHANNON

Musician and actor Sting (Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) is 68 years
old today. He was the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for
the new wave  rock band the Police from 1977 to 1984, and launched a
solo career in 1985. He has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae,
classical, new-age and worldbeat in his music.