2002 – Suzan-Lori Parks became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama for her play “Topdog/Underdog.”
born 1963-
By: Mariana Brandman, NWHM Predoctoral Fellow in Women’s History | 2020-2022
Though a high school teacher discouraged her from writing because of her poor spelling, Suzan-Lori Parks went on to become one of the most successful playwrights in the United States. The first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2002) and a pioneer of historically conscious and linguistically complex theater, her work is now taught at drama schools across the country.
Parks was born on May 10, 1963 at Fort Knox in Kentucky to Donald and Francis McMillian Parks. Her father was a colonel in the United States Army, and Parks spent her early childhood in Odessa, Texas while her father served in Vietnam. The distinctive dialect she soaked in during her years in West Texas would influence her dialogue when she began writing for the stage. In 1974, Parks moved with her family to Germany where her father was stationed. She and her siblings attended local schools and became fluent in German. An early love for stories from mythology and folklore made Parks dream of becoming a writer, but after her high school teacher dissuaded her, she turned her focus to science.
Tops Friendly Markets of Williamsville, NY is recalling all codes of Christopher Ranch Peeled Garlic and Garland Peeled Garlic because it has the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum due to the product being kept at insufficient temperatures. Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium Product was distributed through Tops Markets in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. The recalled products are identified as follows:
Garland Fresh Peeled Garlic, 6 oz., packed in plastic bags with a UPCs of 71894-00000 and 68826-75340, all product code dates.
Christopher Ranch Peeled Garlic, 6 oz., packed in plastic bags with UPC 74574-10852 ,all product code dates
** The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for a ground beef product that may be contaminated with foreign material, specifically metal. A recall was not requested because the product is…
Impacted Products
16oz (1 lb.) PLASTIC, VACUUM-PACKED, packages containing “WHITE OAK PASTURES, RADICALLY TRADITIONAL FARMING, GRASSFED GROUND BEEF”.
** The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is retracting the public health alert issued on April 1, 2026, for Walmart Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets with “Best If Used By” date “Feb…
Impacted Products
29-oz. plastic bags containing approx. 36 “GREAT VALUE FULLY COOKED DINO SHAPED CHICKEN BREAST NUGGETS” with “BEST IF USED BY” date “FEB 10 2027,” lot code” 0416DPO1215,” and establishment number “P44164” printed on the back of the bag.
The FDA has issued an Advisory without batch numbers or expiration dates. At the request of the FDA, RAW FARM is issuing a Voluntary Recall of the batches of cheese below and any batches produced prior to these dates.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for frozen, dinosaur-shaped, ready-to-eat chicken nuggets that may be contaminated with unsafe levels of lead. A recall was not requested because the products are no longer available for purchase. However, FSIS is concerned that some products may still be in consumers’ freezers.
Microbial contamination was the leading cause of Finnish recalls in 2025. There were 299 recalls in Finland this past year, down slightly from 305 in 2024.
** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 19, 2026– West Sacramento, CA, Gear Isle is voluntarily recalling the following products to the consumer level. The products have been found to contain undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients, sildenafil and tadalafil.
Gold Lion Aphrodisiac Chocolate Sachet, UPC 795847916279, LOT# no lot number, Expires: 06/2027 ilum Sex Chocolate, UPC 1002448578911, LOT# no lot number, Expires: 12/25/2027.
** The E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to raw cheddar cheese from Raw Farm LLC continues to grow. Out of nine cases so far, more than half are in children younger than 5 years old. Although the FDA has reported that raw milk cheese from Raw Farm dairy is the most likely source of the bacteria, the company has refused to recall its product.
Falcon Trading Company Inc. is recalling organic black bean products because they contain pesticide residue. The Royal Oaks, CA, company is recalling the three items listed below. Because these items
Auricchio brand Gorgonzola D.O.P dolce is being recalled in Canada because of contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. This recall was triggered by Canadian Food Inspection Agency test results.
Falcon Trading Company Inc. is recalling organic black bean products because they contain pesticide residue. The Royal Oaks, CA, company is recalling the three items listed below. Falcon Trading Company, Inc. of Royal Oaks CA is recalling the three items listed below. Because these items are sold in bulk, the lot numbers can be mixed in the sales bin. Therefore, we are recalling all lot numbers of the following items:
1513 – Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain.
1525 – Albert von Brandenburg, the leader of the Teutonic Order, assumes the title “Duke of Prussia” and passed the first laws of the Protestant church, making Prussia a Protestant state.
1789 – The U.S. House of Representatives held its first meeting.
1832 – About 300 American troops of the 6th Infantry left Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, to confront the Sauk Indians in the Black Hawk War.
1834 – In New York City, Cornelius Lawrence became the first mayor to be elected by popular vote in a city election.
1839 – The first Intercollegiate Rodeo was held at the Godshall Ranch, Apple Valley, CA.
1864 – The U.S. Senate passed the 13th Amendment (S.J. Res. 16) by a vote of 38 to 6.
