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Posts published in “History”

Happy 78th Birthday, Baseball Hall of Famer Henry "Hank" Aaron!

By goodblacknews on February 5, 2013


Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed “Hammer,” or “Hammerin’ Hank,” is a retired American baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1954 through 1976. Aaron spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) before playing for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League (AL) for the final two years of his career. Aaron is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time, and in April 1974, he broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing career home runs record. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on their “100 Greatest Baseball Players” list.  To learn more about Aaron’s life and career, click here, and watch him hit magic number 715 below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S6KPtpGn9E&w=560&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

The First 5 African-Americans to be Featured on U.S. Stamps

By goodblacknews on February 5, 2013

Many wonder who were the first group of African-Americans to get their own stamp.

It’s no secret that African-Americans have contributed to the development of the United States; more than we are given credit for. However, most of the ones who have been acknowledged for their work in America have been honored with their very on U.S., postage stamp.
While we know Harriett Tubman and other famous African-Americans have their pictures on stamps, many wonder who were the first group of African-Americans to get their own stamp.
Check out the list below to find out:
1. Booker T. Washington
Born of slaves, Booker T. Washington worked his way through Hampton Institute and Wayland Seminary. By the age of 25, he was named the president of the Tuskegee Institute. Washington was known for being one of the best orators of his time who used his oration skills to be the voice for African-Americans. He also helped develop 5,000 small schools to educate African-Americans throughout the south.
Washington was awarded with a 10 cent stamp in 1940. The U.S. Postal Service invited the pubic for recommendations and Booker T. Washington’s name was repeatedly submitted. Him receiving a 10 cent stamp was an honor in itself because most of the other African-Americans featured were relegated to the stamps worth a penny or two.
2. George Washington Carver
As one of the most famous African-Americans of his time, George Washington Carver became known as “The Peanut Man” due to his extensive work trying to explain the positive effect peanuts could have on the southern farming industry. After being invited by Booker T. Washington to become the Director of Agriculture at Tuskegee Institute, Carver continued his work in botany and agriculture until the day he died in 1934.
George Washington Carver was commemorated with a three cent stamp in 1948. He was picked to receive a stamp for his work in science and how his work with the peanut and sweet potato industry helped farming continue to succeed when most thought the farming industry was on its last legs.

Highway Marker in Kentucky Honors First African-American Civil War Recruits

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

Colored Re-Enactment RegimenThe First U.S. Colored Troops Recruits at Camp Nelson in Danville, Kentucky were honored at a dedication ceremony Monday. A historical highway marker was unveiled by re-enactors from the 12th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment from Camp Nelson for the men.

On May 23, 1864, nearly 150 African-American men, mostly slaves, left Boyle County to march to Jessamine County to enlist in the Union Army. On the way, people from Danville threw stones, and shot pistols at the recruits. When they reached Camp Nelson, they were initially turned away by Union Col. Andew Clark because there was no policy for the recruitment of slaves. 

The men were accepted into the Army, which prompted a Union policy change allowing able-bodied African American men into the service. More than 5,000 U.S. colored troops were eventually recruited at Camp Nelson.  To see a video of the dedication, click the link below:
http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/3927877?wpid=11176

Black Female Pioneers: Sarah Jane Woodson Early Paves Way for Black Educators

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

Sarah Jane Woodson Early
In the mid-1800’s, it wasn’t easy to be an African-American woman with professional aspirations.  But Sarah Jane Woodson Early wasn’t just a hard-working and multi-tasking professional woman—she was a woman ahead of her time. Educating was her life’s passion and in 1858, she became the first African American female college professor. Throughout her life she taught, gave lectures and also worked as an author, black nationalist, and temperance advocate.
Born a free woman in Chillicothe, OH, on Nov. 15, 1825, Early’s upbringing served as the basis for her activist and academic spirit. Her parents, Thomas and Jemima Woodson, founded the first black Methodist church of west of the Alleghenies. They also founded Berlin Crossroads, a separate black farming community. Although there was never any supporting historical evidence, her father believed he was the oldest son of Sally Hemings and President Thomas Jefferson.

27 Years Ago Today: U.S. Postal Service Issues Sojourner Truth Stamp

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

On Feb. 4, 1986, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth as part of its Black Heritage series.

