The Official Black History Month Thread!

[Memphis Slim]

The last few posts have been great contributions! Thanks!

 

[Memphis Slim]

THE MARCH FROM SELMA TO MONTGOMERY


The Selma to Montgomery marches, which included Bloody Sunday, were three marches that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They were the culmination of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by Amelia Boynton Robinson and her husband. Robinson brought many prominent leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement to Selma, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jim Bevel and Hosea Williams. "Bloody Sunday" occurred on March 7, 1965, when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. Only the third, and last, march successfully made it into Montgomery, Alabama. The route is memorialized as the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail.

On March 7, 1965, 525 to 600 civil rights marchers headed east out of Selma on U.S. Highway 80. On February 18, 1965, a trooper (Corporal James Bonard Fowler) shot Jimmie Lee Jackson as he tried to protect his mother and grandfather in a café to which they had fled while being attacked by troopers during a civil rights demonstration. Jackson died of an infection, as a result of the gunshot wound, at Selma's Good Samaritan Hospital eight days later.



Wallace denounced the march as a threat to public safety and declared he would take all measures necessary to prevent it. In their first march, led by John Lewis and the Reverend Hosea Williams, and followed by Bob Mants, they made it only as far as the Edmund Pettus Bridge, six blocks away. State troopers and the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, some mounted on horseback, awaited them. In the presence of the news media, the lawmen attacked the peaceful demonstrators with billy clubs, tear gas, and bull whips.

Brutal televised images of the attack, which presented people with horrifying images of marchers left bloodied and severely injured, roused support for the U.S. civil rights movement. Amelia Boynton Robinson was beaten and gassed nearly to death — her photo appeared on the front page of newspapers and news magazines around the world. Seventeen marchers were hospitalized, leading to the naming of the day "Bloody Sunday". Rosa Parks also marched with them, along with Thomas Fitzpatrick Jones

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

Look, I already told you you're never gonna have this, no tappy for you. Move on. Yhessh.

Are you African? I would have never guessed. Besides,where i come from..if we want something..we take it...

 

[tzarinna]

No, but I couldn't resist, and those days are over.

 

[Memphis Slim]

Benjamin Banneker was born in Maryland on November 9, 1731. His father and grandfather were former slaves.

A farmer of modest means, Banneker nevertheless lived a life of unusual achievement. In 1753, the young man borrowed a pocket watch from a well-to-do neighbor; he took it apart and made a drawing of each component, then reassembled the watch and returned it, fully functioning, to its owner.

From his drawings Banneker then proceeded to carve, out of wood, enlarged replicas of each part. Calculating the proper number of teeth for each gear and the necessary relationships between the gears, he constructed a working wooden clock that kept accurate time and struck the hours for over 50 years.

At age 58, Banneker began the study of astronomy and was soon predicting future solar and lunar eclipses. He compiled the ephemeris, or information table, for annual almanacs that were published for the years 1792 through 1797. "Benjamin Banneker's Almanac" was a top seller from Pennsylvania to Virginia and even into Kentucky.

In 1791, Banneker was a technical assistant in the calculating and first-ever surveying of the Federal District, which is now Washington, D.C.
The "Sable Astronomer" was often pointed to as proof that African Americans were not intellectually inferior to European Americans. Thomas Jefferson himself noted this in a letter to Banneker.

Banneker died on Sunday, October 9, 1806 at the age of 74. A few small memorial traces still exist in the Ellicott City/Oella region of Maryland, where Banneker spent his entire life except for the Federal survey. It was not until the 1990s that the actual site of Banneker's home, which burned on the day of his burial, was determined.
In 1980, the U.S. Postal Service issued a postage stamp in his honor.

Banneker's life is inspirational. Despite the popular prejudices of his times, the man was quite unwilling to let his race or his age hinder in any way his thirst for intellectual development.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Not that I'm prepared to play the victim, or that I'm an overall cynical person, but...


Before anyone asks, the reason there's a Black History Month is because history is filled with numerous black men and women who made great contributions to society. However, their contributions are typically overlooked, and have been historically disregarded & ignored simply because old racist white historians saw no need to tell anyone a black man or woman accomplished anything great. To remedy this, Black History Month was created to shine a light on these great men and women. It's not about getting special treatment. It's about recognizing accomplishments in history that are often ignored.

I mean, would anyone have heard of Lewis Latimer otherwise?

Well, why don't you keep all these great black people, and add other non black people as well? It's doubtful the person reading will be scrolling there mouse saying "oh he's black, gotta ignore him, and her, and him...he didn't do that. she didnt do that, a black firefighter? No way, you crazy!"

 

[Memphis Slim]

Just sit back and enjoy the ride, people.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Black Cowboys [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Black Cowboys, legendary African American figures who drove great cattle herds across the early West. Idealized in motion pictures, television, and books, the cowboy serves as the great American icon, representing courage, hardiness, and independence. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Yet images of black cowboys have been scarce in popular culture, giving the false impression that African Americans were not among the men and women who settled the West. In fact, by the time the huge cattle drives of cowboy legend ended, at least 5,000 black men had worked as cowboys. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The word cowboy refers to the men who drove herds of cattle from ranchland in Texas over hundreds of miles of rough and dangerous terrain to the stockyards in the North, a trip taking two to three months. A typical crew consisted of one trail chief, eight cowboys, a wrangler to take care of the horses, and a cook. One historian estimates that an average crew would have included two or three black cowboys.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Although black cowboys seldom became trail chiefs or owned their own stock—although some did, usually those who had been free men before the war—they encountered less discrimination along the cattle trail than in most other occupations at the time. While riding herd, black and white cowboys depended upon each other. They lived, ate, and slept together. The demands of the trail, which included dangerous snakes and wolves, treacherous rivers and mountains, and the threat of attack from Native Americans, made most cowboys transcend their prejudices. One black cowboy, Nat Love (also known as Deadwood Dick), summed up the cowboy code, "There a man's work was to be done, and a man's life to be lived, and when death was to be met, he met it like a man."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If life on the trail was arduous, life in the cattle market towns, like Dodge City, Kansas, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, was wide open and lawless. Despite the efforts of marshals such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, thieves, rustlers, and gunslingers were abundant. Although the majority of black cowboys, like the majority of whites, were tough but law-abiding, there were a few famous black outlaws. One, known as Cherokee Bill, was as bloodthirsty as Billy the Kid and was hanged before his 20th birthday.[/FONT]

