National Museum of African American History and Culture grand opening

Black History Mini Docs - James Baldwin

Carter G. Woodson

Cater Godwin Woodson, the father of African American History, was born on this day in 1875.  Woodson founded The Journal of Negro History (now the Journal of African American History), which chronicles the lives and history of Africans in America.  The journal is published four times a year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, founded in 1915 by Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland.  Carter G. Woodson died on April 3, 1950 in Washington, District of Columbia at the age of 74.  Woodson’s contributions and research in African American history and culture is paramount.  He is an inspiration to Morphological Confetti, and all who love and research the history of African Americans.  God bless his soul.

Photo and source:  Association for the Study of African American Life and History and wikipedia

Alexander Pushkin

Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin was born in Moscow on May 26, 1799. He was first published in the journal The Messenger of Europe in 1814. Aleksandr Pushkin was born in Moscow into a cultured, but poor aristocratic family. On his father's side, he was descended from an ancient noble family, and on his mother's side, he was a great-great-grandson of a black Abyssinian, Gannibal, who served under Peter the Great. Pushkin himself had black hair and dark complexion. Pushkin started writing poetry at an early age, and published his first poem at the age of 14. Pushkin was fatally wounded on February 10, 1837, while defending his wife in a duel.  The Russian Czar buried him at a secret location in the monastery near Mikhailovskoye.  Today, Russia regards Pushkin as the Father of Russian Literature.

Sources: kirjasto.sci.fi and blackfacts.com

Scottsboro Boys of Alabama

Protest in Washington, D.C. 1933

March 25, 1931 - Scottsboro Boys

Before there was the Jena Six there was The Scottsboro Nine.  The Scottsboro Boys were nine young African Americans who were falsely charged with rape and collectively served more than 100 years in prison. This case would mobilize thousands of African Americans to speak out in protest, and the  rights of African Americans to serve on juries was established by their case.  Read More...

Photo Source:  preservationnation.org
Information Source: writing.upenn.edu and University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law

Book on subject:

Black History: DuBois the Great

Dr.William Edward Burghardt DuBois, educator, Pan-Africanist, historian, author (the list goes on), was born on this day, February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  In 1895, Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. DuBois spent his life writing and fighting for the rights of African Americans. His views often angered and baffled opponents because DuBois was not willing to wait for the freedom that was due every American despite creed or color.

President Kwame Nkrumah invited Dr.William Edward Burghardt DuBois to Ghana in 1961. Dubois would never set foot back in the United States. In 1963, The US government refused to give Dubois a new U.S. passport. Therefore, Dubois and his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois, became citizens of Ghana. Dubois' health declined that same year and he died in Accra, Ghana on August 27, 1963; he was 95 years old. Ironically, this was just a day before Civil Rights Activist, Martin Luther King Jr.,  would give his historic "I have A Dream" speech.

Source info:  africawithin.com
Photo Source:  National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Today in African History

On June 2, 1999, South Africans went to the polls in their second post-apartheid election, giving the African National Congress a decisive victory. This also marked the retirement of President Nelson Mandela (Tata) and Thabo Mbeki takes office. Some describe this as the moment that the South African government became an independent government in the truest sense. On the other hand, some see South Africa's progress as a pyrrhic victory considering the violent crime sprees and recent xenophobic violence.

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrica. Amen

Sources: informationman.com, phrases.org

Photo Source: cache.eb.com

Malcolm X Memoriam

El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, or Malcolm X

1925-1965

Blog Post: Malcolm 3:10

Video: Malcolm X speaks (video time: 1:37)

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Lawrence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 - Feb. 9, 1906) was the first poet to use Black dialect in his verse. Dunbar also has the distinction of being the first American poet and novelist of African descent to attain international recognition. Here is an example of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry in dialect:

A Negro Love Song

SEEN my lady home las' night,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Hel' huh han' an' sque'z it tight,

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Hyeahd huh sigh a little sigh,

Seen a light gleam f'om huh eye,

An' a smile go flittin' by --

Jump back, honey, jump back.

Click here for more...

Photo source: washingtonart.com
Suggested Reading: Braxton, Joanne M., Ed. The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. (University Press of Virginia, 1993.)

Today in Black History

February 6 First organized emigration of U.S. Blacks back to Africa, from New York to Sierra Leone, 1820 Peabody Fund established to promote Black education in South, 1867

Map source: usaid.org

History source: upenn.edu

DC Schools Rank 51st

On this day in African American history, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States (1861-1865), declared that the recently emancipated African American population in Washington, D.C. should be educated. The African Slave Trade was abolished in Washington, D.C. in 1850, but Slavery in the District was not abolished until April of 1862. This is a moment in Black History...or is it?

Meanwhile, the Editorial Projects in Education recently reported that The District of Columbia Public School system ranks 51st or last in (state rankings) six areas of education performance and policy. Grade = D-

Ethnic Breakdown-Student Population, Washington, D.C.

84% African-American
5% Caucasian
10% Latino/Hispanic
2% Asian-American
1% Native American
1% Other

In response to recent educational rankings, the DC State Board of Education has scheduled a meeting this evening so that students, parents, community members, teachers, school leaders, and education stakeholders can express their concerns and perhaps come up with solutions to a problem that has plagued DCPS for decades.

Who is to blame?

a. Parents

b. School System

c. Teachers

d. The Mayor's office

e. All of the Above

I would like to echo the ancestors by saying that it takes a village. We must all have a hand in the education of our children because in the end, it won't just affect the African American community; inevitably, it will infect all of us.

State Board Meeting:

Time: promptly at 6:00pm

Date: Thursday, January 10, 2008

Address: 441 4th Street, NW, Washington, DC (located in the Old Council Chambers)

Sources: wjla.com, myfoxdc.com, wikipedia.org, edweek.org, and Teach for America.org

Malcolm 3:10

El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X) died on this day in 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in NYC. It was a Sunday afternoon in February. The time of death was 3:10 pm. His death really resonates with me this year because he was only a few months older than me when he was shot and killed on that Sunday afternoon. I've never been shot(thank God), but I can only imagine his thoughts as he was taking his final breath. He must of thought of his wife and children. He thought of his hopes and his dreams that he would no longer be able to pursue. Finally, he must of thought of rest and to never again have to await this impending doom.