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Archive through March 22, 2004

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2004 Nov. - 2005 Jan.: Black History (ARCHIVES): Archive through March 22, 2004 users admin

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Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Monday, March 15, 2004 - 10:40 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Lester Young
young
(1909-1959)

Singer Billie Holiday dubbed Lester Young "Prez," short for "President of the Tenor Saxophone." His melodic style influenced subsequent generations of saxophonists, including Charlie Parker and Stan Getz.

Lester Young was born in Woodville, Mississippi, on August 27, 1909. Lester was taught how to play music by his father, Willis Handy Young, who was a very good musician in his own right. Lester was first taught to play the violin, the trumpet, and the drums. He later decided to stick to the alto saxophone, despite the fact that the drums were his favorite instrument to play. Lester Young was the oldest of three children and grew up in the vicinity of New Orleans. By 1920 he had moved to Minneapolis with his father and eventually formed a family band that toured with carnivals and other shows. After one of many disputes with his father, he left the family band at the end of 1927. He spent the following year touring with Art Bronson's Bostonians, where he took up tenor saxophone. He returned to his family in New Mexico during 1929, but stayed behind when they moved to California.

In 1930, he played briefly with Walter Page's Blue Devils and again with Bronson, then settled in Minneapolis, where he played during 1931 with Eddie Barefield and various leaders at the Nest Club. Early in 1932 Young joined the Thirteen Original Blue Devils, and while on tour in Oklahoma City met Charlie Christian. When the Blue Devils disbanded in the middle of 1933, Young made Kansas City his base and played with the Bennie Moten-George E. Lee Band, Clarence Love, King Oliver, and, on one night in December, Fletcher Henderson, then on tour with his star saxophonist, Coleman Hawkins.

Early in 1934, Young joined Count Basie, beginning an association that eventually led to national recognition. He left Basie at the end of March as a provisional replacement for Hawkins in Henderson's band. Henderson's musicians rejected Young's very different approach to the saxophone, however, and he left after a few months. He joined Andy Kirk en route back to Kansas City, then Boyd Atkins and Rook Ganz in Minnesota and for the next year performed mostly in these two areas on a freelance basis.

By 1936 Young had resumed his association with Basie. In November of that year, with a unit from Basie's band, he made his first recordings. His solos on Lady be Good and Shoe Shine Boy were immediately regarded by musicians, many of whom learned them note for note. During the next few years, as Basie's band became more famous, Young was prominently featured on its recordings and broadcasts. Although he received mixed reviews from the critical establishment, the younger generation of musicians, including Dexter Gordon, Illinois Jacquet, and others, were enthusiastic about his music. His small-group performances, particularly Lester Leaps In (1939) and his many recordings with Billie Holiday, were especially influential.

Young left Basie in December 1940 to form his own small band, which performed at Kelly's Stable in New York early in 1941. In May, he moved to Los Angeles to lead a band with his brother Lee, which went to New York's Café Society in September 1942. This group disbanded early the following year, and Young played as a freelancer in New York and on tour with a USO band before rejoining Basie in December 1943. It was during this second tenure with Basie that Young came to the notice of the general public. In 1944, he won first place in the Down Beat poll for tenor saxophonists, the first of many such honors. He also became the favorite of a new generation of jazz musicians, among them John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Stan Getz. He was prominently featured in the film Jammin' the Blues.

On September 30, 1944 Young was drafted into the army, which he found a nightmarish experience. Cut off from his musical outlets, he was discovered using drugs and was court-martialed the following February. After serving several months in detention barracks in Georgia, he was released at the end of 1945 and resumed recording and performing in Los Angeles. At his first recording session he produced a masterpiece, These Foolish Things.

Another part of the fascination with Lester Young lies in his odd personal habits, contradictions, and bizarre language. Of course, there’s the way he stuck out his sax at a strange 45-degree angle unlike any other saxist before or since.

Lester’s speech was always obtuse:
-- he called everybody “Lady” this and “Lady” that; its how Billie Holiday came to be called “Lady Day.”

-- taking his sax to a repair shop he complained of trouble with the keys by saying “my people won’t play”

-- if something was a drag to Lester, it was “von Hangman”

-- he referred to a female as a “hat”, “homburg” or “mexican hat”, an attractive young female was “poundcake.”

-- if he sensed bigotry he’d say “I feel a draft.”

-- “can madame burn?” was asking if your wife could cook and so on.

Prez was by most accounts rather shy and sensitive: a loner, quiet and polite. If offended he would take out a small whisk broom he carried in a coat pocket and dust off his left shoulder.

Beginning in 1946 Young spent part of almost every year playing with Jazz at the Philharmonic, touring the rest of the time with his own small groups. From 1947 to 1949 his style showed the influence of some of the young bop musicians in his groups in the occasional use of double-time and in the selection of repertory. He continued to develop and modify his approach successfully except when he was drinking; by this time his reliance on alcohol was becoming a problem. From about 1953 until his death his recordings were noticeably less consistent, yet he was still able to produce some of his best work on concert recordings such as Prez in Europe (1956). He made guest appearances with Basie's band in 1952-4 and again at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957, but he never rejoined as a regular member. He became increasingly dependent on alcohol and on several occasions was hospitalized. In January 1959, he began an engagement at the Blue Note Club in Paris. He made his last recordings there in March, then became severely ill and returned to New York, where he died shortly afterwards.


http://shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/musicians/YoungLester.html
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_young_lester.htm

http://www.jazzhot.bigstep.com/generic.html?pid=10

http://www.umkc.edu/orgs/kcjazz/jazzfolk/younl_00.htm






Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Monday, March 15, 2004 - 9:29 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
mccoy
mccoy2

The date is July 11, 1851 and the place is a remote North Carolina farm. A birth was taking place that night in the slave quarters, a mud shack, where loud screams could be heard just before dawn. The scream was not that of the mother, but of the black midwife, over what she had just brought forward. Was it one baby or two? The baby had four legs, four arms, and two heads. Quickly, a preacher was brought in to look at what was being called a "strange curiosity" . Everyone had their opinion of the two girl babies, born into slavery. As word spread about the miraculous birth, locals trekked across swamps and marshland to the North Carolina farm to see the girls. They'd never seen twins connected to each other at the lower spine, sharing two heads, four arms, four legs and one pelvis. Their parents, Jacob and Monemia, "property" of slaver owner and blacksmith, Jabez McKay, loved the girls the moment they saw them. Monemia held her sweet, beautiful daughter tight. She rocked and kissed her calling her "my baby". Her parents named her Millie-Christine and as far as they were considered Millie-Christine was ONE child.

Of course their "master", Mr. McKay, had other ideas. He saw TWO babies, they were *HIS* property and the girls were "freaks" of nature. He started to make inquiries. So at age two they were wrenched from their mother and sold to showman, J.P. Smith for 30,000.00, a huge sum of money at that time. Then he sold her parents, Jacob and Monemia. The sooner he got them out of the way the better!

But news was traveling fast about the famous girls and a rival showman kidnapped the twins, still children, and discreetly exhibited them all over the country. There were private viewings, freak shows and fairs. They were billed as "The Two-Headed Nightingale", "The United African Twins", and "The Eight Wonders of the World". Their owner, J.P. Smith, had now hired a private investigator to track the girls down, his property. But the girls were now in England where slavery had long since been abolished. J.P Smith could no longer say that the girls were his "property". He tried another approach. He purchased their parents, Jacob and Monemia. This group traveled to England to locate Millie-Christine and J.P. Smith reunited the girls, now age four, with their mother. Millie-Christine returned to the United States and were given a first class education. They learned how to read, compose sheet music, became accomplished pianists (duets), singers (Millie was contralto, Christine a soprano) and developed a graceful way to walk and dance sideways. Millie-Christine became fluent in five languages; German, Italian, Spanish, Russian and French. During this time it was against the law to teach a slave to read much less learn other foreign languages, but Mr. and Mrs. Smith were reluctant slaver owners, and considered them family members.

