Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “History”

President Barack Obama Honors Negro League Players at White House

By goodblacknews on August 6, 2013
NegroLeaguePlayers
Former baseball players in the Negro League, from left to right, Pedro Sierra, Minnie Minoso, Ron Teasley, and the last living owner of a Negro League team, Minnie Forbes, of the Detroit Stars, far right, talk outside the West Wing of the White House following their meeting with President Barack Obama, Monday, Aug. 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama on Monday honored former baseball players in the Negro League, a haven for African-American players who for decades were prevented from competing with white players in professional baseball.  The White House said Obama invited about a dozen players to the White House to mark their contributions to American history, civil rights and athletics. The players competed for teams like the Philadelphia Stars, New York Black Yankees, Indianapolis Clowns and Boston Blues.

The Negro League thrived in the early part of the 20th century. Its decline started after Jackie Robinson in 1947 became the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in modern times, clearing the way for other black players to compete in the major leagues. The league disbanded a few years later.

Copyright The Associated Press via krmg.com

DaVita Vance-Cooks Becomes 1st African American and Female to Run U.S. Government Printing Office

By goodblacknews on August 5, 2013

davita-vance-cooks
DaVita Vance-Cooks was just named the nation’s public printer, making her both the first female and the first African American to lead the Government Printing Office in the agency’s 152-year history. Vance-Cooks’ appointment was approved by unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate. President Barack Obama nominated her for the position earlier this year.  DaVita Vance-Cooks is a graduate from Tufts University with an MBA from Columbia University.
It has been a mission of the new GPO head to re-brand the Government Printing Office and bring them up to speed in our digital society. She led the agency’s effort to partner with Google to sell federal publications in an eBook format, launched an award-winning government book blog, modernized GPO’s customer contact center, and led the renovation of the agency’s retail bookstore in Washington, D.C.  Her work led to an appointment as Deputy Public Printer in 2011.
DaVita Vance-Cooks joined the Government Printing Office in 2004. She began as the Deputy Managing Director of Customer Services, with the responsibility of overseeing the office’s liaison with federal agencies for in-house print production and printing procurement services. Under Vance-Cooks, the GPO awarded approximately $500 million dollars annually in printing contracts to the private industry and oversaw the award of a $50 million contract for the production of 2010 census materials, which was one of the largest procurements in the government agency’s history.
For the first time since 2008, GPO completed its fiscal year 2012 with a positive net income and reduced overhead costs. Under Vance-Cooks, the GPO pioneered new mobile apps, expanded the scope of information made available through the federal digital system and opened a secure credential site.
article by Erica L. Taylor via blackamericaweb.com

R.I.P. North Carolina Civil Rights Activist and Attorney Julius Chambers

By goodblacknews on August 4, 2013

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Julius Chambers, a Charlotte attorney whose practice was in the forefront of the civil rights movement in North Carolina, has died, his law firm said Saturday. He was 76.

julius chambers dead
Julius Chambers attends NAACP Legal Defense Fundraiser on January 23, 1990 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)
A statement issued by his law firm, Ferguson Chambers & Sumter, said Chambers died Friday after months of declining health. A specific cause of death wasn’t given.
“Mr. Chambers was not the first lawyer of color to try to address the issues of equality,” firm partner Geraldine Sumter said Saturday. “He would tell you he had people like Buddy Malone of Durham that he looked to, the Kennedys out of Winston-Salem. The thing that Mr. Chambers brought to that struggle was a very focused, determined attitude that things were going to change.”
The N.C. chapter of the NAACP called Chambers “a man of tremendous courage.”
“His home and his car were firebombed on separate occasions in 1965, and his office was burned to the ground in 1971, during the height of some of his most contentious civil rights litigation in North Carolina,” the NAACP said in a statement. “When he spoke of these events, Mr. Chambers was typically matter-of-fact, insisting always that you ‘just keep fighting.'”
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper called Chambers “a friend who set a courageous example of doing what is right regardless of the cost.”  In 1964, Chambers opened a law practice that became the state’s first integrated law firm. He and his partners won cases that shaped civil rights law, including Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education regarding school busing.

Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History Wants Trayvon Martin’s hoodie

By goodblacknews on August 1, 2013

Trayvon Martin
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History wants the hooded sweatshirt Trayvon Martin was wearing when he was shot and killed.  The 17-year-old was shot and killed on his way home by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty, arguing self defense.
On July 13th, Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges by a Florida jury.  The hoodie Martin was wearing on the night of his death became a symbol for protesters and Martin family supporters.  Lonnie Bunch, the museum’s director, confirmed to The Washington Times that they are seeking the hoodie for display following the Department of Justice’s investigation.
“It became the symbolic way to talk the Trayvon Martin case. It’s rare that you get one artifact that really becomes the symbol,” Bunch told The Washington Times. “Because it’s such a symbol, it would allow you to talk about race in the age of Obama.”
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is set to open in 2015.
Related Stories:

article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com

Afrika Bambaataa Gets Vinyl Record Collection Archived for Cornell University Library

