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. As with all aspects of American history, Black history is an indispensable key to understanding the nation’s past, present, and future. 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: September 4th
September 4, 1923
George Washington Carver of Tuskegee Institute
George Washington Carver of Tuskegee Institute received the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP’s highest award, for distinguished research in agricultural chemistry.
September 4, 1957
Black students are banned from a Little Rock high school
Black students are banned from a Little Rock high school, by Arkansas governor Oval Faubus who calls out the National Guard, 1957
September 5, 1804
Absalom Jones
Absalom Jones was ordained a priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church.
September 5, 1895
George Washington Murray was elected to Congress
George Washington Murray was elected to Congress by South Carolina, 1895.
September 6, 1848
National Black Convention in Cleveland
National Black Convention met in Cleveland with some seventy delegates. Frederick Douglass was elected president of the convention.
September 6, 1963
Katherine Dunham
American dancer, choreographer, and scholar. She was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreography, and considered one of the founders of the anthropological dance movement. With “Aida” in 1963, she became the first Black to choreograph for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
September 7, 1954
The start of Integration for MD public schools
The start of Integration for MD public schools, and Washington DC public school, begins in 1954.
September 8, 1875
Protection of Black Voters
Mississippi governor requested federal troops to protect Black voters. Attorney General Edward Pierrepont refused the request and said “the whole public are tired of these annual autumnal outbreaks in the South.”
September 8, 1957
Tennis champion, Althea Gibson, becomes the first Black Athlete
Althea Gibson (Tennis Champion) becomes the first Black Athlete to win a US National Tennis Championship.
September 9, 1915
The father of Black history, Carter G Woodson
Carter G Woodson (the father of Black history) founds the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History.
September 9, 1968
Arthur Ashe, the first winner of the U.S. Open
Arthur Ashe becomes first Black U.S. Men’s Singles Tennis Champion.
September 10, 1847
John R Lynch (first Black speaker at a Republican National Convention) born
John Roy Lynch, served in the 43rd, 44th, and 47th Congresses representing the State of Mississippi as a Republican. He also presided as a temporary chairman over the Republican National Convention of 1884 and was the first African American to deliver the keynote address.
September 10, 1973
A commemorative stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service
A commemorative stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service to honor Henry Ossawa Tanner, the first African American artist elected to the National Academy of Design.
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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