Of course, there was a dark side to this "strange curiosity" and as the girls developed into women their joint bodies were subjected to prurient interrogation. Practically everywhere they went, doctors gave them demeaning physical examinations to prove they weren't a fraud. Barely 5 feet tall, they reportedly could command some $25,000 a season on the county fair circuit. A huge sum of money for that time. Among countless cheerful publicity photos, they decided to pose for one single evocative picture, semi-nude. In that photograph, Millie glowers at the camera. The more accommodating Christine bows her head in shame. Soon the girls, now mature and savvy business managers of their own careers, put a stop to the physical examinations. They now understood that some of the repeated examinations were nothing more than sexual curiosity of both the doctors and the viewing public. Countless photographs and drawings were surfacing that described in great detail the anatomy of their bodies and they did not want their sexuality to be the focus of their shows. Instead, they showcased their extreme talents. Queen Victoria was so impressed with their performance, she gave them diamond hairpins, which adorned their hair in many photographs.

They performed until they were 58 years old. In later pictures, they looked exhausted.

Just a week after their 61st birthday, on Oct. 8, 1912, Millie died of tuberculosis. Christine lay beside her singing hymns and praying. She stopped breathing 17 hours later.

The grave site was guarded because relatives feared scientists would steal their remains.

On their tombstone, these words are inscribed:

"A soul with two thoughts. Two hearts that beat as one."
They developed a motto "As God decreed, we agreed" and truly loved each other.

Based on information found here

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Monday, March 15, 2004 - 9:39 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
That was fascinating. Thanks for finding and posting that, Tish.

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 9:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
March 16:

1827 First Black newspaper, Freedom's Journal, published in New York City.

1869 Hiram R. Revels made his first speech in the Senate, opposing the readmission of Georgia without adequate safeguards for Black citizens. This was the first official speech by a Black in Congress.

1935 Frederick McKinley Jones built the first automatic refrigeration system for long haul trucks. Later, the system was adapted to various other carriers, including railway cars and ships. Mr. Jones' new method initiated a change in the eating habits and patterns of the entire nation and allowed for the development of food production facilities in almost any geographic location.

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 9:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Percy Julian

percyjulian

Percy Julian was born on April 11, 1899 in Birmingham, Alabama, one of six children. His father, a railroad mail clerk, and his mother, a school teacher stressed education to their children. This emphasis would ultimately prove successful as two sons went on to become physicians and three daughters would receive Masters degrees, but it was son Percy who would become the most successful of the children.

Percy attended elementary school in Birmingham and moved on to Montgomery, Alabama where he attended high school at the State Normal School for Negroes. Upon graduation in 1916, Julian applied to and was accepted into DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. At DePauw, he began as a probationary student, having to take higher level high school classes along with his freshman and sophomore course load. He proved himself well, going on to be named a member of the Sigma Xi honorary society as well as a Phi Beta Kappa member. Finally, upon graduation from DePauw in 1920, he was selected as the class valedictorian. Though at the top of his classed, he was discouraged from seeking admission into a graduate school because of potential racial sentiment on the part of future coworkers and employers. Instead, he took the advice of an advisor and took a position as a chemistry teacher at Fisk University, a Black college in Nashville, Tennessee.

After two years at Fisk, Julian was awarded the Austin Fellowship in Chemistry and moved to the distinguished Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Finally given an opportunity at graduate level work, Julian excelled. He achieved straight A's, finishing at the top of his class and receiving a Masters Degree in 1923. Even with this success, Julian was unable to obtain a position as a teaching assistant at any major universities because of the perception that White students would refuse to learn under a Black instructor. Thus, he moved on to a teaching position at West Virginia State College for Negroes, though he would not find happiness in this situation. He left West Virginia and served as an associate professor of chemistry at Howard University in Washington, D.C. for two years.

In 1929, Julian qualified for and received a Fellowship from the General Education Board and traveled to Vienna, Austria in pursuit of a Ph.D. degree. While in Vienna, Julian developed a fascination with the soybean and its interesting properties and capabilities. Focusing on organic chemistry, Julian received his Ph.D. in 1931 and returned to the United States and to for a while to Howard University as the head of the school's chemistry department. He soon left Howard and moved back to DePauw where he was appointed a teacher in organic chemistry. At DePauw, he worked with an associate of his from Vienna, Dr. Josef Pikl, on the synthesis of physostigmine, a drug which was used as a treatment for glaucoma. After much work and adversity, Julian was successful and became internationally hailed for his achievement. At this point the Dean of the University sought to appoint Julian to the position as Chair of the chemistry department but was talked out of it by others in the department, again because of concerns over reaction to his race.

In late 1935, Percy Julian decided to leave the world of academics and entered the corporate world by accepting a position with the Glidden Company as chief chemist and the Director of the Soya Product Division. This was a significant development as he was the first Black scientist hired for such a position and would pave the way for other Blacks in the future. The Glidden Company was a leading manufacturer of paint and varnish and was counting on Julian to develop compounds from soy-based products which could be used to make paints and other products. Julian did not disappoint, coming up with products such as aero-foam which worked as a flame retardant and was used by the United States Navy and saved the lives of countless sailors during World War II.

On December 24, 1935, Percy married Anna Johnson and the company settled into their comfortable life in Chicago. Percy continued his success as he next developed a way to inexpensively develop male and female hormones from soy beans. These hormones would help to prevent miscarriages in pregnant women and would be used to fight cancer and other ailments. He next set out to provide a synthetic version of cortisone, a product which greatly relieved the pain of suffered by sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis. The real cortisone was extremely expensive and only rich people could afford it. With Julians discovery of the soy-based substitute, millions of sufferers around the world found relief at a reasonable price. So significant was his work that in 1950 the City of Chicago named him Chicagoan of the Year. While the honor should have signaled Julian's acceptance by his white counterparts in his field and his community, but when he soon after purchased a home for his family in nearby Oak Park, the home was set afire by an arsonist on Thanksgiving day 1950. A year later, dynamite was thrown from a passing car and exploded outside the bedroom window of Percy's children. Despite the fact that many residents of the town relied upon his methods to relieve their pains of and provide for their safety, some still could not stand to have him as their neighbor simply because he was Black.

In 1954, Julian left the Glidden Company to establish Julian Laboratories which specialized in producing his synthetic cortisone. When he discovered that wild yams in Mexico were even more effective than Soya beans for some of his products, he opened the Laboratorios Julian de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico which cultivated the yams and shipped them to Oak Park for refinement. In 1961 he sold the Oak Park plant to Smith, Kline and French, a giant pharmaceutical company and received a sum of 2.3 million dollars, a staggering amount for a Black man at that time.

After years of struggling for respect in his field and his community, Julian finally was recognized as a genius and a pioneer. He received countless award and honors including the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the NAACP and was asked to serve on numerous commissions and advisory boards.

Percy Julian died of liver cancer in 1975 and is known worldwide as a trailblazer, both in the world of chemistry and as an advocate for the plight of Black scientists.

Percy Julian

Reiki
Member

08-12-2000

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 3:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
OSBORNE P. ANDERSON

Osborne Perry Anderson


Osborne Anderson was born free in 1830 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He received a public school education and later attended Oberlin College in Ohio. In 1850, Anderson moved to Canada, where he learned the trade of printing, a skill which later proved useful in his subsequent Abolitionist activities.

