Today’s Information On African American History
The name Paul Laurence Dunbar is known by many people. However, what is not common knowledge was that he was a classmate of Orville Wright, as well as the first African-American to gain national eminence as a poet. The son of ex-slaves, born in the 19th century, “Dunbar was prolific, writing short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs and essays as well as the poetry for which he became well known. He was popular with black and white readers of his day, and his works are celebrated today by scholars and school children alike.”
Another African American writer was James Weldon Johnson, creator of the National Negro Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” His brother, John Johnson set it to music. Together, they composed over 200 songs for Broadway musicals, including “The Sleeping Beauty,” and “Humpty Dumpty.” One of his most famous poems was “God’s Trombones,” which still stirs people whenever it is shared, was written with his brother, Rosamond.
James Johnson was also a novelist, historian, diplomat, lawyer, civil rights leader, editor, and, of course, a songwriter. A graduate of Atlanta University, Mr. Johnson was a school principal, the first secretary of the NAACP, a professor of Creative Literature at Fish University, and worked with a friend who passed for white. Johnson wrote about the experiences of African Americans passing for white. I read once where another researcher said that as many as 50% of the white people in America have African American heritage, but only about 25% of them have that awareness; most don’t want to know!
Langston Hughes was another writer of many talents. “In addition to his work as a poet, Hughes was a novelist, columnist, playwright, and essayist…closely associated with [the Harlem Renaissance],” and a world traveler, was influenced and “followed the example of Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of his early poetic influences, to become the second African American to earn a living as a writer. His long and distinguished career produced volumes of diverse genres and inspired the work of countless other African American writers.”
Hughes learned to deal with various groups due to the countless moves of his mother and step-father, living with relatives, and then spending a year in Mexico. He also learned how to distinguish “decent” white folks from “reactionary” white folks. He saw that there were different kinds of white people and didn’t throw them all into the same pot. Although he was expected to get an engineering degree at Columbia University, Langston Hughes wanted to travel. He traveled much, but economics forced him back to America where he took blue-collar jobs and eventually entered Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, the first African American university. When he entered, he was a respected poet and writer, a much older student, and later, as a criticized poet for the way he used blues and jazz and Negro dialect in his poems.
An accomplished writer, Mr. Hughes wrote for several African American papers, a majority newspaper, had a short stint with Dr. Carter G. Woodson, respected African American researcher and historian. Hughes also wrote plays individually and collectively with others. Known as a dean for other writers, Langston Hughes endured accusations for his association with known communist individuals, and left a legacy for others, including being inducted into the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1961.
Of course there were many great African American writers from Phyllis Wheatley to Gwendolyn Brooks to Maya Angelou to Alice Walker to Amiri Baraka to Zora Neale Hurston to Alain Locke to James Baldwin to Bill Cosby to Ralph Ellison to Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to Nikki Giovanni to Alex Haley to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Oscar Micheaxu to Toni Morrison to Alvin F. Poussaint to Ishmael Reed to Susie Taylor to Sojourner Truth to Harriet Tubman to Booker T. Washington to Cornel West to Richard Wright to Malcolm X and the hundreds of others known and unknown to me.
It would be great to have a Charlotte Mason like Langston Hughes so I could revive all of the writing of these great people and put it out on radio and television, music and DVDs and modern plays to teach our younger generation. Perhaps then we could encourage some of them to put down their guns, drugs, negative rap music and pick up a pen, pull up their pants, use a computer, and meet the writing and reading void needed by the 21st century African American youth.
Credits:
David C. Cook, “Black America: Yesterday and Today”
Thomson Gale, www.gale.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_writers
http://www.afn.org/~sigma1/jwjohn.html
Next time: The power of African American artists…for real!
What is November known for? All Saints Day? American Indian Heritage? Families Stories Month? Military Family Appreciation? National Adoption? AIDS Awareness? National Peanut Butter Lovers? National Scholarship? Sweet Potato Awareness? Vegan Month?
Credit: http://www.brownielocks.com/NOVEMBER2009.html
You need to check out this web site…it may blow your mind: http://www.freemaninstitute.com/RTGseminar.htm
And, here are some more:
www.Black101.com
www.BlackChurchMissions.org
www.RosettaStoneReplicas.com
DID YOU KNOW? There is another resource to help you learn more about Black History?
Check out: www.yenoba.com
And another? Check out: http://www.blackhistorypages.net/index.php
Facebook Badge
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
November 2, 2009 Applying the Wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for Today
Today’s Information On African American History
There have been numerous books and articles written about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, many school children today don’t really have a clue about his importance to national affairs in America. There is not much been taught about how racism and discrimination and segregation conditioned millions of African Americans for failure, negativity, and a bitter spirit. Dr. King helped to change some of that. The positive effects of his teachings need to continue for all future generations, just like we learn about the virtues and contributions of President Washington, President Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and other American leaders.
First, we examine the times that Dr. King was born into. 1929 was a depressing time for many people. African Americans were still being deprived of many of their basic human rights as Americans, just because of the color of their skin. Those African Americans who could pass for white did so just to be able to have what should have been theirs as an African American citizen.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Dr. King went to segregated schools and suffered the pains of being deliberately mistreated because he represented a color that many citizens did not want to accept. The son and grandson of Christian ministers, Dr. King pushed forward in his education, attending Morehouse College (an African American institution), Crozer Theological Seminary, and on to Boston University, receiving his doctorate.
Dr. King was thrust onto the public beyond his church pulpit when he responded to leadership positions within the NAACP, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The world would soon get to know him when he led a public bus boycott when an African American woman refused to move to the back of the bus for a white passenger. The boycott lasted 382 days and King later became the youngest person (at 35) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which he donated to the civil rights movement.
Dr. King didn’t plan to become a minister. He actually had ambitions as a lawyer or doctor. However, his “reading of Thoreau’s essay on ‘Civil Disobedience,’ and the influence of Dr. Benjamin Mays brought about a change in his plans.” When he spied the genius in Coretta Scott, he had a teammate willing to put her life and the life of their family in harm’s way in order to focus national attention on a sore spot in American human relations.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.”
In his books and speeches, Dr. King’s words were full of wisdom and carried such power that even today, readers and listeners are awed by his command of words. Although there have been many detractors to Dr. King’s writings, including his doctorate thesis, it has been difficult to “prove” that Dr. King actually stole entire paragraphs of others. When he spoke or wrote, he appeared to be speaking and writing from the heart, or at least he gave the conviction that so touched the heartstrings of many people that he was beloved more than he was hated.
When one rethinks Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it would be easy to take everything he did at face value. However, for others, it would be very easy to throw out everything he did, period. What we can learn is that there once lived a man who spoke and wrote in such a manner that he affected the conscience of many. Was he led astray by “handlers” and those involved with the Communist Party? Was he really a “man of God” that tried to live his life by what he understood from Christian principles? Did he make a difference for the positive future of America?
Regardless of one’s position concerning Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the man did make an impact on America, as well as on the thinking of many around the world. Some people changed their thinking about many African Americans. Many African Americans began to see that hating white people would do them no good in the long run. Many around the world began to see that destroying other human beings could not be good for the Planet, Earth.
Some people were led to do positive community service because of the speeches, books, and lifestyle of Dr. King. Others became more entrenched in their hatred of African Americans. However, this man caused a pause to be placed in the annuals of recorded human history. In our lifetime, we may never know the real truth about the complete lifestyle of Dr. King. In any event, most will say that his living and taking up space on the earth caused some shifting in the thinking and actions of millions of people. We can learn that if one person can cause shifting or entrenchment in thinking, it’s possible for many people to share a common goal and move in a determined effort to make things better or worse for others.
