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Post by citystars on Feb 12, 2013 9:48:48 GMT -5
Hi Common,
I have not finished reading the book about the first group of black Congressman. It's over 350 pages and filled with so much information I may not finish it before the end of Black History month.
However, I just read Incidents in the Life of Slave Girl a very quick and interesting book by Harriet Jacobs a former slave who escaped from slavery.
Harriet's story is a very compelling account of the horrible life she endured as a slave and the many obstacles she encountered to secure her freedom.
Harriet was born February 11, 1813 – 200 years ago yesterday.
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Post by Common on Feb 13, 2013 9:23:14 GMT -5
great information in this thread I love it Common Thank you for the kind comments. It is appreciated. If you have any black historical heroes, please feel free to add them here.
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Post by Common on Feb 13, 2013 9:27:38 GMT -5
Citystars,
I can see that could take a while to finish. I read excerpts of Ms. Jacobs book from an African American Literary Anthology that I have. Henry Gates is one of the contributors to the book. I think the ex-enslaved stories barely touch the surface of the horror of slavery. I think the trauma of slavery made it very difficult for them to talk more indepth about it. Which is completely understandable.
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Post by Common on Feb 13, 2013 9:34:10 GMT -5
February 12, 1909
Founded in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to social justice, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's largest and strongest civil rights organization. The NAACP's principal objective is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of United States and eliminate race prejudice. The NAACP seeks remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes. This mission is accomplished by seeking the enactment and enforcement of federal, state and local laws securing civil rights, and by informing the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination. From school desegregation, fair housing, employment and voter registration, to health and equal economic opportunity, the NAACP, working successfully with allies of all races, plays a significant role in establishing legal precedents in order to improve the quality of life of America's downtrodden. For more than ninety one years, the NAACP has been built on the individual and collective courage of thousands of people. People of all races, nationalities and religious denominations, who were united on one premise --that all men and women are created equal. Although, one could write great prose about the triumphs of the NAACP, there is nothing more powerful than the facts of how the existence of the oldest civil rights organization has changed the face of history for this country. And despite threats of violence, and official government policies that were racist the NAACP continued and will continue to persevere
February 12, 1930
In Tuskegee, Alabama, the Rosenwald Fund made grants to the Alabama State Board of Health to help meet the cost of a sutdy of syphilis in African American men living in rural Georgia and Alabama. Thus would begin a four decade long study of syphilis without treatment. Over 400 men were allowed to carry the disease without medical treatment for nearly 40 years. Several government agencies including the Federal Public Health Service and the Center for Disease Control participated in the unethical study. It was kept a secret until 1972 when a newspaper reporter disclosed it.
February 12, 1934
Birthday of William Felton Russell, better known as "Bill" Russel, he was player-coach of the Boston Celtics basketball team in 1968 and 1969. Russell was born in Monroe, Louisiana.
February 12, 1939
Augustus Nathaniel Lushington became the first African American to earn a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), earning the doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1897; died on this day.
February 12, 1948
First Lt. Nancy C. Leftenant became the first Black accepted in the regular army nursing corps.
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Post by Common on Feb 13, 2013 9:38:23 GMT -5
February 13, 1818
Absalom Jones, the first African American Episcopal priest ordained in the U.S. , dies.
February 13, 1882
Death of Henry Highland Garnet (66), diplomat and protest leader, in Monrovia, Liberia.
February 13, 1892 The first African American performers, the World's Fair Colored Opera Company, appear at Carnegie Hall.
February 13, 1907
Wendell P. Dabney establishes The Union. The Cincinnati, Ohio paper's motto is "For no people can become great without being united, for in union there is strength
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Post by Common on Feb 14, 2013 17:33:20 GMT -5
February 14, 1817
Possible birthday of Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and orator. Born into slavery as Frederick Baile, Douglass purchased his freedom in 1845 and went on to become the greatest abolitionist of his time.
February 14, 1867
Morehouse College organized in Augusta, Georgia. The institution was later moved to Atlanta. New registration law in Tennessee abolished racial distinctions in voting.
February 14, 1936
National Negro Congress organized at Chicago meeting attended by 817 delegates representing more than 500 organizations. Asa Phillip Randolph of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was elected president of the new organization.
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Post by citystars on Feb 15, 2013 8:00:52 GMT -5
Common,
I just read Narrative of the Life of a Slave by Frederick Douglas. It's a very quick and powerful read that sheds light on the brutality of slavery. The stories he shares in his book about his years as a slave are horrible. Fortunately and thankfully, he was also able to secure his own freedom and became a staunch Abolitionist.