By goodblacknews on July 15, 2013

Afrika Bam
One of the most important vinyl record collections in the history of hip-hop will be on display to the public when archivists sort, organize and even play music from the crates of DJ Afrika Bambaataa – the godfather of hip-hop culture and an instrumental figure in the rise of electro funk. Gavin Brown’s enterprise and Johan Kugelberg/Boo-Hooray Gallery, together with Afrika Bambaataa, the Universal Zulu Nation and Cornell University Library are organizing the records for the Afrika Bambaataa Master of Records vinyl archive, which will permanently live at Cornell University’s Hip Hop Collection in fall 2013.
From July 11 through Aug. 10, Kugelberg and his team will be organizing, cataloguing and documenting Afrika Bambaataa’s peerless vinyl collection on business days between noon and 5 p.m. at Gavin Brown’s enterprise, 620 Greenwich Street, Manhattan. Visitors are encouraged to stop by, hear some great music and see how the cultural artifacts of this important strand of American history are preserved.
Please join the Afrika Bambaataa vinyl archive mailing list at afrikab@gavinbrown.biz and follow Gavin Brown’s enterprise on Facebook and Twitter for announcements of visiting DJs playing selections from the archive during the sort.  Originally from the South Bronx, Afrika Bambaataa is among the most influential American DJs. He is considered the godfather of hip-hop culture and was instrumental in the rise of electro funk and break-beat deejaying beginning in the 1980s.

GBN Photo of the Day: "Black is Beautiful 1970"

By goodblacknews on July 13, 2013

Black Is Beautful 1970
Flori Roberts Cosmetics makeup artist demonstrating products to women, Los Angeles, 1970. Source: Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, UCLA Library. (http://blackhistoryalbum.tumblr.com)

Boston Red Sox Player David Ortiz Sets MLB Mark for Hits by DH

By goodblacknews on July 11, 2013

David OrtizSEATTLE—David Ortiz doubled in his first at-bat to become baseball’s all-time leader in hits as a designated hitter and hit a two-run homer an inning later, leading the Boston Red Sox to an 11-4 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
Ortiz entered the night tied with Harold Baines for the most hits as a DH and it took just one at-bat to claim the record. Ortiz doubled to left-center field to lead off the second inning and was acknowledged by a standing ovation from the mix of Red Sox and Mariners fans.
An inning later, Ortiz collected his eighth hit of the series with a two-run homer off Seattle starter Aaron Harang (4-8), his 19th this season.
Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, currently the best in baseball, and the Red Sox knocked around Harang for seven runs and eight hits.
Ortiz appeared touched by the ovation, tipping his helmet twice toward the standing fans and patting his chest. Ortiz already held the marks for the most runs scored, doubles, home runs, extra-base hits and RBIs by a designated hitter.

Born On This Day in 1925: Civil Rights Activist and Veteran Medgar Evers

By goodblacknews on July 2, 2013

medgar evers birthday
The life of Medgar Evers was cut far too short 50 years ago, when the civil rights activist and war veteran was assassinated at just 37-years-old by a White supremacist. Although Evers would not live to see the Civil Rights Movement blossom, he helped plant early seeds of change in the Deep South that eventually took hold.  Born in the small town of Decatur, Miss., on July 2, 1925, Evers was one of five children to his parents,James and Jesse.
The family lived on a small farm, while James worked in a nearby sawmill. Young Medgar would have to walk 12 miles to school each day, eventually earning his high school diploma. In 1943, Evers was drafted into the U.S. Army and fought in World War II in the countries of France and Germany. Discharged honorably in 1946 after earning the rank of sergeant, Evers entered into Alcorn College (now Alcorn State University) to study business administration.
During his senior year, Evers would marry fellow student Myrlie Beasley (now Evers-Williams) and the couple went on to have three children, Darrell, Reena, and James. Evers graduated from Alcorn College in 1952. The young couple moved to Mound Bayou in Mississippi, and Evers worked for notable civil rights activist T.R.M. Howard as an insurance salesman. Evers also served as the president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). The RCNL staged boycotts in the state against gas stations that denied Black patrons from using their restrooms.

Supreme Court Strikes Down the Defense of Marriage Act

By goodblacknews on June 26, 2013

rainbow flag capitolThe Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a 1996 law denying federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples is unconstitutional, in a sign of how rapidly the national debate over gay rights has shifted. The decision was five to four, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy writing the majority opinion, which the four liberal-leaning justices joined. (Read the decision.)
“The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity,” Justice Kennedy wrote. “By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts was in the minority, as were Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The ruling overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, which passed with bipartisan support and President Bill Clinton signed.
article via nytimes.com

Frederick Douglass Statue Unveiled in Washington DC

By goodblacknews on June 23, 2013
The Frederick Douglass Statue in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitors Center, at the U.S. Capitol, on June 19, 2013 in Washington, DC. Congressional leaders dedicated the statue during a ceremony on Wednesday. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The Frederick Douglass Statue in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitors Center, at the U.S. Capitol, on June 19, 2013 in Washington, DC. Congressional leaders dedicated the statue during a ceremony on Wednesday. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden is hailing Frederick Douglass for his work to bring about equal justice, leading a series of tributes at the unveiling of a statue of the 19th-century orator and writer.

Biden, along with Democratic Sen. Harry Reid and Democratic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, used the U.S. Capitol ceremony to call for equal voting rights for citizens of the District of Columbia — an issue dear to Douglass’ heart. Biden said the people of the District “made the right choice” in selecting Douglass as their representative.
The 7-foot bronze likeness of Douglass joins sculpted statues of fellow blacks Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth in Emancipation Hall. Douglass was born a slave in 1818 in Talbot County, Md. and advised President Abraham Lincoln.
Related Article: Frederick Douglass Statue To Be Moved To The U.S. Capitol
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press via thegrio.com