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DOCOHRIT MORE
20 175 782 SO 011 949
TITLF For the Dignity of Humanity. 2nd Annual Commemorationof Black History.
INSTITUTION National Oceanic and Atanspheric Administration00C), Rockville, Bd.
PUB DATE Feb 79NOTE 52p4.AVAILABLE non Superintendent o_ Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 ($1.80)
EDRS PRICE MT01/PC0i,, us Postage.DESCRIPTORS Affirmativu Action: Bias; Biographical Inventories:
*Rlack History: Black Role: Civil Rights; *CulturalAwareness: Cultural Differences; *Democratic Values:Disadvantaged Groups; *Buten Dignity; MinorityGroups: Negative Attitudes: Political Issues; Qualityof Life: Racial Attitudes; Racial Segregation:'Slavery: Social Change: *Social History: SocialIntegration; Social Problems: *United StatesHistory
ABSTRACTThis booklet contains selected background materials,
biographical information, anecdotes, and statements documentingcontributions sada by blacks to American history. Objectives are toi471 attention to information about blacks which has been
-mimetically excluded from United States history books and to helpt.,dle understand the life, heritage, culture, and problems ofAmericans of African descent. Organized in chronological order, the22 sections focus on black individuals including Dred Scott, HarrietTubman, Solourner Truth, Tnederick Douglass, Blanche K. Bruce, GeorgeH. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T. Washington, RalphJ. Bunche, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Percy L. Julian. For eachbiographical axample, Inforsation is presented an personal data, thehistorical period in which the individual lived and worked, types ofdifficulties overcome by the individual in question, and majorcontributions. Major topics throughout the biographical sketchesfocus on the slavery system, prejudice and discrimination, and thecivil rights movesent. A concluding section presents civilrights-related quotations from Martin Luther King, President John F.Kennedy, and President Lyndon B. Johnson. (DB)
***********************************************************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
fros the original document.***********************************************************************
U 5 OEPAIRTMENTOP HEALTH.EDUCATION a WELFARENATIONAL INSTITUTE OP
EDUCATION
THIS DOCUMENT NAS BEEN REPRO-DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED PROMTHE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN.ATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONSSTATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE-SENT OFFICAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OfEDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY
2nd AnnualCommemoration
ofBlack History
February 1979
rveNet.
US. DVARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceank and Atmospheric Admstration
2
Tv.
-4
VII
2nd AnnualCommemoration
ofBlack History
February 1979
Coordinated by;
Basbare Gray, Project Coordinator; Computer Specialist. MDSP, NOS, NOAA
Landry Williams. jr., Associate Project Coordinator; Physical Scientist MDSP,
NOS, NOAA
U.S.DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCEJuanita M. Kreps, Secretary
National Oceanic and Atm/whack AdministrationRichard A. Frank, Administrator
The project coordinators acknowledge the following individuals whocontributed towards the success of this publication:
Under. Gleitar, Former Assistant Administrator for Administration. NOAA
Ray Mon% Manager of Marine Data Systems Project, NOS, NOAA
Raymond Poking, Project Consultant and Researcher; Professor at theUniversity of D.0
3
4
Bibliographic NoteIn discussing and reviewing history, one must
distinguish between what actually happened and whathistorians say has happened. To move forward, it is
necessary to look backward. Rarely does history provide thewhole of humanity with the courage to know a people uto havebeen systematically excluded from the history books. Thebiased emphasif. on Blacks in their capacity as slavesobscures the ,m4re vigorous scientific, intellectual, andcultural contributions that many Black men and women made tothe growth and development of the United States of Americaduring its first two and one half centuries.
This booklet provides some knowledge for those personswho desire a better understanding of, and feeling for, theunique heritage, life, culture, and problems of Americans ofAfrican descent. For the most part, majority-oriented textshave been seriously deficient in their treatment ofminorities in general and Black people in particular. Giventhe background of American history, one discovers how thetreatment of past and present problems affected the blackenvironment. We present a few biographical examples thatserve as inspirational reminders worthy of emulatton.
The more we study and observe history, the more wewill respect the wisdom of the men and women who contributedto the growth and developzent of this country. They knewthat freedom was both priceless and fragile, and they toldus to treat it with great care. We hope that this bookletwill stimulate a knowledgeable citizenry, both Black andWhite, to understand better the slavery system, prejudiceand discrimination, and the civil rights movement. That isAmerica's heritage and challenge.
Letter From the Administrator
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
marks the 53d National Commemoration of the Afro-American
Contribution to the Development and History of America by
sponsoring its second observance of Black History Week.
As a souvenir, this book highlights the strides of
individual men and women, as well as the proud panorama of a
people who enriched American life and culture. It reveals
the long and arduous pilgrimage that began more than 400
years ago on the African Continent, often marked by tragedy,
but sust*ined by spirit. It further reveals a people
setting their mark upon the history of their times and
keeping pace with their contemporaries to secure the
democratic rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness," which ore inherent in our Nation's founding
principles.The human search to create a more attractive life is
endless; however, brighter conditions prevail today.
Educational opportunities are increasing, and new
technically oriented opportunities are expanding. Minority
men amd women are invited and encouraged to.investigate the
wide range of opportunities that require talent, skill, and
imagination. Despite the imperfections in our society,
perseverance and determination are not without reward.
During this occasion, we join all of America in
pausing to take note of the complete and positive
contributions made by Black Americans to the total growth
and development of these United States.
Richard Fronk
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ForewordIn the beginning...Africa is believed to be the cradle of the human race,
as pointed out by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species in
1859 and The Descent of Man in 1871.In 1959 at OlOuvai Gorge in Tanzania, East Africa,
British anthropologists Louis S. B. and Mary Leakey
discovered Bbmo tinjanthropus, an African ancestor, 1 1/2
million years after Ziljanthropus died there. One of thefirst gaces humans put down roots is in the Great Rift
Valley in the savannah country that stretches across
Northern Kenya and Southwest Ethiopia, near Lake Rudolph, in
the Valley of the River Omo.The Biblical chronicles of the Old Testament and the
monumental works of Honer, Herodotus, and others contain
many references to Ethiopia. The term "Ethiopian" is adesignation for all dark-skinned Africans, including Black
Africans and mulattoes.Before narrating the story of Blacks in American
culture, the long-lost roots of the Black heritage must be
sought in the Old Wbrld environment of the African. Africa
is the mother of Blacks and the mother of civilization in
general.The history of the Negro in America begins with the
rediscovery of Africa by the Portuguese. Prince Henry the
Navigator sent Captain Antal Goncalvez of Portugal to get
skins and oil in West Africa. Reinforced by men fromCaptain Nbno Tristam's ship, the Portuguese made a surprise
attack ma a band of 40 Africans. Four Africans WerA killed,
10 were capturee., and the rest escaped. The captives
Captain Goncalvez Lzok to Portugal in 1441 marked the
beginning of direct European.laivolvomantin the African slave
trade.On May 14, 1607, the history of English America began
when three ships of Captain Christopher Newport, carrying
only men, discharged their passengers at Jtmestovn, VS., the
first permanent English settlement in the New World. A
fort, a churc , a stonehouse, and a ITA, of huts wouldproliferate au signal the events of a %%mid to come.
The golden promise of America as a refuge from
oppression and the prospects of new opportunities were given
new encouragement in 1619 when John Rolfe, husband of theIndian Princess Pocahontas, demonstrated the economic value
of the tobacco plant. The evolving agricultural economywould give rise to the plantation system, redirect the lives
and fortunes (or misfortunes) of millions, and lay the
foundation for great profits that became heritable wealth in
e-
a diversifying and expanding economy.By the year 1619, Virginia had no more than 2,000
people, but the events of that year were destined to strainthe very foundations of American democratic ideology. Thefirst legislative assembly of the colony met. A shipload ofmarriageable women, to be sold for 120 pounds of tobaccoeach, was sent to Virginia by the chartered Virginia tradingcompany, and 100 children from London slums were sent asapprentices. Farmer john Rolfe reported in his journal thaton August 20, "there came in a Dutch man-of-warre that soleus 20 negars," and America inherited a new breed of peoplewhen the 20 Blacks stepped off at Jamestown. These firstBlacks were indentured servants, working for a specifiednumber of years and then given freedom. Two of the 20,Antony and Isabella, married; their firstborn, in 1624,William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the EnglishNorth American colonies, was baptized in Jamestown.
In 1620 the Mayflower, anchored at Plymouth, Mass.Within 20 years, the system of slavery becameinstitutionalized for the Black immigrants.
si
Table of ContentsThe Road to Revolution 1
Benjamin Banneker 3
Dred Scott
Harriet Tubman
Sojourner Truth. 1
Frederick Douglass a** Of 11
Patrick Francis Healy, 5.3. .
Blanche R. Bruce 141
George H. White 11
Lewis Howard Latimer 17
Daniel Hale Williams 11
Charles Henry Turner 31
Homer Plessy fl
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois 24
Booker Taliaferro Washington
Matthew Alexander Henson
Georee Washington Carver 30
Archie A. Alexander St
Ralph J. Bunch* 404110,1100 OOOOOOOOOOOO 40004,000111 * 34
Mary McLeod Bethune
Percy L. Julian . OOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO II
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10
The Road to RevolutionA new concept in Human Rights
Crispus Attucks, a 47-year-oldrunaway slave, from Framingham, Mass.,emerged from obsurity on March 5, 1770.Seaman Attucks was shot dead at the"Boston Massacre" while leading patriotswho were protesting the presence of
British troops in Boston.In the Revolutionary generation,
people talked of all humans being created
equal and having the God-given rightk of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness. Seeking freedom from Britishoppression in the land of the free and the
home of the brave, the colonists were onthe rood to the American Revolution and
the ultimate destiny of the AmericanNation was launched. Blacks were moving
along with the historical currents.The presence of British soldiers
inflamed Bostonians. There were daily
confrontations between townspeople and
troops. The people hurled insults,taunts, profanity, and missiles at the
soldiers. On that fateful snowy eveningof March 5th, protesting for human rights,
semnan Attucks waved his cordwood club and
urged the crowd forward. A British sentry
in Captain Thomas Preston's conpany opened
fire; Crispus Attucka was the first
American to die physically defendingAmerican liberty.
