This Week In Black History

April 16, 1975--James Benton Parsons, educator, lawyer and judge, was named the first Black chief judge of a federal court, the United States Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on this day. He assumed the post of chief administrative officer of the federal court in Chicago. In 1949, Parsons began working in government shortly after he graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. In 1961, he became the first Black appointed to the U.S. District Court by President John F. Kennedy. Born in Kansas City, MO, in 1911, Parsons worked his way through James Millikin University, in Decatur, IL, earning a bachelor's degree in 1934. Following four years of service in the Navy during World War II, he earned his M.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. An appointee for life, Parsons retired from trial work in 1992. He died June 19, 1993, at the age of 81, in Chicago.

April 18, 1977--Alex Haley, author, won a special Pulitzer Prize in journalism for his book, Roots, on this day. By February 20, 1977, Roots, the No. 1-selling book in the nation, had spent 20 weeks on the New York Times' Best Sellers list. Haley had spent approximately 12 years researching and writing Roots. Later the television mini-series adaptation of the book made history when it was viewed by more Americans than any other program since the invention of television. Upwards of 130 million people watched at least part of the series. Observers noted that millions of Whites as well as Blacks watched the show. Haley was born in Ithaca, NY, on August 11, 1921. During World War II, Haley enlisted in the Coast Guard where he started to write adventure stories and eventually earned the title of chief journalist. After 20 years of service, he became a full-time writer and published The Autobiography of Malcolm X in 1965. Haley died February 10, 1992, at the age of 70 in Seattle.