 

[Memphis Slim]

THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS


African Americans have fought in military conflicts since colonial days. However, the Buffalo Soldiers, comprised of former slaves, freemen and Black Civil War soldiers, were the first to serve during peacetime.

Once the Westward movement had begun, prominent among those blazing treacherous trails of the Wild West were the Buffalo Soldiers of the U.S. Army. These African Americans were charged with and responsible for escorting settlers, cattle herds, and railroad crews. The 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments also conducted campaigns against American Indian tribes on a western frontier that extended from Montana in the Northwest to Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in the Southwest. Throughout the era of the Indian Wars, approximately twenty percent of the U.S. Cavalry troopers were Black, and they fought over 177 engagements. The combat prowess, bravery, tenaciousness, and looks on the battlefield, inspired the Indians to call them "Buffalo Soldiers." Many Indians believe the name symbolized the Native American's respect for the Buffalo Soldiers' bravery and valor. Buffalo Soldiers, down through the years, have worn the name with pride.

Buffalo Soldiers participated in many other military campaigns: The Spanish American War, The Philippine Insurrection, The Mexican Expedition, World War I, World War II, and the Korean Police Action.

Much have changed since the days of the Buffalo Soldiers, including the integration of all military servicemen and women. However, the story of the Buffalo Soldiers remain one of unsurpassed courage and patriotism, and will be forever a significant part of the history of America.

African Americans have fought with distinction in all of this country's military engagements. However, some of their most notable contributions and sacrifices came during the Civil War. During that conflict, more than 180,000 African Americans wore the Union Army blue. Another 30,000 served in the Navy, and 200,000 served as workers on labor, engineering, hospital and other military support projects. More than 33,000 of these gallant soldiers gave their lives for the sake of freedom and their country.

Shortly after the Civil War, Congress authorized the formation of the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st Infantry Regiments: Six all Black peacetime units. Later the four infantry regiments were merged into the 24th and 25th Infantries.

In countless skirmishes and firefights, the troopers won the respect of the Plains warriors who named "Buffalo Soldiers." African Americans accepted the badge of honor and wore it proudly.

At least 18 Medals of Honor were presented to Buffalo Soldiers during the Western Campaigns. Similarly, 23 African Americans received the nation's highest military award during the Civil War.

Buffalo Soldiers in the Guadalupe Mountains

The casual history novice passing quickly through Guadalupe Mountains National Park learns about the role ranching played in these mountains, that the original route of the Butterfield Overland Mail Stage ran through Guadalupe Pass for a brief time, and that this was the last Apache stronghold in Texas. But skirmishes between Mescalero Apache and Black troopers is less common knowledge. Yet hikers along the Foothills Trail walk through an area which was once the sight of a large cavalry encampment. To the untrained eye, there is no obvious evidence of the camp, but the close proximity to lower Pine Springs made it a valuable site to the military. An old rifle pit was discovered near this site. Another camp location at Manzanita Spring was briefly referred to as "Camp Safford" for Lt. Safford who died there of acute dysentery.

Despite some pleasant asides, military patrols in and around the Guadalupe Mountains were long and arduous, food was limited in variety, sometimes quantity, and almost always palatability - and water was scarce! In fact, many of the patrols made by the Buffalo Soldiers were essentially mapping expeditions for viable water sources and to record significant geographic features. This information would later prove to be useful in the fight against the elusive Warm Springs Apache Chief, Victorio.

Victorio's last skirmish with Colonel Grierson and the 10th Cavalry occurred in August 1880, only 40 miles south of the Guadalupes in the Sierra Diablo Mountains, at a place called Rattlesnake Springs.

Desperate for water, the Apache Chief made two attacks on the cavalry before being repelled. Grierson had cleverly cut the Apaches off from this critical resource; outguessing and beating Victorio's band to the springs in a marathon 65 mile ride through the harshest of country within 21 hours on horseback and wagons. Victorio was forced to retreat into Mexico, where he and his band were later killed by Mexican troops. Their demise was in and of itself a sad passage in the history of people indigenous to this country.

Little has been specifically written about the skirmishes between the Apache and the Buffalo Soldiers in the Guadalupe Mountains, but their spirits ride on the wind, patiently awaiting the long overdue recognition that they deserve in the annals of American history.

A Tribute

In February each year, Guadalupe Mountains National Park honors the brave men of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments by displaying artwork depicting the Buffalo Soldiers in the auditorium of the Headquarters Visitor Center. In July, 1997, Texas Parks & Wildlife employees put on a living history demonstration of the Buffalo Soldiers at Frijole Ranch, near the old military camp site. Check the Special Events Page for future living history demonstrations.

For further reading refer to The Buffalo Soldiers by William H. Leckie. This book, a narrative of the Negro Cavalry in the West, remains one of the best sources on the subject.

In celebration of Black History Month 2005 , Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is sponsoring a multi-dimensional educational program honoring the Buffalo Soldiers , African Americans who served in the segregated units of the American military from 1866 to 1951. The program heralds under-recognized heroes of African American history who have contributed in profound and lasting ways to American life.