"From thst moment (March 5, 1770),
we may date the Severance of the British
Empire," said Daniel Webster.Second President John Adams wrote,
"Net the battle of Lexington'or BunkerRill, not the surrender o Burgoyne or
Cornwallis, were more important events in
American history then the battle of King
Street on 5th of Msrch 1770."Crispus Attucks' body lay in state
in Faneuil Hall. Re was buried with threeof the victims, in one grave, in the Old
Granary Burying Ground.Lster, in Faneuil Mall Orator
Wendell Phillips said, "I place this
Crispus Attucks in the foremost ranks of
the men that dared. %ten we talk of
courage, he rises with his dark face in
his clothes of the laborer, his headuncovered, his arms raised above himdefying bayonets and when the propersymbols are placed round the base of thestatue of Washington, one corner will befilled by the colored man defying the
British muskets."And for the dedication of the
Crispus Attucks mcnument on BostonCommons, poet John Boyle O'Reilly wrote,"And honor to Crispus Attucks, who wasleader and voice that day: The first to
defy, and first to die, with Maverick,Carr and Gray. Call it riot orrevolution, or mob or crowd as you may,Such deaths have been seed of nations,such lives shall be honored for ay..."
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Ms let* of Bunko Hillby Ituntbuil
yak Unlvanity Art Gallery
Once the American Revolution fannedthe fires of freedom, Blacks began to askabout their freedom. John Adams reportedin his diary on November 5, 1776, thatMassachusetts slaves brought court actionof trespass Against their masters tochallenge the legality of slavery. Theaction proved futile.
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD, BUNKER H/LL,AND YORKTOWN - the names of those historicRevolutionary battles still blase in theAmerican imegination. Some 5,000 Blacksaerved in the Continental army and navyduring the Revolution. Blacks took partin the first engageklent of the Revolution,
1'
Poor O Gallant Soldier
United Statss Paul Sento
the Battle of Lexington and Concord, April19, 1775. On June 17, 1775, a freed slavenamed Salem Poor became a hero of the
2 12
Battle of Bunker Hill, killing MajorPitcairn, whose redcoats had fired on thepatriots of Lexington. When GeneralWashington assumed command of theContinental Army in July 1775, he issuedan order excluding all Blacks from servicein the war. Blacks protested the order.FUrther, the British countered by offeringfreedom to all slaves who joined theCrown's forces. The British move forcedWashington to modify his position andpermit free Blacks to serve.
On July 4, 1776, the delegates inthe State House (later to be namedIndependence Hall) in Philadelphiaapproved author Thomas Jefferson'sDeclaration of Independence - a bill ofparticulars drawn Against King George IIIof England. Struggling with a sense ofpurpose and heightened by the colonist'sreadiness Dor "the birthday of a newworld," the delegates proceeded to editthe document, striking two extravagantcharges: an indictment of George III 63rforcing the slave trade on the colonies,and a denunciation of the English people.Jefferson's Clause 20 of the Declaration,dealing with slavery, was left outentirely. Politically, it was toodangerous, because many colonists,including members of Congress, stillsupported the practice. Their work done,the delegates approved the Declaration,and the United States was born. 0
The Ihrekastion of budependersci y Alin Trumbull Vas Unhorsity Aft GAMIN
Benjamin BannekerAstronomer, Mathematician, and Surveyor
War Anthem =keit end &Womb Blemeher.The Mani Tallboy Survey
Measured against the time in which
he lived, the first Afro-Americanscientist and one of the most influential
voices for Black freedom in Eighteenth
Century America deserves the title, "The
Awasing Benjamin Banneker."Proaborn near Baltimore, Md.,
ltanneker learned to read from his
grandmother, an English woman who had been
william A. Smith, NA. Maryland House On theJohn F. Krumedy HiaNway
an indentured servant. Mechanical and
mathematical aptitude combined to produce
in this man a noteworthy American
scientific pioneer. While young man, he
made the first wooden clock in America.
By 1789, with books borrowed from a Quaker
IKI4hbor to give him command of
wAthematics and astronomy, self-trainedBanneker accurately predicted a solar
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eclipse and issued widely circulatedalmanacs that provided information aboutthe. Sun, Moon, and tides. He providedinformation on the social behavior ofbees, and reported his observations on thelife cycle of the 17-year locust.
After the adoption of theConstitution of the United States in 1790,the States of Maryland and Virginia cededthat portion of their territory that wasto become the Federal city, Washington,D.C.. The Secretary of State, ThomasJefferson, suggested to PresidentWashington in 1790 that Banneker beappointed to serve on a three-memberCommission to survey the land for the Cityof Washington. This was the firstpresidential appointment of an Afro-American and the Nation's firstrectgaition of Banneker's abilities. TheCimaiseion head, Major Pierre L'Snfant of
The Library of amino
France, quit the Commission because ofcontinued disputes, returned to Paris, andtook the printed plans with him. Bannekerand surveyor Major Andrew Ellicottreconstructed the plans fros summary and,
under orders from President Washington,located the sites of the Capitol, thePresident's house, the Treasury, and otherpublic buildings.
James McHenry, who became Secretaryof War in the Cabinet of John Adams, saidthat "Benjamin Banneker was fresh proofthat the powers of themind aredisconnected with the color of the skin."This was a striking contradiction to DavidHume'. (Scottish philosopher andhistorian) doctrine that Negroes arenaturally inferior to the Whites andunsusceptible of attainment in arts andsciences. 0
Dred ScottThe Dred Scott Decision
In July 1847, Dred Scott, a Black
resident of Missouri, brought suit in a
Federal court for his freedom.In 1835, Dr. John Emerson, a U.S.
Army surgeon, moved from Missouri to
Illinois. Emerson took with him Dred
Scott, a Negro slave. Emerson and Scott
returned to Missouri in 1838. After
Emerion died, Scott sued Emerson's widow
for his freedom on the grounds that his
residence in the free territory ofIllinois had ended his bondage. Scott
claimed that because he had beentransported into territory (Illinois) in
which slavery wes forbidden by au Act of
Congress, as well as State law, he was now
a free tan. Mrs. Emerson and her new
huaband, a prominent abolitionistCoegressional Representative, Dr. C.C.Chaffee, developed a plan. The Chaffses
wanted tA, get the Scott case into a
Federal court and hoped that a favorable
decision would create a precedent upon-which other slaves could gain freedom with
the Wicking of the Judiciary. To'avoidtweill Chaffee appear in court as adefendant slaveholder, Scott was
technically "scld" to Mrs. Chaffee's-brother, J.F.A. Sanford. The case was
heard in several lover courts and, after
10 years, reached the U.S. Supreme Court.With Southerners dominatieg the Court,Chief Justice Roger Taney handed down adecision that proclaimed slavery anational concept, and freedom a strictlysectional consideration. In early March1857, the court denied Dred Scott's claimon three basic grounds: (1) Illinoislaws could not affect his position as aslave in Missouri; (2) the Act of
Congress that had declared territory northof latitude 36° 30'N to be.prohibited toslavery was itself unconstitutional; snd(3) in the part of the decision that wasmost humiliating and outraged BlackAmericans, Justice Taney ruled thatNegroes did not come within the meaning of
the Constitution's "people of the United
States." He said, "people of Africandescent are not and cannot be citizens ofthe United States, and cannot sue in anycourt of the United States..." The Courtheld that a Negro had "no rights which awhite man need respect."
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1
Harriet TubmanFreedom Fighter
Araminta Ross, better known asHarriet Tubman, was one of Liu. most daringand successful "conductors of theunderground railroad." (The undergroundrailroad was a secret organization thatactively aided slaves in their attempts toflee from bondage. The "passengers" onthis railroad were fugitives from slaverywho ware concealed by day at "stations,"Which were the homes of abolitionists).
In 1849, Harriet escaped from herlife as a field hand on the Eastern Shoreof Maryland at Bucktown, near Cambridge,in Dorchester County. She was theproperty" of Edward Broadmus. %ten the
Federal Fugitive Slave Law, of 1850 waspassed, a fee was offered to Federalofficers for captured slaves. Rewords of$40,000 were posted for Harriet'srecapture. Abolitionist John Brown calledher "General Moses," because of herdaring. In 1857, Harriet led her parentsEMI Dorchester County, Md., to AuburnN.Y., and freedom.
The Federal FOgitive Slave Lawallowed any claimants of a runaway slaveto take possession of the slave uponestablishing proof of ownership before aFederal commissioner. No protection forthe captive, such as jury trial orjudicial hearings, were included, The Actprovided fines' of $1,000 and 6 months'imprisonment for citizens or officials whofailed to help in the capture offugitives. Within 36 hours of the passage
-of the Fugitive Slave Law, localitiesbegan to report a rapid increase in slaverunamays. Harriet Tubman during the sameyear of the passage of the Act, returnedto the South, to Baltimore, and led hersister and two Children to freedom. TheOhio Oplored Convention.reported the
rmation of the Colored American League10.1solp runaway slaves improve theconditions of Blacks and encourage Black
Harrkft Tubman MAIM (Tho Associated Publishers, ince)
communities to establish militarycompanies.
