Know Your History!
Up to the early 20th century, most American knowledge of Black history was limited to the African American struggle through slavery and emancipation. The significance of Black history is recognition of the advancements and accomplishments of a group of people once defined by the Constitution as three-fifths of a person. While slavery in America hosts the background of Black history, the African American impact on history reaches beyond the country’s early history, as African Americans have made significant contributions.
African-American Facts for Week of: December 27, 2015-16
December 27, 1971
Spingarn Medal: Jackie Robinson
Spingarn Medal awarded Jack Roosevelt (“Jackie”) Robinson, first Black in the major leagues, for his conduct on and off the baseball field.
December 27 –
Second Day of Kwanzaa
Second Day of Kwanzaa – Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in 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.
Karen Farmer
December 28, 1977
Karen Farmer becomes the first African American member of the Daughters of the American Revolution when she traces her ancestry back to William Hood, a solider in the Revolutionary War.
December 28 –
Third Day of Kwanzaa
Third Day of Kwanzaa – Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in 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.
December 29, 1907
Robert Weaver
Robert Weaver, born on this day, beacme the first Black appointed to a presidential cabinet when President Lyndon B. Johnson named him to head the newly created Departmentof Housing and Urban Development.
December 29 –
Fourth Day of Kwanzaa – Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in 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.
December 30, 1960
Spingarn Medal – Langston Hughes
Poet Langston Hughes presented Spingarn Medal and cited as “the poet laureate of the Negro race.”
December 30 –
Fifth Day of Kwanzaa – Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in 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.
December 31, 1984
The first nationally broadcast telethon for the United Negro College fund is held
The first nationally broadcast telethon for the United Negro College fund is held and raises 14.1 million.
December 31 –
Sixth Day of Kwanzaa – Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in 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.
January 1, 1916
First issue of Journal of Negro History
First issue of Journal of Negro History published.
January 1 –
Seventh Day of Kwanzaa – Imani (Faith) To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the Western African diaspora in 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.
January 2, 1915
Historian, John Hope Franklin
Historian John Hope Franklin was born, 1915
John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was an American historian of the United States and former president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Historical Association. Franklin is best known for his work “From Slavery to Freedom”, first published in 1947, and continually updated. More than three million copies have been sold. In 1995, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
About Annette:
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.
Comments, I can be reached at:
Twitter: @Annette92J