Dr. King actually followed (or led) in the footsteps of other charismatic African American men: Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Marcus Moziah Garvey, Walter F. White, Roy Wilkins, Bayard Rustin, James Farmer, Whitney Young, Jesse Jackson, Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammed, Edward W. Brooke, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Carl B. Stokes, Richard Hatcher, Julian Bond, Colin Powell, Thurgood Marshall, Ron Brown, and now Barack Obama. For every name I mentioned, others could substitute with another well-deserving African American who has done great things in America.
When all the evidence is in concerning what was learned from the teachings of Dr. King, it will probably be reckoned that he used his life and his gifts to cause people to consider that better is possible.
Credits:
www.nobelpeace.org
www.thekingcenter.org
David C. Cook, Black Americans: Yesterday and Tomorrow
Next time: The power of African American writers and artists.
There have been numerous books and articles written about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, many school children today don’t really have a clue about his importance to national affairs in America. There is not much been taught about how racism and discrimination and segregation conditioned millions of African Americans for failure, negativity, and a bitter spirit. Dr. King helped to change some of that. The positive effects of his teachings need to continue for all future generations, just like we learn about the virtues and contributions of President Washington, President Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and other American leaders.
First, we examine the times that Dr. King was born into. 1929 was a depressing time for many people. African Americans were still being deprived of many of their basic human rights as Americans, just because of the color of their skin. Those African Americans who could pass for white did so just to be able to have what should have been theirs as an African American citizen.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Dr. King went to segregated schools and suffered the pains of being deliberately mistreated because he represented a color that many citizens did not want to accept. The son and grandson of Christian ministers, Dr. King pushed forward in his education, attending Morehouse College (an African American institution), Crozer Theological Seminary, and on to Boston University, receiving his doctorate.
Dr. King was thrust onto the public beyond his church pulpit when he responded to leadership positions within the NAACP, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The world would soon get to know him when he led a public bus boycott when an African American woman refused to move to the back of the bus for a white passenger. The boycott lasted 382 days and King later became the youngest person (at 35) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which he donated to the civil rights movement.
Dr. King didn’t plan to become a minister. He actually had ambitions as a lawyer or doctor. However, his “reading of Thoreau’s essay on ‘Civil Disobedience,’ and the influence of Dr. Benjamin Mays brought about a change in his plans.” When he spied the genius in Coretta Scott, he had a teammate willing to put her life and the life of their family in harm’s way in order to focus national attention on a sore spot in American human relations.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.”
In his books and speeches, Dr. King’s words were full of wisdom and carried such power that even today, readers and listeners are awed by his command of words. Although there have been many detractors to Dr. King’s writings, including his doctorate thesis, it has been difficult to “prove” that Dr. King actually stole entire paragraphs of others. When he spoke or wrote, he appeared to be speaking and writing from the heart, or at least he gave the conviction that so touched the heartstrings of many people that he was beloved more than he was hated.
When one rethinks Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it would be easy to take everything he did at face value. However, for others, it would be very easy to throw out everything he did, period. What we can learn is that there once lived a man who spoke and wrote in such a manner that he affected the conscience of many. Was he led astray by “handlers” and those involved with the Communist Party? Was he really a “man of God” that tried to live his life by what he understood from Christian principles? Did he make a difference for the positive future of America?
Regardless of one’s position concerning Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the man did make an impact on America, as well as on the thinking of many around the world. Some people changed their thinking about many African Americans. Many African Americans began to see that hating white people would do them no good in the long run. Many around the world began to see that destroying other human beings could not be good for the Planet, Earth.
Some people were led to do positive community service because of the speeches, books, and lifestyle of Dr. King. Others became more entrenched in their hatred of African Americans. However, this man caused a pause to be placed in the annuals of recorded human history. In our lifetime, we may never know the real truth about the complete lifestyle of Dr. King. In any event, most will say that his living and taking up space on the earth caused some shifting in the thinking and actions of millions of people. We can learn that if one person can cause shifting or entrenchment in thinking, it’s possible for many people to share a common goal and move in a determined effort to make things better or worse for others.
Dr. King actually followed (or led) in the footsteps of other charismatic African American men: Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Marcus Moziah Garvey, Walter F. White, Roy Wilkins, Bayard Rustin, James Farmer, Whitney Young, Jesse Jackson, Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammed, Edward W. Brooke, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Carl B. Stokes, Richard Hatcher, Julian Bond, Colin Powell, Thurgood Marshall, Ron Brown, and now Barack Obama. For every name I mentioned, others could substitute with another well-deserving African American who has done great things in America.
When all the evidence is in concerning what was learned from the teachings of Dr. King, it will probably be reckoned that he used his life and his gifts to cause people to consider that better is possible.
Credits:
www.nobelpeace.org
www.thekingcenter.org
David C. Cook, Black Americans: Yesterday and Tomorrow
Next time: The power of African American writers and artists.
November 1, 2009 Condoleeza Rice---A Woman With Wisdom
Today’s Information On African American History
It’s not too often we hear of African Americans involved in worldwide peace, unless it is Dr. Condoleezza Rice, whom many African Americans seemingly know little about, and even respect her even less. However, the majority of the world acknowledges that Ms. Rice is a key player for world peace. Born during the Civil Right's Struggle in Alabama, one of her best friends was killed by white supremacists in a church bombing.
Dr. Rice has been National Security Advisor, and is the former Secretary of State, following behind Colin Powell, the first African American to become America’s Secretary of State. Colin Powell was known and made his mark on the world through his military background. Dr. Rice is becoming known through her powers of negotiations with foreign governments all over the world.
Whether liked by African Americans or not, Ms. Rice knows her stuff. She has degrees from the University of Denver, University of Notre Dame, “received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver, "speaks fluent Russian, and, with varying degrees of fluency, German, French, and Spanish.” She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Morehouse College, the University of Alabama, the University of Notre Dame, the Mississippi College School of Law, the University of Louisville, Michigan State University, and Boston College Law School, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Plus, she has been listed by Forbes as one of the world’s most powerful women; written up in Time Magazine; interviewed on some of the top radio and television shows; was a top executive at Stanford University; hailed as an author and co-author; and has served (or is serving) on the corporate boards of some of America’s most prestigious corporations.
Dr. Ralph Bunche, was an African American Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1950 for “the most effective work in the interest of international peace.” At the time, the world was astounded by this black man who finished at Harvard, “set up the Department of Political Science” at Howard University, traveled around the world for peace, and had a major achievement as the “U.N. mediator in the Palestine crisis…which brought about a cease-fire between Egypt and Israel” and became “the highest ranking Black American in the United Nations when he was appointed Undersecretary for Special Political Affairs in 1955."
However, neither Dr. Bunche or any other African American has traveled to as many foreign countries as Dr. Rice, visiting “nearly seventy countries and [traveling]more miles in her first year as Secretary [of State] than her predecessor, Colin Powell, did in his five-year career. She has also set the record for most miles flown by a Secretary of State on a single trip and most continuous miles in a single flight…[traveling] 240,261 miles, visited 49 countries, and spent over 500 hours in flight.”