Black slaves ran away so frequentlythat Dr. Samuel Cartwright of theUniversity of Louisiana, a respectedSouthern medical man, described the actionin "Diseases and Peculiarities of theNegro Race," DeBow's Review, Vol. 11(September 1851), passe 33i-334. One ofhis discoveries was "Drapetomania, or the
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disease causing Negroes to run awiy." Hewrote, "The cause inmost cases, thatinduces the Negro to run away fromservice, is as much a disease of the mindas any other species of aental alienationsal much more curable as a general rule.With the adr.atiges of proper medicaladvice, strictly followed, thistroublesome practice that many Negroeshave of running away, can almost beprevented, ...whipping them out of it, asa preventive measure..."
In a bid for freedom, sometimesslaves "borrowed" their master's horse.Others hid in barns, cellars, churches,woodsheds, and caves, often wading inwater to frustrate pursuing bloodhounds.Yriends helped with food and clothing andused covered wagons or carts with falsebottoms for the "passeneers" or"merchandise" making the freedom journeyfrom way station to way station.
Harriet Tubman worked with JohnBrown and other abolitionists, includingthe major Ihnr1Mglind writers, Nal& Waldoamerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William
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Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,Jahn Greenleaf Utittier, and Henry DavidThoreau. During the Civil War she servedas cook, Union Army Scout, guide, spy, andnurse. Unable to read or write, she was aforceful speaker and spoke before numerousantislavery groups.
Harriet Tubmen settled in a home inAuburn, N.Y., on land that an undergroundrailroad sympathizer, Senator WilliamHenry Seward (later Secretary of State),sold to her. Despite the postwar effortsof friends, Congress refused to vote apension far her unpaid wartime service.In 1869, she married Nelson Davis a CivilWar veteran. On his death in 18911, shereceived a widow's pension of $8 monthlywhich was increased to $20 monthly in1898. To supplement her income, she soldvegetables doortodoor, but continued touse such of her meager proceeds to lecturein behalf of equal rights. Until the end,she cared for all who came in need of afriend. In her home, she died at the egoof 93.
Sojourner TruthAbolitionist Suffr ette
In 1864, at the White House,President Lincoln received SojournerTruth. Born Isabella Baumfree, she was anilliterate former slave but a moving anddramatic speaker who emerged on thenational scene in 1843 as the first Afro-American woman orator to speak out egainstslavery. Sojourner Truth came to counselwith the Civil War President.
Born a slave in Ulster County, N.Y.,Isabella Baumfree was sold many times and,after running away to freedom, worked as adomestic. She had been married to afellow slave arid had five children, allbut one of whom were taken away andprobably sold into slavery. She took heronly remaining child and moved to New YorkCity. Convinced of divine revelation, sheadopted the name Sojourner Truth and begantraveling through Connecticut,Massahusetts, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,and Kansas proclaiming "liberty throughoutthe land unto all the inhabitantsthereof." She thundered from countlessrostrums for two important issues of theday: limancipation and Wbman's Rights.Frequent efforts were made to silence her.She was beaten and stoned, but nothingcould stop her.
During the Civil War, she served as
a nurse, helped runaway Blacks from the
South, preached doctrines of cleanlinessand hard work, and made visits v3 armycamps. She battled segregation on thestreet cars of Washington by simplyrefusing to.leave the white section. From1865 on, ohs lectured and toured, urginghatter educational opportunities forSlacks. Raving fought the battles fromthe lecture platform and in the courts,she was helped by friends and admirers tobuy a small house in Battle Creek, Mich.,
where she died. "A Wanderer in search ofTruth," Sojourner once sail, "I'm not
- going to die, honey, I'm join home like ashooting star."
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Frederic DouglassFreedom Fighter
The greatest American Bleck leader
for half a century was Frederick Douglass.
Abraham Lincoln referred to Douglass as
"the most meritorious man of the 19thcentury," considering the handicaps he had
to overome. He courageously foughtAmerican racism and oppression throughout
his life. He worked vigorously to lift
his people out of wretchedness and
bondage. His efforts helped to bring
about the Emancipation Proclamation of
1863, the Thirteenth Amendment freeing the
slaves, the Fburteenth grantingcitizenship, and the Fifteenthguaranteeing the right 02 vote.
Born to a slave woman and an unknown
white msn, at TUckaboe in Talbot County on
Maryland's Eastern Shore, he wasoriginally named Frederick Bailey.Lucretia Auld, the wife of Bailey's owner,
started to teach him to read. mien her
husband discovered this, he informed her
that she was breaking the law because it
was a crime to teach Blacks to read or
write. He forbade her to teach Bailey
anymore. Bailey continued 03 learn, mnd
when he was 21, used his knowledge of
letters to forge papers that enabled him
to escape. He went to New York, but was
mdvised not to stay. He lingered just
long enough to be joined by Anna Murray, a
free Black from Baltimore, who became his
wife.Taking the name Douglass, he soon
became an antislavery crusader and spoke
out so ably at a meeting in 1841 that the
Antislavery Society hired him as a
lecturer. He fought for racial equalityin jobs, politics, and education, citing
himself as an example if the Blacks were
allowed to achieve freedom and education.
He protested and resisted discrimination,segregation, and prejudice wherever he
found them in the North. He lectured,cmensively and with such impact that meny
-doubted his statement that he was a self-
taught emslave.To quiet such doubts, ha wrote the
Narrative of the Life of FrederickDouglass, an American SlaTre718-1W. The
book was so explicitly factual and became
so popular 'that it exposed hin to the
hazard of seizure and re-enslavement.%en his real identity became known,Douglass fled to England to avoidprosecution as a fugitive slave and re-
enslavement. With money raised by Englishfriends, he returned to Americo, boughthis freedom, and continued to lead thefight for the ebolition of slavery.
Additional funds were donated tohelp him establish a newspaper, The NorthStar, which he published in Rochester,N.Y., from 1847 to 1863, renaming itFrederick Douglass's Faper,in the early1E0Ti7-7kia was the most successful,long-lasting, and outstanding of pre-CivilWar Black newspapers. He became the chiefspokesmen for his people. He was Alsoactive in many other causes, especiallywmmen's rights. He was for Irish freedom,world peace, Federal aid to education, andthe right of the oppressed everywhere tothe equal protection of the lows. He told
a London audience in 1846, "You may relyupon me as one who will never desert the
cause of the poor, no matter whether Black
or White."Douglass is especially remembered
for a Fourth of July declaration he
delivered before a largely white audience
at Rochester, N.Y., "What to the American
slave is your Fourth of July7" His
editorials in his newspaper demanded the
end of capital punishment, mistreatment of
Chinese immigrants and American Indians,
and neglect of education for the poor. He
said, "Ny sympathies are not limited by my
relations to any race. I can take no part
in oppressing and persecuting any variety
of the human family, whether in Russia,
Germany, or California, my sympathy is
with the oppressed, be he Chinaman orHebrew."
His Rochester home was a station on
the underground railroad. He engaged inpolitics as a Lincoln Republican. He was
2111
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outlawed by the Governor of West Virginiabecause he counselled John Brown, althoughhe had tried to dissuade Brown from hisheroic and ill-fated attempt withinsurrection at Harpers Ferry.
When the Civil War broke out,DouglaisajOined Sojourner Truth in urgeingLincoln to enlist Blacks in the VaionAnw. Whoa Lincoln yielded in 1862, hehelped to recruit the 54th and 55thftssachusetts Negro Begiments and enlistedhis ovm two eons. In 1861, be said,'Liberty won by white mon would lose halfits luster. Who 'multi be Vie*, themselvesmost strike the blow. Better even die-free, than OD live slaves." Some 186,000Necks enlisted in the Onion Army; 93,000-from the seceded States, 40,000 from the
12
'Ykl0 Itr'S 4'1" N7.%
National Capital Parks
border States, and 52,000 from the fretStates. At least 38,000 Black soldiersdied to save the Repdhlic and put an endto slavery.
On defYing racial segregation onpublic vehicles of transportation,Douglass reported: "I was often draggedout of my seat, beaten and severelybruised, by conductors and brakemen." Theend of the war found him organizing Blacksto work against discrimination andsegregation.
Frederick Douglass, the ezslave, theman of the century, was appointed Marshalfor the District of Columbia underPresident Grant, Recorder of Deeds underPresident HOes and Minister to Haitiunder President Arthur.
22
Patrick Francis Healy, S.J.Georgetown University's 29th President
The familiar landmark of Georgetown
University for nearly a century has been
the towering, 209-foot spire of the Healy
Building. Distinctly less familiar is the
fact that the possessor of that name
happened to be the first Black president
of a predominantly White college in the
United States, and the person generally
acclaimed as Georgetown's "second
founder."Georgetown University - the Nation's
oldest Catholic institution of higher
learning - was Bounded in 1789. In May
1973, the University marked the 100th
anniversary of the Reverend Patrick
Healy's inauguration as Georgetown's 29th
President, 1873-82. The school, in 1873,
was enmeshed in the divisive problems of
Civil Wer Reconstruction that plegued so
much of the Nation, and was in grievous
need of leadership. It became, in a few
short years thereafter, a true university.
Father Healy introduced science courses
and laid out plans fior a curriculum of
educational excellence. He dreamed of
making Georgetown University "the great
Catholic University of North America."
His plans called for areorganization of both the medical and law
schools. A postgraduate course in law less
introduced for the first time. While he
sought to strengthen the academic
structure, Father Healy also worked to
make the university more attractive.
Born in Georgia, Father Healy wits
the son of an Irish planter and a mulatto
slave. He had seven brothers and sisters.
