Morphological Confetti

Last evening, I had the pleasure of going to see SELMA at the theater . The films is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by the Rev., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Bevel (played by Common), Hosea Williams, and John Lewis of SNCC. I thought that it was, overall, a good film. Historically, it seemed accurate and honest in its content - more than I've seen in previous films. It was as expected, I thought. I also felt that David Oyelowo did an excellent job portraying the slain Civil Rights leader. Specifically, It tells the story of that very important and pivotal day in Civil Rights history. The film also addresses some important relationships in Dr. King's life such as the relationship with his wife, Coretta Scott King. It was not depicted, as in other films, as a smooth and always loving relationship. It explored the difficult times as well. Also, it dabbled in the relationship between King and President Lyndon Johnson as well as The Stud...

Article:   The First Watch Night Service Occurs | African American Registry Featured painting :  William H. Johnson  Going to Church ca. 1940-1941 Screenprint on paper Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of the Harmon Foundation 1967.59.1022 Not currently on view Have a blessed and Happy New Year! 2014

Advocates push for retrial to clear name of 14-year-old ’killer’ executed in 1944

A group of enslaved men [including Solomon Northrup] waiting for work instructions Over the weekend, I went to see the film, 12 Years a Slave, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northrup. Overall, I thought that it was a great film. In fact, it was unlike any other film that I have ever seen depicting the lives of enslaved Africans in the United States.  Solomon Northrup’s narrative does what so many have tried to convey through fiction; it took an educated, talented, free, family man and placed him into the chains of slavery. However, Northrup didn't have to jump into any time machine or fall into a trance just to find himself in the middle of the antebellum south. Instead, he was an educated African American family man living in the North during one of America’s darkest times in history – Slavery. In an instant, Solomon Northrup was betrayed and found himself in chains. It didn't matter whether he was educated or a family man, but that he was a strong, able-bodi...

I'd like to think that his "heavy" chest was his heart - his courage. Besides, he had enough "old marks" from that old whip. It was time make some marks of his own in this world. God bless your descendants Mr. Tom. I hope you made it beyond Ohio. Peace~

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Willie Louis, the w itness  to Emmett Till lynching dies in Illinois Photo source: wisconsinhistory.org

Winfrey Giving $12M to New African-American Museum - ABC News

On April 16, 1963 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr  wrote a letter to the clergy of Birmingham, Alabama. He wrote this letter from the Birmingham Jail where he was held for 11 days.  Dr. King had been arrested 30 times prior to his death on April 4, 1968.

Source:   Heidi Creed 

(January 24, 1874 –June 8, 1938) Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a.k.a Arthur Schomburg was a Puerto Rican American historian, writer, and activist who researched and highligted the contributions of Afro-Latin Americans and African Americans. So, Morphological Confetti celebrates the life work of Arturo "Arthur" Schomburg who is considered "The Father of Black History."  He is also the reason behind the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture located in Malcolm X Blvd in New York City.  Unfortunately, I have never had the pleasure of visiting what many simply call "Schomburg," but I hope to soon.  Nevertheless, I give a huge thanks to Mr.  Schomburg  for taking the time to research what so many were willing to ignore and discount - the  history of Africans in the Americas. Sources: wikipedia, New York Public Library, and MAAP

Athlete and American Football player, Ernie Davis, was born on December 14, 1939 in New Salem, Pennsylvania, USA. He is the first African American man to win the Heisman Trophy and the first African American athlete to be chosen 1st overall in the NFL Draft.  He was drafted by the Washington Redskins and traded to the Cleveland Browns.  In the Davis trade, the Washington Redskins received  Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell. Ernie was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia during preparations for the 1962 College All Star Game. The immidiate treatment he received was not enough to save his life.  Ernie Davis died at the age of 24 on Saturday, May 18, 1963.  Unfortunately, he never had a chance to play in the National Football League (NFL).  Judging from his college footage, it's not difficult to believe that he would have been one of the greats in the NFL.  This weekend, The Washington Redskins are playing the Cleveland Brown...

On this day in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, officially ending the institution of slavery, is ratified. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." With these words, the single greatest change wrought by the Civil War was officially noted in the Constitution. Source: The 13th Amendment is ratified.” 2012. The History Channel website. Dec 6 2012, 9:44 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/13th-amendment-ratified. Image: Courtesy Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield; WICR 30004

I can appreciate this history as a US Navy veteran:  On September 25, 1861, the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, accepted enslaved Africans into the Union Navy.  However, they were not allowed to exceed the rank of "boy" and they also received less wages, which included daily rations and a monthly pay of $10.  White Union sailors received rations and a monthly pay of $13.  By the end of the Civil War, African Americans received the rank of non-commissioned officers or petty officers; however, there were no African American commissioned officers during the Civil War.  The African American sailor would not see a person of color in an officer's uniform until the Second World War with the Golden Thirteen . Oh Navy! Photo Source:  African American Sailors on the USS Miami in 1861 in Plymouth, North Carolina. (URL: www.gowildnc.org)

“The most important thing to remember is this: To be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become.”~ W.E.B. Du Bois About Dubois: William Edward Burghardt Dubois (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor. He was the first African American to graduate from Harvard with a Ph.D in 1895.  One of his most treasured works is The Souls of Black Folk, which was published in 1903.

I have often wondered if I had a relative who fought in the Revolutionary War.  I have proof of the other major American wars that my enslaved and free ancestors fought and served, but the Revolutionary War remains a mystery.  However, I am proud to know that there were more individuals of color than Crispus Attucks and Peter Salem who fought and died in America's quest for Independence. American History: On April 17, 1775, black and white Minutemen fought British Soldiers at Lexington and Concord. This is something my high school History teachers never taught me. In fact, I doubt if they knew. “In Massachusetts alone, 840 minorities served in the Revolutionary War, 740 were recorded as black or mulatto and 100 recorded as Indians. Armed men and women, white and colored, repelled the British at Concord, Lexington and elsewhere. They fought at Bunker Hill. They were members of George Washington’s Continental Army.” Sources: Larson, Joseph S. "Profes...