June 25
1968- Lincoln Alexander became the first African American Member of Parliament in the Canadian Parliament.
June 26
1967- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was denied freedom of speech in Chicago area churches because of the accusations of being a radical preacher. Friendship Baptist Church, located in Chicago’s Westside, was the only church that allowed King to speak on civil rights.
June 27
1890- George Dixon became the first Black to hold a world title in boxing. Dixon beat Nunc Wallace in England’s Pelican Club and was the only Black present during the fight.
June 28
1991- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall announced his retirement from the highest court in the nation after 24 years of service.
June 28
1970- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chairman Stephen Gill Spottswood in a keynote address at a Ohio convention criticized then Nixon administration for the lack of support for the civil rights movement.
June 30
1967- Air Force Major Robert H. Lawrence Jr. was named the first African American astronaut.
July 1
1987- Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson became the first African American president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
