Notables for Black History Month

1. 61

   couturepopcafeposted 12 years ago

   How about a little educational stuff. Can we name any notable people in recognition of Black History Month?
   
   Marian Anderson was the first African American to be named a permanent member of the Met and the first to perform at the White House. She was also appointed an alternate delegate to the UN in 1958 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.

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2. 74

   Reality Bytesposted 12 years ago

   Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
   
   American author, abolitionist, and lecturer wrote three autobiographies during his life-time; A Narrative on the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845), My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), and Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881). You can find a collection of his speeches at the end of our version of My Bondage and My Freedom. Douglass was the first slave to stand publicly and declare his fugitive status, became a prolific lecturer, and published many newspapers during his lifetime which he devoted to causes in the name of "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for all, as set forth in the United States Declaration of Independence.
   
   
   
   "No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck."--from an Address at a Civil Rights meeting, 1883
   
   http://www.online-literature.com/frederick_douglass/

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3. 74

   Reality Bytesposted 12 years ago

   cool thread
   
   William Carney was the first African-American recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor .
   
   He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on July 18, 1863 at Fort Wagner, S.C. while a member of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in the Civil War — the state's first all-black regiment. During the disastrous battle at Ft. Wagner, Carney noticed that the man who carried the flag had been wounded.
   
   So Carney bravely rescued the flag and carried it for him. He delivered it safely to his regiment and reportedly shouted "Boys, the old flag never touched the ground." Carney was wounded during the battle but was not killed.
   
   After the war he spent 31 years working for the postal service. Finally, in May 1900, Carney became the first African-American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. His brave deed is depicted on the Saint-Gaudens Monument in Boston and the rescued flag is enshrined in Memorial Hall, also in Boston.
   
   
   http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/first- … z1lvQoV3wI

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4. 64

   LawrenceSposted 12 years ago

   Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Jr. :the first to command a combatant ship, to be promoted to flag rank, and to command a naval fleet.
   
   http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/gravely.htm

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   1. 61

      couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      And how about James Armistead. A slave in Virginia, enlisted under Lafayette in Washington's army, became a double agent between the American and English armies. Lafayette wrote him a glowing recommendation which Armistead used to petition for and win his own freedom.
      
      This is amazing. Here's a slave who joins the army to help free a country that has enslaved him, is brave enough to become a double agent, and brilliant enough to use that to secure his own freedom.
      
      And all we do is sit around on forums. Damn. The Greeks would be kicking us to the curb.

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5. 0

   Onusonusposted 12 years ago

   The little rock nine. Students who helped intigrate schools. Brave as hell to walk to a school amid a nasty mob. They changed the world.
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine

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   1. 52

      passingthewordposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Onusonus. Don't you think that Black people come from the seed of cain (satan)?

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      1. 0

         Onusonusposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         A lot of American churches used to believe different things about black people in the 1800's. It doesn't mean they still do. But thanks for trying to make me look like a racist on black history month. How about getting a life?

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      2. 61

         couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         @passing - I don't think they do but I think you might.

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6. 61

   couturepopcafeposted 12 years ago

   Hattie McDaniel made her film debut in 1932 and won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind.

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7. 64

   LawrenceSposted 12 years ago

   The Golden Thirteen: 12 commissioned officers and 1 warrent officer in the U.S. Navy
   
   http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs- … a-g-13.htm

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8. 61

   couturepopcafeposted 12 years ago

   The U.S. Army's segregated Black 92nd Infantry - also known as the legendary Buffalo Soldiers - that went on to become WWII's first African American Infantry Combat Unit in Europe.

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9. 61

   couturepopcafeposted 12 years ago

   1968 Olympic Games XIX Mexico City. The Vietnam War was raging in Southeast Asia and civil unrest was rampant. The U.S. was moving toward two societies, one Black and one White - separate and unequal.
   
   Tommie Smith and John Carlos, after winning the gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-meter race, each raised a black-gloved fist in a show of 'Black Power.' The image of two Black American athletes standing on the podium with heads bowed and fists raised, as the Star Spangled Banner played, was one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history.
   
   The International Olympic Committee (IOC), generally held to be one of the last bastions of non-bias in the world, banned them from the Olympic Games for life.

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10. 64

    LawrenceSposted 12 years ago

    Otis Boykin: improved electrical resistors
    This made it possible for electronic control devices for guided missles, IBM computers,and pacemakers.
    
    http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/boykin.html
    http://teacher.scholastic.com/activitie … boykin.htm

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    1. 61

       couturepopcafeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Good one. We hear more about the heros of our time but this guy was behind the scenes, so to speak, improving the world from his 'workshop'.

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11. 61

    couturepopcafeposted 12 years ago

    Cito Gaston managed Toronto to consecutive World Series titles (92-93). First black manager to win the Series.

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12. 64

    LawrenceSposted 12 years ago

    Roger Arliner Young was the first African American female zoologist to graduate with a Ph.D.
    http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0800427.html

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13. 61

    Civil War Bobposted 12 years ago

    Let's see:
    Satchel Paige and Jackie Robinson for their roles in pro baseball.
    Slave Eliza Harris who was the model for Little Liza in Uncle Tom's Cabin.
    Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Frederick Douglass for their abolition work. Sojourner Truth also pioneered women's rights.
    The entire regiments of the 54th & 55th Massachusetts Volunteers as well as all @179,000 Afro-Americans who fought for the Union in the Civil War.

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    1. 61

       Africanusposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       The Polar Explorer Matthew Henson was credited posthumously with the discovery of the Geographic North Pole. The `'Matthew Henson Earth Conservation Center' In Washington DC is named after him, as is the survey ship, the 'USNS Henson'. He was, also posthumously, presented with the Hubbard Medal, the National Geographic's highest honour, and was received by Presidents Truman and Eisenhauer. He is buried at the Arlington Memorial Cemetary.

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14. 61

    couturepopcafeposted 12 years ago

    He had style, elegance, sophistication, ubanity, and cool - 
    
    Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions.

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15. 63

    Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

    Dr. Dre gets my vote

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