THE BLACK EXPERIENCE 102

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DID YOU KNOW?...WHEN FIRST OUT OF COLLEGE, THIS PERSON WORKED AS A TV NEWS REPORTER.

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CAN YOU NAME THAT PERSON?

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Answer to previous quiz (2/10/15) IDA B. WELLS-BARNETT

Ida B. Wells-Barnett - COMMUNITY CREATOR

IDA B. WELLS-BARNETT was born on July 16, 1862.  She was a newspaper journalist, editor, suffragist, sociologist, and a crusader for Black civil rights and for equal rights for women.

Through newspaper articles, she wrote about the discrimination she experienced and observed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Google-search her name to read her unique bio

JAZZ EVENT - NEW YORK CITY

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Clark Terry	Clark Terry: 1920-2015 WBGO mourns the loss of Clark Terry, who passed away on Saturday, February 21 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, surrounded by his family, students and friends. He was known internationally for his signature musicianship and deep gratitude for his fans and supporters. For nearly half a century, Clark's greatest passion was helping to make young musicians' dreams come true. He was a tremendous source of inspiration, of love, of respect, of decency, and of human rights. He was one of the first recruits of the United States Navy when black musicians were given the Rating of Musician in 1942. From being one of the few musicians who played as a featured soloist in both the Count Basie and the Duke Ellington Orchestras, to being the first black staff musician at NBC, Clark had multiple bands including big bands, youth bands and other ensembles. He was one of the most recorded jazz musicians in history, appearing on more than 900 albums. Clark's devotion towards mentoring young musicians influenced the lives of worldwide master talents such as Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis and Dianne Reeves amongst countless others. He inspired everyone by example. As he was quoted in the documentary about his life and love for mentoring students, Keep On Keeping On, "Your mind is a powerful asset. Use it for positive thoughts and you'll learn what I've learned. I call it getting on the plateau of positivity." Services for Clark Terry will be led by Reverend Calvin Butts this Saturday, February 28th at 10am at Abyssinian Baptist Church, located at 132 W 138th St, New York, NY.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH (BIRTHDAY) PROFILE

If a "Ren-ais-sance man"  is - one with a stinging wit, an impeccable education, a profound knowledge of human history and culture, a "gentleman's" good taste in art, music and theater, and a philosopher's vision for a better humanity, then for Black people, that person would be...


...W.E.B. DU BOIS was born on February 23, 1868 as William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, three years after the end of the American Civil War. With his given birth name, and the name of a state like that, he was destined for greatness. He did not disappoint. Du Bois was a writer, scholar, sociologist, historian, Civil Rights activist, and Pan Africanist

Du Bois entered Fisk University in 1885 at the age of 17, and was granted sophomore status. He graduated from Fisk in 1888 and in 1891 he graduated from Harvard University, becoming the first Black man to earn a Ph.d degree, not to mention that from 1891-93 he did some graduate work at the University of Berlin in Germany. In the years to follow, Du Bois became a professor of sociology, history and economics at Atlanta University.

Du Bois was a prolic author. The amount of work he produced is so voluminous that it is estimated that his Annotated Bibliography of writings in magazines, journals, books, encyclopedias, pamphlets, leaflets, and manifestos, would balance out to him writing something scholarly every twelve days of his life for over fifty years.

 

W.E.B. Du Bois died on midnight of August 27, 1963,  the evening before the historic March On Washington. He was 93 years of age.  Du Bois is regarded as one of America's greatest intellectuals.

 

His various overall accomplishments in other walks of life are so great they could not even be mentioned in a blog of this size and scope. 

To learn more, please Google-search his name and prepare to be amazed. 

OH! BY THE WAY...DID I MENTION THAT IN 1909 HE WAS ONE OF THE CO-FOUNDERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (NAACP)???  

AND THAT'S A FACT...

     ...BLACK PEOPLE ACCOMPANIED THE EARLY MISSIONARIES AND EXPLORERS OF THE NEW WORLD.  THESE PRIESTS, IN PARTICULAR, WERE CREDITED WITH SOFTENING LATIN AMERICAN SLAVERY BECAUSE THEY CONSIDERED THESE ENSLAVED AFRICANS TO BE PERSONS WITH IMMORTAL SOULS.
   