Celebrate the Buffalo Soldier Legacy and Honor Our African American Military Heroes

 

[terry78]

Black History Month Haters?

Archived columns
Published February 15 2008
Do you pout at a party if you're not the guest of honor? Would you quit a team if you weren't the captain? Would you be envious of a friend's engagement simply because you're still a singleton?

Of course you wouldn't, right? Such behavior is silly, not to mention selfish. That's why it baffles me when my sisters and brothers of another color get bent out of shape about Black History Month.

It's just a month, people, and a short month at that.

It's rude to ignore it, but even worse to oppose it on the basis that it represents some sort of reverse racism, a stunningly stupid argument also incorrectly applied to the Miss Black America Pageant and the Black Entertainment Television channel. A reader wrote in once to tell me that those inventions are akin to an Aryan Pride pageant or a "white channel." I beg your pardon?

Historically, the official Miss America pageant has offered very few crowns to women of color, and BET--which is no prize, by the way--filled an important niche in a country where network execs created a New York City somehow minority-lite in "Friends," "Lipstick Jungle," "Seinfeld" and even "Sex and the City."

Or course we can't fix situations such as this by forcing Americans to focus on black culture for 20-some days out of an entire year. The actual solution would involve much more concentrated actions, including increased focus on Americans of all ethnicities in history books and a reboot of pop culture that adds fair and accurate representation in films, TV and the news media.

But as we watch progress unfold, let's celebrate our melting pot through Black History Month and beyond.

www.redeyechicago.com

 

[Steve Rogers]

Great post, Terry.

 

[Memphis Slim]

Black History Month Haters?

Archived columns
Published February 15 2008
Do you pout at a party if you're not the guest of honor? Would you quit a team if you weren't the captain? Would you be envious of a friend's engagement simply because you're still a singleton?

Of course you wouldn't, right? Such behavior is silly, not to mention selfish. That's why it baffles me when my sisters and brothers of another color get bent out of shape about Black History Month.

It's just a month, people, and a short month at that.

It's rude to ignore it, but even worse to oppose it on the basis that it represents some sort of reverse racism, a stunningly stupid argument also incorrectly applied to the Miss Black America Pageant and the Black Entertainment Television channel. A reader wrote in once to tell me that those inventions are akin to an Aryan Pride pageant or a "white channel." I beg your pardon?

Historically, the official Miss America pageant has offered very few crowns to women of color, and BET--which is no prize, by the way--filled an important niche in a country where network execs created a New York City somehow minority-lite in "Friends," "Lipstick Jungle," "Seinfeld" and even "Sex and the City."

Or course we can't fix situations such as this by forcing Americans to focus on black culture for 20-some days out of an entire year. The actual solution would involve much more concentrated actions, including increased focus on Americans of all ethnicities in history books and a reboot of pop culture that adds fair and accurate representation in films, TV and the news media.

But as we watch progress unfold, let's celebrate our melting pot through Black History Month and beyond.

www.redeyechicago.com

Excellent.

 

[Memphis Slim]

Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men who volunteered to become America's first Black military airmen


Those who possessed the physical and mental qualifications and were accepted for aviation cadet training were trained initially to be pilots, and later to be either pilots, navigators, or bombardiers.
Tuskegee University was awarded the U.S. Army Air Corps contract to help train America’s first Black military aviators because it had already invested in the development of an airfield, had a proven civilian pilot training program and its graduates performed highest on flight aptitude exams.
Moton Field is named for Tuskegee University's second President, Dr. Robert R. Moton who served with distinction from 1915-1935. The Airmen were delpoyed during the presidential administration of Dr. Frederick Douglas Patterson (1935-1953).
The all-Black, 332nd Fighter Group consisted originally of four fighter squadrons, the 99th, the 100th, the 301st and the 302nd.
From 1940-1946, some 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee.
The Airmen’s success during World War II – not losing a single bomber to enemy fire in more than 200 combat missions – is a record unmatched by any other fighter group.
The 99th Squadron distinguished itself by being awarded two Presidential Unit Citations (June-July 1943 and May 1944) for outstanding tactical air support and aerial combat in the 12th Air Force in Italy, before joining the 332nd Fighter Group.
The 332nd Fighter Group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its longest bomber escort mission to Berlin, Germany, March 24, 1945. It destroyed three German ME-262 Jet fighters and damaged five additional jet fighters without losing any of the bombers or any of its own fighter aircraft to enemy fighters.
The 332nd Fighter Group had also distinguished itself in June 1944 when two of its pilots flying P-47 Thunderbolts discovered a German destroyer in the harbor of Trieste, Italy.
The tenacious bomber escort cover provided by the 332nd "Red Tail" fighters often discouraged enemy fighter pilots from attacking bombers escorted by the 332nd Fighter Group.
C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson earned his pilot's license in 1929 and became the first BlackAmerican to receive a commercial pilot's certificate in 1932, and, subsequently, to make a transcontinental flight.
Anderson is also well known as the pilot who flew Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, convincing her to encourage her husband to authorize military flight training at Tuskegee.
In 1948, President Harry Truman enacted Executive Order No. 9981 - directing equality of treatment and opportunity in all of the United States Armed Forces, which in time led to the end of racial segregation in the U.S. military forces.
The U.S. Congress authorized $29 million in 1998 to develop the Tuskegee Airmen Naitonal Historic Site, with the University, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. and the National Park Service serving as partners in its development. To date, a mere $3.6 million has been appropriated for the Site’s implementation.

 

[Memphis Slim]

OPRAH WINFREY

Through the power of media, Oprah Winfrey has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world. As supervising producer and host of the top-rated, award-winning The Oprah Winfrey Show, she has entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for the past two decades. Her accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today.

Oprah began her broadcasting career at WVOL radio in Nashville while still in high school. At the age of 19, she became the youngest person and the first African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV. She then relocated to Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the Six O'Clock News and later went on to become co-host of its local talk show, People Are Talking.

