Topics: Crack Epidemic, Michael Jackson - Bad, Hollywood Shuffle, Eyes on the Prize (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco)

 

Snapshots

 

1.    Ronald Reagan President – (Should have been impeached)

 

2.    January

 

3.    The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, became the very first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

 

4.    March

 

5.    U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran-Contra Affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had 'deteriorated' into an arms-for-hostages deal.

 

6.    Jim Bakker, head of PTL Ministries, resigns after admitting an affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn.

 

7.    April

 

8.    Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of English rock band Queen, is diagnosed with AIDS. He dies four years later after making his diagnosis public.

 

9.    Matt Groening's The Simpsons debuts as a series of short animated segments as part of The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox.

 

10.    May

 

11.    U.S. Senator Gary Hart drops out of the running for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, amid allegations of an extramarital affair with Donna Rice.

 

12.    June

 

13.    During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

 

14.    Teddy Seymour is officially designated the first black man to sail around the world, when he completes his solo sailing circumnavigation in Frederiksted, St. Croix, of the United States Virgin Islands.

 

15.    Edwards v. Aguillard: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution is taught is unconstitutional.

 

16.    July

 

17.    Ronald Reagan nominates former Solicitor General Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. The nomination is later rejected by the Senate, the first and only nominee rejection to date.

 

18.    October

 

19.    Jesse Jackson launches his second campaign for U.S. President.

 

20.    The United States is caught up in a drama that unfolds on television as a young child, Jessica McClure, falls down a well in Midland, Texas, and is later rescued.

 

21.    December

 

22.    Prozac makes its debut in the United States.

 

23.    Open Comments

 

24.    Black Snapshots

 

25.    Mar - The first ever Soul Train Music Awards

 

26.    Apr - Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Al Campanis makes racially insensitive comments when

27.    asked about the scarcity of black field or general managers in MLB. Campanis, who had played alongside Robinson and was known for being close to him, was being interviewed about the subject on Nightline. Anchorman Ted Koppel asked him why, at the time, there had been few black managers and no black general managers in Major League Baseball. Campanis' reply was that blacks "may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or, perhaps, a general manager" for these positions. Elsewhere in the interview, he said that blacks are often poor swimmers "because they don't have the buoyancy." Koppel says he gave Campanis several opportunities to clarify, ("Do you really believe that?") or back down from his remarks, but Campanis confirmed his views with his replies. Campanis was fired less than 48 hours later.

 

28.    Literature – Rita Dove wins a Pulitzer for Thomas and Beulah and Toni Morrison publishes Beloved; it will win a Pulitzer and become a movie. Terri McMillan's first book, Mama, was published in 1987, later works include Disappearing Acts, Waiting To Exhale, and How Stella got Her Groove Back. James Baldwin, author of If Beale Street Could Talk, passed away.

 

29.    John H. Johnson is named the first BE Entrepreneur of the Decade, having built Johnson Publishing Co. Inc., producers of Ebony, Jet, and Fashion Fair cosmetics into an international powerhouse. Born and raised in Arkansas, Johnson’s family moved to Chicago when he was a teen. He excelled in school, received a scholarship to the University of Chicago, and began working at an insurance company. He got his start when his mother used her furniture as collateral for a $500 loan to start his first publication, Negro Digest, in 1942, which served as the launching pad for him to create the largest African American publishing company in the world. Seemingly, there wasn’t a single African American household in late 20th century America in which you could not find a copy of Ebony or Jet on the coffee table. In September 1955, Johnson made a decision that forever shook the world. Not one to vacillate on any issue, he revealed to millions the mutilated corpse of Emmett Till, a Chicago youngster who had been bludgeoned and shot in Mississippi for reportedly whistling at a white woman. Shortly thereafter, other black publications followed Jet’s lead in publishing the photos. It galvanized clusters of African Americans nationwide to protest such senseless acts of violence. In one bold move, the determined 37-year-old publisher helped launch the civil rights movement.

 

30.    Open Comments

 

31.    Top 3 Pop Songs

 

32.    #1 - "Walk Like an Egyptian", The Bangles

 

33.    #2 - "Alone", Heart

 

34.    #3 - "Shake You Down", Gregory Abbott

 

35.    Grammy Awards

 

36.    Record of the Year - Paul Simon for "Graceland"

 

37.    Album of the Year -U2 for The Joshua Tree

 

38.    Song of the Year - "Somewhere Out There" performed by Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram

 

39.    Best New Artist - Jody Watley

 

40.    Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Aretha Franklin for Aretha

 

41.    Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male - Smokey Robinson for "Just to See Her"

 

42.    Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal - Aretha Franklin & George Michael for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"

 

43.    Best R&B Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist) - David Sanborn for "Chicago Song"

 

44.    Best Rhythm & Blues Song - Bill Withers (songwriter) for "Lean on Me" performed by Club Nouveau

 

45.    Open Comments

 

46.    Top 3 Movies

 

47.    #1 - Beverly Hills Cop II

 

48.    #2 – Platoon

 

49.    #3 - Fatal Attraction

 

50.    Other Notables: Lethal Weapon, Predator, Spaceballs, Full Metal Jacket, RoboCop, La Bamba, The Lost Boys, Who's That Girl, Disorderlies, Dirty Dancing, The Big Easy, Hellraiser, The Princess Bride, Three Men and a Baby, Wall Street, Good Morning, Vietnam, and Eddie Murphy Raw

 

51.    Open Comments

 

52.    Top 3 TV Shows

 

53.    #1 - The Cosby Show

 

54.    #2 - A Different World

 

55.    #3 - Cheers

 

56.    Debuts: 21 Jump Street, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and A Different World

 

57.    Open Comments

 

58.    Economic Snapshots

 

59.    New Home: 92,024

 

60.    Avg Rent: 395

 

61.    Avg. Income: 24,375

 

62.    New Car: 10,370

 

63.    Harvard: 11,390

 

64.    Movie Ticket: 3.00

 

65.    Gas: .89

 

66.    Stamp: .22

 

67.    Social Scene: The Crack Epidemic

 

68.    Crack cocaine

 

69.    What is it - Crack cocaine, is a free base form of cocaine that can be smoked. Cocaine had a reputation as a “party” drug for rich white people. Heroine was