#OTD Rap group Run DMC called for a day of peace to quell gang violence in Los Angeles.

#OTD Author Toni Morrison, known for her novels "The Bluest Eye" and "Beloved" among others, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

#OTD Activist Fannie Lou Hamer, a staunch advocate for voting and women's rights, was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi.

#OTD Politician Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, the first African American woman elected to Congress from the state of California, was born in Los Angeles.

#OTD The New Orleans Tribune became the first daily African American newspaper in the country.

#OTD The Jerry Rescue, the public rescue of William "Jerry" Henry after he was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals under the Fugitive Slave Act, occurred in Syracuse, New York.

#OTD James Meredith became the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi

WGPR-TV, the country's first African American owned and operated television station, made it's debut out of Detroit, Michigan.

Blues singer Koko Taylor, sometimes referred to as the "Queen of the Blues," was born in Shelby County, TN.

#OTD Television host Don Cornelius, the man responsible for the iconic series Soul Train, was born in Chicago, Illinois.