1873 – Alfred Paraf patented the first successful oleomargarine.
1911 – The first squash tournament was played at the Harvard Club in New York City.
1913 – The Seventeenth amendment was ratified, requiring direct election of senators.
1935 – The Works Progress Administration was approved by the U.S. Congress.
1939 – Italy invaded Albania.
1942 – The Soviets opened a rail link to the besieged city of Leningrad.
1943 – Wendell Wilkie’s “One World” was published for the first time.
1946 – The League of Nations assembled in Geneva for the last time.
1947 – The first illustrated insurance policy was issued by the Allstate Insurance Company.
1962 – Bay of Pigs invaders got thirty years imprisonment in Cuba.
1974 – Hank Aaron hits 715th home run breaking Babe Ruth’s record.
1975 – Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians became first black manager of a major league baseball team.
1985 – India filed suit against Union Carbide for the Bhopal disaster.
1985 – Phyllis Diller underwent a surgical procedure for permanent eyeliner to eliminate the need for eyelid makeup.
1986 – Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, CA.
1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigned over remarks he had made. While on ABC’s “Nightline” Campanis said that blacks “may not have some of the necessities” to hold managerial jobs in major-league baseball.
1988 – Former U.S. President Reagan aid Lyn Nofzinger was sentenced to prison for illegal lobbying for Wedtech Corp.
1990 – In Nepal, King Birendra lifted the 30-year ban on political parties.
1992 – In Britain, the last issue of “Punch Magazine” was published.
1994 – Smoking was banned in the Pentagon and all U.S. military bases.
1998 – The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. presented new evidence in an appeal for new federal investigation of the assassination of her husband.
2000 – 19 U.S. troops were killed when a Marine V22 Osprey crashed during a training mission in Arizona.
2001 – Microsoft Corp. released Internet Explorer 6.0.
2002 – Ed McMahon filed a $20 million lawsuit against his insurance company, two insurance adjusters, and several environmental cleanup contractors. The suit alleged breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress concerning a toxic mold that had spread through McMahon’s Beverly Hills home.
2002 – Suzan-Lori Parks became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama for her play “Topdog/Underdog.”
1513 – Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain.
1525 – Albert von Brandenburg, the leader of the Teutonic Order, assumes the title “Duke of Prussia” and passed the first laws of the Protestant church, making Prussia a Protestant state.
1789 – The U.S. House of Representatives held its first meeting.
1832 – About 300 American troops of the 6th Infantry left Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, to confront the Sauk Indians in the Black Hawk War.
1834 – In New York City, Cornelius Lawrence became the first mayor to be elected by popular vote in a city election.
1839 – The first Intercollegiate Rodeo was held at the Godshall Ranch, Apple Valley, CA.
1864 – The U.S. Senate passed the 13th Amendment (S.J. Res. 16) by a vote of 38 to 6.
1873 – Alfred Paraf patented the first successful oleomargarine.
1911 – The first squash tournament was played at the Harvard Club in New York City.
1913 – The Seventeenth amendment was ratified, requiring direct election of senators.
1935 – The Works Progress Administration was approved by the U.S. Congress.
1939 – Italy invaded Albania.
1942 – The Soviets opened a rail link to the besieged city of Leningrad.
1943 – Wendell Wilkie’s “One World” was published for the first time.
1946 – The League of Nations assembled in Geneva for the last time.
1947 – The first illustrated insurance policy was issued by the Allstate Insurance Company.
1962 – Bay of Pigs invaders got thirty years imprisonment in Cuba.
1974 – Hank Aaron hits 715th home run breaking Babe Ruth’s record.
1975 – Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians became first black manager of a major league baseball team.
1985 – India filed suit against Union Carbide for the Bhopal disaster.
1985 – Phyllis Diller underwent a surgical procedure for permanent eyeliner to eliminate the need for eyelid makeup.
1986 – Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, CA.
1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigned over remarks he had made. While on ABC’s “Nightline” Campanis said that blacks “may not have some of the necessities” to hold managerial jobs in major-league baseball.
1988 – Former U.S. President Reagan aid Lyn Nofzinger was sentenced to prison for illegal lobbying for Wedtech Corp.
1990 – In Nepal, King Birendra lifted the 30-year ban on political parties.
1992 – In Britain, the last issue of “Punch Magazine” was published.
1994 – Smoking was banned in the Pentagon and all U.S. military bases.
1998 – The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. presented new evidence in an appeal for new federal investigation of the assassination of her husband.
2000 – 19 U.S. troops were killed when a Marine V22 Osprey crashed during a training mission in Arizona.
2001 – Microsoft Corp. released Internet Explorer 6.0.
2002 – Ed McMahon filed a $20 million lawsuit against his insurance company, two insurance adjusters, and several environmental cleanup contractors. The suit alleged breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress concerning a toxic mold that had spread through McMahon’s Beverly Hills home.
2002 – Suzan-Lori Parks became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama for her play “Topdog/Underdog.”
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