May 1947: Influential Black Americans Dwight H. Johnson, Dorothy Tillman, Tamara Dobson, Cheryl Clarke, David Barksdale & Vashti Murphy McKenzie

Also, my grandfather, George Blackall Pettengill, graduates from Yale University & Mom is nine months old

May 1947: My grandfather, George Blackall Pettengill, graduates as a legacy kid from Yale University and my Mom is nine months old.

May 7, 1947 (Taurus): Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in January 1968 during the Vietnam War, Dwight H. Johnson, born

May 12, 1947 (Taurus): Politician, civil rights activist and former Chicago, Illinois alderman, Dorothy Tillman, born.

Tillman served as the alderman of the city's 3rd Ward (map) from 1985 until 2007.

A member of the Democratic Party, representing part of the city's South Side in the Chicago City Council.

As an Alderman, Tillman was a strong advocate of reparations for slavery.

In April 2007 [the month and year my youngest son was born], Tillman was defeated in a runoff election by challenger Pat Dowell.

Tillman defeated Dowell in 2003 [the year that I was married].

Prior to her career as an alderman, Tillman was active in the Civil Rights Movement, working for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) as an activist.

Tillman was known for wearing large hats and has cultivated this image as her trademark.

May 14, 1947 (Taurus): Actress and fashion model, Tamara Dobson, born

May 16, 1947 (Taurus): Lesbian poet, essayist, educator and a Black feminist community activist, Cheryl Clarke, born.

She continues to dedicate her life to the recognition and advancement of Black and Queer people.

Her scholarship focuses on African-American women's literature, Black lesbian feminism, and the Black Arts Movement in the United States.

For over 40 years, Cheryl Clarke worked at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and maintains a teaching affiliation with the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Women and Gender Studies, though retired.

May 24, 1947 (Gemini): Gangster and activist from Chicago, Illinois, David Barksdale, born.

He was the founder of the Black Disciples.

He and Larry Hoover (leader of the Gangster Disciples) decided to merge and create the Black Gangster Disciple Nation.

Barksdale died on September 2, 1974 [the year before I was born], due to kidney failure, at the age of 27.

May 28, 1947 (Gemini): President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ, Vashti Murphy McKenzie, born.

She is also a retired bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and author of six books.

In 2000, McKenzie became the first woman to be elected as bishop in the denomination's history.  

She later served as President of the Council of Bishops, becoming the first woman to serve as Titular head of the AME Church.