Dr. Rice has been to Europe, Nova Scotia, and to some of the hot spots of the Cold, including “the Middle East…Germany…the United Kingdom…Poland… Turkey… Israel…[Lebanon]…the Palestinian Territories…Italy…France…Belgium…and Luxembourg.” Not afraid of a fight, Dr. Rice has been in major talks concerning Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. No other African American, past or present, has ever been so involved in world peace as this uniquely qualified woman.
As a woman and as an African American, Dr. Rice has been severely criticized by women and African Americans. It could be because she refuses to play by the rules set up by those who cannot think beyond their own pet ideologies or beyond their feminine or racial stock. Not unlike Colin Powell, Dr. Rice does not like a box to be drawn around her because of her sex or her race. Dr. Rice thinks like an individual genuinely concerned with the problems of the day and expects to be accepted as an individual; not as a woman and not as an African American. Perhaps Dr. Rice will expand this type of thinking which was also exhibited by Colin Powell---don’t expect me to react based on my gender or based on my race. Maybe this type of thinking will become an invisible thread that will permeate the future thinking of African Americans in future generations!
Credits:
David C. Cook “Black America: Yesterday and Today”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice#Academic_career
Next time: Rethinking Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What can we learn from his teachings that will help us in the 21 century?
It’s not too often we hear of African Americans involved in worldwide peace, unless it is Dr. Condoleezza Rice, whom many African Americans seemingly know little about, and even respect her even less. However, the majority of the world acknowledges that Ms. Rice is a key player for world peace. Born during the Civil Right's Struggle in Alabama, one of her best friends was killed by white supremacists in a church bombing.
Dr. Rice has been National Security Advisor, and is the former Secretary of State, following behind Colin Powell, the first African American to become America’s Secretary of State. Colin Powell was known and made his mark on the world through his military background. Dr. Rice is becoming known through her powers of negotiations with foreign governments all over the world.
Whether liked by African Americans or not, Ms. Rice knows her stuff. She has degrees from the University of Denver, University of Notre Dame, “received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver, "speaks fluent Russian, and, with varying degrees of fluency, German, French, and Spanish.” She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Morehouse College, the University of Alabama, the University of Notre Dame, the Mississippi College School of Law, the University of Louisville, Michigan State University, and Boston College Law School, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Plus, she has been listed by Forbes as one of the world’s most powerful women; written up in Time Magazine; interviewed on some of the top radio and television shows; was a top executive at Stanford University; hailed as an author and co-author; and has served (or is serving) on the corporate boards of some of America’s most prestigious corporations.
Dr. Ralph Bunche, was an African American Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1950 for “the most effective work in the interest of international peace.” At the time, the world was astounded by this black man who finished at Harvard, “set up the Department of Political Science” at Howard University, traveled around the world for peace, and had a major achievement as the “U.N. mediator in the Palestine crisis…which brought about a cease-fire between Egypt and Israel” and became “the highest ranking Black American in the United Nations when he was appointed Undersecretary for Special Political Affairs in 1955."
However, neither Dr. Bunche or any other African American has traveled to as many foreign countries as Dr. Rice, visiting “nearly seventy countries and [traveling]more miles in her first year as Secretary [of State] than her predecessor, Colin Powell, did in his five-year career. She has also set the record for most miles flown by a Secretary of State on a single trip and most continuous miles in a single flight…[traveling] 240,261 miles, visited 49 countries, and spent over 500 hours in flight.”
Dr. Rice has been to Europe, Nova Scotia, and to some of the hot spots of the Cold, including “the Middle East…Germany…the United Kingdom…Poland… Turkey… Israel…[Lebanon]…the Palestinian Territories…Italy…France…Belgium…and Luxembourg.” Not afraid of a fight, Dr. Rice has been in major talks concerning Iraq, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. No other African American, past or present, has ever been so involved in world peace as this uniquely qualified woman.
As a woman and as an African American, Dr. Rice has been severely criticized by women and African Americans. It could be because she refuses to play by the rules set up by those who cannot think beyond their own pet ideologies or beyond their feminine or racial stock. Not unlike Colin Powell, Dr. Rice does not like a box to be drawn around her because of her sex or her race. Dr. Rice thinks like an individual genuinely concerned with the problems of the day and expects to be accepted as an individual; not as a woman and not as an African American. Perhaps Dr. Rice will expand this type of thinking which was also exhibited by Colin Powell---don’t expect me to react based on my gender or based on my race. Maybe this type of thinking will become an invisible thread that will permeate the future thinking of African Americans in future generations!
Credits:
David C. Cook “Black America: Yesterday and Today”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice#Academic_career
Next time: Rethinking Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What can we learn from his teachings that will help us in the 21 century?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
President Truman and Executive Order 9981
Today’s Information On African American History: October 31, 2009
Ever since slavery, white people have been reluctant to put guns in the hands of black people or give them military training, even it such actions could help white people.
There has long been a fear among whites that if enough blacks owned guns, they would retaliate against the whites for years (centuries!) of injustice. However, some African Americans didn’t need guns to retaliate; some used poison, others used slacking on the job, some would deliberate break equipment, and some would just use their mouth and influence. A few slave uprisings gave white people reason to keep a keen eye on slaves, and any black person, during the mid-19th century. After a horrendous slave uprising led by prophet/minister/seer Nat Turner in Virginia, 55 whites killed during the revolt, many of the slaves involved were tried and hung. Nat Turner was skinned after he was hung, but hundreds of blacks that had nothing to do with the uprisings were illegally murdered. This incident frightened white people because they thought they had completely dominated the minds of black people.
Although there were other slave uprisings, another one that caught the attention of white people and gave them cause for alarm was the one led by François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture in Haiti. This man became general, repulsed Spanish and British forces because they wanted to reinstitute slavery. He even stood his own ground against some French forces. Ultimately, he was taken in a surprise “freedom meeting” with some French officers on his farm and shipped to France where he died of pneumonia.
Whites in America were shocked that a black man like Toussaint could wield so much power and repel forces that were supposedly more superior than he and his own forces. However, this news did cause some whites to consider the negative images of what that they had been fed by those in the slave business was not entirely correct. Plus, many whites had seen blacks with discipline in the South as well as in the North, leading some to believe that maybe slavery for all black people was not right after all.
When President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, ending “segregation in the Armed Forces of the United States” in 1948, African Americans had earned a history of outstanding military conduct. They were further honored when the Cheyenne Indians called them “wild buffalo” soldiers, due to their fierce fighting spirit when cornered like the buffalo. The term soon evolved to “Buffalo Soldier,” and has been expanded back to Crispus Attucks and brought forward to the Space Age.
According to research on the history of African Americans in military service by Captain Paul J. Matthews of the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, as well as others, African Americans have served this country “valiantly in all the nation’s major wars.” So, before slavery, during slavery, after slavery, during the Civil War and beyond, African Americans fought for America’s freedoms while they still suffered from white-imposed cruelties, discrimination, and economic impotence.
Here is a quick review of Buffalo Soldiers (or blacks fighting for America):
Revolutionary War: served from all of the original colonies “as volunteers, draftees, and paid substitutes for White draftees…guerilla fighters and spies for the Army, and as pilots and crew members of several naval vessels.” A stamp was issued for another: Salem Poor. Born a free Black man in the early 1750s, Salem Poor joined a Massachusetts Militia company commanded by Benjamin Ames in 1775. According to the Ebony Society Of Philatelic Events And Reflections, “he is believed to have fired the shot that killed a high ranking British officer, Lt. Col. James Abercrombie. Whatever the case, his conduct was so exceptional that it was noted in a petition to the Massachusetts Legislature signed by fourteen of his officers. The petition stated, "A Negro called Salem Poor of Colonel Frye's regiment, Captain Ames' company, in the late battle at Charlestown, behaved like an experienced officer, as well as an excellent soldier. It would be tedious to go into more detail regarding his heroic conduct. We only beg leave to say, in the person of this said Negro centers a brave and gallant soldier."