Citystars
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Post by Common on Feb 15, 2013 12:04:30 GMT -5
Citystars,
I read Douglas's bio as well. Yes, when he talks about witnessing the beating of his Aunt by the slave owner, it was chilling.
February 15, 1804
The New Jersey Legislature approved a law calling for "gradual" emancipation of African Americans. In so doing, New Jersey became the last Northern state to outlaw slavery.
February 15, 1848
Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston. Her father, Benjamin Roberts, filed the first school integration suit on her behalf.
February 15, 1851
Black abolitionists invaded Boston courtroom and rescued a fugitive slave.
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Post by Common on Feb 19, 2013 9:18:29 GMT -5
February 16, 1857
Frederick Douglass elected President of Freedman Bank and Trust.
February 16, 1923
On this day Bessie Smith makes her first recording, "Down Hearted Blues," which sells 800,000 copies for Columbia Records.
February 16, 1951
New York City Council passed bill prohibiting racial discrimination in city-assisted housing developments.
February 16, 1957
Actor Levar Burton was born in Landsthul, Germany. Burton won fame for his acting in the television movie "roots," which was based on the novel by Alex Haley. He became known once more in the 1980s and 1990s for his recurring role in the "Star Trek: Next Generation" series and movies.
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Post by Common on Feb 19, 2013 9:27:58 GMT -5
February 17, 1902
Opera singer Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Anderson was entered in the New York Philharmonic Competition at age 17 by her music teacher, and placed first over 299 other singers. Awarded a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1930, Anderson went to Europe for a year of study. She returned briefly to the United States but went back to Europe in 1933 to debut in Berlin and again, in 1935, in Austria. In 1933, Anderson performed 142 concerts in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. On Easter Sunday in 1939, Anderson performed an open air recital at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The performance was scheduled for the concert hall controlled by the Daughters of the American Revolution but was cancelled when the DAR refeused to allow Anderson to sing there. In 1955, Anderson signed with New York's Metropolitan Opera Company.
February 17, 1918
Birthday of Rep. Charles A. Hayes, D-Illinois, who was born in Cairo, Illinois. In 1989, Hayes was re-elected to a fourth term in the House of Representatives. He was first elected Sept. 12, 1983.
February 17, 1936
James Nathaniel Brown, 63, Pro Football Hall of Fame Fullback, born in St. Simons Island, GA
February 17, 1938
On this day Mary Frances Berry, who will become the first woman to serve as a chancellor of a major research university, is born in Nashville, Tenn.
February 17, 1942
An illiterate high-school graduate, Newton taught himself how to read before attending Merritt College in Oakland and the San Francisco School of Law, where he met Seale. In Oakland in 1966 they formed the Black Panther group in response to incidents of police brutality and racism and as an illustration of the need for black self-reliance. At the hieght of its popularity during the late 1960s, the party had 2,000 members in chapters in several cities. In 1967 Newton was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of a police officer, but his conviction was overturned 22 months later, and he was released from prison. In 1971 he announced that the party would adopt a nonviolent manifesto and dedicate itself to providing social services to the black community. In 1974 he was accused of another murder and fled to Cuba for three years before returning to face charges; two trials resulted in hung juries. Newton received a Ph.D in social philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz (1980); his dissertation, "War Against the Panthers" was subtitled "A Study of Repression in America." Succumbing to factionalism and pressure from government agencies, the party disbanded in 1982. In March 1989 Newton was sentenced to a six-month jail term for misappropriating public funds intended for a Panther-founded Oakland school. In August of that year he was found shot dead on a street in Oakland. ************************************************* Sidenote: The more things supposedly change, the more they stay the same. See Chris Dorner incident and controversy.
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Post by Common on Feb 19, 2013 10:09:06 GMT -5
February 18, 1688
First formal protest against slavery by organized white body in English America made by Germantown (Pa.) Quakers at monthly meeting. The historic "Germantown Protest" denounced slavery and the slave trade.
February 18, 1865
Rebels abandoned Charleston. First Union troops to enter the city included Twenty-first U.S.C.T., followed by two companies of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers.
February 18, 1867
An institution was founded at Augusta, Georgia which was later to become Morehouse College, following its relocation to Atlanta. Morehouse College is one of the most prestigious black colleges in the nation.
February 18, 1867
An institution was founded at Augusta, Georgia which was later to become Morehouse College, following its relocation to Atlanta. Morehouse College is one of the most prestigious black colleges in the nation.
