This Week In Black History

Debi Thomas, figure skater, became the first Black woman to win the world figure skating championship on this day. Earlier that year, at age 18, Thomas became the first Black ice skating champion to win the U.S. Figure Skating Championship. Thomas was born in 1967 in Poughkeepsie, NY, but later moved to San Jose, CA, where she learned to figure skate. She was considered one of the most popular female sports stars during the 1980s. In 1986 she was named Wide World of Sports' Athlete of the Year. In 1988 she won the Olympic bronze medal during the Winter Games held in Alberta, Canada. In 1992, Thomas retired from skating to enter medical school. She graduated from Northwestern Medical School in 1997 and specializes in orthopedic surgery. Debi Thomas was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in February 2000. Dr. Debi Thomas resides in Little Rock, AK, with her husband and 3-year-old son.

March 26, 1937--

William Hastie, jurist and educator, was appointed to a federal judgeship in the Virgin Islands on this day, becoming the first Black to serve on the federal bench in the U.S. or its territories. Judge Hastie served on the bench for two years before he resigned his judgeship to return to Howard University's School of Law as dean and professor of law. William Henry Hastie was born on November 17, 1904. A native of Knoxville, TN, he graduated first in his class from Amherst College in 1925 with an AB degree. In 1930 he earned an LL.B. degree from Harvard University. In 1931 Hastie joined the faculty of Howard University Law School, shortly afterward he was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. Hastie later graduated from Harvard University with the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science in 1932. Later in 1949, he was nominated by President Harry Truman as judge of the Third United States Circuit Court of Appeals. He assumed the title of senior judge before his retirement in 1971. Dr. Hastie died April 14, 1976, in East Norriton, PA.