     THE SLAVERY THAT DEVELOPED IN THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE COLONIES WAS DIFFERENT, IN A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT RESPECTS, FROM THE SYSTEM OF BONDAGE DEVELOPED IN NORTH AMERICA. IN LATIN AMERICA, A POWERFUL CATHOLIC CHURCH, INTERESTED IN THE SOUL OF THE ENSLAVED AFRICANS, PROTECTED THEM FROM MANY ABUSES.

     IN AMERICA, NO CHURCH OR ANY OTHER POWER DARED TELL A SLAVEHOLDER HOW TO TREAT HIS SLAVES. THE CHURCH IN LATIN AMERICA ENCOURAGED OWNERS TO LIBERATE SLAVES WHO BECAME CHRISTIANS. MARRIAGES BETWEEN BLACKS AND WHITES WERE NOT OPPOSED BY THE CHURCH, AND LATIN AMERICAN SLAVERY WAS NOT INFECTED BY RACIAL PREJUDICE.



***Eyewitness: The Negro in American History - William Loren Katz

BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROFILE

PIONEERS IN AVIATION

 Ahmet Ali Celikten, was the first Black pilot in aviation history. Born in 1883 in Izmar, of the Ottoman Empire, he wanted to become a naval sailor, and in 1904 joined the Naval Technical School. After graduating as a First Lieutenant in 1908, he took aviation courses in the Naval Flight School.  He "earned his wings" as a member of the Ottoman Air Force  from 1914-15.

 Ali, who is of African Turkish origin, along with Eujene Jacques Bullard, became the first Black pilots to fly a plane in combat, when they both saw flight action in World War I.

Eugene Jacques Bullard, was born in, Columbus, Georgia, in 1895, and as a teenager, in an effort to escape racial discrimination in America, he stowed away on a ship bound for Scotland. 

Bullard eventually found his way to Paris, and at the outbreak of World War I, enlisted in the First Regiment of Foreign Legion, a French colonial troop. Bullard saw ground combat as a machine gunner.

In 1916 , Bullard volunteered to join the French Air Service as an air gunner where he trained for flight combat. 

In November of 1916, as a member of the French Air Service, he joined 269 American aviators at the Lafayette Flying Corps, where American volunteers flew in training missions with French pilots.  Bullard took part in pursuit and bomber/ reconnaissance missions.

In May of 1917, Bullard received his pilot's license. In June, he was promoted to the rank of corporal and assigned to the Escadrille N93 Aero Squadron. As a member of this squadron, Bullard flew over twenty combat missions.

When America entered the war, the Army Air Services recruited pilots from the Lafayette Flying Corps to be in this unit. Bullard was not called because only White pilots were allowed to serve.

Eugene Jacques Bullard died in 1961                      

   Ahmet Ali Celikten died in 1969

To read their comprehensive bio Google -search their names

***SPECIAL NOTE: These Black men flew combat missions approximately 25 years before the Tuskegee Airmen.

JAZZ EVENTS - NEW YORK CITY

February 16-20, 2015 Events Tuesday, February 17 The Young Lions of Harlem: Jazz from City College Jazz for Curious Listeners 7:00-8:30pm City College Jazz AllStars   led by Dennis Brandner  Location: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Suggested Donation: $10 Jazz has always welcomed young talent, and in this era, the presence of young musicians who are serious in their dedication is something to celebrate. Join us as we welcome a chamber jazz ensemble from City College, which has long had a distinguished jazz department, and is now under the new leadership of renowned saxophonist Steve Wilson. Come visit as we all get our batteries charged!  Join the Facebook event here.     The National Jazz Museum in Harlem  and Ginny's Supper Club Celebrate Black History Month $10.00 Admission Free for NJMH Members who RSVP Call Membership Coordinator Camille Thornhill to RSVP 212-348-8300 ext. 103 310 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027 Thursday, February 19th 6:30pm Join us at 6:30 pm for a listening session on Duke Ellington and the music from the Cotton Club, including never before heard live recordings from the museum's famed Savory Collection. Followed by live music at 8 pm by a young rising star, trumpeter Riley Mulherkar and his band.  for more information click here. We look forward to seeing you there!    The mission of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem is to preserve, promote and present jazz by inspiring knowledge,  appreciation and the celebration of jazz locally, nationally and internationally.