One brother became the Nation's first
Slack Catholic Bishop and another
prominent Boston priest. A sister, Emma,
founded a Cetholic order dedicated to
teaching Black children.After his Qiisker schooling in Long
Island, N.Y., he enrolled at Holy Cross
College, graduated, took his voms as a
Jesuit, taught 6 years, and then attended
the University of Louvain, in Leige,
Belgium, Where he earned his Ph.D.
In 1866, Father Healy joined the
Georgetown faculty am a Professor of
Philosophy and quickly advanced in the
academic hierarchy. First he became Dean
of Studies and then vice President, In
1873 he was confirmed by Rome asGeorgetown's 29th President.
AP^
an
PthsrPat,ckL Healy
Hasky Building on theGeorretown UniversityOMMNX
Goarigown thatersity
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Swift likatille Koko Biwa
14
Blanche K. BruceUnited States Senator
One of the two Black Senators, bothfrom Mississippi, freeborn former Armychaplain Hiram R. Revels was elected tofill out the uncompleted tern of JeffersonDavis, 1870-71. The other Senator, aformer slave, Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce,at the age of 33 followed Revels anderved in the Senate 1875-81.
Bruce was born in Farmville, PrinceEdward County, Va. A slave, he was takenV3 Missouri several years before the CivilWar, and at Brunswick learned theprinter's trade. In 1861, Bruce eficapedand organized a school in Hannibal, Mo.After the Civil War, he took a 2-yearcourse at Oberlin College.
In 1869, he went to Mississippi andheld many local positions at differenttimes, serving as Assessor of Taxes inBolivar County, Tax Collector, Sheriff,Superintendent of Schools, and member ofthe Levee Board. He became a planter andmember of the Republican Party. Ln theSenate he introdmced a number of bills toimprove the conditions of Blacks. Hespoke for P.B.S. Pinchbeck, who was denieda seat in the Senate to which he had beenelected fran Louisiana.
In 1876, Senator Bruce introduced abill on racial affairs, which was reportedout of committee adversely. In anexecutive session of the Senate, hedenounced President Grant and theRepublican Party for not caring about the
Asemanbo*wom of Southern Negro, and he then refused to goAlimoluariganLVesolHisawy to the White House in response to a
ummons from President Grant.H. told the Senate he could not vote
for a law that restricted the immigrationof Orientals: "Representing as I do apeople who but a few years ego wareconsidered essentially disqualified fromenjoying the privileges and immunities ofAmerican citirenship...I shall voteagainst the bill."
In 1880, he demanded that the
Zi
Government deal justly with all Indian
tribes. On April 7, during a Senate
debate on the Indian, he todk to the
floor: "...I believe that we have reached
a period when the public sentiment of the
country demands such a modificaticin in the
Indian policy, in its purpose, and in its
methods, as shall save and not destroy
these people... The American people are
beginning to reach the conscientiousconviction that redemption and
civilisation are due to the Indian tribes
of the United States, and the popular
purpose is not to exterminate but to
perpetuate them on this continent." His
remarks were inserted in the Congressional
Record of the Senate, 46th Congress, 2nd
ni7an, pages 2195-2196.Ha introduced 21 bills in the Senate
during this same year, none of which
became law. Some dealt with the Geneva
Award for Alabama claims, aid to
education, railroad construction, and
reimbursement of depositors in the
Freedmen's Bank. He spoke on behalf ofadmitting duty-free clothing sent from
England to destitute Blacks in Kansas. On
Hey 4, he presided over the Senate.
Like Hiram Revels, Bruce also
supported leeislation aimed at eliminating
reprisals against those who had opposed
Black emancipation. At the RepublicanNational Convention in 1880, he reversed
his opinion of President Grant and
supported him. At one point, he was
called to the chair to preside
temporarily. At this time when several
delegates were asking for recognition, he
recognised delegate James A. Garfield.
Garfield made such a good impression on
the convention that he was nominated fur
President. Bruce received eight votes for
Vice President. james Garfield won thePresidential election and campaigned on a
"bloody shirt" platform, promisingprotection to the Southern Negro.
After he completed his term in the
Senate, Bruce was nailed Register of the
Treasury Department by President Garfield.
In 1889, President Benjamin HarrisonAippointed him Recorder of Deeds in
Washington, D.C. In 1895, PresidentMcKinley reappointed him to his former
post as Resister of the Treasury. 0
Tho Ubary of Cowan
1 5
George H. WhiteUnited States Congress
George White was the last BlackCongressional Representative of the Post-Reconstruction Erc. The Black presencewould not be seen again in the Congressuntil the election in 1928 of OscarDePriest, from the First IllinoisCongressional District. With the electionof DePriest, White's farewell predictionto the Congress upon his departure in 1901that Blacks would return to the Congress,came true.
The most aoted Black politicianduring the Populist era, George White, aformer slave, was born in Rosedale, N.C.,and educated at Howard University. Hetaught in North Carolina and studied law.Admitted to the bar in 1879, he gained areputation as a brilliant lawyer. A StateRepresentative in 1880, State Senator in1884, and State Solicitor in 1886, he waselected by Black and White voters of hisState to the House of Representatives in1896 and re-elected in 1898, despitewidespread anti-Negro violence.
Both in and out of the Congress,Representative White sought to advance theindustrial and agricultural interests ofhis State. He spoke for equalconstitutional rights for Black Americans.Among his many contributions was hisattempt to get a nationally acceptedantilynching law, which failed to passCongress. Nevertheless, Mate's effortsdid draw attention to lynching in America.Re save several speeches on the floor ofthe Congress, revealing the atrocities hethought to be the most coil crime everconceived by humans. As would be thesituation with Representative DePriest 27years laterpaspresentative %bite neverforgot that he spoke "as the solerepresentative for nine million people."
White made the most of his lostopportunity to address the Congress. By
1901, almost all of the Blacks had beeneliminated frail Southern legislatures andcity councils. White reviewed the whole
10
Represents:kw Gamma. Whits of North Carolisa
MAIM (The Assodated Publishers, Inc.)
dreary story -- the rise of the Blocks to
political power, the undemnining ofReconstruction, the gutting of theFourteenth Amendment, and the birth of JimCrow, in his farewell: "...With all theseodds Against us, we are forging our wayahead, slowly perhaps, but surely. Youmay tie us and then taunt u for a lack ofbravery, but one day we will break thebonds. You may use our labor for two anda half centuries and then ta. 'It us for ourpoverty, but let me remind you, we willnot always remain poor. You may withholdeven the knowledge of haw to read God'sword and learn the way frau the earth toglory and then taunt us for our ignorance,but we would remind you that there isplenty of room at the top, and we areclimbing..."
"This, Mt. Chairman, is perhaps theNegroes' temporary farewell to theAmerican Congress; but let me say,Phoenix -like he will rise up mmse day andcome again. 'These parting words are inbehalf of an outraged, heartbroken,bruised, and bleeding, but God-fearingpeople, faithful, industrious, loyalPeople risiog people -- full of
tential force...""The only apology that I have to
04.AA for the earnestness with %bids I havespoken is that I am pleading for the life,the liberty, the future happiness andmanhood suffrage of one-eighth of theentire population of the United States."Mate placed his address in theCongressional Record, 56th Congress, 2ndSession, pp.1636 -1638.
26
Lewis' Howard LatimerPioneer in Electric Light Indus
6011.,..;
Laois R Lab:sr in 1918,upon jo the Edison Pioneers
Origins' Idexinaetieser ineendeseent Wanted by Loud s a Ladner - 1882The 1 s Na 35 fives the Mos at liftmaur collection in the pound= of the Edison Institute
Colloctioos of Gr000fiski Wogs and Us Homy Ford Museum, Onstboni, Michigan
Linda Latimer patented tho first
,incandescent electric lamp with carbon
filaments. Se made the drawings for thefirst telephone for Alexander Graham Sell,
... and he was the thief draftsman h3r General
Sloctric and Westinghouse. Latimer wrotethe first textbook on Out lighting systemused by the Sdison Company. Latimer was
bora at Maeda, Mass., ths son of arunaway slots frau Norfolk, Va.,
immortalized in John Greenleaf Whittier'spoem, "From Massachusetts to Virginia."When his father George's owner attemptedto return George to bondage, the interestand sympathy of the Black and Whiteabolitionists of the State ofMassachusetts were aroused. Through theirefforts, the $400 bondage fee was paid andhis freedom secured. Among his many jobsas freedman, he marked as a selfemployed
2 717
barber and paperhanger.Lewis developed an avid interest in
reading, drawing, and writing literarycompositions. Determined to obtain aneducation, but aware of the need to helpsupport the family, Lewis worked with hisfather at nigh t. in a store as a
paperhanger. Later he went into alawyer's office as a junior office helper.
. Because of his father's background,Lewis had deep feelings concerning theabolition of slavery and enlisted in theNaval Service at 16. He served as anapprentice sailor on the U.S.S. Massasoit,a idewheel gunboat, until the end of theCivil War when he was honorablydischarged.