February 18, 1894
Paul Revere Williams, renowned architect, born
February 18, 1896
Grenon, H. Razor Stropping Device Feb. 18, 1896 Patent No. 554,867
February 18, 1931
Toni Morrison (born Chloe Anthony Wofford) was born on this day.
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Post by Common on Feb 19, 2013 10:13:15 GMT -5
February 19, 1864
Knights of Pythias established. Confederate troops defeated three Black and six white regiments at Battle of Olustee, about fifty miles from Jacksonville, Florida.
February 19, 1919
The 1st Pan African Congress is held. (Paris,France). Pan-African Congress, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois, met a Grand Hotel, Paris. There were fifty-seven delegates sixteen from the United States and fourteen from Africa form sixteen countries and colonies. Blaise Diagne of Senegal was elected president and Du Bois was named secretary.
February 19, 1940
Soul singer William "Smokey" Robinson born in Detroit, Michigan. Robinson's first singing group was the Miracles which he formed in 1955 while still in high school. The group's first success came in 1960 with the hit, "Shop Around."
February 19, 1942
The Army Air Corps' all African American 100th Pursuit Squadron, later designated a fighter squadron, was activated at Tuskegee Institute. The squadron served honorably in England and in other regions of the European continent during World War II.
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Post by Common on Feb 20, 2013 9:36:57 GMT -5
February 20, 1895
Death of Frederick Douglass (78), Anacostia Heights, District of Columbia. Douglass was the leading Black spokesman for almost fifty years. He was a major abolitionist and a lecturer and editor.
February 20, 1900
J.F. Bickering patents airship invention
February 20, 1927
Actor and thespian Sidney Poitier born.
February 20, 1929
Writer Wallace Thurman's play Harlem opens in NYC. It is the first successful play by an African American playwright.
February 20, 1936
Jazz singer, actress, Nancy Wilson born in Chillicothe, Ohio
February 20, 1936
Death of John Hope (67), president, Atlanta University.
February 20, 1968
State troopers used tear gas to stop demonstrations at Alcorn A&M College.
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Post by Common on Feb 21, 2013 12:02:47 GMT -5
February 21, 1895
North Carolina Legislature, dominated by Black Republicans and white Populists, adjourned for the day to mark the death of Frederick Douglass.
February 21, 1917
Thelonious Sphere Monk, Jazz musician; born in Rocky Mount, N.C. He was raised in New York
February 21, 1933
Nina Simone (Eunice Waymon), singer, pianist and songwriter ("I Love You Porgy," "Trouble in Mind") born Tryon, NC, Feb 21, 19933.
February 21, 1936
On this day Barbara Jordan, who will be the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives, is born
February 21, 1961
Otis Boykin, Inventor, patented the Electrical Resistor. U.S. 2,972,726 He is responsible for inventing the electrical device used in all guided missiles and IBM computers, plus 26 other electronic devices including a control unit for an artificial heart stimulator (pacemaker). He began his career as a laboratory assistant testing automatic controls for aircraft. One of Boykin's first achievements was a type of resistor used in computers, radios, television sets, and a variety of electronic devices. Some of his other inventions included a variable resistor used in guided missiles, small component thick-film resistors for computers. The innovations in resistor design reduced the cost of producing electronic controls for radio and television, for both military and commercial applications. Other inventions by Otis Boykin also included a burglarproof cash register and chemical air filter.
February 21, 1965
Malcolm X was assassinated, 11 months after his split from Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam.
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Post by Common on Feb 22, 2013 12:59:38 GMT -5
February 22, 1841
Grafton Tyler Brown, lithographer and painter, born
February 22, 1888
In West Chester, Pennsylvania, African American painter Horace Pippin was born. Pippin is considered one of the major American painters of his period. One of his more significant works, "John Brown Going to His Hanging," is owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
February 22, 1898
Black postmaster lynched and his wife and three daughters shot and maimed for life in Lake City, S.C
February 22, 1911
On this day, the "Bronze Muse" died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper wrote more than a dozen books, including 'Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects'(1854); 'Moses, a Story of the Nile'(1869);and 'Sketches of Southern Life'(1872). Harper was the most famous female poet of her day and the most famous African-American poet of the 19th century. Also a well-known orator, she spoke frequently in public(sometimes twice in one day)promoting equal rights for women and African-Americans. She was a worker for the Underground Railroad, and in 1896 she helped establish the National Association of Colored Women.
February 22, 1938
Ishmael Reed, poet, born
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