BLACK HISTORY NEWS JOURNAL

January 1, 1794

             JEFFERSON CALLS NEGROES INFERIOR

     Comparing them (Negroes) by their faculties of memory,
reason, and imagination, it appears to me that in memory they are
equal to the whites; in reason much inferior, as I think one could be
scarcely found to be capable of tracing and comprehending the
investigations of Euclid; and that in imagination they are dull, (and)
tasteless...Religion, indeed, has produced a Phillis Wheatley; but it
could not produce a poet. The compositions published under her
name are below the dignity of criticism...I advance it, therefore, as
a suspicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race,
or made distinct by time and circumstances, are inferior to the
whites in the endowments both of body and mind."

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                                      BANNEKER REPLIES

     "Now Sir, I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity to
eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions which so
generally prevails with respect to us; and that your sentiments are 
concurrent with mine, which are, that one universal Father hath
given being to us all; and that he hath not only made us all of one
flesh, but that he hath also, without partiality, afforded us all the
same sensations and endowed us all with the same faculties;and that
however variable we may be in society or religion, however 
diversified in situation or colour, we are all of the same family and
stand in the same relation to Him...
     "Sir, suffer me to recall to your m ind that time, in which the
arms and tyranny of the British crown were exerted with every
powerful effort, in order to reduce you to a state of servitude...
This, Sir, was a time when you clearly saw the injustice of a state of
slavery and in which you had just apprehensions of the horrors of its
condition...you publicly held forth this true and invaluable doctrine,
which is worthy to be recorded and remembered in all succeeding
ages: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty and the 
pursuit of happiness.'"

==============================

FUGITIVE SLAVES
     A GROWING
         CLASS


     A growing class of fugitives is
forming in the North.
     Slave owners have begun
offering large rewards for their
"property." and promoting
anti-fugitive legislation.
     So common are newspaper
advertisements for fugitive
slaves, that the New London 
Gazette has designed a standard
picture for the ads. A fugitive
black is pictured carrying a
bundle on his head and a stick
in his hand.
     In several states, if free blacks
are not carrying papers they may
be arrested as fugitives and sold...
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***The preceding were actual newspaper articles.

THE BLACK EXPERIENCE 102

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DID YOU KNOW?...THIS PERSON WAS A TEACHER IN MISSISSIPPI BEFORE BECOMING A WELL-KNOWN JOURNALIST.

===================================
CAN YOU NAME THAT PERSON?

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Answer to previous quiz (1/29/15) BENJAMIN BANNEKER

Benjamin Banneker - COMMUNITY CREATOR

Benjamin Banneker was an inventor, surveyor, astronomer, mathematician, almanac author, clock maker, and peace activist. 

Born on November 9, 1731, he received very little education from the school system. Much of his knowledge of mathematics and science was self-taught.

When given the task, Banneker created a surveyor's map for Washington, D.C. which rescued city planners from the inaccurate calculations of previous surveyors. In this way, he helped to create one of the world's most beautiful cities.

To read the incredible bio of one of America's first true pioneers Google-search his name

THE FATHER OF BLACK HISTORY

Even though Black History Month began in 1976, Dr. Carter G. Woodson created what was once known as Negro History Week in 1926. He instituted the week to honor Black culture, sacrifice, achievement, and contributions to society.

Dr. Woodson, the son of former slaves, was a Black historian, author, and journalist. In 1915, he founded The Negro Journal, as well as The Association for the Study of  Negro Life and History, now known as The Association for the Study African-American Life and History.

Known as the Father of Black History Month, Woodson was one of the first scholars to study  Black history. He felt that Black history was being misrepresented and ignored by other scholars, and that an in depth study of the subject could reduce racism.  

Black History Month now generates global interest, and is celebrated internationally.