Returning home to a job with a firmof patent solicitors, he developed aninterest in drafting. In his spare timehe taught himself to become a draftsman.Lewis believed that "whatever a man knewhe put in a book." He watched thedraftsmen in the office, and then wenthome and practiced what he saw, usingsecondhand drawing instruments and a bookon drawing as a guide. He proved himselfto the head of the firm and was then hiredas a draftsman, eventually achieving theposition of Chief Draftsman. By 1874,
Latimer was spending many hours of hisleisure time working on methods to Unprovemechanical devices then in common use. In
1876, he executed the drawings and helpedprepare the patent applications forAlexander Graham Bell's telephone - aninvention that heralded a great change in
the field of communications.Hiram S. Maxim, American inventor
and founder of the United States ElectricLighting Company at Bridgeport, Conn., wasimpressed by Latimer's inventive abilitiesand in 1880 invited him to join thecompany as a draftsman and generalassistant. While working in thiscapacity, Latimer developed a process formanufacturing carbon filaments forincandescent lamps. He also assisted inthe installation of same of the earliestMaxim incandescent and arc lighting plantsin New York City, Philadelphia, Canada,and England. TO convey technicalinstructions to his French-speakingworkers, Latimer spent his evenings in
181
Montreal learning conversational Frenchfrom a company clerk. He established thefirst incandescent lamp department for theMaxim-Weston Electric Light Company in1881 at London, England. He taught theworkers glassblowing and all otherprocesses for the production of the lamp,leaving the plant in a commerciallyoperative condition 9 months later.
After a series of challengingopportunities, in 1884 he joined theEdison Electric Light Company in New York,Where he was employed as a draftsman-engineer. With the formation of theEdison General Electric Company in 1889,Latimer wrote a dissertation entitled,Lncandescent Electric Lighting - APractical Description of the EdisonSystem, published in 1890 by D. Van
Nostrand Cmnpany of New York. Latimermaintained another interest, creativewriting. In the same year hiseisiertation was published, he completedtht. compilation of poems of love and life.
Because of his vast experience withEdison patents, he worked in the legaldepartment of the Edison Company as ChiefDraftsman, and was called to testify as apatent authority in a number ofinfringement cases involving Edisonpatents. Lewis Latimer was one of thepioneers in the electric light industryfrom its creation until it attainedworldwide influence.
Latimer retired in the early part of1924 at the age of 75; and when he died onDecember 11, 1928, the historian of theEdison Pioneers made the following entryin their permanent records: "He was ofthe colored race, the only one in ourorganization, and was one of those torespond to the initial call that led tothe formation of the Edison Pioneers,January 24th, 1918. Broadmindedness,versatility in the accomplishment ofthings intellectual and cultural, alinguist, a devoted husband and father,all were characteristic of him, and hisgenial presence will be missed from ourgatherings...We hardly mourn hisinevitable going so much as we rejoice inpleasant memory at having been associatedwith him in a great work for all peoplesunder a great man."
Daniel Hale WilliamsPioneer Surgeon and Physician
Model of the Amon hood
In 1893, Dr. Daniel Hale Williamsperformed an operation publicised as thesorld's first open-heart surgery.
Daniel Silliams was born inHollidaysburg, Pa., where his father was abusinesmsan, abolitionist, and equal
rights spokesman. When Daniel was 11, his
father died. Apprenticed to a Baltimore4boemaker, ha eventually worked inbarbershops and on lake boats. He worked
National boluses*, Health
part-time, attended high school, and laterenrolled in Hare's Clasexcal Academy inJanesville, Wis., from which he graduatedin 1877. William. studied in a law officebriefly.
In 1878, the town's Dr. HenryBarber, Wisconsin's surgeon general and acustomer of the barbershop, accepted himand two whites as apprentices. Two yearslater, in 1880, the three entered Chicego
2.919
Medicsa College, an affiliate ofNorthwestern University. With borrowedmoney, he boarded in the home of a Blackrealtor and won his medical degree in.1883.
He served as staff physician withthe Protestant Orphan Asylum, an unpaidjob, but valuable for experience andprestige - which enhanced his reputationend increased clientele, both Black andWhite. He was appointed to the surgicalstaff of Chicago's South Side Dispensaryand a part-time anatomy and awrgical-instructor at his alma meter, the medicalschool. In 1889, he was appointed to theIllinois Board of Health.
Finding it difficult to securehospital accommodations for his Blackpatients, and keenly feeling the need fora hospital where Black interns, nurses,and physicians could train and enjoy staffprivileges, he faunded in 1891 theProvident Hospital in Chicago, Ill., theNation's first interracial hospital. Atthis hospital a man by the name of Cornishneeded surgery because of a knife wound tothe heart. Wonder drugs, bloodtransfusions, x-rays, and heart-lungmachines were unknown, and even thesurgical instruments were primitive for
this pioneering feat that made medicalhistory. By opening the patient 's chest,repairing the damage, and closing theimcision, Williams made possible thesurvival and continued life of thepatient.
In 1894, Williams was appointed bypresident Grover Cleveland to serve stssurgeon-in-chief of the 200-bed Freedmen'sHospital in Washington, D.C., elevating itto a respectable status. Returning toProvident Hospital and his Chicagopractice in 1898, he served on thesurgical staff of Cook County Hospitalfrom 1900 to 1906, and became associateattending surgeon at St. Luke's Hospital,1907-31.
In 1899, he was appointed visitingprofessor of surgery at Meharry MedicalCollege. He was foumder and first vicepresident of the National MedicalAssociation, an organization of Blackphysicians. When the American College ofsurgeons was founded in 1913, he was theonly Black invited to become a chartermember. The pioneering contributions ofWilliams laid foundations for furtherchallenges by Blacks and Whites in scienceand medicine.
3 0
Chades Henry TurnerScientist, Teacher, Author, Humanitarian
Although unequal rights andopportunities in education and jobs keptmany Afro-Americans from gaining theknowledge and experience necessary forscientific achievement, Dr. CharlesTurner's early thirst for knowledge, hisnatural bent toward science, and hispiercing questions about the mysteries oflife helped the world better understandnot only the behavior of insects and smallanimals but also helped expand thefoundations for understanding humanbehavior.
Wien Turner died in Chicago,February 14, 1923, and was memorialized inSt. Louis, Mo., a few months 1.ter, theSt. Louis Argus concluded in a tributethat Turner was easily the greatestscientist his race ever produced and, infact, stood in the front rank of thescientists of the world.
Charles Turner was born in
fr"Ptst k1.14A421c.:,..f
Vr*
,
P
.
or
Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was apractical nurse and his father a churchcustodian. His father, an avid ,reader,acquired a large home library of several'hundred books. It was here that youngCharles began to acquire a knowledge ofscience.
After graduating from high school,he completed a WI ge course at theUniversity of Cini: nnati in 1891 andobtained the degree of Master of Sciencethere the following year. During the year1892-93, he taught at the University inthe biological sciences. From 1893 to1905, Turner was in charge of the ScienceDepartment and professor of Biology atClark College in Atlanta, Ga. ClarkCollege was founded in 1869 by theFreedman's Aid Society of the MethodistEpiscopal Church to elevate Black peoplethrough education. In 1907 the Universityof Chicago conferred upon him the degree
-
A4.e
PoowooesOffige., Clark wig, ClorlosilinarAMU. (Powdstito for the Study ofAfroAmerkan Life and History)
21
Unital Slam Department of Agriculture
of MA) - magneLcum laude. He neve'r held
a teaching position in any large Americanuniversity with adequate researchfacilities.
Between 1892 and 1923, Turnerpublished more than 50 papers on antaalbehavior, revealing the behavior of manyanimals and insects that had mystified thescientific world. His search for answersto numerous questions about insect andanimal behavior led him to become one oftha great scientists of the 20th centurythrough his research on bees, moths, ants,cockroaches, and other insects.
By ingenious experiments, hediscovered that ants are not guided homeby odors but by light rays. B. provedthat weeps find their way home bylandmarks. Turner hound that any changela topography confuiis the homing ofburrowing bees. B. investigated tropisms(isvoluntswy movements of an organism to astimulus) and demonstrated that certaininvertebrates exhibit a "turning" activityupon sensory excitation (response tolight). A type of characteristic behaviorin insects has the adopted name "Turner'sCircling" after his detailed description.
Donna J. 8011114t
He solved the problem of bees' responsesto color. He observed death-feigningpostures in the antlion (an insect, alsocalled "doodlebug"), and termed it terrorparalysis, Which had become hereditary inthis particular organism.
His observations and experiments onspiders, crayfish, ants, and otherinvertebrates were done alone and unaided.He used his oum small salary to purchasehis tools and specimens and meet his ownlibrary needs.
Later, he taught biology andpsychology in St. Louis high echools. He
took classes on field trips to observe andexperiment and to develop s scientificcuriosity about nature and a reverence forlife. H. had a wealth of first-handinformation for his students.
He worked for civil riehts and thebetterment of life for his people andpioneered in developing social work.
Charles Turner loft behind astrength of character, devotion to work,faithfulness to ideals, respect for truth,a keen sense of regard for humanity, andan unselfishness in sharine the little hehad for the betterment of all.
Homer P1The Black's "Place" in Society
Ferguson (1896) was the
.first iiiiif-segregation case decided by
the Supreme Court. Homer Plessy s4sseven-eighths white and one-eighth negro;be charged that a Louisiana statuterequiring segregation on trains within the
State violated rights guaranteed him by
the Thirteenth and Fourteenth haendments
to the Constitution. Plessy'smainargument was a warning that if a physical
distinction, such as color of skin, could
be used as 4 basis for segregation, then
discrimination against blondes andredheads could also be consideredreasonable acW legal. Furthermore, argued
Flossy, in providing legal sanction for
the eegregation of some of its citizens,
Louisiana *plied that such citizens were
inferior.In an 8-1 decision, the Court denied
that segregation by race necessarily
implied racial inferiority. Declaring the
case to be reduced to a "question of
whether the statute of Louisiana (was) a
reasonable regulation," the Court held
that for a legislature to act in
conformity with "established usages,customs, and traditions of a people...and
the preservation of the public peace and
Sood order" was, in fact, "reasonable."
