This week in Black history

Jet, August 4, 2003

August 1, 1925--

Twelve Blacks formed the National Bar Association in Des Moines, IA, on this day. George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, Gertrude E. Rush, James B. Morris, Charles P. Howard, Sr., Wendell E. Green, C. Francis Stradford, Jesse N. Baker, William H. Haynes, George C. Adams, Charles H. Calloway and L. Amasa Knox had a mutual interest in and dedication to justice and the civil rights of all. When the National Bar Association was organized there were fewer than 1,000 Black lawyers in America, and fewer than 120 belonged to the Association. By 1945, there were nearly 250 members representing 25 percent of the African-American members of the bar. Over the past 75 years, the National Bar Association has grown enormously in size and influence.

August 2, 1980--

Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns, boxer, won the WBA welterweight crown on this day with a second-round technical knockout (TKO) of champion Jose (Pipino) Cuevas of Mexico, making him the first Black to win boxing titles in five different weight classes. Known as one of the hardest punchers in boxing, Hearns staggered Cuevas in the 1st round with a left hook, then later a straight right, which nearly ended the bout. In the second round, Hearns landed a right that sent Cuevas to the canvas; as Cuevas got up, the referee saw that he was having difficulty standing, so the ref ended the fight. Born October 18, 1958, in Grand Junction, TN, Hearns began his professional career in 1977. He has won 6 championships in five different weight classes including Super Welterweight, WBA World Welterweight, WBC Super Welterweight, WBC Middleweight and IBF Lightweight. Hearns retired from boxing in 2000 with an impressive 59-4-1 (46 KOs) record and currently works as a boxing promoter.