In the spring of 1858 in Chatham, Ontario, Anderson met the revolutionary White Abolitionist, John Brown. Brown organized a convention in Chatham as a preliminary step toward overthrowing slavery in the United States. At the time, there were some 30,000 Blacks, fugitive slaves and free people, living in Canada. Many attended the convention, including Osborne Anderson. Because of his excellent writing skills, Anderson served as the recording secretary at some of the convention's secret meetings. Later, he was elected a member of Brown's provisional congress.

The raid at Harper's Ferry was intended to be the first step in a plan to establish an independent state of freed slaves in the Appalachian region of the United States. As the sole survivor of the raid, Anderson provided an invaluable, written account of the planning and execution of the event. His 1861 book, A Voice From Harper's Ferry, describes the conditions on the farm which John Brown rented to prepare his men for the raid. Just five miles from Harper's Ferry, military supplies and equipment were stashed, and a small band of rebels was secretly assembled and trained.

On October 16, 1859, the day of the raid, Anderson and Albert Hazlett were ordered to guard a key position at the arsenal. When it became clear to Anderson and Hazlett that the raid would not succeed, both managed to escape. However, Hazlett was later captured and put to death. Anderson managed to elude his pursuers by escaping to a river and from there, he made his way to Philadelphia. Once there, friends helped him out of the country, back to Canada.

The raid at Harper's Ferry sent shock waves through the slaveholding South and fueled Anti-Slavery agitation in the North and in Canada. A Voice From Harper's Ferry helped all to understand the full meaning of the raid and the bravery of the men who enacted it. In particular, it exposed the cowardice of the slave holders and militia who guarded the arsenal. Anderson wrote: "They had not pluck enough to fight, nor to use the well-loaded arms in their possession, but were concerned rather in keeping a whole skin by parleying, or in spilling cowardly tears, to excite pity...and in that way escape merited punishment.

A year after the Harper's Ferry incident, Anderson paid his respects to John Brown by visiting his grave site in New York. As a noncommissioned officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, he continued to fight for an end to slavery. Osborne Anderson died in Washington, D.C. in 1871, at the age of forty-one.

Excerpts from Osborne P. Anderson - A Voice from Harper's Ferry - 1861

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 11:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
edmund
Edmund Sylvers dies at 47

RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- Edmund Sylvers, the lead singer on "Boogie Fever" and "Wish That I Could Talk To You" for the 1970s funk-soul group The Sylvers, died March 11 of lung cancer, his family said Monday. He was 47.

The singer died after a 10-month illness, according to his niece, Tyava Sylvers.

Sylvers was 15 when he started singing with six other members of his family on their self-titled debut album in 1972. His high tenor voice was the centerpiece of such songs as "Fool's Paradise."

From five albums, other songs by the group included "Cotton Candy," "That's What Love Is Made Of" and "High School Dance."

Sylvers made a solo album, "Have You Heard," in 1980 that included the single "That Burning Love."

Edmund is survived by 11 children, both parents, and eight brothers and sisters. One younger brother, Christopher Joseph Sylvers, died in 1985 at age 17.


sylvers
The Sylvers


http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/16/obit.sylvers.ap/index.html




Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 7:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ohh I loved Boogie Fever. Wow he had 11 children? This so sad.

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 9:31 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
March 17:

1865 Aaron Anderson wins the Navy's Medal of Honor for his heroic actions aboard the USS Wyandank during the Civil War.

1891 West Virginia State College is founded in Institute.

1946 Jackie Roosevelt Robinson made his professional debut as a member of the Montreal Royals in the Daytona Beach ballpark that now bears his name. One year later, Robinson would break Major League Baseball's color barrier and earn the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson batted .311 in ten Major League seasons and was named the National League's Most Valuable Player. Robinson was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, 16 years after his historic debut in Daytona Beach.

1970 Jacob Lawrence was the first artist to recieve the Spingarn Medal in 1970 for "emience among American painter"

1999 Maurice Ashley became first black person to reach the game of chess' highest rank as a result of his play in a tournament sponsored by the Manhattan Chess Club. The rank is conferred by the International Chess Federation to players who amass a set number of points in 24 official games played within a seven-year period. Of the federation's 85,000 members, 45 are grandmasters, including 10 in the New York City area. Before winning his last points, Ashley's rank was international master, one step below grandmaster.

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 9:42 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Bayard Rustin

br

For more than 50 years, Bayard Rustin was a strategist and activist in the struggle for human rights and economic justice. Born in 1912, he grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he excelled as a student, athlete and musician. While he never received his B.A., Rustin attended Wilberforce University, Cheyney State College, and the City College of New York. He earned money for tuition by working at odd jobs and singing with Josh White’s Carolinians.

Raised as a Quaker, Rustin began his lifelong career as a social and political activist in 1937, when he moved to New York after completing an activist training program of the American Friends Service Committee. At City College, he became an organizer for the Young Communist League, which hired him as a youth organizer to work on the problem of racial segregation and to advocate an anti-war position. Rustin quit the League in 1941, after the Communist Party changed its organizing focus due to the war in Europe.

He began to work with A. Philip Randolph, president of The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the premier black trade union. Simultaneously, he began a long association with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR). Serving as its Race Relations Secretary, he toured the country conducting Race Relations Institutes designed to facilitate communication and understanding among racial groups. He was active in Randolph’s March on Washington Movement, and became the first field secretary of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In 1942 he was dispatched to California by the FOR and the American Friends Service Committee to help protect the property of Japanese-Americans imprisoned in internment camps.

During this time he also became acquainted with Norman Thomas, a leader in the democratic socialist movement in America. Rustin remained a democratic socialist throughout his life, and became staunchly anti-Communist after his disillusionment with the party.

As a committed pacifist, Rustin refused to register for the draft, and also declined to perform alternative service in one of the Civilian Public Service camps set up for Quakers and other religious pacifists. He served three years in federal penitentiary, beginning in 1943, as a way of protesting the war.

In 1947, under the auspices of the FOR and CORE, Bayard Rustin helped plan the first "freedom ride" in the South, challenging Jim Crow practices that had been made illegal by a 1946 Supreme Court decision outlawing discrimination in interstate travel. Known as the Journey of Reconciliation, riders engaged in direct protest by intentionally violating the segregated seating patterns on Southern buses and trains. Along the way, they were beaten, arrested and fined. Arrested in North Carolina, Rustin served 22 days on a chain gang. His account of that experience, serialized in The New York Post, spurred an investigation that contributed to the abolition of chain gangs in North Carolina. The Journey was the prototype for the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s. In the late 1940s, Mr. Rustin was instrumental in securing President Truman’s order eliminating segregation in the armed forces.

While working to promote democracy at home, Bayard Rustin also supported human rights struggles worldwide. In 1945 he organized the FOR’s Free India Committee, which championed India's fight for independence from Great Britain. Following the example of Gandhi, whose methods he studied during visits to India, he was frequently arrested for protesting Britain’s colonial rule in Africa. In the early 1950s, he consulted with Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, both leaders in their countries' independence movements. At home, he helped organize the Committee to Support South African Resistance in 1951, which later became the American Committee on Africa.

As a gay man, relatively open for his time, Bayard Rustin experienced anti-gay prejudice in addition to racial discrimination. Because of his sexual orientation as well as his controversial political positions, he was often relegated to a behind-the-scenes role in various campaigns. Arrested in 1953 on a "morals charge," he lost his job at the FOR, but found work with another anti-war group, the War Resisters League.

In 1956, at Mr. Randolph’s request, he was granted temporary leave from his position to assist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the early days of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His extensive background in the theory, strategies, and tactics of nonviolent direction action proved invaluable to Dr. King.

Mr. Rustin organized the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in 1957, The National Youth Marches for Integrated Schools in 1958 and 1959, and was the Deputy Director and chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom which, at that time, was the largest demonstration in the nation’s history. Thought by many to be the high point of the Civil Rights movement, the March on Washington served as the platform for Dr. Kings historic "I Have a Dream" speech and helped secure pending civil rights legislation.