The Court cited as a precedent the earlier
cast of Roberts-v. Eily. of Boston (In 1849
a Black,--atijiiin F. Roberts, sued the
city of Boston oti behalf of his 5-year-old
daughter, Sarah. He asked for damages
becsuse the city refused to allowr her in
white public schools nearest her hmme.
The case was argued by Charles Sumner and
Robert Morris, with no success. The
Supreme COUrt of Massachusetts rejected
the appeal and established in its decision
the precedent for the controversial'ssperate but equal" doctrine in U.S.
law.)Flossy, arrested for rofung
move from a "White" to a '..olorad" railway
coach io defiance of Louisiana law,
a
brought suit for a writ of prohibitionagainst the judge siho was scheduled to try
him. Plessy may have found somesatisfaction in Justice John MarshallHarlan's dissent: "In the view of theConstitution...there is in this country nosuperior, dominant, ruling class ofcitizens. There is no caste here. Our
Constitution is colorblind. In respect of
civil rights, all citizens are equalbefore the law...The thin disguise of# equal' accommodations for passengers inrailroad coaches will not mislead anyone,nor atone for the wrong this day done."
But the Court's decision in plessy v.Fer uson established the "separate but
equal doctrine that remained a legalguidepost until May 17, 1954.
With the sanction of the High Court,
the Black people of America, particularlyin the South, were condemned to another 60
years of legal segregation; to the kind of
indignity and intimidation marked "WhiteMen," "White Ladies," and "Colored;" toinferior education and second-class
citizenship.
fajestion .110.re Memel WNW 1961492$:41.erf4ti. cf 3ioce Hotel gad OiS the 1We Rafted
The Metropolitan Museum of An Harris BrisbaneDick Fund, 1929
f
23
William Edward Burghardt Du BoisHistorian
In the aftermath of World War I in1918, Dr. Du Bois wrote the followingremarkable forecast of the world to come:"This war is an end and, also, abeginning. Never 'gain will darker peopleof the world occupy just the place theybad before. Out of this place will rise,sooner or later, an independent China, aself-governing India, au Egypt withrepresentative institutions, an Africa forthe Africans and not merely for businessexploitation. Out of this war will rise,too, an American Negro with the right tovote and the right to live withoutinsults."
Du Bois was born in GreatBarrington, Mass., in 1868. He earned a11.A. at Fisk University and another atHarvard College where he also received anM.A. Following 2 years of study at theUniversity of Berlin, he became the firstBlack to receive Ph.D (1895) At HarvardCollege, 253 years after the founding ofthe _college. Du Bois' dissertation, TheSuppression of the African Slave Trade toAmerica, was the first voluZ-Tiliued inthe Harvard Historical Series.
DulSois can be called a scholar andteacher, poet, novelist, editor, andpolitical activist. He was the recognizedleader And eloquent defender of fullrights for Blacks through the NiagaraMovement, which he founded in 1905. Heopposed Booker T. Washington for his lackof ,empbasis on dignity and manhood and hisfailure to oppose discrimination. In
1910, he joined the newly &maid NationalAssociation for the Advancement of ColoredPeople (NAACP) and served the associationin various mays until 194B. H. fieldedattacks on the legal barriers to Blackequality and opportunity and called fOrthe enforcement of the applicable Federalconstitutional amendments, winning a groat-victory, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck-down the notorious "grandfather clause" as
24
Dr. WillivnEdwaydBuriftwthnuBois Estayk4Reformar,calftophstASALH (Asexiation for the Study of Afro-American Life and HIstory)
unconstitutional. He was editor of theofficial NAACP publication, Crisis, whichby 1914 had a monthly distribution of35,000 readers. Strongly in favor of thetotal concept of hunan rights, writing inCrisis in 1919, Du Bois called on everyBlack voter in the State of New York tocast his ballot in favor of woman'ssuffrage. He further stated that allother Negroes should do the same thing.
Since his first Pan-AfricanConference in 1919, he is revered as the"Godfather of African Independence."
The publication in 1903 of hisessaYs in a volume entitled Souls of SlackFolk met with strong oppositUalicm theconservative voices of both the North andthe South. "This book is dangerous forthe Negro to read, for it will only excitediscontent and fill his imagination withthings that do not exist, or should notbear upon his mind," maid the Banner inNashville. "The problan of the 20thC4ntury is the color line," countered DuBois. Ci
Booker Tandem WashingtonLeader and Educator
Saha of Boohsr Walsketais =kg de Val of Mammas Irma OsNod Man' nohow igniting
In America, the years 1863-1910 maybe viewed as years of accommodation and
ptotest, the ambivalence in the life of
Blacks. The North won the 'militaryvictory in the Civil War, but expectedchanges did not materialise. In the
jouth, American Blacks were still subject
.!to the whims of the white world. A few
Blacks benefited from the activities of
-the Treads/Ws Bureau, which helped to
35
ease the transition from slavery to
freedom. A few were privileged to attend
the Yankee missionary schools, which were
built somewhat less quickly than they were
burned down by Southern whites who opposed
educating former slaves. Between 1869 and
1874 Southern Blacks voted in sufficient
strength to influence ease Statelegislation end sent. 16 fellow Blacks, asmall minority, to the National Congress
26
,
40,1111014410414,160-40...1r,*.10e,
lbs alike *whir Wasiminvit dalbatv watch
Tones insOtuis
(controlled by a powerful and dominantisajority).
The terrorist Ku Klux Klan and othergroups brought an end to Black voting evenbefore Federe troops, charged withprotecting the right to vote, waremithdrawn from the South. Reconstructionfor the Blacks came to an end when, incoiferesOma at the WOrmley Hotel inIlashiagtam, D.C.. on February 26 and 27.
Autherford I. Rapes promisedSouthern **legates that a* mould removeVat /Word troops from the South, andleAmPe the-States slone in return forupport from Democratic Southern
rossional Representatives.the North, few could afford
1i there yore a fey freeis. Jobs more difficult to get and
keep, for there was increasing competitionwith Whites, who often mobbed Blackworkers. The right to vote was generallyacknowledged, but few Blacks weresophisticated enough to see the value ofexercising that right.
The great majority of Blacks in theNorth and the South accepted segregationand discrimination, believing that as theyapproached the white uvrld's standardsthey would win the White world'stolerance, be accepted, and "things wouldbe better."
A handful protested. The eloquentspokesman, W.E. B. Du Bois, wrote, "Wedemand every single right that belongs toa freeborn American - political, civil,sod social; and until we get these right.,we will never cease to protest and assailthe ears of America."
Into the picture etepFed Booker T.Washington, who became the most powerful-Black in America. For more than 30 yearsWashington so completely dominated thescene that the period was stamped with hisname and Personality.
A historical assessment wouldsuggest that the era when Washington roseto power was one of the bleakest periodsfor Blacks in American history.
In the year 1895, the militantleader Frederick Douglass died. Lynchingswere increasing (112 in 1895), andSouthern States were rewriting theirconstitutions to eliminate the rights ofBlack citizens. The Supreme Court wascommidering the case of Homer Messy, aNew Orleans Black arrested because heviolated the Jim Crow laws of Louisiana inpurchasing a ticket to ride unsegregatedin a railroad car from New Orleans toCovington. Booker Washington's attitudeof separation and submission appealed tothe racial prejudices of whites and to therising political conservatism in thecountry. On September 18, 1895, he madehis most famous statement ofaccommodations at the Cotton StatesExposition in Atlanta, the "AtlantaCompromise." He said, "...as separate asthe five fingers, yet one as the hand..."Lo 1896, the Supreme Court in Plessy.v.
tergusonupheld the principle o
soparate but equal." (The Flossy
eV
decision would make segregation legal inAmerica for the next 58 years).
In Atlanta,.Washington was given astanding ovation. In one speech,Washington had turned Blacks away from thedominant theme of militancy in Blackleadership, as exemplified by Douglass,who for 50 years called upon the race toAgitate constantly for itm rights.Throughout the land Washington's speech atAtlanta was hailed in the press, inletters, and by President Cleveland. In
1896, Harvard College made him the firstBlack to receive its honorary Master ofArts degree. In 1901, President TheodoreRoosevelt invited him to the White Housefor au interview and dinner. One of hisvehement Black critics was W.E.B. Du Bois,who represented the Douglass brand ofleadership. Du Bois condemned the speechas the "Atlanta Compromise" and, in his
1903 book, Souls of Black Folk, took sharpissue with iiiiiirngtoriTTWIews. A. themost eloquent spokesman for a growingnumber of Blacks, Du Bois was alarmed bythe ultimate effect of Washington'sleadership. Booker T. Washington became"a compromiser between the South, theNorth, and the Negro" and was consultedwhenever any matters arose affectingBlacks anywhere in the United States.
In his autobiography, FromSlavery, Booker T. Washington wrote, "Iwas born a slave on a plantation inFranklin County, Virginia" (Burrough'sPlantation near Hale's Ford, Va. ) He was
the son of a slave woman and a whitefather. In 1865, after the Civil War, theWashington. moved to Malden, W. Va., wherehe worked in coal mines and attended nightschool a few hours every day. In 1872,
with $1.50 in his pocket, he traveled 500miles, mostly walking, to Hampton Normalamd Industrial Institute, the Blackvocational school in Virginia. Workinghis way through school as a janitor, heAbsorbed the ideas of the Institute'sfounder, General Samuel Chapman Armstrong.
After graduation from Hampton in1875, he tausht in Malden. He returned toHampton in 1879, took charge of a group ofIndian students, and organised Hampton'sfirst night school.
