Know Your History!
I think that many black people don’t celebrate their heritage or history in this country enough and conform and assimilate to the euro centric standard. How many black people know what tribe they descended from? How many black people celebrate Kwanzaa? How many black people know of Huey P. Newton, Alex Haley and others? How many black people know in detail of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade? Not many and not enough. With such an abhorrent beginning, the freedom and other achievements eventually earned by African-Americans cannot be simply disregarded.
African-American Facts for the Week of: December 20, 2015
December 20, 1870
Institutions of Higher Learning Established
Allen University, Benedict College and LeMoyne-Owen College established.
December 20, 1956
Civil Rights Movement
On this day the African American community of Montgomery, Alabama voted unanimously to end its 385 day bus-boycott.
December 21, 1956
Bus Boycott Ended
When the bus boycott ended on this day, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. were National Hero’s, as the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation on city buses was unconstitutional.
December 21, 1959
The Starter of Motown
Motown Records established by Berry Gordy Jr.
December 22, 1943
W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois was the first Black elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. W.E.B. Du Bois was one of the most important African-American activists during the first half of the 20th century. He co-founded the NAACP.
December 23, 1863
Naval Medal of Honor
Robert Blake, powder boy aboard the USS Marbelhead, was the first Black awarded the Naval Medal of Honor “for conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the risk of his own life.” The heroic action occurred during a victorious battle off the coast of South Carolina on this day.
December 23, 1867
Madame C J Walker Born
Madame C J Walker, the first Black millionaire, made wealthy by inventing black hair care products was born.
December 24, 1881
Segregation Movements
Tennessee started modern segregation movement with Jim Crow railroad car and was followed by Florida (1887), Mississippi (1888), Texas (1889), Louisiana (1890), Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas and Georgia (1891), South Carolina (1898), North Carolina (1899), Virginia (1900), Maryland (1904), Oklahoma (1907).
December 25, 1837
School established
The Cheyney State Training School was established in Pennsylvania.
Universities Founded
Atlanta University, Shaw University and Virginia Union University founded.
December 26, 1956
Birmingham Blacks / Jim Crow Bus Laws
Birmingham Blacks began mass defiance of Jim Crow bus laws.
December 26, 1966
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa originated by Dr. Maulana Karenga is started. Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and also celebrated in the Western African Diaspora in other nations of the Americas. The celebration honors African heritage in African-American culture, and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving. Kwanzaa has seven core principles
About Annette
In the early 20th century, there were almost no mentions of the contributions of African-Americans in U.S. history textbooks. That is what inspired Historian and Educator Dr. Carter G. Woodson to start “Negro History Week” in 1926.
To me, the omission of any group from history teachings results in a limited understanding of history’s relationship with the present and future. Know your history.
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Twitter: @Annette92J