In 1964 Bayard Rustin helped found the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI), named for his mentor. The Institute has 200 local affiliates involved in voter registration drives and programs designed to strengthen relations between the black community and the labor movement.

A longtime supporter of workers' rights, Mr. Rustin participated in many strikes and was a staunch ally to organized labor. During the mid-1960s he participated in the formation of the Recruitment and Training Program (R-T-P, Inc.), which successfully increased minority participation in the building and construction trades.

Mr. Rustin had a long involvement with refugee affairs. As a Vice Chairman of the International Rescue Committee, he traveled the world working to secure food, medical care, education, and proper resettlement for refugees. His visits to Southeast Asia helped to bring the plight of the Vietnamese "boat people" to the attention of the American public. In 1980 he took part in the international March for Survival on the Thai-Cambodian border. In 1982, he also helped found the National Emergency Coalition for Haitian Refugees.

As Chairman of the Executive Committee of Freedom House, an agency which monitors international freedom and human rights, Mr. Rustin observed elections in Zimbabwe, El Salvador, and Grenada. His last mission abroad, coordinated by Freedom House, was a delegation to Haiti to help create democratic reform in that country.

In 1983, Mr. Rustin and two colleagues made a fact-finding visit to South Africa. Their report, South Africa: Is Peaceful Change Possible? led to the formation of Project South Africa, a program that sought to broaden Americans’ support of groups within South Africa working for democracy through peaceful means.

Late in life, Bayard Rustin gave numerous interviews discussing how anti-gay prejudice had affected his life’s work. He was invited to address gay and lesbian groups and testified on behalf of New York City’s gay rights bill.

A collection of Mr. Rustin’s essays, Down the Line, was published in 1971. In 1976, he delivered the Radner Lecture at Columbia University. It was published under the title Strategies for Freedom: The Changing Patterns of Black Protest. He made three recordings of songs which have been reissued by The Bayard Rustin Fund, Inc. and are available from the address below. The recordings include spirituals, work and freedom songs, and Elizabethan songs.

At the time of his death, Bayard Rustin was Co-Chairman of the A. Philip Randolph Institute and President of the A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund. He was Chairman of Social Democrats USA, a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, and a life member of Actors' Equity. He also served on numerous boards and committees, and was the recipient of more than a dozen honorary doctorates.

About Baryard Rustin

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 2:45 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Frank Robinson
frank
Born: August 31, 1935, Beaumont, Texas

Frank Robinson was a Major League Baseball player and is currently (2003) the manager of the Montreal Expos. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Robinson had a very successful career with five teams: Cincinnati Reds (1956 - 1965), Baltimore Orioles (1966 - 1971), Los Angeles Dodgers (1972), California Angels (1973 - 1974) and Cleveland Indians (1974 - 1976). He was a member of two teams that won the World Series, the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles. Robinson was named MVP of the 1966 series. He was named Most Valuable Player twice, in 1961 with the Reds and again in 1966 with the Orioles, becoming the first player to win MVP awards in both leagues. In 1966 he hit for the Triple Crown, leading the American League with a .316 batting average, 49 home runs and 122 runs batted in. In 1966, he was honored with the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year.

Robinson's final career totals included a .294 average, 586 home runs, 1812 runs batted in, and 2808 games played.

Frank Robinson became the first black manager of a Major League Baseball team, when he was a player-manager with Cleveland in 1975. When the Indians appointed him playing manager for 1975, Cleveland's ace pitcher Gaylord Perry, a South Carolina native, promptly questioned Robinson's ability to manage. Gaylord's brother Jim was also the Indians' second-best pitcher. Robinson settled the issue in characteristic style, homering to give Gaylord the Opening Day victory. Shortly afterward, he traded both Perrys. He managed the Cleveland Indians (1975 - 1977), San Francisco Giants (1981 - 1984) and Baltimore Orioles (1988 - 1991) and became manager of the Montreal Expos before the 2002 season. Robinson's managerial record coming in to 2002 is 680-751, a .475 record. He was awarded the American League Manager of the Year Award in 1989 for leading the Baltimore Orioles to an 87-75 record, a huge turnaround from their previous season in which they went 54-101.

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/R/Robinson_Frank.stm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Robinson

Frank Robinson's Hall of Fame Plaque

Quotations From Frank Robinson

"I don't see why you reporters keep confusing Brooks (Robinson) and me. Can't you see that we wear different numbers."

"If I had one wish in the world today, it would be that Jackie Robinson could be here to see this happen." - 1974 press conference on being the first black manager.

"I had no trouble communicating, the player's just didn't like what I had to say."

"It's nice to come into a town and be referred to as the manager of the Cleveland Indians instead of as the first black manager."

"Pitchers did me a favor when they knocked me down. It made me more determined. I wouldn't let that pitcher get me out. They say you can't hit if you're on your back, but I didn't hit on my back. I got up."

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quorobif.shtml


Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 - 5:21 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Wow. I need to learn more about Bayard Rustin. What a fascinating life!

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 8:54 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
March 18:

1741 150 slaves are accused in New York of taking part in the “Negro Plot,” an alleged conspiracy by Blacks to take over the city.

1822 The Phoenix Society, a Black literary and educational group, is founded in New York City.

1877 President Hayes appointed Frederick Douglass marshal of District of Columbia.

1972 The USS Jesse L. Brown, the first U.S. naval ship to be named after an African American naval officer is launched.

2002 Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park was named in honor of George Monroe. He was one of 2 Black men who carried mail on the famous Pony express. Monroe had the honor of driving Presidents Grant and Hayes along the dangerous S-curves of the Wanona trail into Yosemite Valley.

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 8:55 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Nat King Cole

nkc

Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama. When Cole was four years old, his father, Edward, a Baptist minister, accepted a pastorship of a church in Chicago. The family, which included Cole's mother, Perlina, his older brother, Edward, and two sisters, Eddie Mae and Evelyn, moved north. Two younger brothers, Issac and Lionel (called Freddie), were born later in Chicago. Perlina Coles, choir director at her husband's church, introduced her children to music early on and all four of her sons became professional musicians. As a small child, Cole could pump out "Yes, We Have No Bananas" on the piano and liked to stand in front of the radio with a ruler in his hand, pretending to conduct an orchestra. At age 12, Cole began taking formal lessons in piano and also began playing the organ in his father's church. If his keyboard skills weren't needed at church, he was put into the choir.

While attending Wendell Phillips High School, Cole became enamored of jazz music. The African American community on Chicago's southside was a center of jazz action in the 1930s. Cole and his older brother Eddie went as often as possible to hear jazz and be with jazz musicians. When admission to a performance could not be afforded, Cole would stand in alleys listening at the stage door. He was most influenced by the style of pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines. "It was his driving force that appealed to me ... I was just a kid and coming up, but I latched onto that new Hines style. Guess I still show the influence today," Cole told John Tynan of Down Beat in 1957.

Early Musical Career
As a teenager, Cole organized two musical groups — a 14-piece band called the Rogues of Rhythm, and a quintet called Nat Coles and his Royal Dukes. He would play with whichever group could get a booking. In addition to music, athletics played a big role in Cole's adolescence and his talent on the baseball diamond drew the interest of scouts from the Negro Leagues. Cole remained a sports fan throughout his life. "The only sport I'm not interested in is horse racing, and that's because I don't know the horses personally," Cole told The Saturday Evening Post in 1954.

At age 16, Cole became the pianist for the Solid Swingers, a quintet formed by his brother Eddie. Late night engagements made keeping up with academic work difficult and Cole gradually dropped out of school before earning a diploma. In 1936, as pianist for the Solid Swingers, Cole participated on several records for the Decca company's Sepia Series. These were "race" records aimed at black audiences. Though the Solid Swingers' recordings did not enjoy much popularity, the fact that a record company had been interested enough to make them in the first place was a big encouragement for Cole to pursue a career in music.