In 1881, he was sent to TUskegee,
3 7
Ala., to start a new school of the Hamptontype on an annual budget of $2,000. There
in the backwoods of Alabama, Washingtonbuilt the Tuskegee Normal and IndustrialInstitute, one of the best knowneducational centers in America. Under hispresidency, it soon became the leadingcenter for industrial education forBlacks. Washington thought that throughindustrial education Blacks could become
skilled mechanics and farmers and learnthe virtues of thrift and self-sufficiency. He regarded training in suchintellectually demanding subjects asscience, history, and nathematics asinpractical. For this reason his ideasbecame popular with many white Southernersand Northerners who did not want Blacks toadvance ab6ve the condition of servitude.
At TUskegee, Washington found noneof the equipment with which to develop aneducational institution. But, he found a
white community hostile to the idea of aschool for Blacks. His task was twofold:Secure the necessary resources to operatea school and at the same time conciliate
the white community.In its first two decades 40
buildings were erected, almost exclusivelyby the students themselves. Studentsproduced and cooked the food and performedother tasks. Assurances were given to thecommunity that the students were there toserve and not to antagonize. Washingtonbecame the apostle of a form of industrialeducation that he saw would not antagonizethe South and that would, at the sametime, prepare the Black students for a wayof life in their communities. Thehostility of the white community began todisappear with Washington's program oftraining Blacks to become farmers,mechanics, and domestic servants.
Washington openly supported Jim Crowlegislation; however, behind the scenes hehelped fight against railroad segregation.
During the period 1892-1911,Washington organized the Negro BusinessLeague, issued the first call for aconference of farmers at Tuskegee, was oneof the sponsors of the National League ofUrban Conditions Among Negroes (currentlyknown as the National Urban League), andinaugurated Negro Health Week.
27
_
44.
4 410,01.4ei',.1 :
4
Photography by Admiral Robert E. Paw, Courtesy'Cobra E. Peaty, /r. , (c) National Geographic Society
IR 4
Phatography by Admiral &abaft E. Peaty, Courtrai,illabert E. Pray, Jr. (c) National Geographic Society
-77.7
Matthew Alexander HensonExplorer - Co-Discoverer of the North Pole
At latitude 90°N, Mathew Henson madehis calculations. Forty-five minuteslater, Robert I. Peary, on his sled drivenby four Eskimos, joined Henson. Peary'scheck confirmed the Recovery of the NorthPole. On April 6, 1909, 27 marches fromCape Columbia, Commander Peary wrote, "1have with tee 5 men: Matthew Henson,colored; Oatah, Sginwah, Seeglo, andOokaah, Eskimos; and 5 dogs. ...For thehonor and prestige of the United States ofAmerica. ...This scene my eyes will neversee again. Plant the Stara and Stripesover there, Matt ...at the North Pole," ---Peary
Matthew Henson was born on a farm,the site of a former slave market inNanjemoy, Charles County, Md. At the ggeof 13, he ran away to sea for 5 years.The skipper, Captain Childs, taught him toread and write, do sone mathematics, andunderstand principles of navigation.After working in a Washington, D.C., hatstore, he then signed on with Lt. RobertB. Peary, explorer, on an expedition toNicaragua.
For 22 years, Henson followed Peary,first as a valet, later as a dependableassistant, finally as his most trustedcompanion. On Peary's arctic expeditionsHenson was invaluable: He repaired theheavy sledges, drove the dogs, found foodwhere there was no food, constructedigloos, cooked, learned the Eskimolanguage, won the complete admiration ofthe Eskilos, and saved Peary's life on twooccasions.
Peary was rewarded with promotion toROM Admiral, end all his craw exceptBenson received medals. Matt Henson wenthome to obscurity, working as a porter, acarpenter, a blacksmith, and a messenger.
In 1945, 36 years after thediscovery of the North Pole, Henson was
brought to a downtown New York officewhere a Navy captain read a citation and
gave him a silver medal. He was awardedtheM.S. degree by Morgan State Collegeand Howard University, Life Nambership inthe Explorers Club, a medal from theChicago Geographical Society, a citationby the U.S. Department of Defense, andother medals and plaques frae civicorganizations. One year before his deathon April 6, 1954, he and his wife werehonored at the White Souse with acommendation from President Eisenhower.
Through the efforts of an oldfriend, Herbert Frisby, on the 50thanniversary of the discovery, the State ofMaryland declared April 6 "Matthew A.Henson Day." On November 181 1961, theState of Maryland honored him with aplaque in the State House, identifyingMatthew Henson as "Co-Discoverer of theNorth Pole." CI
Matthew flownIlltoberaphy by Admiral Robert E. Peary, Gamy
Robert E. Peary, Jr. (c) National Geographic Scam
Fr.rtsfir11,,,,,er'xrit";7,
;-
'x''F.1
..!
George W on CarverAgricultural Chemist
In the 1930's, when PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt cited the South asthe Nation's number one economic problem,George Weshington Carver and the peanutprofoundly affected the lives and fortunesof Blacks and Utites in the deep South andin the entire Nation.
Carver was born in slavery nearDiamond Grove, No. (now a nationalmonument). When he vas a baby, he and hismother were kidnapped by night raiders.His mother vas sold, and he never saw her
again. Carver's master, Moses Carter, gothim back, raised him, and set him free atthe end of the Civil War. He roamedthrough Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota, andIowa, working at innumerable jobs andovercooling bitter and frustratingobstacles while continuing his education.Beginning college at the age of 30, hereceived his M.S. degree frta /owa StateCollege in 1896. He became a facultymember at Tuskegee Institute in 1896 and,in 1916, a Fellow of the Royal Academy ofEngland. In 1923, he was awarded theSpingarn Medal from the NAACP, and, in1939, the Roosevelt Medal fordistinguished service to science.
"King Cotton" was the tyrant of theone-crop South, but Carver believed thatplanting peanuts would restore thefertility of the vornout soil. When the
poor farmers were eventually convinced,bumper crops glutted the market; andCarver sat to work developing industrialproducts that could be made of thesurplus. H. invented new, improved kindsof peanut butter and while he wee at itproduced more than 300 products from thepeanut, using peanuts to make shampoo,facial cream, ink, linoleum, coffee, woodstain, salad oil, paper, plastics, meatsubstitutes, milk, buttermilk, cheese, andbreakfast foods. SMS4 of the more than100 products he made from sweet potatoesinclude flour, fuel, syrup, alcohol,tarcb, and glue. From cotton he produced
Gimes Wohtsgtoe Caw, shows bs hk kboistoryat nohow Institut, is Metes*United States Department of Agricuituts
rugs, paper, cordage, insulating boards,
and asphalt paving blocks. Products were
developed from the clays of the South. He
was the first to use soybeans in paint
making. Carver made important discoveriesin plant pathology. His balanced lifealso showed him as an excellent pianistand artist; his paintings were awardedprizes at the Columbian Exposition inChicago.
George Washington Carver, the**slave, was the greatest single benefitto Southern agriculture following theCivil War, and a man who gave hisdiscoveries to the world.
The revitalized Nation could give
thanks to the man who had a great impact
on improving the Nation's economy; hisepitaph is one that best sums up his life:E. could have added fortune to fame, but
caring for neither, he found happiness andhonor in being helpful to the World." 0
4131
ei
JA .1)1,4
41.
new se Awed Aim taws Ix the AWionts madNational Coital Puts
ASIR Sai Miami Anfilwr
'444t0a
Archie A. AlexanderEngineer - Bridge Builder
Arch cotkowder sad pada so Weighs tAL Rom work an the bhaprietsibrtts Arabk Akatadar with Ptashiant
Vkifehmrstihmsay, nor Ow libAxnac Riatr iisahowarNational Makes National Ards**,
The Tidal Basin Bridge, which
commands a magnificent view of the cherry
blossoms near the Jefferson Memorial eachspring, was engineered and built by the
eon of a Des Moines coachman and janitor.
The first Black football player at the
State University of Iowa, Archie A.
Alexander graduated in 1912 with a B.S. in
Civil Engineering. The head of his
undergraduate university advised him to
avoid a career in engineering because of
racial predudice; but in later years, asthe head of his own company employingworkers of both races, he had theopportunity on one job to replace thesigns on the restrooms marked ncolored"
mod "whiten to "skilled" and "unskilled."
During a 42-year career as a design
engineer and builder, Alexander gained a
national roputetion ;nd left his stamp on
the Landscape of America. U. built
bridges and freeways, apartments andairfields, powerplents, and railroad
tread's.In 1914, he rstabliohod his own
general contracting firm and later joined
Maurice A. Repass, a former classmate, to
fora a partnership.In the District of Columbia, the
firm of Alexander and Repass built grade
separation structures on IndependenceAvenue, the eawall at the Tidal Basin,
the overpass that took Riggs Road underthe track of the B&O Railroad, the
Whitehurst Freeway along the Potomac, and
apartment buildings.Nominated by President Eisenhower
for the post of Governor of the Virgin
Islands, he was confirmed by the Senate in
Jaauary 1954. A. governor, he effected a
greater measure of self-government and put
in order the territory's financialstructure. Active in community and civicactivities, as well as in the movement for
civil rights, he also served as a trustee
of Tuskagee Institute and Howard
University. In 1947, the State University
of lova honored him as one of tho
university's 100 most outstandinggraduates among some 30,000 alumni.
33
Hadquain of Om Mimi Maim, N. Ira* Ward *Am
ZoripoOviliro -*Amory 1 1W8
4
UMW Nadas
Ralph J. BundleStatesman
Dr. Bunche, distinguished Americandiplomat, received the 1950 Nobel PeacePrize for his great contributions toward
the settlement of the Arab-Israeli War in
1948. Named to the second position in theUnited Nations in 1955, as Under Secretaryfor Special Political Affairs, he was the
highest rankiug American in the United
Nations.Born in Detroit, Bundle was tho sou
of a struggling barber and a musicianmother and the grandson of a slave. When
he was 11 years old, both parents died and
be went to live with his grandmother.
