November 12

Ernest Morial.

1977- Ernest Nathan Morial was elected the first African American mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana.

November 13

Daniel Williams

1913- Dr. Daniel Hale Williams became the first African American elected to the American College of Surgeons. Williams was also the first person to perform open-heart surgery.

November 14

William Dawson

1934- William Levi Dawson’s Symphony No. 1, Negro Folk Symphony, was the first symphony by an African American composer to be performed by a major orchestra.

November 15

Rosa Parks

1979- Civil rights activist Rosa L. Parks was awarded with the Spingarn Medal for her activism and for being the catalyst in the Montgomery Bus Boycotts of 1955-56.

November 16

Agbani Darego

2001- Agbani Darego, representing Nigeria, became the first African to be crowned Miss World.

November 17

Gloria Naylor

1989- Writer Gloria Naylor won the Lillian Smith Award for her third novel, “Mama Day.”

November 18

Spike Lee

1992- Filmmaker Spike Lee’s motion picture “Malcolm X,” a film about the life of Malcolm X, opened nationwide.