In 1937, Cole and his brother Eddie joined a revival of the revue Shuffle Along. After a six week run in Chicago, the show went on the road. During the tour, Cole married dancer Nadine Robinson. When the Shuffle Along company suddenly folded in Long Beach, California, Cole and Robinson decided to stay on the West Coast. To pay the rent, Cole took whatever job was available. "It was a tough workout. I must have played every beer joint from San Diego to Bakersfield," Cole told The Saturday Evening Post. Despite having to play on out of tune pianos at third rate venues, Cole's extraordinary talent was noticed and he was soon a regular performer at the Century Club, a favorite hangout for Los Angeles area jazz musicians. "All the musicians dug him. We went there just to listen to him because nobody was like him. That cat could play! He was unique," said a musician who saw Cole at the Century Club to biographer James Haskins.

"King Cole"
In late 1937 or early 1938, dates differ, Cole was asked to put together a small group to play at the Sewanee Inn, a Los Angeles nightclub. Cole got guitarist Oscar Moore, bassist Wesley Prince, and drummer Lee Young to join the group. When Young failed to appear on opening night, the group went on as a drummer-less trio. Cole was still using his real name Coles. Sewanee Inn owner Bob Lewis nicknamed him King Cole and requested that he wear a gold paper crown during performances. The crown soon disappeared but the nickname stuck. The group became known as the King Cole Trio and its leader became Nat King Cole.

Developed Enthusiastic Following
The music scene of the late 1930s was dominated by dance orchestras or "big bands." A trio, especially one without a drummer, was an oddity. Nonetheless, the King Cole Trio developed an enthusiastic local following and found almost constant work at Los Angeles nightspots, including many clubs which had never before hired black performers. The trio recorded with vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and made some recordings of their own for the "race record" market. In early 1941, the trio went on a national tour and ended up spending several months in New York City, playing at top jazz clubs. Though the trio was primarily an instrumental group, Cole occasionally supplied a vocal line to add variation. The shy Cole was a reluctant singer who didn't think he had much vocal talent. Even after becoming one of the most popular singers in the world, his opinion was unchanged. He told The Saturday Evening Post in 1954 — "My voice is nothing to be proud of. It runs maybe two octaves in range. I guess it's the hoarse, breathy noise that some like."

In 1942, soon after the United States entered World War II, the trio's bassist Wesley Prince was drafted into the military. He was replaced by Johnny Miller. Cole was exempted from the draft. Differing accounts attribute this to either flat feet or hypertension. The trio settled into a 48-week run at Los Angeles' 331 Club. In 1943, the trio was signed by Capitol Records, a fledgling operation founded in the previous year by well-known lyricists Johnny Mercer and Buddy DeSylva, and record store owner Glen Wallichs. The trio's Capitol recording of "Straighten Up and Fly Right," with Cole on piano and as featured vocalist, became a hit in 1944. The song appealed to both black and white audiences and crossed the barrier between jazz and popular music. Cole had composed "Straighten Up and Fly Right," basing its lyrics on one of his father's sermons, but he had sold away all rights to the song several years earlier for $50 and earned nothing extra from the hit recording.

Moved Away from Jazz
The success of the King Cole Trio continued with the hits "Get Your Kicks on Route 66," and "For Sentimental Reasons." The trio also performed in movies including The Stork Club, Breakfast in Hollywood, and See My Lawyer. In 1946 they were hired, along with pianist Eddy Duchin, as summer replacements for Bing Crosby on the radio program Kraft Music Hall. "You have no idea how much satisfaction I got from the acceptance of the trio, because we opened the way for countless other small groups, units that before were strictly for cocktail lounges," Cole told Down Beat in 1957. Cole's career took a major step away from jazz when the trio recorded Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song." A hit in the winter of 1946-1947, "The Christmas Song" was the trio's first recording with a string section accompaniment and was the first recording to emphasize Cole as a singer rather than a singing pianist leading a trio.

Cole's move towards being a singer of popular music was viewed by many jazz purists as an artistic sellout. This shift to the mainstream has been attributed to the influence of Maria Ellington, an intelligent and sophisticated young singer whom Cole met in 1946. "Maria saw that Nat had a limited future as a jazz pianist. He couldn't just sit there and sing and become a big hit. He had to stand up and sing with strings," said Duke Niles, a song-plugger who knew Cole, to biographer Leslie Gourse. Many people around Cole, including fellow trio members Moore and Miller, thought the well-educated Ellington was calculating, domineering, and snobbish. Others say that Cole enjoyed many kinds of music (he was also an excellent classical pianist) and felt hindered by the confines of jazz. He very much wanted to be a big mainstream star and Ellington's guidance merely assisted him in achieving that goal. After obtaining a divorce from Nadine Robinson, Cole married Ellington at a lavish ceremony conducted by Reverend Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. at Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church in 1948. Cole and Ellington had three daughters and adopted a son and another daughter.

Became Showcased Singer
Having added string accompaniment to his recording of "The Christmas Song," Cole took another step away from jazz with "Nature Boy," which he sang with the backing of a full orchestra. The exotic-sounding ballad was a major hit of 1948. In 1950, another somewhat offbeat ballad, "Mona Lisa," soared to the top of the charts and stayed there for weeks. Gradually Cole began singing "stand up" rather than sitting in front of a piano. The King Cole Trio devolved into window dressing for Cole's solo performances and was finally disbanded in 1955. Success continued with "Unforgettable," "Too Young," "Answer Me, My Love," and "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup." Cole's mellow delivery was in opposition to the belting offered by other popular singers of the early 1950s such as Eddie Fisher, Johnny Ray, and the young Tony Bennett. His careful enunciation of a lyric enabled him to convey a song with depth and meaning and made his rather limited vocal range seem irrelevant. "Mine is a casual approach to a song; I lean heavily on the lyrics. By that I mean I try to tell a story with the melody as background," Cole told Down Beat in 1954.

Not Immune to Racial Prejudice
In 1956, Cole was given his own television show on NBC-TV. Despite good ratings, the program failed to find a sponsor and left the air after a year. Cole's being African American was seen as the primary cause for the lack of advertising interest. Sponsoring a program that drew a large, if by no means exclusively, black audience was seen as a waste of money by advertisers. Racial incidents cropped up from time to time during Cole's starring career. When he and his wife bought a house in the exclusive Hancock Park section of Los Angeles in 1949, neighbors formed an association to prevent them from moving in. In 1956, at the height of his fame, Cole was attacked by a group of white men while performing in Birmingham, Alabama. Cole was sometimes criticized by other blacks for not taking a more aggressive stand against unfair treatment of racial minorities. He did not refuse to perform before segregated audiences, believing that goodwill and an exhibition of his talent were more effective than formal protests in combating racism.

The advent of rock and roll, the revitalized career of Frank Sinatra (to whom Cole was often compared), and competition from younger black "crooners" such as Johnny Mathis and Harry Belafonte, caused Cole's popularity to fade slightly in the later 1950s. To boost his sagging career, Cole acted in a several films, and organized a touring concert show called "Sights and Sounds," in which he appeared with a group of young singers and dancers called the Merry Young Souls. In the early 1960s, he returned to the top ten with the hits "Ramblin' Rose," and "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer." Some critics remarked that these vacuous, though catchy, songs were not up to the quality of his earlier hits.