War of 1812 (aka The Second Revolutionary War): Jesse Williams helped defend Philadelphia “against the British…served in the Navy at the Battle of Lake Erie,” and helped General Andrew Jackson in “the decisive battle of New Orleans.” He was “awarded a silver medal from the State of Pennsylvania for his role in the battle. The world was shocked that America would even dare declare war on Britain. At the same time, “The status of Blacks in early America was still in flux, and the established laws provided little protection. Even though slave importation was banned by 1808, some 250,000 more slaves were illegally imported into America from 1808-1860. Those Blacks who were willing, able, or chosen to fight the British for America's defense did so with unusual valor. They fought in various campaigns on both sea and land. Blacks served in naval vessels, in mixed regiments, and in all "colored" regiments. Many were taken as prisoners by the British. One exemplary unit was the TWENTY-SIXTH U. S. INFANTRY REGIMENT consisting of 247 "colored" recruits from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania under the command of Captain William Bezean. Many of these willing and able regiments were held at bay, but many provided the backup and labor to keep the army running effectively. Sketchy records show blacks at the BATTLES OF LAKE ERIE and NEW ORLEANS.”
Civil War: When they were initially refused, some African Americans “organized and equipped drill units at their own expense.” With the help of Frederick Douglas working with the Adjutant General of the Army, African American men were recruited right after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and over 200,000 served in just about every campaign, including those involving Navy vessels. The approximate number killed was 38,000 who still suffered from discriminatory practices and economic deprivation.
Native American Wars: gave the African American soldiers their legendary name, “Buffalo Soldiers.” These men, and at least one woman, assisted in keeping the peace, chasing bandits, keeping Indians safe from murdering settlers, “building roads, stringing telegraph wires, escorting groups across Indian territory, and scouting hostile Indian tribes.” Most of this occurred in Texas and throughout the Southwest, although there is history showing some Buffalo Soldiers in the North. “Congress…recognized the military merits of black soldiers by authorizing two segregated regiments of black cavalry, the Ninth United States Cavalry and the Tenth United States Cavalry and the 24th, 25th , 38th , 39th, 40th and 41st Infantry Regiments…In 1869…the black infantry regiments were consolidated into two units, the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry and the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry. All of the black regiments were commanded by white officers at that time. As always, the African American soldier was meritorious in combat with “Thirteen enlisted men and six officers…[earning] the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars.”
Spanish-American War: African American soldiers were “in the battle of San Juan Hill with the ‘Rough Riders.’ Twelve received the Congregational Medal of Honor for bravery in combat. At least one African American received the Medal of Honor for extreme bravery under combat.
World War I: Many African American troops were assigned to the French, with two units and several individuals (Henry Johnson & Needham Roberts) receiving “The Croix de Guerre for “routing a German raiding party.” Some African Americans did the cooking for the Navy; not allowed in the Marines; with most given supportive roles. It has been recorded by “By the time of the armistice on November of 1918, over 350,000 African Americans had served with the American Expeditionary Force in on the Western Front…One of the most distinguished units was the 369th infantry regiment, known as the "Harlem Hell-fighters", which was on the front lines for six months, longer then any other African American regiment in the war. 171 members of the 396th were awarded the Legion of Merit.”
World War II: It has been stated that over one million African Americans served “in all branches of the Armed Forces” during this war, and finally given “the opportunity to direct military and medical operations.” It may have been the military combat skill of the Tuskegee Airmen and the U.S. 761st Tank Battalion which caused President Harry S. Truman to move to desegregate the nation’s military in July, 1948 (officially ending the Buffalo Soldiers’ units). My step-father still has stories to share about his combat service. I also heard stories about my father in service, and other stories from uncles and other African Americans. They remember the great leaders then like Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. who “served as commander of the famed Tuskegee Airmen…[and] later went on to become the first African American general in the United States Air Force. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., had been the first African American Brigadier General in the Army (1940).”
Other stories were told of men like “Doris Miller, a Navy mess attendant…the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross, awarded for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Miller [by] voluntarily [manning] an anti-aircraft gun and” firing and destroying several suicide bombers, although he was just a cook! In 1944, the Navy first had its first “African American commissioned officers…In 1945, Frederick C. Branch became the first African-American United States Marine Corps officer.
Other Wars: There are recorded numbers of African Americans, men and women, in the Korean Conflict where an all-African American 24th Infantry, won the first victory. In Vietnam, over 56,000 African Americans were involved, twenty receiving the Medal of Honor for their actions, with one African American receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor (U.S. Army Specialist Five Lawrence Joel: The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is dedicated to his honor). In this war, the first African-American U.S. Marine became the recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life. Another became the first African American commissioned officer to be awarded the Medal of Honor (presented posthumously to his wife).
Then came the Invasion of Panama, the Gulf War, Desert Storm, and currently the “Iraqi Freedom Intervention” and “The Afganistan Relief.” During some of this time, Colin Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him, a West Indies black man, the “highest ranking military officer of the United States military, and the principal military advisor, to the President of the United States.”
Although desegregation officially ended the reign of the Buffalo Soldiers as a separate fighting unit in America’s military, there are still many “honorary” Buffalo Soldiers (African American men and women) who continue to honor the history of the Buffalo Soldiers by being identified as “a lean, mean, fighting machine---a Buffalo Soldier!”
Credits:
David C. Cook “Black America: Yesterday and Today”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_African_Americans
www.buffalosoldier.net
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/aaffsfl.htm#1812
Next time: The story of a worldwide peacemaker.
Ever since slavery, white people have been reluctant to put guns in the hands of black people or give them military training, even it such actions could help white people.
There has long been a fear among whites that if enough blacks owned guns, they would retaliate against the whites for years (centuries!) of injustice. However, some African Americans didn’t need guns to retaliate; some used poison, others used slacking on the job, some would deliberate break equipment, and some would just use their mouth and influence. A few slave uprisings gave white people reason to keep a keen eye on slaves, and any black person, during the mid-19th century. After a horrendous slave uprising led by prophet/minister/seer Nat Turner in Virginia, 55 whites killed during the revolt, many of the slaves involved were tried and hung. Nat Turner was skinned after he was hung, but hundreds of blacks that had nothing to do with the uprisings were illegally murdered. This incident frightened white people because they thought they had completely dominated the minds of black people.
Although there were other slave uprisings, another one that caught the attention of white people and gave them cause for alarm was the one led by François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture in Haiti. This man became general, repulsed Spanish and British forces because they wanted to reinstitute slavery. He even stood his own ground against some French forces. Ultimately, he was taken in a surprise “freedom meeting” with some French officers on his farm and shipped to France where he died of pneumonia.
Whites in America were shocked that a black man like Toussaint could wield so much power and repel forces that were supposedly more superior than he and his own forces. However, this news did cause some whites to consider the negative images of what that they had been fed by those in the slave business was not entirely correct. Plus, many whites had seen blacks with discipline in the South as well as in the North, leading some to believe that maybe slavery for all black people was not right after all.
