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Black History Month

Today in black history: Happy Birthday Alice Walker, Satchel Paige nominated to HOF and more

The Undefeated edition’s black facts for Feb. 9

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    “The Color Purple” Broadway Opening Night – Arrivals And Curtain Call
    “The Color Purple” author Alice Walker attends the “The Color Purple” Broadway Opening Night at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on December 10, 2015 in New York City. Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images
    Kelley D. Evans By @kelleysthrngrl

    1944 — Novelist Alice Walker is born in Putnam County, Georgia. Author of the acclaimed and paradigm-shifting novel The Color Purple, Walker has been an activist all of her adult life. According to her website, she believes that learning to extend the range of our compassion is activity and work available to all.

    1953 — Author Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man wins National Book Award for Fiction. The nameless narrator of the novel, which was published in 1952, describes black life in the South, in New York and at a black college, while the narrator retreats to a basement living space, deeming himself invisible.

    1971 — Pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

    1995 —NASA astronaut Bernard Harris becomes the first African-American to take a walk in space during his second space shuttle flight.

    Kelley Evans is a digital producer at Andscape. She is a food passionista, helicopter mom and an unapologetic Southerner who spends every night with the cast of The Young and the Restless by way of her couch.

    This Story Tagged: Black History Month Satchel Paige Black Facts Alice Walker