Throughout his adult life, Cole was a heavy smoker who was rarely seen without a cigarette in his hand. After an operation for stomach ulcers in 1953, he was advised to stop smoking but did not do so. Keeping up with a hectic schedule of recording and live appearances, he ignored signs of ill health. In late 1964 he was diagnosed with an advanced case of lung cancer. After unsuccessful medical treatments, he died on February 15, 1965, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

Cole's recordings, both his jazz material and his mainstream work, have been discovered by new generations of fans. In 1991, Cole made a strong resurgence when his daughter Natalie blended her voice with his on a chart-topping new rendition of "Unforgettable." Also in 1991, the Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio were released to the delight of jazz fans. Listening to the trio's complete recordings brought new insight into Cole's career. Jay Cocks of Time wrote of Cole, "He wasn't corrupted by the mainstream. He used jazz to enrich and renew it, and left behind a lasting legacy. Very like a king."

Gale Resources

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Thursday, March 18, 2004 - 8:10 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Wyomia Tyus
tyus
The first person to win an Olympic Games gold medal in the same event twice

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Wyomia Tyus: Always sprinting toward her goals


By Jason Bohne

As a young child growing up in the small town of Griffin, Ga., Wyomia Tyus couldn't have imagined what her future would hold.

Over the years, she would travel the world, compete for Olympic championships, and be inducted into many halls of fame. Along the way, she was a pioneer who helped usher in a new era of athletic achievement for women, African-Americans, and professional track and field.

“If people think of me as a pioneer, that's great, and I hope more things will come,” Tyus says from her home in Los Angeles. “I didn't look at it that way when I competed. I never felt like I was always at the door, but never getting in.”

As the younger sister to three active brothers, Tyus was eager to play sports. She had only two options, basketball and track, so she participated in both. Fate intervened when Ed Temple, head track and field coach for Tennessee State University and for the 1960 U.S. Olympic Team, saw the 15-year-old Tyus during a recruiting trip in Georgia. Temple offered her a coveted invitation to his summer track camp at Tennessee State.

“The camp was something to do for the summer – and there was nothing to do in Griffin – so I went.”

After being greeted at the train station by Coach Temple and his star sprinter, Wilma Rudolph, (who had just won three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics), Tyus settled into the camp’s grueling routine of three workouts a day – at 9 a.m., noon, and 5 p.m. Interacting with college coaches and athletes, along with her growth on the track, convinced her that she had a future in track.

“That camp turned my life around," she says. "It gave me the chance to go to college.”

Four short years later, at the age of 19, Tyus qualified for the 1964 Olympics by placing third in the U.S. Olympic Trials 100 meters. She and Coach Temple, who was again coaching the U.S. team, felt she was lucky to be on the team.

“I wasn't burning the world up,” Tyus laughs. “I was going to Tokyo to get experience for the '68 Olympics. But it was a different story once we got there.”

Tyus, unpressured by high expectations, won all her preliminary heats and tied Wilma Rudolph's world record of 11.2 seconds in the second round. She then defeated Tennessee State teammate Edith McGuire – the pre-Olympic favorite – in the finals to win the gold medal.

“I matured more in Tokyo than anyone would ever dream,” Tyus says. “Even if I hadn't won, it would have been ok. My goal was accomplished when I made the team.”

Following her triumph in Tokyo, Tyus made a list of goals to guide her life through 1968: “Finish my degree, go to the Olympics, win my gold medal, then move on.”

From 1965 to 1967, Tyus was busy setting records on the track along with earning credits in the classroom. In 1968, however, questions began to surface about her Olympic chances. After a spider bite forced her to miss several weeks of competition, Tyus returned and posted slower times.

“People said I was too old. There were rumors that I was done, that I should retire," Tyus says. “I was only 23. It was no time to retire.”

The rumors ended after Tyus delivered a performance for the ages in Mexico City. She again dominated her Olympic heats, but U.S. teammate Barbara Ferrell broke Tyus's world record in a separate heat, running 11.12 seconds. Tyus wasn't worried about the race, or the record.

“I was taught that you don't go out to break records, you go out to do your best,” she says. “My goal was to win – and I don't think anyone could have told me I wouldn't win that day.”

With clouds threatening rain – "I hate running in the rain," she says – Tyus outran Ferrell and reclaimed the world record at 11 seconds flat.

"It started raining as soon as the race ended," she says. "I guess I ran just fast enough."

With a degree in recreation from Tennessee State and two gold medals from Mexico City (she added a gold medal by anchoring the U.S. 4x100 relay team to another world record), Tyus accomplished the last goal.

She moved on.

Now a proud grandmother of three, Tyus has worked for the last 10 years as an outdoor specialist for the Los Angeles School District, teaching students to appreciate the outdoors during district-sponsored science camps.

“I enjoy working with young people,” she says. “We hike every day. I'll retire when I can't hike anymore.”

She did return to the track after a few years away, joining the short-lived International Track Association. She even competed professionally in Pocatello – a trip she remembers as “very cold, but the people there were very friendly.”

“I always believed track and field athletes should be paid like other professional athletes.” she says. “I was hoping I could help push it forward. But after a year or so, you knew it wouldn't make it."

Over the years, Tyus has been named to numerous halls of fame and all-time Olympic teams. Her greatest honor, though, came when her hometown of Griffin, Ga., dedicated a park in her honor. Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park sits on 168 acres in the small town 40 miles south of Atlanta, offering 11 soccer fields, eight baseball fields, a stocked fishing pond, and more.

"It is one of the biggest highlights of my life," she says. "I was so amazed when they dedicated the park. It was right up there with winning the gold medals."

“I grew up on a dairy farm,” Tyus says. “My dad died when I was 15. I had no chance of going to college, and little chance of getting out of Griffin.

“Track and field gave me the opportunity to develop myself as an athlete and as a person. I got a college education, traveled the world, and became a well-rounded person. “Once I realized I had the talent, I was determined to do things with my life. And I did.”


http://www.simplotgames.com/pr021104_t6.htm

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 11:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Black Facts that happened on March the 19th:

1619 Birthday of William Tucker, the first African child born in the colonies. Tucker was baptized in Jamestown, Virginia. There are unconfirmed reports that he lived to be 108 yrs. old.

1809 Gabriel de la Concepcion Valdes (Placido), poet, is born in Havana Cuba.

1861 Congressman Thaddeus Stevens called resolution providing for the enforcement of the Second Confiscation Act of July, 1962. The measure, which provided for the distribution of public and confiscated land to the freedmen, was defeated.

1872 T. J. Boyd, inventor, is awarded a patent for an apparatus for detaching horses from carriages.

1883 The shoe-lasting machine invented by Jan Matzeliger not only revolutionized the shoe industry but also made Lynn, Massachusetts, the "shoe capital of the world." Matzeliger's patent was subsequently bought by Sydney W. Winslow, who established the United Shoe Machine Company. The continued success of this business brought about a 50% reduction in the price of shoes across the nation, doubled wages, and improved working conditions for millions of people dependent on the shoe industry for their livelihood. Biography of Jan Matzeliger can be found in archives here

1919 Singer Nathaniel "Nat King" Cole, born in Mongomery, Alabama. Read his biography above.

1930 Ornette Coleman, saxophonist, born

1939 The New Negro Theater is founded in Los Angeles, California by Langston Hughes.

1968 Howard University students seized administration building. Students were demanding campus reform and Black-oriented curriculum. Civil rights forces mobilized in support of striking hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina.

1975 James B. Parsons becomes the first African American chief judge of a federal court, the U.S. District Court of Chicago. In 1961, Parsons became the first African American district court judge


Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 11:17 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
James B. Parsons
parsons

Born August 13, 1911 in Kansas City, MO, James Benton Parsons was the son of James B. (a minister) and Maggie Parsons. The Parsons family moved to Decatur, Illinois, when he was still very young. As a child and young adult, music--not law--captured his attention and imagination. He attended James Milliken University and Conservatory where he received his B.A. in music in 1934. He studied political science at the University of Washington graduating in 1940. He served in the Navy from 1942-1945 and married Amy Margaret Maxwell. Parsons went on to the University of Chicago for his M.A. in political science in 1946 and LL.D. in 1949.