When President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981, ending “segregation in the Armed Forces of the United States” in 1948, African Americans had earned a history of outstanding military conduct. They were further honored when the Cheyenne Indians called them “wild buffalo” soldiers, due to their fierce fighting spirit when cornered like the buffalo. The term soon evolved to “Buffalo Soldier,” and has been expanded back to Crispus Attucks and brought forward to the Space Age.
According to research on the history of African Americans in military service by Captain Paul J. Matthews of the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, as well as others, African Americans have served this country “valiantly in all the nation’s major wars.” So, before slavery, during slavery, after slavery, during the Civil War and beyond, African Americans fought for America’s freedoms while they still suffered from white-imposed cruelties, discrimination, and economic impotence.
Here is a quick review of Buffalo Soldiers (or blacks fighting for America):
Revolutionary War: served from all of the original colonies “as volunteers, draftees, and paid substitutes for White draftees…guerilla fighters and spies for the Army, and as pilots and crew members of several naval vessels.” A stamp was issued for another: Salem Poor. Born a free Black man in the early 1750s, Salem Poor joined a Massachusetts Militia company commanded by Benjamin Ames in 1775. According to the Ebony Society Of Philatelic Events And Reflections, “he is believed to have fired the shot that killed a high ranking British officer, Lt. Col. James Abercrombie. Whatever the case, his conduct was so exceptional that it was noted in a petition to the Massachusetts Legislature signed by fourteen of his officers. The petition stated, "A Negro called Salem Poor of Colonel Frye's regiment, Captain Ames' company, in the late battle at Charlestown, behaved like an experienced officer, as well as an excellent soldier. It would be tedious to go into more detail regarding his heroic conduct. We only beg leave to say, in the person of this said Negro centers a brave and gallant soldier."
War of 1812 (aka The Second Revolutionary War): Jesse Williams helped defend Philadelphia “against the British…served in the Navy at the Battle of Lake Erie,” and helped General Andrew Jackson in “the decisive battle of New Orleans.” He was “awarded a silver medal from the State of Pennsylvania for his role in the battle. The world was shocked that America would even dare declare war on Britain. At the same time, “The status of Blacks in early America was still in flux, and the established laws provided little protection. Even though slave importation was banned by 1808, some 250,000 more slaves were illegally imported into America from 1808-1860. Those Blacks who were willing, able, or chosen to fight the British for America's defense did so with unusual valor. They fought in various campaigns on both sea and land. Blacks served in naval vessels, in mixed regiments, and in all "colored" regiments. Many were taken as prisoners by the British. One exemplary unit was the TWENTY-SIXTH U. S. INFANTRY REGIMENT consisting of 247 "colored" recruits from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania under the command of Captain William Bezean. Many of these willing and able regiments were held at bay, but many provided the backup and labor to keep the army running effectively. Sketchy records show blacks at the BATTLES OF LAKE ERIE and NEW ORLEANS.”
Civil War: When they were initially refused, some African Americans “organized and equipped drill units at their own expense.” With the help of Frederick Douglas working with the Adjutant General of the Army, African American men were recruited right after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and over 200,000 served in just about every campaign, including those involving Navy vessels. The approximate number killed was 38,000 who still suffered from discriminatory practices and economic deprivation.
Native American Wars: gave the African American soldiers their legendary name, “Buffalo Soldiers.” These men, and at least one woman, assisted in keeping the peace, chasing bandits, keeping Indians safe from murdering settlers, “building roads, stringing telegraph wires, escorting groups across Indian territory, and scouting hostile Indian tribes.” Most of this occurred in Texas and throughout the Southwest, although there is history showing some Buffalo Soldiers in the North. “Congress…recognized the military merits of black soldiers by authorizing two segregated regiments of black cavalry, the Ninth United States Cavalry and the Tenth United States Cavalry and the 24th, 25th , 38th , 39th, 40th and 41st Infantry Regiments…In 1869…the black infantry regiments were consolidated into two units, the Twenty-fourth United States Infantry and the Twenty-fifth United States Infantry. All of the black regiments were commanded by white officers at that time. As always, the African American soldier was meritorious in combat with “Thirteen enlisted men and six officers…[earning] the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars.”
Spanish-American War: African American soldiers were “in the battle of San Juan Hill with the ‘Rough Riders.’ Twelve received the Congregational Medal of Honor for bravery in combat. At least one African American received the Medal of Honor for extreme bravery under combat.
World War I: Many African American troops were assigned to the French, with two units and several individuals (Henry Johnson & Needham Roberts) receiving “The Croix de Guerre for “routing a German raiding party.” Some African Americans did the cooking for the Navy; not allowed in the Marines; with most given supportive roles. It has been recorded by “By the time of the armistice on November of 1918, over 350,000 African Americans had served with the American Expeditionary Force in on the Western Front…One of the most distinguished units was the 369th infantry regiment, known as the "Harlem Hell-fighters", which was on the front lines for six months, longer then any other African American regiment in the war. 171 members of the 396th were awarded the Legion of Merit.”
World War II: It has been stated that over one million African Americans served “in all branches of the Armed Forces” during this war, and finally given “the opportunity to direct military and medical operations.” It may have been the military combat skill of the Tuskegee Airmen and the U.S. 761st Tank Battalion which caused President Harry S. Truman to move to desegregate the nation’s military in July, 1948 (officially ending the Buffalo Soldiers’ units). My step-father still has stories to share about his combat service. I also heard stories about my father in service, and other stories from uncles and other African Americans. They remember the great leaders then like Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. who “served as commander of the famed Tuskegee Airmen…[and] later went on to become the first African American general in the United States Air Force. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., had been the first African American Brigadier General in the Army (1940).”
Other stories were told of men like “Doris Miller, a Navy mess attendant…the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross, awarded for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Miller [by] voluntarily [manning] an anti-aircraft gun and” firing and destroying several suicide bombers, although he was just a cook! In 1944, the Navy first had its first “African American commissioned officers…In 1945, Frederick C. Branch became the first African-American United States Marine Corps officer.
Other Wars: There are recorded numbers of African Americans, men and women, in the Korean Conflict where an all-African American 24th Infantry, won the first victory. In Vietnam, over 56,000 African Americans were involved, twenty receiving the Medal of Honor for their actions, with one African American receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor (U.S. Army Specialist Five Lawrence Joel: The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is dedicated to his honor). In this war, the first African-American U.S. Marine became the recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life. Another became the first African American commissioned officer to be awarded the Medal of Honor (presented posthumously to his wife).
Then came the Invasion of Panama, the Gulf War, Desert Storm, and currently the “Iraqi Freedom Intervention” and “The Afganistan Relief.” During some of this time, Colin Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him, a West Indies black man, the “highest ranking military officer of the United States military, and the principal military advisor, to the President of the United States.”
Although desegregation officially ended the reign of the Buffalo Soldiers as a separate fighting unit in America’s military, there are still many “honorary” Buffalo Soldiers (African American men and women) who continue to honor the history of the Buffalo Soldiers by being identified as “a lean, mean, fighting machine---a Buffalo Soldier!”
Credits:
David C. Cook “Black America: Yesterday and Today”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_African_Americans
www.buffalosoldier.net
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/aaffsfl.htm#1812
Next time: The story of a worldwide peacemaker.
First American to Reach the North Pole?!?
Today’s Information On African American History
Ask the average child about Matthew Henson, and they will probably say, “Matthew Who”?