In 1984, Oprah moved to Chicago to host WLS-TV's morning talk show, AM Chicago, which became the number one local talk show—surpassing ratings for Donahue—just one month after she began. In less than a year, the show expanded to one hour and was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. It entered national syndication in 1986, becoming the highest-rated talk show in television history. In 1988, she established Harpo Studios, a production facility in Chicago, making her the third woman in the American entertainment industry (after Mary Pickford and Lucille Ball) to own her own studio.

The Oprah Winfrey Show has remained the number one talk show for 21 consecutive seasons*. Produced by her own production company, Harpo Productions, Inc., the show is seen by an estimated 46 million viewers a week in the United States** and is broadcast internationally in 134 countries.
Through her company's film division, Harpo Films, she has produced projects based on classic and contemporary literature that have garnered the highest industry honors for quality acting and production. Telefilms under the Oprah Winfrey Presents banner have included the award-winning Tuesdays With Morrie, based on the best-selling novel by Mitch Albom and starring Academy Award® winner Jack Lemmon and Emmy Award® winner Hank Azaria; Their Eyes Were Watching God, based on the Zora Neale Hurston novel and starring Academy Award winner Halle Berry; and Mitch Albom’s For One More Day, based on his best-selling novel and starring Emmy Award winner Michael Imperioli and Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn.

In 1998, Harpo Films produced the critically acclaimed Beloved, a Touchstone Pictures feature film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison, which co-starred Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover and was directed by Jonathan Demme. In late 2007, co-producers Harpo Films and The Weinstein Company will release The Great Debaters, which is directed by Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, who also stars in the film with Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker.

Oprah made her acting debut in 1985 as "Sofia" in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, for which she received both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. She also has been lauded for her performances in the made-for-television movies Before Women Had Wings (1997), There Are No Children Here (1993), and The Women of Brewster Place (1989).

Oprah has long believed that education is the door to freedom, offering a chance at a brighter future. Through her private charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation, she has awarded hundreds of grants to organizations that support the education and empowerment of women, children and families in the United States and around the world. Amongst her various philanthropic contributions, she has donated millions of dollars toward providing a better education for students who have merit but no means. She also has developed schools to educate thousands of underserved children internationally and created "The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program," which gives scholarships to students determined to use their education to give back to their communities in the United States and abroad.

In December 2002, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation expanded its global humanitarian efforts with her ChristmasKindness South Africa 2002 initiative that included visits to orphanages and rural schools in South Africa where 50,000 children received gifts of food, clothing, athletic shoes, school supplies, books and toys. Sixty-three rural schools received libraries and teacher education.

During a December 2000 visit with Nelson Mandela, Oprah pledged to build a school in South Africa. As that commitment broadened, she established The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation, to which she has contributed more than $40 million toward the creation of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls—South Africa, which opened in January 2007. Located in a 28-building campus in Henley-on-Klip, the Leadership Academy is a state-of-the-art, independent school that engenders high standards of academic achievement and service leadership for girls from all nine South African provinces who show outstanding promise despite their impoverished backgrounds and social circumstances. Her vision is that the Leadership Academy will help develop the future women leaders of South Africa.

In a 1997 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah encouraged viewers to use their lives to make a difference in the lives of others, which led to the creation of the public charity Oprah's Angel Network in 1998. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $50 million, with 100% of audience donations going to non-profit organizations across the globe. Oprah's Angel Network has helped establish scholarships and schools, support women's shelters and build youth centers and homes—changing the future for people all over the world.

Oprah's commitment to children also led her to initiate the National Child Protection Act in 1991, when she testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to establish a national database of convicted child abusers. On December 20, 1993, President Clinton signed the national "Oprah Bill" into law.

 

[Memphis Slim]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BENJAMIN BRADLEY[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Benjamin Bradley was born around 1830 as a slave in Maryland. He was able to read and write, although at the time it was illegal for a slave to do so (he likely learned from the Master's children). He was put to work in a printing office and at the age of 16 began working with scrap he found, modeling it into a small ship. Eventually, with an intuitiveness that seemed far beyond him, he improved on his creation until he had built a working steam engine, made from a piece of a gun-barrel, pewter, pieces of round steel and some nearby junk. Those around him were so astounded by his high level of intelligence that he was placed in a new job, this time at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]In his new position he served as a classroom assistant in the science department. He helped to set up and conduct experiments, working with chemical gases. He was very good at his work, impressing the professors with his understanding of the subject matter and also with his preparedness in readying the experiments. In addition to the praise he received, he also received a salary, most of which went to his Master, but some of which (about $5.00 per month) he was able to keep.[/SIZE]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Despite enjoying his job with the Naval Academy, Bradley had not forgotten his steam engine creation. He used the money he had been able to save from his job as well as the proceeds of the sale of his original engine (to a Naval Academy student) to build a larger model. Eventually he was able to finish an engine large enough to drive the first steam-powered warship at 16 knots. At the time, because he was a slave, he was unable to secure a patent for his engine. His Masteraster did, however, allow him to sell the engine and he used that money to purchase his freedom.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[Memphis Slim]

MALCOLM X

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. His mother, Louis Norton Little, was a homemaker occupied with the family's eight children. His father, Earl Little, was an outspoken Baptist minister and avid supporter of Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Earl's civil rights activism prompted death threats from the white supremacist organization Black Legion, forcing the family to relocate twice before Malcolm's fourth birthday. Regardless of the Little's efforts to elude the Legion, in 1929 their Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground, and two years later Earl's mutilated body was found lying across the town's trolley tracks. Police ruled both accidents, but the Little's were certain that members of the Black Legion were responsible. Louise had an emotional breakdown several years after the death of her husband and was committed to a mental institution. Her children were split up amongst various foster homes and orphanages.