Parsons taught music and political science at Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO, 1934-1938; acting head of music department at Lincoln University, 1938-1940; supervisor of instrumental music, Public Schools of Greensboro, NC, 1940-1942; volunteered U.S. Navy, 1942-1945; law firm of Gassaway, Crosson, Turner & Parsons, 1949-1951; taught constitutional law at John Marshall Law School, Chicago, IL, 1940-1951; assistant corporation counsel for City of Chicago, 1949-1951; assistant U.S. district attorney, 1951-1960; Cook County Superior Court, judge, 1960-1961; U.S. District Court Judge, Chief of Court, Chief Judge Emeritus, Senior Judge, 1961-1992; and initiated the James B. Parsons scholarship fund, 1992.

He was the first African American named to the U.S. District Court with life tenure. An outspoken jurist, Parsons was appointed by President Kennedy in 1961 and presided for more than 30 years before his retirement in 1992.

He received many awards: Honorary degrees from Lincoln University, James Milliken University, and DePaul University Law School; Parsons Elementary School was dedicated in his name, 1967, Decatur, IL; Citation of Recognition for Outstanding Service as Chief Judge of the District Court, Chicago Bar Association, 1981; Outstanding Service Award, Chicago State University, 1984. Parsons's tenure on the bench was not without notable legal incidents. The New York Times's obituary cited a federal case in which he sentenced 47 men to jail for price fixing. Parsons also played a crucial role in the air traffic controllers' dispute in their 1970 strike.

In 1987 Parsons had to uphold the Tenant's Bill of Rights in Chicago. Not afraid of ruffling some feathers, he ruled the following year that the Daley Center in Chicago could display nativity scenes publicly. Parsons retired from the bench in 1992, although for a few months following his official retirement he continued to perform some functions, including swearing in new citizens, Parsons passed away on June 19, 1993, at the age of 81.

http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1791/James_Parson_an_influential_Judge

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Friday, March 19, 2004 - 3:41 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
J.J. Jackson, original MTV VJ, dies
jj
Friday, March 19, 2004 Posted: 8:00 AM EST (1300 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- John "J.J." Jackson, who in the 1980s helped usher in the music video era as one of the first MTV on-air personalities, has died. He was 62.

Jackson, a longtime radio station disc jockey, died of an apparent heart attack Wednesday while driving home from dinner in Los Angeles, friends and radio industry colleagues said Thursday.

"I talked to him like two days ago. J.J. was in a great place," said Mark Goodman, a longtime friend who also worked with Jackson as a VJ when MTV launched in 1981. "It's incredible, so incredibly sad it happened like this."

In a statement, MTV said Jackson's love of music and good humor helped set the tone for the cable music network in its formative years.

"He was a big part of the channel's success and we are sure he is in the music section of heaven, with lots of his friends and heroes," the statement said. "He will be greatly missed."

Jackson's career in broadcasting began in radio. He first gained prominence while working at WBCN in Boston in the late 1960s, then moved in 1971 to Los Angeles where he took on the afternoon radio slot at KLOS.

In the late '70s, he worked as a music reporter for KABC-TV, then it was off to New York and MTV, where his musical knowledge, hewn over years in radio, helped ease his transition to a new format for music, Goodman said.

"It was a great experience for him. He came in already knowing and being successful," Goodman said. "We were all thrust into the spotlight and he was able to take the things that happened at MTV with stride."

After five years at MTV, Jackson returned to radio in Los Angeles, including a stint hosting a nationally syndicated show on the Westwood One Radio Network. Most recently, he was hosting an afternoon slot at Los Angeles' KTWV.

"All of us at The Wave (KTWV) are saddened by the news about J.J.," said Samantha Wiedmann, assistant program director for KTWV. "He was a warm, kind person whose track record in the industry speaks for itself."

Goodman said Jackson had been divorced for some time. He had a daughter and two grandchildren in the Bahamas, Goodman said.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/18/obit.vj.jackson.ap/index.html


Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 1:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Black Facts that happened on March the 20th:

1852 Martin R. Delany published "The Condition, Elevation, Emigration and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States", it was the first major statement of the Black nationalist position. Delany said, "The claims of no people, according to established policy and usage, are respected by any nation, until they are presented in a national capacity." He added: "We are a nation within a nation; as the Poles in Russia, the Hungarians in Austria, the Welsh, Irish, and Scotch in the British dominions."

1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in Boston.

1890 The Blair Bill providing federal support for education and allocating funds to reduce illiteracy among the freedmen was defeated in the Senate, 37-31.

1910 Allan Rohan Crite, painter, born

1915 Rosetta Tharpe, Gospel Great born on this day in Cotton Plant, AR. Featured in LIFE magazine, Ms. Tharpe received a contract with Decca Records and was propelled into national promenince when she performed "Rock Me" with Cab Callaway and the Cotton Club Revue.

1916 Ota Benga, an African native once kept in a Bronx zoo, commits suicide.

1950 Dr. Ralph Bunche receives the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as a mediator in the Palestine crisis. He is the first African American to be so honored.

1957 Spike Lee, filmmaker, born

1970 Students struck at the University of Michigan and demanded increased Black enrollment. The strike ended April 2, after the administration agreed to meet their demands.


Facts from www.blackfacts.com



Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 1:52 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ota Benga, African native kept in zoo, kills self on March 20th 1916

In 1906 the crowds thronged the monkey house exhibit at the Bronx Zoo (New York Zoological Park). Here were man's "evolutionary ancestors" -monkeys, chimpanzees, a gorilla named Dinah, an orangutan named Dohung and a African of short stature, misnomered a "pygmy," named Ota Benga. Ota Benga was brought from the Belgian Congo in 1904 by noted African explorer Samuel Verner along with other "pygmies" and displayed in an exhibit in the 1904 St. Louis world's Fair.

Ota Benga (or "Bi", which means "friend" in his language) was born in 1881, had a height of 4 ft. 11in. and weighted 103 lbs. Although he was referred to as a boy he had been married twice. White colonists had captured his first wife and his second wife died by snakebite. After the St.Louis exhibit, Ota found himself at the Bronx Zoo which at that time was under the direction of Dr. William T. Hornaday, who was considered a bit eccentric. Hornaday believed animals had nearly human thoughts and personalities, and he could read the thoughts of zoo animals. He "apparently saw no difference between a wild beast and the little Black man" and insisted he was only offering an "intriguing exhibit". The exhibit was immensely popular and controversial; the black community was outraged and some churchmen feared that it would convince people of Darwin's theory of evolution. Under threat of legal action, Hornaday had Ota Benga leave his cage and circulate around the zoo in a white suit, but he returned to the monkey house to sleep.

In time Ota Benga began to hate being the object of curiosity. "There were 40,000 visitors to the park on Sunday. Nearly every man, woman and child of this crowd made for the monkey house to see the star attraction in the park - the wild man from Africa. They chased him about the grounds at day, howling, jeering, and yelling. Some of them poked him in the ribs, others tripped him up, all laughed at him." At one point, he got hold of a knife and flourished it around the park, another time he produced a fracas after being denied a soda from the soda fountain. Finally, after fabricating a small bow and arrows and shooting at obnoxious park visitors he had to leave the park for good. After his park experience, several institutions tried to help him. He was placed in Virginia Theological Seminary and College but quit school to work in a tobacco factory. According to Hornaday "he did not possess the power of learning". Growing homesick, hostile, and despondent Ota Benga borrowed a revolver, and shot himself in the heart, ending his life in 1916.

