Col. John McKee’s vision of his legacy, meticulously recorded in his will, was breathtaking:
A garrisonlike naval academy would grace the bank of the Delaware River in Bristol. A bronze replica of the colonel on horseback would survey the boys who traversed the integrated campus. Embossed on their brass buttons would be the name of McKee, said to be the richest African American at his death in 1902.
History did not quite unfold according to McKee’s plan.
Today, McKee remains an obscure giant of Philadelphia history, a businessman whose achievements in life have been at least matched by his contribution in death.
He is responsible for considerably more than 1,000 scholarships given to fatherless boys during the last 57 years, according to the administrator of a trust he endowed. In the last 10 years alone, the McKee Scholarships have funded almost $4 million for the postsecondary education of 239 young men.
And yet for 89 years, he lay in an unmarked grave; not the brick-and-marble family vault he ordered in his will, not even in his original plot.
McKee wrote his will almost two years before his death, drafting exactly how he wanted to be remembered. But even with a fortune estimated at $2 million, in death he quickly lost control of events.
Born in Alexandria, Va., McKee made his way at 21 to Philadelphia in the early 1840s.
He initially found work in a livery stable and then a restaurant at Eighth and Market Streets owned by James Prosser, a well-known African American caterer. McKee married Prosser’s daughter Emeline, and ran the restaurant until 1866, before he started buying property throughout Philadelphia.
At his death, his holdings were an empire: more than 300 rental houses in the city, as well as his own house at 1030 Lombard St., an estate in Bristol Township, Bucks County, and several hundred thousand acres throughout West Virginia, Georgia, and Kentucky.
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Duke University has announced that it has acquired a vast archive of papers of John Hope Franklin. Professor Franklin was the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History at Duke University and one of the most prolific and respected historians of the twentieth century. He died of congestive heart failure on March 25, 2009 at Duke University Hospital. He was 94 years old.
The archive includes more than 300 boxes of materials that were donated to the university by his son and daughter-in-law. Included in the archive are diaries, correspondence, manuscripts, drafts of speeches, photographs, and video recordings. The collection will be housed at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke. The collection will be made available to researchers once it has been preserved and cataloged.
John Hope Franklin was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma, in 1915. His grandfather had been a slave. His father was one of the first black lawyers in Oklahoma. His mother was a schoolteacher. Franklin was named after John Hope, the former president of Morehouse College and Atlanta University.
Franklin attended racially segregated schools in Oklahoma. He was valedictorian of his high school class. He wanted to attend the University of Oklahoma but at that time, and for many years later, the state’s flagship university was closed to blacks.
Wesley L. Harris, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and associate provost for faculty equity at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been selected to receive the 2012 President’s Award from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. Dr. Harris is being honored for leadership in promoting the advancement of Black and other minorities in STEM disciplines. He will receive the award at the organization’s annual conference in Washington.
Dr. Harris is a graduate of the University of Virginia. He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is the former dean of engineering at the University of Connecticut and served as associate administrator for aeronautics at NASA.
article via jbhe.com
Jackson State University in Mississippi has launched a new sports broadcasting network that will allow alumni and other fans of the university’s sports teams to watch action on television and over the internet. Home football games this season are now being shown live on the internet and broadcast on FM radio. Television broadcasts of the football games, produced by the Jackson State network, can be seen on tape delay over Comcast Sports South.
The network will also produce post-game television shows that will include highlights and commentary by head football coach Rick Comegy. The radio network that will carry live football broadcasts has been expanded from 6 to 12 stations. Another 18 stations will carry some live football broadcasts but not all home games.
The network will also stream live online broadcasts of other sports at Jackson State.
article via jbhe.com
NBC Miami – The Dade County Federal Credit Union opened its doors at Booker T. Washington High School Tuesday and put the students in charge. “These students are actually manning the credit union during lunch and after school,” said Principal William Aristide. “They have the opportunity to interact with their schoolmates, parents and people in the community.”
Oprah Winfrey poses with the graduates on her arrival at the inaugural graduation of the class of 2011 at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls on January 14, 2012 in Henley on Klip, South Africa. (Photo by Michelly Rall/Getty Images)
The Oprah Winfrey Network will premiere a television special on October 14 following the journey of the first graduating class from Oprah’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. The two-hour special, The First Graduating Class: Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, will give viewers a look into the challenges and victories the 72 girls, who were only twelve and thirteen when they left home to enroll in the school, faced during their time at the academy.
Young African American college graduates say they are more responsibly committed to reaching financial goals than previous generations, according to a study released Tuesday by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance. Seventy percent of African Americans age 18 to 34 said they were either “disciplined” or “highly disciplined” when it came to finances, compared to just 47 percent of those 35 and older. However, 40 percent of those 55 and older reported having financially prepared to live to age 95, as opposed to just nine percent for the 18 to 34 set.
Defy Ventures helped Maliki Cottrell, who served time for carrying a gun without a permit, build a trash-hauling business. (Victor J. Blue for The New York Times)
As a heroin dealer in Rhode Island, Jose Vasquez made $2,000 a day. He said he had a way with his customers. He took his best clients out for dinner and bought them presents on their birthdays.
“Everyone sells drugs, right?” said Mr. Vasquez, who was arrested in 2009. “So you got to find a way to differentiate yourself.” Since his release last year, Mr. Vasquez, 26, has found that some of his skills as a drug dealer were transferable to a more legitimate pursuit; he opened a personal concierge service, Happy Vida, which runs errands for busy New York professionals.
Mr. Vasquez is a member of the inaugural class of Defy Ventures, a nonprofit organization that offers a one-year entrepreneurial training and mentorship program to people with criminal backgrounds. On Saturday, Defy held its first sales exposition, and Mr. Vasquez and nine of his classmates presented their start-ups. Guests and about 70 Defy students were asked to vote for the best sales pitch. Mr. Vasquez’s business received the most votes and won a $500 prize.
Mr. Vasquez is a member of the inaugural class of Defy Ventures, a nonprofit organization that offers a one-year entrepreneurial training and mentorship program to people with criminal backgrounds. On Saturday, Defy held its first sales exposition, and Mr. Vasquez and nine of his classmates presented their start-ups. Guests and about 70 Defy students were asked to vote for the best sales pitch. Mr. Vasquez’s business received the most votes and won a $500 prize.
Maud Chifamba, middle, started her studies in accounting September 10 at the University of Zimbabwe. Aged 14, she is the country’s youngest ever university student.
(CNN) — She grew up in grinding poverty, losing both her parents at a tender age but 14-year-old whizz-kid Maud Chifamba has defied adversity and hardship to break academic records. Against all odds, the extremely bright teenager has written history as last week she became the youngest ever university student in Zimbabwe — as well as the whole of southern Africa, according to education officials.
Madu Eneli, an eighth grader from Texas, wrote a guide to academic and personal success for other middle schoolers. (Source: Aya Eneli International)
Students can sometimes find the transition into middle school stressful and challenging, so one eighth grader used his experience to create a road map for success. Madu Eneli, of Harker Heights, Texas, published a book titled, “Am I Ready for Middle School?” Its chapters are dedicated to topics like handling a heavier workload, reaching out for academic help, and navigating the social aspects of lunch and recess.
“I started thinking about writing the book last year after I started seventh grade,” Eneli told Harker Heights Herald. “I don’t think there’s another book like this that speaks to middle school kids.”