The first organized immigration of freed enslaved people to Africa
from the United States departed New York harbor on a journey to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. The immigration was largely
the work of the American Colonization Society, a U.S. organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to return formerly enslaved
African people to Africa. However, the expedition was also partially funded by the U.S. Congress, which in 1819 had appropriated
$100,000 to be used in returning displaced Africans, illegally
brought to the United States after the abolishment of the slave
trade in 1808, to Africa.

The program was modeled after British’s efforts to resettle formerly enslaved people in Africa following England’s abolishment of the
slave trade in 1772.

Most Americans of African descent were not enthusiastic to
abandon their homes in the United States for the West African
coast.

On November 12, 1954, Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shut
it doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants since
opening in 1892. Today, tens of millions of Americans can trace
their roots through Ellis Island, located in New York Harbor off
the New Jersey coast and named for merchant Samuel Ellis,
who owned the land in the 1770’s.

Health inspection for new immigrants, Ellis Island, New
York, 1920.

Ellis Island, the gateway to America, shut its doors after processing more
than 12 million immigrants since opening in 1892. Today, an estimated 40
percent of all Americans can trace their roots through Ellis Island, located
in New York Harbor off the New Jersey coast and named for merchant
Samuel Ellis (1733-1794), who owned the land in the 1770s. Ellis’s heirs
sold the island to the State of New York in 1808. Today, Ellis Island is one
of the most popular destinations in the National Park system, with over 3
million visitors each year.    

  
   
Ellis and Liberty Island today. 

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945)

Adolf Hitler was a German politician who was the leader of the Nazi
Party Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and Führer ("Leader")
of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. As dictator, Hitler initiated World
War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland in September 1939, and
was central to the Holocaust.

Auschwitz concentration camp, the largest mass murder site in
human history.

It was on this day in 1999.

The "El Dorado" arriving with Cuban refugees during the Mariel
Boatlift which began on this day in 1980.

Ted Williams made his baseball debut on this day in 1939.

Williams played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball career as a left
fielder for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, only interrupted by time
in the service during World War ll and the Korean War. Nicknamed "The
Kid", "The Splendid Splinter", "Teddy Ballgame", "The Thumper", and
"The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived", Williams is regarded as one of the
greatest players in baseball history.

Theodore (Ted) Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002)

Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005)

Luther Vandross was a singer, songwriter and record producer. Throughout
his career, Vandross was an in-demand background vocalist for several
different artists including Judy Collins, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana
Ross, David Bowie, Barbra Streisand, Ben E. King, and Donna Summer. He
later became a lead singer of the group Change, which released its gold-
certified debut album, The Glow of Love, in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records.

After Vandross left the group, he was signed to Epic Records as a solo artist
and released his debut solo album, Never Too Much, in 1981. During his
career, Vandross sold over 35 million records worldwide, and received
Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four different
times. He won a total of four Grammy Awards in 2004 including the Grammy
Award for Song of the Year for a song recorded not long before his death,
"Dance with My Father”.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista, and
seized power in Cuba on this day in 1959.

On this day in 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in
the rebel states were free.

Ellis Island Immigrant Station formally opened in New York on this
day in 1892.

Hiram "Hank" Williams, Sr. (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953)

Hank Williams died of heart failure caused by a combination of alcohol, morphine and chloral hydrate at the age of 29 on this day in 1953. He
had developed serious problems with alcohol and drug addictions due
to severe back pain caused by spina bifida.