Black Facts Online

Seamonkey
Member

09-07-2000

Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 7:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Today, and Tuesday... HBO

Beah Richards.. you should watch it..

Ladytex
Member

09-27-2001

Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 2:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Black Facts that happened on March the 21th:

1947 In 1947 James Baskett(1904-1948)was given a Special Academy Award for his part in Disney's "Song Of The South". He was the second American of African decent to recieve an Academy Award. Baskett was also the first American of African decent hired by Disney. Unfortunately Baskett was unable to attend the premiere in Atlanta because he was unable to get accommodations.

1960 The first lunch counters were integrated in San Antonio, Texas.

1960 Sharpesville Massacre in apartheid South Africa in which white police killed 67 Blacks and wounded 186.

1965 The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads thousands of people on a 54 mile march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama to call for voting rights for African Americans.

1970 Death of Walter White (61), New York City. Roy Wilkins succeeded him as NAACP executive, April 11.

1990 Namibia gains independence


www.blackfacts.com


Mocha
Member

08-12-2001

Sunday, March 21, 2004 - 2:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?


Tishala
Member

08-01-2000

Monday, March 22, 2004 - 6:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Philadelphia's African Americans: Two Centuries of Landmarks Philadelphia Inquirer

AME
A portrait of Richard Allen looks out on a tour group visiting Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church. Allen was a minister who founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia in 1787. He also cofounded the Free African Society, a black mutual-aid group.

Washington Square is known today for the Revolutionary War soldiers buried beneath it. But even more neglected history is buried there.

Before anyone called it Washington Square, it was called Congo Square, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, slaves and free blacks congregated to speak their native languages, to sing, dance and cook. Congo Square was also a potter's field where the poor - black and white - were buried.

Society Hill was also the 19th-century home of the first black principal of a city public school. The first black musician to publish sheet music lived there, too. America's only black publishing company had a Society Hill address about the same time as the nation's best African American school and biggest black fraternal organization, the Odd Fellows.

In the late 1700s, the first black-controlled church formed in Society Hill, and it was there, on Sept. 15, 1830, that the first national "Negro Convention" was held - at Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Sixth and Lombard. But the black history in Society Hill was not all good. It was also an area of poverty, crime, brothels and rioting.

Churches, cathedrals, meetinghouses and historic buildings are nearly as plentiful as cobblestones in the city's residential monument to colonial times - Society Hill. For instance, America's first national German Catholic church is Holy Trinity, a 1789 building at Sixth and Spruce. And the city's first Jewish burial ground, dating to 1740, is Mikveh Israel Cemetery on Spruce Street west of Eighth. But no slice of history is better represented within or near the borders of Society Hill than the city's - and the nation's - black history.

The city was, "in many ways, the metropolitan headquarters of the Afro-American community," wrote Roger Lane, a Haverford College social-sciences professor, in William Dorsey's Philadelphia and Ours, his 1991 book on Philadelphia in the 1800s.

And the central office for that headquarters was quite often in Society Hill. "The big thing about Philadelphia was that it developed significant black leaders early on," said Harry Silcox, who has written extensively about the city's 19th-century history.

"[James] Forten and [Robert] Purvis, independent black leadership. [Octavius] Catto and [Jacob] White. Much of that began in Society Hill," said Silcox, a former principal of Lincoln High School.

So let's walk back more than 200 years to look at the ties between then and now, between what is a predominantly white neighborhood and its black history.

The year 1787 brought the founding of Mother Bethel church, which sits on the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by blacks in the country, and the beginning of two other African American institutions in Society Hill.

The Free African Society, begun by the Rev. Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, was the first black mutual-aid society, an early insurance company whose members aimed "to support one another in sickness, and for the benefit of their widows and fatherless children," according to its preamble.

Jones and Forten were among those who also began that year the first African Lodge of Free Masons. It's original location was 155 Lombard.

In 1822, the first school in Philadelphia for black children opened on Lombard just above Sixth.

In the 1840s, the nation's largest black-run organization, the Grand and United Order of Odd Fellows, moved to Society Hill. (By the way, there was no "Society Hill" in the 1800s - it was just Philadelphia.) The country's only black publisher, the A.M.E. Book Concern, was there as well.

Society Hill's James Forten Sr., an abolitionist, a philanthropist, and the owner of a sail-making business employing blacks and whites, was, historians say, the city's richest black man, and perhaps the nation's. In 1832, his business and real estate holdings were worth $100,000 - or more than $2 million today. He died in 1842.

The 1830s and '40s were pocked by racial, economic and religious unrest that led to riots, with blacks most often the victims.

An 1842 riot began on Bainbridge Street, but quickly spread into Society Hill. It was Aug. 1. More than 1,000 blacks took part in a pro-temperance parade that also celebrated the eighth anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies. At Fourth Street, they were attacked by an Irish mob.

In We All Got History: The Memory Books of Amos Webber, author Nick Salvatore wrote: "The mob, which quickly grew to several thousand, chased the marchers the few blocks toward... Lombard Street, at the center of the black community. Whites beat individual marchers and... rioters stormed the homes of black residents, breaking furniture and windows while beating and terrorizing the inhabitants."

Rioters burned Smith's Hall on Lombard, site of abolition and self-improvement lectures since the burning of Pennsylvania Hall in an anti-abolitionist riot of 1838. That night, the Second African Presbyterian Church on St. Mary's Street - between South and Lombard - burned down.

The riot sapped the strength and resolve of black leaders. Wrote Robert Purvis soon after: "I am convinced of our utter and complete nothingness in public estimation... . And the bloody Will is in the heart of the community to destroy us."

Despite the violence it faced, the community flourished. In 1853, young black men founded a self-improvement and literary organization in Society Hill called the Banneker Society.

Jacob White Jr., then 19 and one of its founders, wrote of the need for a library, "which... would shed a halo of literary light throughout this city and reflect great credit on... this association."

White would later become principal of the Vaux School, the first African American to head a city school, and would help begin the American Negro Historical Society.

White attended school at the Quaker-owned Institute for Colored Youth, run by black teachers for black students at Seventh and Lombard. It taught him Greek and Latin, philosophy and calculus, and attracted students from many Northern states. Governors attended its graduation exercises.

Classmate Octavius V. Catto, his best friend, would become a teacher and codirector of the school, a Banneker member and lecturer, and, like White, a leader in the state Equal Rights League. He was also the leader in desegregating the horse-drawn streetcars that passed through Society Hill and much of the city.

Catto was shot to death on the 800 block of South Street in a voting riot on Oct. 10, 1871, a day when new black voters were likely to vote Republican in a Democratic area.

In the Society Hill story, there are more heroes, more groups, more numbing acts of violence.

But let's end on a different note, a musical one - Frank Johnson was one of America's first native-born musical masters, black or white. He lived from 1792 to 1844, played and composed music, published sheet music, had his own band, and traveled widely. He lived on Pine Street near Sixth, and is buried with the silver bugle that Queen Victoria gave him.

Essence
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01-12-2002

Monday, March 22, 2004 - 7:39 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
March 22:

1492 Alonzo Pierto, explorer of African descent, sets sail from Spain with Christopher Columbus.

1882 African American Shakespearean actor Morgan Smith joins the ancestors in Sheffield, England. Smith had emigrated to England in 1866, where he performed in Shakespeare's Richard III, Macbeth, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice, as well as Othello.

1931 Richard Berry Harrison receives the NAACP's Spingarn Medal for his role as "De Lawd" in "The Green Pastures" and for his "long years ...as a dramatic reader and entertainer, interpreting to the mass of colored people in church and school, the finest specimens of English drama from Shakespeare down."

1968 Pennsylvania State troopers are mobilized to put down a student rebellion on the campus of Cheyney State College.

1986 Debi Thomas becomes the first African American woman to win the world figure skating championship.