TO ENHANCE YOUR KNOWLEDGE GOOGLE-SEARCH HIS NAME

BOB MARLEY - LEGEND

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945, in the rural parish of Nine Miles, St. Ann, Jamaica.

He was a singer, songwriter, and musician who infused his music with a sense of  love, history, and spirituality.

Nesta, as he was called as a child, was the son of Cedella "Ciddy" Booker, a nineteen year old Black woman, and Captain Norval Sinclair Marley, an older White man who had been a captain in the British army.

After several years of bouncing around between the homes of several relatives, where he always seemed to be in some kind of trouble.  The ten year old Nesta was sent to Kingston, where he lived in the Trench Town section with his mother, who had earlier moved to Kingston in order to earn a living. Here he roamed the oppressive streets of Trench Town where he became known as Tuff Gong.

To keep her son from turning to a life of crime, Ciddy enrolled Nesta in the Model Private School near Hanover Street, but Marley did not take to education, and by the time he was 14, he left school.

Nesta's real love was music. He started hanging out at record stores, listening to the latest hits, and also hanging around Third Street at the house of musician Joe Higgs. It was here that he learned to sing and play various instruments.

Marley viewed music not only as something that was fun and would get attention, but also as a way of getting him out of the dead-end existence of the ghetto.

It was here that he put away his childhood names to become known as Bob Marley. 

 Bob Marley died in 1981 but his legend has soared beyond the shores of the island of Jamaica to circle the world.

To read his full biography Google-search his name

ONE LOVE, ONE HEART

CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH

2015 THEME

A Century of Black Life, History, and Culture

Over the past century, African American life, history, and culture have become major forces in the United States and the world. In 1915, few could have imagined that African Americans in music, art, and literature would become appreciated by the global community. Fewer still could have predicted the prominence achieved by African Americans, as well as other people of African descent, in shaping world politics, war, and diplomacy. Indeed, it was nearly universally believed that Africans and people of African descent had played no role in the unfolding of history and were a threat to American civilization itself. A century later, few can deny the centrality of African Americans in the making of American history.

This transformation is the result of effort, not chance. Confident that their struggles mattered in human history, black scholars, artists, athletes, and leaders self-consciously used their talents to change how the world viewed African Americans. The New Negro of the post-World War I era made modernity their own and gave the world a cornucopia of cultural gifts, including jazz, poetry based on the black vernacular, and an appreciation of African art. African American athletes dominated individual and team sports transforming baseball, track-and-field, football, boxing, and basketball. In a wave of social movements, AfricanAmerican activism transformed race relations, challenged American foreign policy, and became the American conscience on human rights.

While the spotlight often shines on individuals, this movement is the product of organization, of institutions and institution-builders who gave direction to effort. The National Urban League promoted the Harlem Renaissance. The preservation of the black past became the mission of Arturo Schomburg and Jesse Moorland, leading to the rise of the Schomburg Research Center in Black Culture and Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. The vision of Margaret Burroughs and others led to the African American museum movement, leading to the creation of black museums throughout the nation, culminating with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Student activism of the 1960s resulted in the Black Studies Movement and the creation of black professional associations, including the National Council of Black Studies, and a host of doctoral programs at major American universities.

At the dawn of these strivings and at all points along the road, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) has played a vital role. When he founded the Association in 1915, Carter G. Woodson labored under the belief that historical truth would crush falsehoods and usher in a new era of equality, opportunity, and racial democracy, and it has been its charge for a century. In honor of this milestone, ASALH has selected “A Century of Black Life, History, and Culture” as the 2015 National Black History theme.

JAZZ EVENTS - NEW YORK CITY

Friday, February 6th Dianne Reeves Pre-performance Discussion 6:30 pm Location:   Bing Concert Hall,   Stanford University    Two of the world's greatest guitarists, Russell Malone and Romero Lubambo, will be interviewed by NJMH's Loren Schoenberg before their concert with Dianne Reeves.  Get more information here.

