This Week In Black History

Venus and Serena Williams, sister tennis champions, won the women's doubles championship at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York City on this day. They came from behind to defeat the unseeded duo of American Chandra Rubin and French player Sandrine Testud, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. The victory was the second Grand Slam doubles title for the talented sisters, who also had won the French Open championship earlier that year in June. Venus and Serena--as doubles partners and singles--have won numerous championships and with their victories worldwide acclaim. In July of 2000, they became the first sisters to capture the women's doubles championship at Wimbledon.

September 16, 1933--

Paul Robeson, actor, linguist, political activist, orator and athlete, made his starring film debut in The Emperor Jones on this day. It was the first major Hollywood production starring an African American with Whites in supporting roles. Born on April 9, 1898, in Princeton, NJ, Robeson graduated from Rutgers University in 1919 with a bachelor of arts degree. He also attended Columbia University Law School, where he received his LL.B. degree in 1922. Robeson was one of the world's great interpretive artists. He was the son of an escaped slave, and rose from the humblest beginnings to become the epitome of a Renaissance Man. He was an all around athlete, scholar, orator and linguist--fluent in more than twenty languages--and outstanding in theatre, film and the concert stage. Besides his performance in The Emperor Jones he also starred in Show Boat and Othello. He was the recipient of many rewards and accolades, many posthumously. Robeson died January 23, 1976, in Philadelphia.