On this day in Black history: Joe Frazier defeats Jimmy Ellis, Lauryn Hill’s ‘Miseducation’ goes Diamond and more

On this day in Black history, February 16:

— In 1923, Empress of the Blues Bessie Smith recorded her first record, Down Hearted Blues, which sold 800,000 copies for Columbia Records. 

— In 1951, the city of New York passed an anti-discrimination housing bill, which included protections based on race, creed, color, national origin and gender. 

— In 1970, Joe Frazier, nicknamed Smokin’ Joe, became the American world heavyweight boxing champion when he won by knockout in a match against Jimmy Ellis that was held at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

— In 2021, Lauryn Hill‘s debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, earned RIAA-certified Diamond status, having sold 10 million copies. She was the first female hip-hop artist to achieve the feat. 

— Happy birthday to James Baskett, James Ingram, Marvin Sease, Lenny Williams, LeVar Burton, Tracy “Ice T” Marrow, Wasalu “Lupe Fiasco” Jaco, Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Mikayla “Koffee” Simpson, Denzel Curry and Rayshawn “YFN Lucci” Bennett.