Well, Matthew Alexander Henson was the only American who went with the well-known Robert E. Peary, the man credited with reaching the North Pole first in 1909. However, some critics say that Peary never really made it to the North Pole, but it was the African American Henson with four Eskimos who found the real North Pole. Peary had grown weak and sick, sending Henson and the Eskimos on ahead. When Henson discovered he had actually made it to the North Pole with the Eskimos, he returned to Peary. Peary then made it to a spot close to where Henson made the discovery.
Critics aside, both Peary and Henson planted the American flag together, perhaps showing an undercurrent of what could happen if black and white people actually worked together for the success of America. In any event, Henson spent the next 20 years traveling with Peary on other expeditions. His title was personal attendant and dog-driver. However, he did manage to receive some honors, including the Congressional Medal for his joint discovery of the North Pole with Peary.
Possible due to his dark complexion, Henson was adopted by the Eskimos. This could have contributed to their willingness to work alongside him. Henson wrote two books that all youth should be encouraged to read to fan their mind’s imagination: A Negro Explorer at the North Pole, and Dark Companion. Other writers have written about the North Pole find by Henson and Peary, including To the Top of the World by Pauline K. Angell.
There are African and African American (slaves, as well as free) exploring the world before and after Henson. There are historical records showing Africans with the “Spanish, French, and Portuguese. They were with Pizarro in Peru, Cortes in Mexico, Menendez in Florida…Balboa when he discovered the Pacific Ocean…[and the] pilot of one of Columbus’ three ships…” More has not been written about men of dark complexion because the historians and record-keepers of those days generally spoke about the captain or main leader of the expedition. It would be a good project for high school and college African Americans to travel and do research on the unknown African and African Americans who were on other expeditions.
We know of some of the early African American explorers because some of the writers of the day were amazed and wanted to write about these great black men to help undo the negative damage others had done about the feebleness and low-brain capacity of African slaves and their African American descendants.
One of Chicago’s early settlers was Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable. Unless one investigated, it would be assumed that Chicago’s “first permanent settler” was pure French. Traveling with the French, DuSable had come from Haiti, the product of a French planter and his female slave. The father sent DuSable to France for his education and then had him assist him in his shipping business.
Jean DuSable was almost put into slavery when he came to America via New Orleans, but was saved by Jesuit priests. He later married a Potawatomi Indian, had children, became a famous frontier trader, fur trapper, farmer, businessman and the "authenticated father of the nation’s second largest city – Chicago." Others had come through Chicago before DuSable but couldn’t see any future.
Not only did DuSable see a future in Chicago, he built a large five-room house, had modern conveniences, became quite wealthy, and is the first recorded grandfather. His home was built on the present site of the present-day Tribute tower. Although his trading post supplied people from Detroit and Canada and throughout his region, something happened. No one knows if DuSable was threatened by white trappers or what, but he suddenly sold everything for a few cents on the dollar and moved to Missouri, where he died in poverty. Why would a man who was loved by the Indians of the region, had a flourishing business, almost 800 acres of land, all the customers he could handle, and success, move away and die broke? Perhaps a future historian will solve this mystery but I almost know the answer!
Next time: The ending of the “official” Buffalo Soldiers.
Ask the average child about Matthew Henson, and they will probably say, “Matthew Who”?
Well, Matthew Alexander Henson was the only American who went with the well-known Robert E. Peary, the man credited with reaching the North Pole first in 1909. However, some critics say that Peary never really made it to the North Pole, but it was the African American Henson with four Eskimos who found the real North Pole. Peary had grown weak and sick, sending Henson and the Eskimos on ahead. When Henson discovered he had actually made it to the North Pole with the Eskimos, he returned to Peary. Peary then made it to a spot close to where Henson made the discovery.
Critics aside, both Peary and Henson planted the American flag together, perhaps showing an undercurrent of what could happen if black and white people actually worked together for the success of America. In any event, Henson spent the next 20 years traveling with Peary on other expeditions. His title was personal attendant and dog-driver. However, he did manage to receive some honors, including the Congressional Medal for his joint discovery of the North Pole with Peary.
Possible due to his dark complexion, Henson was adopted by the Eskimos. This could have contributed to their willingness to work alongside him. Henson wrote two books that all youth should be encouraged to read to fan their mind’s imagination: A Negro Explorer at the North Pole, and Dark Companion. Other writers have written about the North Pole find by Henson and Peary, including To the Top of the World by Pauline K. Angell.
There are African and African American (slaves, as well as free) exploring the world before and after Henson. There are historical records showing Africans with the “Spanish, French, and Portuguese. They were with Pizarro in Peru, Cortes in Mexico, Menendez in Florida…Balboa when he discovered the Pacific Ocean…[and the] pilot of one of Columbus’ three ships…” More has not been written about men of dark complexion because the historians and record-keepers of those days generally spoke about the captain or main leader of the expedition. It would be a good project for high school and college African Americans to travel and do research on the unknown African and African Americans who were on other expeditions.
We know of some of the early African American explorers because some of the writers of the day were amazed and wanted to write about these great black men to help undo the negative damage others had done about the feebleness and low-brain capacity of African slaves and their African American descendants.
One of Chicago’s early settlers was Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable. Unless one investigated, it would be assumed that Chicago’s “first permanent settler” was pure French. Traveling with the French, DuSable had come from Haiti, the product of a French planter and his female slave. The father sent DuSable to France for his education and then had him assist him in his shipping business.
Jean DuSable was almost put into slavery when he came to America via New Orleans, but was saved by Jesuit priests. He later married a Potawatomi Indian, had children, became a famous frontier trader, fur trapper, farmer, businessman and the "authenticated father of the nation’s second largest city – Chicago." Others had come through Chicago before DuSable but couldn’t see any future.
Not only did DuSable see a future in Chicago, he built a large five-room house, had modern conveniences, became quite wealthy, and is the first recorded grandfather. His home was built on the present site of the present-day Tribute tower. Although his trading post supplied people from Detroit and Canada and throughout his region, something happened. No one knows if DuSable was threatened by white trappers or what, but he suddenly sold everything for a few cents on the dollar and moved to Missouri, where he died in poverty. Why would a man who was loved by the Indians of the region, had a flourishing business, almost 800 acres of land, all the customers he could handle, and success, move away and die broke? Perhaps a future historian will solve this mystery but I almost know the answer!
Next time: The ending of the “official” Buffalo Soldiers.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Life in America Today is Better Because of Their Inventions!
Hanging up in the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston , Texas
There are over 130 inventions listed on that poster, including things like:
Safety Hood (Gas Mask) in 1914 by Garrett Morgan, who developed the first human hair straightener. This was standard equipment of soldiers in the field and saved thousand of lives. Morgan also invented the Traffic Signal in 1922.
Norbert Raileux’s inventions revolutionized the world’s sugar industry with his vacuum Pan and Sugar Refiner in 1843 and 1846. Jan Earnest Matzeliger invented the lashing machine which improved shoe making from 50 pair a day to 700 pair a day.
Elijah McCoy had over fifty patents from 1872 to 1898, including an ironing table, lawn sprinkler, and his lubrication system which greatly improved air brakes on trains and other vehicles. People soon invented the saying “It’s the real McCoy,” meaning that whatever it was, it was well made. Another man that made work easier and saved thousands of lives worldwide on trains was Andrew J. Beard, who invented the car coupler and rotary engine for trains.