Malcolm was a smart, focused student and graduated from junior high at the top of his class. However, when a favorite teacher told Malcolm his dream of becoming a lawyer was "no realistic goal for a ******," Malcolm lost interest in school. He dropped out, spent some time in Boston, Massachusetts working various odd jobs, and then traveled to Harlem, New York where he committed petty crimes. By 1942 Malcolm was coordinating various narcotic, prostitution and gambling rings.

Eventually Malcolm and his buddy, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis, moved back to Boston, where they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges in 1946. Malcolm placated himself by using the seven-year prison sentence to further his education. It was during this period of self-enlightenment that Malcolm's brother Reginald visited and discussed his recent conversion to the Muslim religious organization the Nation of Islam. Intrigued, Malcolm studied the teachings of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad taught that white society actively worked to keep African-Americans from empowering themselves and achieving political, economic and social success. Among other goals, the Nation of Islam fought for a state of their own, separate from one inhabited by white people. By the time he was paroled in 1952, Malcolm was a devoted follower with the new surname "X." He considered "Little" a slave name and chose the "X" to signify his lost tribal name.


Intelligent and articulate, Malcolm was appointed a minister and national spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Elijah Muhammad also charged him with establishing new mosques in cities such as Detroit, Michigan and Harlem, New York. Malcolm utilized newspaper columns, radio and television to communicate the Nation of Islam's message across the United States. His charisma, drive and conviction attracted an astounding number of new members. Malcolm was largely credited with increasing membership in the Nation of Islam from 500 in 1952 to 30,000 in 1963.

The crowds and controversy surrounding Malcolm made him a media magnet. He was featured in a week-long television special with Mike Wallace in 1959, The Hate That Hate Produced, that explored fundamentals of the Nation of Islam and Malcolm's emergence as one of its most important leaders. After the special, Malcolm was faced with the uncomfortable reality that his fame had eclipsed that of his mentor Elijah Muhammad.

Racial tensions ran increasingly high during the early 1960s. In addition to the media, Malcolm's vivid personality had captured the government's attention. As membership in the Nation of Islam continued to grow, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agents infiltrated the organization (one even acted at Malcolm's bodyguard) and secretly placed bugs, wiretaps and cameras surveillance equipment to monitor the group's activities.

Malcolm's faith was dealt a crushing blow at the height of the civil rights movement in 1963. He learned that Elijah Muhammad was secretly having relations with as many as six women in the Nation of Islam, some of which had resulted in children. Since his conversion Malcolm had strictly adhered to the teachings of Muhammad, including remaining celibate until his marriage to Betty Shabazz in 1958. Malcolm refused Muhammad's request to keep the matter quiet. He was deeply hurt by the deception of Muhammad, whom he had considered a prophet, and felt guilty about the masses he had lead into what he now felt was a fraudulent organization.

Cairo mosque, Sept. 1964
Photo by John Launois/Black Star
When Malcolm received criticism after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy for saying, "[Kennedy] never foresaw that the chickens would come home to roost so soon," Muhammad "silenced" him for 90 days. Malcolm suspected he was silenced for another reason. In March 1964 he terminated his relationship with the Nation of Islam and founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

That same year, Malcolm went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The trip proved life altering, as Malcolm met "blonde-haired, blued-eyed men I could call my brothers." He returned to the United States with a new outlook on integration. This time, instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races.

Relations between Malcolm and the Nation of Islam had become volatile after he renounced Elijah Muhammad. Informants working in the Nation of Islam warned that Malcolm had been marked for assassination (one man had even been ordered to help plant a bomb in his car). After repeated attempts on his life, Malcolm rarely traveled anywhere without bodyguards. On February 14, 1965 the home where Malcolm, Betty and their four daughters lived in East Elmhurst, New York was firebombed (the family escaped physical injury).

At a speaking engagement in the Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom on February 21, 1965 three gunmen rushed Malcolm onstage and shot him 15 times at close range. The 39-year-old was pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Fifteen hundred people attended Malcolm's funeral in Harlem at the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ on February 27, 1965. After the ceremony, friends took the shovels from the gravediggers and buried Malcolm themselves. Later that year, Betty gave birth to their twin daughters.

Malcolm's assassins, Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were convicted of first-degree murder in March 1966. The three men were all members of the Nation of Islam.

The legacy of Malcolm X has moved through generations as the subject of numerous documentaries, books and movies. A tremendous resurgence of interest occurred in 1992 when director Spike Lee released the acclaimed Malcolm X movie. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor (Denzel Washington) and Best Costume Design.

Malcolm X is buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

 

[raybia]

Turning to Islam -- African-American Conversion Stories

by Rose-Marie Armstrong

Rose-Marie Armstrong, a freelance writer and development consultant, is also a fellow of the C. S. Lewis Institute In Annandale, Virginia. This article appeared in The Christian Century, July 12, 2003, p. 19-23. Copyright by The Christian Century Foundation; used by permission. Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock.

I was searching for several years before I became a Muslim," says Abdus Salaam, a marketing specialist from Birmingham, Alabama. "I was baptized during this time in the Church of Christ. But I had questions. What bothered me were the white pictures of Jesus and Mary. In Islam we have no pictures, not even of the Prophet Muhammad. As a child I wondered if black and white people had a separate God!"

Salaam’s story is familiar among African-American converts to Islam. While newfound faith is central to their stories, race and personal empowerment are also key parts of the narratives. The in-dignity of discrimination, unfortunately mirrored in Christian churches, haunts African-Americans.