Tuesday, February 10 James Baldwin: Harlem's Own Jazz for Curious Listeners 7:00-8:30pm Host: Professor Robert G. O'Meally Location: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Suggested Donation: $10 Writing can swing just like the best jazz, with great themes developed with a rhythm that rocks and rolls and surprises. Some of James Baldwin's best writing dealt with jazz and the specific culture that spawned it. Tonight, Professor Robert G. O'Meally, noted author/scholar, and founder/Director of Columbia University's Center of Jazz Studies will delve deeply into his classic Sonny's Blues, peppered with music that relates to it directly.    Join the Facebook event here.

Tuesday, February 17 The Young Lions of Harlem: Jazz from City College Jazz for Curious Listeners 7:00-8:30pm City College Jazz AllStars   led by Dennis Brandner  Location: The National Jazz Museum in Harlem Suggested Donation: $10 Jazz has always welcomed young talent, and in this era, the presence of young musicians who are serious in their dedication is something to celebrate. Join us as we welcome a chamber jazz ensemble from City College, which has long had a distinguished jazz department, and is now under the new leadership of renowned saxophonist Steve Wilson. Come visit as we all get our batteries charged!    Join the Facebook event here.

IN MEMORY OF...

Charlie Sifford was born on 6/2/1922, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was a professional golfer, and a pioneer in the sport.

In 1952, after playing in numerous golf tournaments organized by Black golfers, he attempted to qualify for a PGA tour event at the Phoenix Open. He was refused, and met with threats and racial abuse.

At this time, Black golfers were excluded from playing with the association because of racial segregation, not only at that event, but at other tournaments as well.

In  1957, Sifford became the first Black man to win a professional golf tournament by winning the Long Beach Open. It was not a PGA event, but was co-sponsored by the PGA, and had a number of well-know white players in the field.

Finally in 1961 he was admitted to the PGA tour, thus becoming the first Black man to do so. 

Six years later in 1967, Sifford became the first Black man to win a PGA tour event when he won the Greater Harvard Open Invitational .

In 2004 he broke ground again, becoming the first Black man to be inducted into the World Golf  Hall of Fame.

Sifford passed away on 2/3/2015 at the age of 92, in Cleveland, Ohio.

To read the details of his life Google-search his name

HISTORICAL NEWS JOURNAL

BLACK CHURCH GROWS
        FROM EXCLUSION

Philadelphia, Pa., Feb., 1793 - Two highly respected
Philadelphia men of color, Richard Allen and Absalom
Jones, have announced plans to establish black churches
here.
     Despite strong opposition from white Methodists,
they have purchased and broken ground on two lots...
For several years after the late war with Britain, black
Methodists worshipped harmoniously with whites in
Philadelphia's leading Methodist church. But they
found themselves increasingly scorned and insulted.
First required to sit around  the outer walls of the
church they had helped build, they were one day
expelled to the upper gallery...
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MASONS IN BOSTON

     White exclusion has also prompted Prince Hall
of Boston to establish the Black Masons. At first
refused admission to the White Masons of
America, he joined a British lodge. After the war,
in 1784, Mr. Hall formed this country's first black
masonic lodge.
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                     MASONS
Attend a Meeting on Thursday
Next, Mar. 7, 1793,
        
     To be discussed:

WHAT SHOULD BE the
ATTITUDE of  BLACK
MASONS towards WHITE
AMERICAN MASONS?

Any Black man wishing to join
the AFRICAN GRAND LODGE
is WELCOME TO ATTEND

                                    Prince Hall
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                      THOMAS 
                     JEFFERSON
                           Slave
                           Owner

February, 1793 - Despite his misgivings about
slavery, Thomas Jefferson himself owns over
200 slaves. An often quoted reason for his
reluctance to free them is that he might face
financial ruin by doing so...

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DO NOT USE
     SUGAR
    OR OTHER
PRODUCTS OF
SLAVE LABOR

--------------------------------------------------------------
SIX POUNDS
   REWARD

The following ad was printed
yesterday by the Federal
Gazette.
RAN-AWAY on the sixth of
September last a FRENCH
NEGRO LAD, about eighteen
years of age, about five feet
high; has a mark on his left
cheek.

________________________________________________________
***The preceding were actual newspaper articles