Granville T. Woods received patents that were bought by GE, Westinghouse,
Lewis H. Latimer worked with Alexander Graham Bell and drew the plans for his application for a patent for the telephone. Latimer also received patents on an electric lamp and manufacturing carbons.
Percy Lavon Julian was an organic chemist and invented a drug that reduces the pressure in the eye of people with glaucoma, a substance that put out oil and gas fires (which saved the lives of thousands of American troops during World War II); and produced a drug that relieved the suffers of arthritis.
Lloyd A. Hall discovered an improved way of preserving meat and foods containing fats and oils that are in use today in the meat industry. He also patented a process for curing bacon from six to fifteen days to only hours and over 95 other patents.
Daniel Hale Williams was the first person in medicine to successfully open up the chest and perform open heart surgery, making medical history. His patient, a black man, lived for 50 more years!
Louis Tompkins Wright and his daughter, Dr. Jane Wright, researched chemicals that attack and destroy cancer cells, a process we now call chemotherapy.
A few examples of other inventions by black Americans included:
Lawn mower, boot (improvement), shoe (improvement), letter box (mailbox), folding bed, stair climbing wheelchair, urinalysis machine, disposable syringe, medicine tray, dry cleaning process, home security system with television surveillance, the range gas burner, guitar, golf tee, spark plug, motor, wrench, portable weighing scales, bicycle frame, caps for bottles, envelope seal, pencil sharpener, fire extinguisher, lock coin changer, elevator, pressure cooker, hand stamp, fountain pen, typewriter improvement, clothes wringer, clothes drier, refrigerator, mop, fir escape ladder, sanitary belt, bathroom tissue holder, horseshoe, riding sales, wagon, umbrella stand, liniment, ventilated shoe, apparatus for melting snow, kitchen table, stainless steel pads, egg beater, animal trap, window cleaner, hair brush, printing press steam gage, register, dust pan, bottle, churn, propeller for vessels, razor strapping devise, scaffold, and oh, so many more!
The next time someone poses the question: “And just what have African Americans done to create wealth in
Next time: A few African American explorers also helped
What is October known for? Halloween? The Bilingual Child Month? Church Library Month? Church Safety and Security Month? Domestic Violence Awareness Month? Dyslexia Awareness Month? German American Heritage Month? Global Diversity Awareness Month? National Breast Cancer Awareness Month? National Crime Prevention Month? National Dental Hygiene Month? Polish American Heritage Month? Women’s Small Business Month?
Credit: http://www.brownielocks.com/october.html
You need to check out this web site…it may blow your mind:
http://www.freemaninstitute.com/RTGseminar.htm
And, here are some more:
DID YOU KNOW? There is another resource to help you learn more about Black History? Check out: www.yenoba.com
And another? Check out: http://www.blackhistorypages.net/index.php
Leave a legacy for future generations by helping to restore an armory for the
Contact Ed Udell @ 832-216-7786 for your next speaker at your church conferences, youth meetings, community events, or for diversity programs, teaching writing grant writing, and/or teaching others about health/nutrition, and help for senior citizens.
UNSUBSCRIBE: If you do not wish to receive our daily African American Tidbit, just type “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the REPLY. Thank you.
Life in America Today is Better Because of His Inventions!
Today’s Information On African American History: October 28, 2009
I don’t think it ever occurred to my folks to tell me when I was small about inventions made by African American people. Although I was aware that I was living in “a white man’s world,” I spent most of my time suffering in the “black folk’s world.”
I was part of a black family which worked hard 6 – 7 days a week in labor work, and although my mother spent as much time with me as she could between 2 – 3 jobs, we didn’t talk much about inventions. However, she always encouraged me to believe that I could do anything. Like the time when we were in the cotton fields and I told her that I saw a machine in my mind that could “suck up” cotton, clean it, and put it in a big container. The older folks in the field just roared with laughter. “Boy, don’t you know that our hands are made for pik’ng cotton? Just look at our hands and look at those boles of cotton. Our hands fit neatly inside the boles and just yanks out the cotton! Boy, nothing will ever replace us in these heah cotton fields!”
I will never forget the roaring laughter all over the field. People could not believe that there would ever be a machine to replace them. While people laughed at my preposterous idea, my mom smiled and said, “That’s alright, son. I believe you. Maybe you will build that machine.” Of course I never did. I just couldn’t see me building much of anything.
Years later when I saw these machines in the field called “cotton-picking machines,” I couldn’t believe that they were so similar to the idea in my head. Since I didn’t know of any black people inventing anything, I just couldn’t see me building a machine. That could be the reason my mother spent a lot of her money buying me books. Books never laughed at me. Books fueled my imagination for better. Then, of course, there was the Bible. Wow! Folks in the Bible days could do all kinds of things, but the art work in the Bible didn’t resemble me.
My maternal grandfather went from laborer to labor contractor to handyman to home and church builder. But I still couldn’t see myself doing that. I was too clumsy, slow, stammered, and things got mixed up in my head. We didn’t know about dyslexia or attention deficit disorder or information processing disorder at that time. We all just knew that “Ed is slow.” Of course, students at school called me other names, but that’s another story!
My mother observed my interest in reading and made sure I had access to books, magazines, and newspapers. Then she subscribed to The Chicago Defender Newspaper, The Pittsburg Courier Newspaper, or some other black newspaper. This fueled my interest in reading further. Then she subscribed to some magazines that had a LOT of black people and a LOT of stories about black people. These magazines were called EBONY, JET, and ¬The Crisis magazine of the NAACP. Now, my creative juices were really flowing!
Between my mother and some key teachers at school, I found out about a great inventor named George Washington Carver, a genius of a black man, a friend of the wealthy Henry Ford, and a man that helped Tuskegee University, and even spent time inventing things to help white farmers. This man was born a slave in 1860 in Diamond Grove, Missouri, didn’t go to college until he was 30, and died one year after I was born.
Mr. Carver intrigued me. Some people called him “The Peanut Man.” I loved peanuts and peanut butter. My maternal grandfather raised peanuts. We roasted peanuts. Our whole family enjoyed peanuts. Mr. Carver was my man!
It seemed that my teachers and a few white historians wanted to make sure youth of my day knew about George Washington Carver. I was especially interested in him because as a child he stammered, like me. His first name was my middle name. And then there were those premonitions and his direct talks with the Creator. Once, his slave master wanted to hurt him bad because George Washington Carver had cut off some of the limbs from his precious orchard, without permission, and seemingly without any good reason.
While the slave master was getting ready to beat George, George tried to explain but his teeth, tongue and mouth got in the way and he stammered. Thankfully, the owner’s wife understood stammering and told her husband to stop. George then picked up a limb and explained by showing the disease growing on the limb. The wife was thankful; the slave owner was amazed; George was thankful! Because of this insight by Mr. Washington, the slave owner was able to save his orchard from blight.
George went on to do more experiments and have these talks with the Creator. The slave master sent George to school and encouraged him in his education. His education included Minneapolis High School in Kansas, Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Iowa Agricultural College (which is now known as Iowa State University), Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now known as Tuskegee University). He was offered a scholarship at Highland University in Kansas, but when the president met him and discovered he was "a Negro," the scholarship offer was rejected!
Being turned down didn't seem to affect Mr. Carver too much. It wasn’t long before he was making headlines at Tuskegee University with the peanut, from which he invented peanut butter. Along came about 400 more inventions, including a way to improve the soil of white farmers who were losing money because they didn’t understand about nutrients needed in the soil and the need to rotate the crops. The rich became richer off Mr. Carver but he didn’t seem to mind.