The freedom that Khalid Abdul Kareem, a native of Washington, D.C., found in Islam feels right to him. "African-Americans have been disconnected and disenfranchised," says Kareem. "At about the age of 17 I realized that Islam wasn’t racist. It established the nature of who I am, why I am here, and where I am going. I am the Creator’s vice-regent; I have no boundaries. I was created by a loving God who has a purpose for me. I can go wherever I choose to take my abilities." Now 48, Kareem says, "Islam contains truth that is dependent only on God. It liberates us from man."

African-Americans make up about a third of the estimated 4 to 8 million Muslims in the U.S. -- conservatively, around 1.5 million, nearly 5 percent of all African-Americans. According to a poll conducted in 2001 by Muslims in the American Public Square (MAPS). 20 percent of African-American Muslims are converts while 80 percent were raised Muslim. More detailed information about Islam in the African-American community, however, is relatively scarce.

Robert Dannin has opened a new and fascinating perspective on the subject in his recently published book Black Pilgrimage to Islam. Using the methods of ethno-graphic research to collect his information, Dannin tells what he calls "conversion sagas" -- rich, unvarnished stories about individual African-American’s journeys into Islam. He also traces the history of Islam among African-Americans by tying together such key developments as the formation of black fraternal lodges in the 18th and 19th centuries; Noble Drew Ali’s 1913 organization of the Moorish Science Temple in Newark, New Jersey; the growth of various Islamic missionary and revivalist movements beginning in the 19th and continuing throughout the 20th centuries; and the conversion to Islam of be-bop jazz musicians who helped raise the faith’s profile in the African-American community.

Dannin also introduces what he admits is a "taboo" subject: that a portion of "African-American society has always been unchurched," that African-American lodges have traditionally been centers of unchurched religious practices and beliefs," and that since the end of the civil rights era unchurched African-Americans "have been moving more rapidly toward Islam." Dannin contends that the "voice of the unchurched" has been repressed by the black church’s command of African-American history.

The various movements, organizations and institutions of unchurched African-Americans, Dannin argues, constitute an alternative to and in some cases a subversion of the black church. Even in the post-Reconstruction era black fraternal lodges "clearly threatened the African-American church’s monopoly of social and civic life." Similarly, Islam, in all of its forms within the black community has offered an option for those who "thirst for an alternative to the church."

African-American Muslims I spoke with consistently explained Islam’s appeal in terms of four benefits: a new sense of personal empowerment; a rigorous call to discipline; an emphasis on family structure and values; and a clear standard of moral behavior. But negative comments about Christianity and its associations with slavery and discrimination regularly accompany their expressions of gratitude to Islam, suggesting that Dannin’s "alternative" hypothesis deserves consideration. Read between the lines and it’s hard not to conclude that for many African-Americans an added appeal of Islam is that it’s not Christianity.

"Humans serve their highest and best interest by serving God, which is characterized by building their own lives," says Abdul Mallek Mohammad, a spokesman for the leader of the Muslim American Society, W. Deen Muhammad. Mohammad argues that slavery took away African-Americans’ ability to properly serve God, even though they lived in a Christian culture. God ordains "freedom, equality, justice and peace," and so "provides a foundation for life and the stability of community," he says. But blacks in this country have been deprived of this divinely authorized foundation. "African-Americans’ history bears out that their humanity was not valued. Even now, there are pockets of racism in America that question the humanity of black people."

W. Deen Muhammad, one of the most eminent Muslim leaders in America, is the son of Elijah Muhammad, the longtime head of the Nation of Islam (NOI) who died in 1975. The elder Muhammad built a strong following that elevated both the emotional and material status of black men and women. Known as the Black Muslims, the members of this movement recruited from among the disadvantaged, welcoming ex-inmates as brothers wronged by a system of oppression. Malcolm X, who later converted to orthodox Islam, is the most notable example. Muhammad also established businesses and put men in black suits, white shirts and black bow ties. His organization, which began in the 1930s, was strongly antiwhite. It is now led by Louis Farrakhan -- albeit with what Farrakhan says are major changes in philosophy.

W. Deen Muhammad broke completely with the NOI, forming his own orthodox Sunni Islamic movement. It is now the largest community of Muslim African-Americans, numbered at 200,000. The NOI doesn’t release statistics but is said to number anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000.

Dannin seeks to break the widespread sense that the NOI is the dominant form of Islam within the African-American community. It’s a mistake, Dannin says, portray "a single, notorious example as representative of the entire religious movement," especially when the NOI under Elijah Muhammad "resembled Islam only to the extent of its taboo against alcohol and pork." The practice of orthodox Islam has a long history among African-Americans, Dannin argues, and deserves to be understood on its own terms.

Eric Erfan Vickers, former executive director of the American Muslim Council in Washington, D.C., says that orthodox Islam today is "irresistible to African-Americans" because "they are a deeply spiritual people." Yet "Islam has a strong call to social justice -- Malcolm personified this."

Vickers, who has been a Muslim for more than 20 years, says, "You have African-American men seeking liberation, and many see Christianity as a white man’s religion that continues to oppress. But God in his infinite wisdom created many religions."

(Continued below)​

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2877

 

[Memphis Slim]

JACKIE ROBINSON

Baseball player, civil rights activist. Born Jack Roosevelt Robinson on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. Breaking the color barrier, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in baseball's major leagues. The youngest of five children, Robinson was raised in relative poverty by a single mother. He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College, where he was an excellent athlete and played four sports: football, basketball, track, and baseball. He was named the region's Most Valuable Player in baseball in 1938.

Robinson's older brother, Matthew Robinson, inspired Jackie to pursue his talent and love for athletics. Matthew won a silver medal in the 200 meters just behind Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Jackie continued his education at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he became the university's first student to win varsity letters in four sports. Despite his athletic success, Robinson was forced to leave UCLA just shy of graduation due to financial hardship in 1941. He moved to Honolulu, where he played football for the semi-professional Honolulu Bears. His season with the Bears was cut short with the onset of the United States' entry into World War II.
During World War II, Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army from 1942 to 1944. However, he never saw combat due to an altercation during boot camp in Texas. Robinson was arrested and court-martialed after refusing to move to the back of a segregated bus during training. He was later acquitted of the charges and received an honorable discharge. His courage and moral objection to segregation were a precursor to the impact Robinson would have in the major leagues.