Sojurner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in 1797 on the Hardenbergh plantation in upstate New York. In 1826, Truth managed to escape to freedom and became known as a fearless advocate for enslaved African-Americans and women. 
She is best known for her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech that challenged gender and racial inequalities. During the Civil War, Truth became involved in the war effort by recruiting black troops for the Union Army. After the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for former slaves.
article by Naeesa Aziz via bet.com

How Super Bowl-Winning City Baltimore is Celebrating Black History Month

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

baltimoreAll eyes are on Baltimore this week as the Ravens took the Super Bowl title and Beyoncé cranked out perhaps the most electrifying halftime performance in history. It’s a great time to recognize that “Charm City” – a nickname created by then Mayor William Donald Schaefer and a bunch of ad agencies to boost the city’s national profile – is once again on the map as a vacation destination.
In honor of Black History Month, here’s a list of Baltimore’s events and exhibitions that pay tribute to the African-American men and women who helped shape the nation. Baltimore is a city shaped by the contributions of African-American visionaries including the likes of world famous jazz singer Billie Holiday; great orator Frederick Douglass, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; and female abolitionist and “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman.

“Girl with Flag,” Bryan Collier  

“The Mountaintop” and Beyond

“The Mountaintop”
CENTERSTAGE
Through Feb. 24
The Lorraine Hotel. April 1968. In room 306, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. unwinds and prepares. A visit from a hotel maid offers welcome diversion and a challenging new perspective – but also raises profound and surprising questions. 
Already a worldwide sensation and recently hailed in a star-studded Broadway production, Katori Hall’s new play receives its Baltimore premiere. 

NY Capitol Exhibit Honors New York Abolitionists

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

An exhibit honoring African-American historical figures opened Monday at New York’s state Capitol to highlight February as “Black History Month.”
Titled “From Slavery to Citizenship: The African American Experience in New York 1817-1872,” the display chronicles contributions black New Yorkers made during the years following the Civil War and emancipation of slaves.
“New York’s history as a progressive leader really began during this time,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Monday. “The courage of the writers, activists and soldiers, both black and white, who confronted racial inequality set a precedent that would inspire the New Yorkers who followed to lead the nation in the struggle against every type of injustice.”
The exhibit’s timeline starts with 1817, when New York passed a law to enact the gradual emancipation of slaves, and ends in 1872, when abolitionist Frederick Douglass became a member of New York’s Electoral College.
The display includes relevant artifacts, biographies and historical narrative. The artifacts are from collections belonging to the state Archives, the state Library and the state Military Museum.

Rosa Parks' Stamp on American History

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013

George Bridges/Getty Images
Today, to honor the Feb. 4 centennial of the birth of Rosa Parks, the United States Postal Service has issued a Rosa Parks stamp. Last year, a stone carving of Parks was added to the National Cathedral. In 2005, she became the first woman and second African American to lie in honor in the nation’s Capitol and, through a special act of Congress, a statue of her was ordered placed in the Capitol.
Yet these tributes to Rosa Parks rest on a narrow and distorted vision of her legacy. As the story goes, a quiet Montgomery, Ala., seamstress with a single act challenged Southern segregation, catapulted a young Martin Luther King Jr. into national leadership and ushered in the modern civil rights movement. Parks’ memorialization promotes an improbable children’s story of social change — one not-angry woman sat down, the country was galvanized and structural racism was vanquished.
This fable diminishes the extensive history of collective action against racial injustice and underestimates the widespread opposition to the black freedom movement, which for decades treated Parks’ political activities as “un-American.” Most important, it skips over the enduring scourge of racial inequality in American society — a reality that Parks continued to highlight and challenge — and serves contemporary political interests that treat racial injustice as a thing of the past.

97 Years Ago Today: The Negro Baseball League was Founded in Missouri

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013
The Negro National League was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, by former player Robe Foster on Feb. 3, 1920.  The Negro Leagues would be home to some of America’s greatest Black talent and future Hall of Famers like Martin Dihigo and John Henry “Pop” Lloyd . Minorities were banned from major league teams until Jackie Robinson, a former Negro Leagues star, broke the color barrier in 1947, when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
article by Britt Middleton via bet.com

France Repatriates Stolen Nigerian Artifacts to Nigeria

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013



It is no longer news that many Nigerian artifacts are in Europe and America held by both public institutions such as Museums, Universities and Galleries as well as by private individuals, but what is new is the collaborative efforts being made by the Nigerian government and the countries where these artifacts are taken in the first place to repatriate them back to the country where they rightly belong.
One of these collaborative diplomatic efforts yielded a positive result yesterday when the French Embassy in Nigeria handed over five Nok Terracotta figures seized by the French Customs service in Paris. Nok arts came to light in 1928, when Co. J. Dent Young found a small terracotta head amongst the gravel from tin mining operations near the village of Nok in Jos Plateau of central Nigeria and since then these cultural materials were named after the village where the finds were made.
It is indeed unfortunate that so much Nok materials have been looted over time to supply the international art market which is supposed to be the exclusive cultural artifacts of the Nigerian people.  So when the French Ambassador to Nigeria Jacques Champagne de Labriolle handed over 5 stolen artifacts of Nok origin to the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCCM) last Tuesday many stakeholders in the art sector landed the move, describing it as a right step in the right direction.