Mya Marie Harrison, or simply Mya, is a Grammy award winning singer, actress and dancer who has appeared in a variety of roles over the years. Named after acclaimed poet Maya Angelou, Mya was born on October 10, 1979 in Washington D.C. Her father Sherman is an African American while her mother Theresa is Italian. Mya had been interested in singing and dancing as a child and began taking jazz, ballet and tap dancing classes from a very early age. During her teenage, her primary interest was in dancing, and she joined a dance troupe called T.W.A. (Tappers With Attitude) in 1992 at the age of 13. She studied under Savion Glover of Dance Theater of Harlem who also chose her for a solo dance performance at the Kennedy Center.

Mya recalls facing peer pressure due to her mixed ethnicity but she rose above it and focused on her career in dance and later music. She became a dancer for Black Entertainment Television’s music videos from 1996 to 1998 and also became a teacher of children’s jazz and hip-hop dance classes in Camp Springs. Around this time, she also began to develop her musical abilities and her father helped her to record a demo, which he took to producers and record companies. He finally landed her a deal with Interscope and spent two years recording her debut album, also titled “Mya”. The album featured collaborations with big industry names such as Missy Elliott, Dru Hill, Babyface, Diane Warren and Silkk The Shocker and was a huge hit with tracks like “It’s All About Me”, “Movin’ On”, and “My First Night with You”. It was eventually certified platinum and peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200.

Her second album, titled “Fear of Flying”, was released in April 2000. It was also successful, and featured the hit song “Case of the Ex”. This won Mya a Soul Train Music Award nomination for R&B/Soul Album – Female and a UK MOBO nomination for Best Album, selling over 1 million copies in the U.S. and certified platinum by the RIAA. In 2001, she sang two of her biggest hits, both on the soundtracks of successful

Death of Congressman Ralph H. Metcalfe (68), in Chicago.

Frederick Douglass Patterson, veterinarian and founder of the United Negro College Fund, born

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz musician who is widely credited as being one of the creators of modern day jazz. He was born on October 10, 1917, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to Thelonious and Barbara Monk. He had an older sister named Marion and a younger brother named Thomas. When he was three years old, his family moved to New York where he started playing music. He taught himself to play the piano and later attended the Julliard School of Music where he studied music theory, harmony and musical arrangements. He was enrolled at a prestigious high school named Stuyvesant High School but dropped out before graduating. During his teenage years, he toured with an evangelist named “Texas Warhorse” for whom he played the church organ and later moved out to establish himself on his own.

He first found work as a pianist at a Manhattan night club named Minton’s Playhouse where he interacted with many emerging jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Kenny Clarke and Miles Davis. This was the time when his musical taste was developed and he quoted his major influences as Duke Ellington and James P. Johnson. His first studio recording was made in 1944 with the Coleman Hawkins quartet with whom he continued to work until 1952. He also married Nellie Smith in the same year, with whom he had two children named after Monk’s parents. In 1951, an unfortunate incident where he was caught in a car with his friend’s narcotics, caused him to lose his cabaret license. Without this, he was unable to perform in New York cabaret clubs, which was a serious drawback to his career. It was later restored in the 1950s, by which time he had established himself as an artist.

In 1954, he visited Paris where he made a recording with a French radio station and performed at several concerts. In 1955, he was signed on to Riverside Records. Although his music was much appreciated and admired by his peers, his record sales remained very low. The album “Brilliant Corners” released in 1956 was his first commercially

Jazz pianist Theolonius Monk is born in Rocky Mount, NC. He was only one

of 3 jazz musicians ever featured on the cover of Time magazine

African Free School opened in New York.

Frederick Douglass Patterson , (born October 10, 1901, Washington, D.

Singer, Ben Vereen, born, 1946

Isaac R.Johnson patents bicycle frame.

Porgy and Bess premieres in NYC

Otis M. Smith appointed to Michigan Supreme Court.

Elijah Muhummad was born Elijah Poole in Sandersville,

Georgia as one of 13 children of tenant farmers who

were former slaves. At the age of 16 he left home

and traveled about America. In 1923 he finally

settled in Detroit, Mich. where he worked at an

automobile factory. In the early 1930s, a time of

severe economic distress, he became acquainted

with a W.D. Fard (Wali Farad, Master Farad

Muhammad) and his life changed forever. Fard,

then working as a peddler, had already established

his Temple of Islam in Detroit. The beliefs taught by

Fard though similar to orthodox Islam, spoke

directly to Black people and attempted to meet

their needs. It called for complete Black separation

from whites whom it viewed as the sworn enemies

of Blacks and humanity. The Nation of Islam

demanded Black independence in economics,

religion, and nationhood. The teachings of the NOI

regularly denounced Black men especially for

drinking, gambling, physical abuse of Black

woman, moral wrongs, and the inability to protect

ones family from attacks by violent white America.

Upon Fards disappearance in 1934, Elijah

Muhammad became the successor to the NOI and

became Supreme Minister. The teachings of the

NOI and Elijah Muhammad would have a profound

impact on Black American life. In a small amount

of time the small organization became well known

throughout the United States, buying land, opening

businesses, and increasing its growth. Its strict

moral discipline, devout religious adherence,

healthy lifestyle, and seemingly miraculous ability

to convert even the most corrupt individuals, drew

many to its ranks. One of those that Elijah would

bring into the light was an ex-convict who the world

would know as Malcolm X. Elijah would gain world

recognition as his teachings were spread through

his still well read book, Message to the Black Man.

With the death of Elijah Muhammad in 1975, the

NOI went through a brief period of upheaval. Under

the guidance of his son, Wallace Muhammad, the

NOI was moved

The first exclusively Black parish in the United States was Saint Francis Xavier Church in Baltimore, Maryland. It was purchased on this day and dedicated months later.

South Carolina Republicans carried election with reduced margin. Republican tickets was composed of four whites and four Blacks: R.H. Gleaves, lieutenant governor; Francis L. Cardozo, treasurer; Henry E. Hayne, secretary, of state; H.W. Purvis, adjutant general.

Black Panther Party Founded October 10, 1966 Oakland, Ca. by Huey P. Newton & Bobby Seale