After his discharge from the Army in 1944, Robinson played baseball professionally in the Negro Leagues. (At the time, the sport was segregated, and African Americans and whites played in separate leagues.) Robinson, however, was chosen by Branch Rickey , a vice president with the Brooklyn Dodgers, to help integrate major league baseball. He joined the Montreal Royals, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1945. He moved to Florida in 1946 to begin spring training with the Royals with his first game on March 17, 1946.

 

[Steve Rogers]

I never knew Jackie was an officer in the Army. It doesn't say, but did he spend the whole war in jail?

 

[Memphis Slim]

I never knew Jackie was an officer in the Army. It doesn't say, but did he spend the whole war in jail?

Naa...they just kicked him out.

 

[Steve Rogers]

Naa...they just kicked him out.

I love my Army, but that's just effed up. I've actually read some really messed up stuff about the Army's views towards African American soldiers from the 40's.

 

[Memphis Slim]

DOUG WILLIAMS
THE ONLY BLACK QUARTER BACK TO WIN A SUPER BOWL!



Douglas Lee Williams (born August 9, 1955 in Zachary, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback. Williams was best known for his MVP performance in Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos.He also became the first, and so far only African American quarterback to win the Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl MVP Award.


Williams was the 17th overall pick of the 1978 NFL Draft, chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of Grambling State. He led the Bucs to three playoff appearances and one NFC title game from 1979 to 1982, but an acrimonious contract dispute with owner Hugh Culverhouse led Williams to leave the Bucs and the NFL to play in the United States Football League. His 31-34-1 regular season record, and 1-3 playoff record made him the best quarterback in Buc history. The Bucs, who had never been to the playoffs before Williams arrived, had gone to the playoffs three times in four years and played in the 1979 NFC Championship Game. The Bucs would not make the playoffs again until after the 1997 season, and lost 10 games in every season but one in that stretch. Many Bucs fans blame Culverhouse's refusal to bend in the negotiations with Williams as a major factor.

After the USFL shut down in 1986, Williams returned to the NFL, joining the Washington Redskins at the behest of Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who had been the offensive coordinator at Tampa Bay when Williams was there.

Initially Williams served as the backup for starting quarterback Jay Schroeder, but after Schroeder became injured, Williams stepped in and led the Redskins to an opening-day victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. It would be one of three times in 1987 that Williams subbed for Schroeder and led the team to victory (the other two were 11/15 vs. Detroit and 12/26 at Minnesota). Williams only started two games, 9/20 at Atlanta and 11/23 vs. the Rams. While both starts were losses, Williams remained the starter at the end of the season. When the Skins made the playoffs, Williams, with his 94.0 passer rating, remained starter. He led the team to Super Bowl XXII in which they routed the Denver Broncos, becoming the first black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, and as of Super Bowl XLII, the only black quarterback to win one. On Media Day, Williams was reportedly asked one of the most famous questions in Media Day history: "How long have you been a black quarterback?" Although the question has become legendary, the story is seemingly an urban legend, sprung up from a misunderstanding of some of the questions Williams was asked.

Facing legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, Williams engineered a 42-10 rout, in which the Redskins set an NFL record by scoring five touchdowns in the second quarter. Williams completed 18 of 29 passes for 340 yards, with four TD passes, and was named Super Bowl MVP.

The Super Bowl was clearly the high point of Williams' NFL career. He suffered from injuries the following season, and was outshined by Mark Rypien, who eventually won the starting job from Williams. Williams would play one final season in 1989, as backup to Rypien, during the latter's first Pro Bowl season.

Williams retired with a 5-9 record as Redskins starter (8-9, counting playoffs) and a 38-42-1 record as a regular season starter (42-45-1, including 7 playoff starts). He had 100 passing touchdowns, and 15 rushing touchdowns, in 88 NFL games.
His throwback jersey remains one of the most popular jerseys sold by the Washington Redskins.

On the day before Super Bowl XXII, Williams had a 6-hour root canal surgery performed (under full anaesthetic) to repair an abscess under a dental bridge. The pain of this condition caused him to having not slept for several days, as reported in the book "Hit and Tell:War Stories of the NFL"(J.Hession/K.Lynch, Foghorn Press).

 

[Memphis Slim]

I love my Army, but that's just effed up. I've actually read some really messed up stuff about the Army's views towards African American soldiers from the 40's.

It is what it is. I just appreciate their opening the door for me. Sad they had to go through that so I wouldn't have to.

That's why I keep this thread going for this month.

 

[kane9321]

I love my black people

Garrett Augustus Morgan (March 4, 1877 - August 27, 1963), was an African-American inventor and businessman. He was the first person to patent a traffic signal. He also developed the gas mask (and many other inventions).
Morgan was born in Paris, Kentucky, and was the son of former slaves (and the 7th of their 11 children). His formal education ended during elementary school.

As a a teenager (in 1895), Morgan moved north to Cincinnati, Ohio, looking for opportunity. His incredible ability to repair machinery led to many job offers from factories. In 1907, he started his own sewing equipment and repair shop. His business expanded in 1909; he employed 32 people, who used equipment that Morgan made (and invented) himself.

In 1920, Morgan went into the newspaper business, starting the "Cleveland Call." He was very successful, and eventually bought a car. While he was driving along the streets of Cleveland, he realized how unsafe intersections were, and was determined to make driving safer.

