676161

676161

Black Entertainment Television {BET} – First black owned company to be listed on the NYSE, begins broadcasting from Washington, DC.

676161

Legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

676161

ABC-TV begins televising the Roots mini-series in 1977 (which would go on to be the most watched mini-series in history), based on Alex Haley’s book.

676161

<div>Singer Sam Cooke, the son of a minister and believed by many to be the first father of soul music, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1931.</div>

676161

On January 20, 2001, Colin Luther Powell is sworn in by President George W. Bush as Secretary of State. He is the first black secretary of state in U.S. history.