Some of Mr. Carver’s inventions including ink, facial cream, shampoo, paint, and soap. He also experimented with the sweet potato “and was able to develop more than 115 products from it including flour, starch and synthetic rubber (the United States Army utilized many of his products during World War I.)”
Many African Americans were not too happy with Mr. Carver. They believed he should have sold his inventions and made millions for himself and “his people.” Mr. Carver didn’t seem to be interested in making money; he just wanted to help America any way he could. He was one of many African Americans who would use their mind unselfishly to create wealth for America, and died without knowing that America would soon scale back on their debt to African Americans.
Next time: Mr. Carver made many white people rich, thus creating wealth for America. There were other African American inventors, male and female, who did likewise. We will review a few next time!
What is October known for? Halloween? The Bilingual Child Month? Church Library Month? Church Safety and Security Month? Domestic Violence Awareness Month? Dyslexia Awareness Month? German American Heritage Month? Global Diversity Awareness Month? National Breast Cancer Awareness Month? National Crime Prevention Month? National Dental Hygiene Month? Polish American Heritage Month? Women’s Small Business Month?
Credit: http://www.brownielocks.com/october.html
You need to check out this web site…it may blow your mind:
http://www.freemaninstitute.com/RTGseminar.htm
And, here are some more:
www.Black101.com
www.BlackChurchMissions.org
www.RosettaStoneReplicas.com
DID YOU KNOW? There is another resource to help you learn more about Black History?
Check out: www.yenoba.com
And another? Check out: http://www.blackhistorypages.net/index.php
I don’t think it ever occurred to my folks to tell me when I was small about inventions made by African American people. Although I was aware that I was living in “a white man’s world,” I spent most of my time suffering in the “black folk’s world.”
I was part of a black family which worked hard 6 – 7 days a week in labor work, and although my mother spent as much time with me as she could between 2 – 3 jobs, we didn’t talk much about inventions. However, she always encouraged me to believe that I could do anything. Like the time when we were in the cotton fields and I told her that I saw a machine in my mind that could “suck up” cotton, clean it, and put it in a big container. The older folks in the field just roared with laughter. “Boy, don’t you know that our hands are made for pik’ng cotton? Just look at our hands and look at those boles of cotton. Our hands fit neatly inside the boles and just yanks out the cotton! Boy, nothing will ever replace us in these heah cotton fields!”
I will never forget the roaring laughter all over the field. People could not believe that there would ever be a machine to replace them. While people laughed at my preposterous idea, my mom smiled and said, “That’s alright, son. I believe you. Maybe you will build that machine.” Of course I never did. I just couldn’t see me building much of anything.
Years later when I saw these machines in the field called “cotton-picking machines,” I couldn’t believe that they were so similar to the idea in my head. Since I didn’t know of any black people inventing anything, I just couldn’t see me building a machine. That could be the reason my mother spent a lot of her money buying me books. Books never laughed at me. Books fueled my imagination for better. Then, of course, there was the Bible. Wow! Folks in the Bible days could do all kinds of things, but the art work in the Bible didn’t resemble me.
My maternal grandfather went from laborer to labor contractor to handyman to home and church builder. But I still couldn’t see myself doing that. I was too clumsy, slow, stammered, and things got mixed up in my head. We didn’t know about dyslexia or attention deficit disorder or information processing disorder at that time. We all just knew that “Ed is slow.” Of course, students at school called me other names, but that’s another story!
My mother observed my interest in reading and made sure I had access to books, magazines, and newspapers. Then she subscribed to The Chicago Defender Newspaper, The Pittsburg Courier Newspaper, or some other black newspaper. This fueled my interest in reading further. Then she subscribed to some magazines that had a LOT of black people and a LOT of stories about black people. These magazines were called EBONY, JET, and ¬The Crisis magazine of the NAACP. Now, my creative juices were really flowing!
Between my mother and some key teachers at school, I found out about a great inventor named George Washington Carver, a genius of a black man, a friend of the wealthy Henry Ford, and a man that helped Tuskegee University, and even spent time inventing things to help white farmers. This man was born a slave in 1860 in Diamond Grove, Missouri, didn’t go to college until he was 30, and died one year after I was born.
Mr. Carver intrigued me. Some people called him “The Peanut Man.” I loved peanuts and peanut butter. My maternal grandfather raised peanuts. We roasted peanuts. Our whole family enjoyed peanuts. Mr. Carver was my man!
It seemed that my teachers and a few white historians wanted to make sure youth of my day knew about George Washington Carver. I was especially interested in him because as a child he stammered, like me. His first name was my middle name. And then there were those premonitions and his direct talks with the Creator. Once, his slave master wanted to hurt him bad because George Washington Carver had cut off some of the limbs from his precious orchard, without permission, and seemingly without any good reason.
While the slave master was getting ready to beat George, George tried to explain but his teeth, tongue and mouth got in the way and he stammered. Thankfully, the owner’s wife understood stammering and told her husband to stop. George then picked up a limb and explained by showing the disease growing on the limb. The wife was thankful; the slave owner was amazed; George was thankful! Because of this insight by Mr. Washington, the slave owner was able to save his orchard from blight.
George went on to do more experiments and have these talks with the Creator. The slave master sent George to school and encouraged him in his education. His education included Minneapolis High School in Kansas, Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Iowa Agricultural College (which is now known as Iowa State University), Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (now known as Tuskegee University). He was offered a scholarship at Highland University in Kansas, but when the president met him and discovered he was "a Negro," the scholarship offer was rejected!
Being turned down didn't seem to affect Mr. Carver too much. It wasn’t long before he was making headlines at Tuskegee University with the peanut, from which he invented peanut butter. Along came about 400 more inventions, including a way to improve the soil of white farmers who were losing money because they didn’t understand about nutrients needed in the soil and the need to rotate the crops. The rich became richer off Mr. Carver but he didn’t seem to mind.
Some of Mr. Carver’s inventions including ink, facial cream, shampoo, paint, and soap. He also experimented with the sweet potato “and was able to develop more than 115 products from it including flour, starch and synthetic rubber (the United States Army utilized many of his products during World War I.)”
Many African Americans were not too happy with Mr. Carver. They believed he should have sold his inventions and made millions for himself and “his people.” Mr. Carver didn’t seem to be interested in making money; he just wanted to help America any way he could. He was one of many African Americans who would use their mind unselfishly to create wealth for America, and died without knowing that America would soon scale back on their debt to African Americans.
Next time: Mr. Carver made many white people rich, thus creating wealth for America. There were other African American inventors, male and female, who did likewise. We will review a few next time!
What is October known for? Halloween? The Bilingual Child Month? Church Library Month? Church Safety and Security Month? Domestic Violence Awareness Month? Dyslexia Awareness Month? German American Heritage Month? Global Diversity Awareness Month? National Breast Cancer Awareness Month? National Crime Prevention Month? National Dental Hygiene Month? Polish American Heritage Month? Women’s Small Business Month?
Credit: http://www.brownielocks.com/october.html
You need to check out this web site…it may blow your mind:
http://www.freemaninstitute.com/RTGseminar.htm
And, here are some more:
www.Black101.com
www.BlackChurchMissions.org
www.RosettaStoneReplicas.com
DID YOU KNOW? There is another resource to help you learn more about Black History?
Check out: www.yenoba.com
And another? Check out: http://www.blackhistorypages.net/index.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)