Morgan patented a traffic signal on November 20, 1923 (U.S. patent No. 1,475,024, issued in 1923) - this was the first traffic signal patented, but not the first invented. His traffic signal was a T-shaped pole with arms (but with no lights) that has three signs, one or more of which popped out at a time: a red "stop," a green "go," and another red "stop in all directions." This last signal let pedestrians cross the street. It was controlled by an electric clock mechanism. This device became very popular, and was used all around the USA. Morgan sold his device to the General Electric Corporation for $40,000 (a huge sum at that time). His device was used until the three-light traffic light was developed.

Morgan developed many other inventions, including a safety hood and smoke protector for firefighters (patent No. 1,113,675, in 1912), a gas mask (patent No. 1,090,936, in 1914). He also developed a zig-zag sewing machine attachment, a hair straightener, hair dying lotions, de-curling hair combs (patent No. 2,763,281, in 1956), and other inventions.

 

[Memphis Slim]

BLACKS IN WWII

Millions of Americans fought in the military during World War II, including nearly one million African-Americans. VOA's Chris Simkins reports on the black experience in the military, and the challenges they faced from World War II on.
African-American soldiers played a significant role in World War II. More than half a million served in Europe. Despite the numbers they faced racial discrimination: prior to the war the military maintained a racially segregated force. In studies by the military, blacks were often classified as unfit for combat and were not allowed on the front lines. They were mostly given support duties, and were not allowed in units with white soldiers.

That changed in 1941, when pressure from African-American civil rights leaders convinced the government to set up all-black combat units, as experiments. They were designed to see if African-American soldiers could perform military tasks on the same level as white soldiers.
Eighty-seven-year-old Woodrow Crockett was a part of that experiment. He was a Tuskegee Airman, the first group of black pilots ever trained by the Air Force. He flew 149 missions between 1944 and 1945, protecting harbors in Italy and American bombers from German fighter planes. Mr. Crockett says the Tuskegee Airman had a lot to prove and did so. In 200 missions they never lost a bomber to enemy fire.
"Many times [military leaders] would brief the results of yesterday's mission. And I said it did not take a rocket scientist to listen to those briefings and they figured out that the 332nd [Fighter Group], all black, were not losing any bombers to enemy fighters. And soon they started requesting that we escort them," says Woodrow Crockett.

Retired U.S. Army Colonel Bill De Shields, a historian and founder of The Black Military History Institute of America in Annapolis, Maryland, says, "The symbol of black participation at that time was 'the Double V'. in other words, 'Double V' meant two victories: victory against the enemy abroad, and victory against the enemy at home. The enemy at home of course being racism, discrimination, prejudice and Jim Crow."

Mr. De Shields says widespread racial discrimination throughout American society made it difficult for black soldiers. He says the early successes of the Tuskegee Airmen and other black units paved the way towards fully integrating the military.

Retired US Army Colonel Bill De Shields "The experiment and the participation African-Americans made during war time from World War II right on to the Vietnam War enabled us to make a change in civilian life. It shows you that blacks and whites working together, can work on a integrated basis. It shows that it does not disrupt the morale of the troops," says Mr. De Shields.
Despite orders from President Harry Truman in 1948 to integrate the U.S. military, black soldiers were still kept in separate units during the Korean War, which lasted until 1953.

Jack Jones joined the U.S. Navy in 1956. He says, "When I first came in blacks were relegated to service type tasks where you did cleaning, serving officers their food and doing their rooms. But by the time I got out African-Americans were all the way from the top down to the bottom. We had several admirals and a bunch of captains."

 

[Steve Rogers]

Oscar Micheaux (January 2, 1893 – March 25, 1951) was a pioneering African American author and is widely recognized as being the first African-American filmmaker. He is without a doubt the most famous producer of race films.

Micheaux (or sometimes written as "Michaux"), was born near Metropolis, Illinois and grew up in Great Bend, Kansas, one of eleven children of former slaves. As a young boy he shined shoes and worked as a porter on the railway. As a young man, he very successfully homesteaded a farm in an all-white area of South Dakota where he began writing stories. Given the attitudes and restrictions on black people at the time, Micheaux overcame them by forming his own publishing company to sell his books door-to-house.

The advent of the motion picture industry intrigued him as a vehicle to tell his stories. He formed his own movie production company and in 1919 became the first African-American to make a film. He wrote, directed and produced the silent motion picture The Homesteader, starring the pioneering African American actress Evelyn Preer, based on his novel of the same name. He again used autobiographical elements in The Exile, his first feature film with sound, in which the central character leaves Chicago to buy and operate a ranch in South Dakota. In 1924 he introduced the moviegoing world to Paul Robeson in his film, Body and Soul.

Given the times, his accomplishments in publishing and film are extraordinary, including being the first African-American to produce a film to be shown in "white" movie theaters. In his motion pictures, he moved away from the "Negro" stereotypes being portrayed in film at the time. Additionally, in his film Within Our Gates, Micheaux attacked the racism depicted in D.W. Griffith's film, The Birth of a Nation.

The Producers Guild of America called him "The most prolific black - if not most prolific independent - filmmaker in American cinema." Over his illustrious career, Oscar Micheaux wrote, produced and directed forty-four feature-length films between 1919 and 1948 and wrote seven novels, one of which was a national bestseller.

Micheaux died in Charlotte, North Carolina while on a business trip. His body was returned to Great Bend, Kansas, where he was interred in the Great Bend cemetery with other members of his family.


Legacy

* In 1986 the Directors Guild of America honored Micheaux with a Golden Jubilee Special Award and today the Oscar Micheaux Award is presented each year by the Producers Guild.
* For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Oscar Micheaux has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6721 Hollywood Blvd.
* There is a 1994 documentary about Micheaux, Midnight Ramble, named after the "Midnight Rambles" in which cinemas would show films at midnight to an African American audiences.