Enduring a life of poverty, he soldnewspapers and shined shoes to help his
fmaily. Awarded a scholarship whichallowed him to work as a gymnasiumjanitor, he starred in basketball and
graduated from college stoma cum laude in
1927. Aided by money is-IMF by Black club
woman, he attended Harvard University and
received the Tappan Prize for his
dissertation in 1934 for-a Ph.D. inPolitical Science. He did postdoctoral
work at Northwestern University, the
London School of Economics, and the
University of Capetown in South Africa.
H. developed the Political Science
Department at Howard University, becoming
its first chairman.With the outbreak of World War II,
be joined the Office of StrategicServices, becoming Chief of the AfricanSection, which laid the intelligencegroundwork for the Allied campaign iuNorth Africa. At the State Department in1944 he was the first Black desk officer
in department history. In 1945, he took
pert es a technical expert at the Security
Conference in San Trancisco where theUnited Nations Charter besan to take form.
H. wrote the charter sections dealiss with
United Nations trusteeships. In 1948,.
durins the infancy of the United Nations,
*Wish Count Folks Bernadotte wasasstseinatad Ails attempting to bring
Dr. B. aid Mad MANN &ay.- -awe' U That
Ualimi Nation
peace to the Middle East, Nunche was ammdiator who umneuvered delegates to theconference table for 81 days until anarmistice was signed. He played a key
role in other United Nations peace-keepingmissions. During the 1965 Selma civilrights march to Montgomery for humandignity, Bunch. marched in the forefrontwith Dr. Martin Luther Xing, Jr., andother leaders.
He held the singular distinction ofbeing the first Black to be honored withthe Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to
bring peace. (Albert J. Luthuli of SouthAdrica we. the second, in 1960, and Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr., the third, in1964).
The labor and enterprise of Sunche,like other Black Americans, helped to make
America great. His contributions to hiscountry, and to the world, secure his
place in the history of America and thecouncils of the world. His propheticremarks remind us of his faith anddedication: "The kind of world we longfor can and will be adhieved...a world inwhich ell men will walk tosether as equalsand with dignity." CI
36
Mary McLeod BethuneLeader, Educator, Stateswoman
MsallicLaostasillume
38
Came of Nigro Westin
Mary McLeod Bethune was consideredalong with Eleanor Roosevelt as one of thetwo greatest Wotan that America hasproduced. *song her many accomplishments,Mks. Bethune had the distinctive honor ofbeing assigned to attend the first meetingof the Son Francisco conference in 1945for the formation of the United Nations.She served along with Eleanor Roosevelt asa consultant to help frame the charter forthe Declaration of HMI= Rights. She
received the NAACP Spingarn award in 1935.More than two decades before the
centennial celebration of the EmancipationProclamation, the Black Americanleadership again had became pessimistic.In a still newer era, as contrasted withthe era of Frederick Douglass, MaryBethune made a prophetic promise for thefuture, "Doors will open everywhere. Theflood tide of a new life is coming in."
Born on a plantation near Mayes -villa, S.C., of poor =slave parents--sharecropping cotton and rice farmers--she joined her family and worked barefootin the cotton fields to help with thecrop. Miry Jane McLeod was 11 beforePresbyterian missionaries founded a schoolat Mayesville. For 4 years she walked 5miles each way to school to acquire therudiments of reading, spelling , writing,and arithmetic. With financial assistancefrom a white Quaker achool teacher inDenver, Colo.,, she attended ScotiaSeminary for Negro girls in Concord, N.C.,and graduated in 1893. On a 1-yearscholarship, she attended the Moody BibleInstitute in Chicago. With no openings tobecame a missionary in Africa, herinterest at the time, she then devoted her,efforts to teaching at Presbyterianschools in Georgia and South Carolina.
emu her husband, Albert Bethune,also a teacher, died, she became dedicated
to the idea of starting her own school.Educator Bethune moved to Daytona, Fla.
IC
In 1904, she began her school of highereducation in Daytona, in a one-room rentedcabin with orange crates as the school's
_ /irat benches, five little girl pupils,and $1.50, but with faith, prayer, andsweat. Bethune sought help from business,civic, and religious leaders, and, in1905, she managed to take out a charterfor the Daytona Normal and IndustrialInstitut* for Negro Girls. In 1907, on anold dumping ground in the town's Blacksection, els saw erected the firstbuilding on her little campus, Faith Rall.In 1923, Bethune's school affiliated withthe Board of Zducation of the MethodistChurch and absorbed its Cookman Instituteto become lethune-Cookman Institute andLoam Bethune-Coalman Co flap. MaryBethune was its president until 1947 andpresident-emeritus and trustee thereafter.
In 1924, she was elected Presidentof the National Association of ColoredWOmen and, beginning in 1935, the founder-president of the National Council of NegroWomen. In 1931, she was selected as oneof the 50 women who have "contributed mostto the enrichment of American life." In1934, she was called to WWshington, D.C.,as President Frenklin Roosevelt's specialadviser on minority affairs and in 1936was appointed Director of Negro Affairs inthe National Youth Administration, thefirst Black woman to head a Federaloffice. Bethune helped to form aninformal "Black Cabinet" to developproerams of relief, recovery, and reformto assist Franklin Roosevelt's New Dealpolicy for alleviating the massiveunemployment that followed the economiccrash of October 1929. Out of thestresses of the Depression and World WarII came the social legislation of a laterday.
Two weeks after Bethune died on Way10, 1955, tbe Supreme Court banded downits guidelines for school deseeregation*with all deliberate speed." She diedtdiecL "the flood tide of new life waseosin im," her prophecy of an earlierday. 0
lev. Beam st s Has hescisco Confiussos of the
MAW Arstiont,itsy 2d, 1944MudNmkasiGmens
4 7 37
Percy L. JulianResearch Organic Chemist
Dr. howl* Ahab the AMV1010basift Addle D.k f of Gikidast mop iressavk
Poorly prepared for college work,
Percy Julian entered DePauw University atGreencastle, Ind., in 1916 as assubfreshmanm and went on to earn the Phi
Beta Kappa Key, was sleeted to Sigma Xi
honor society, and graduated in 1920,
valedictorian of his class.In sonorous instances he managed to
pilot his genius through obstacles and
turn thou into opportunities, a classicexample of the human mind in pursuit of
Muds. of en fonssrGlidden Ompolity. Dr. Julio aimedas
Glicidan Coatinp & Ruins, Division of SChl Corporation
excellence. In his time, it was believedthat he would find little advantege in the
field of chemical research.One evening at Wawa Julian was
shown a small sampling of correspondencesent to one of his chemistry professors
from a leading school of chemistry."Diecourage your bright, colored lad. We
couldn't get him a job when he's done, and
it'll only mean frustration. hty don't
you find him a teaching job in a Nigro
college in the South? He doesn't need a
Ph.D. for that." Julian ignored advicethat attempted to steer him away from thecareer in which be was to win anioternational reputation.
Earning his Master's degree atHarvard, he then went on to completedoctoral studies at the University ofVienna where he studied under the famedchemist Dr. Ernst Spath. Between hisgraduate studies, he taught chemistry atseveral colleges.
In 1932, Julian returned as aresearch fellow to DePauw where hesucceeded in synthesizing physostigmine,the drug used in the treatment of the eyedisease, glaucoma. Then, in 1936, heentered private industry as director ofresearch in the Glidden Company's Chicego-based soya products division. Finally, in1954, he set up his own JulianLaboratories, Inc., in Franklin Park,Ill., followed by a companion laboratoryin Mexico City in 1955.
Julian had more than 175 scientificpublications end 17 honorary degrees, andwas intensively active in theological,medical, civil rights, and educationalactivities. He served on the Boards ofTrustees of six universities.
During World War II, he isolated asoybean protein that was the basis of afirefighting substance, Aero-Foam,affectionately called "bean soup" by Navy
flyers. This compound was used to put outoil and gasoline fires and saved the livesof hundreds of airmen in small planes thatcrashed on the decks of aircraft carriers.In 1953, Julian discovered the means of
synthetically producing cortisone, themedication used in treating arthritis. In
solving problems of isolating complexsterols, he produced the artificial female
hormone progesterone, considered a boon to
pregnant women threatened with spontaneous
abortion. By further devising new meansto filter the chemicals from soybean oil,
he provided quantity production of themale hormone testosterone, sometimes used
in treating 'ging male patients who are
losing their vitality. His laboratoryprepared amd sold the compound pre-vitamin
D3'
used in the manufacture of Vitamin D.
Itself. His company had more that 50percent of the business for this
preparation in the United States. Julian
continued studies to determine themetabolic pathways of Vitamin D in theliving body.
In 1950, when Julian was named"Chicago's Man of the Year," he moved to
Oak Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, to be
near his business, but his home was
bombed. In later years, however, he wasnamed President of the Oak Park RotaryClub.
Julian was born in the deep Southand educated in the secondary schoolsystem of Montgomery, Ala.. His father, arailway mail clerk, was the son of slaves;his mother was a school teacher. The
powerfully minded slave-founder of theclan passed down to Julian a creed forattaining greatness: "Never pretend to besomething you aren't. Make yourselfsomething to be proud of, and then youdon't have to pretend." c]
4 939
-Famous Quotations
W ith Ms FaithThis afternoon I have a dream. It is a dream deeply
rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one dayright down in Georgia and Mississippi and Alabama the sonsof former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will beable to live together as brothers...
I have a dream this afternoon that one day men will nolonger burn down houses and the church of God simply becausepeople want to be free. I have a dream this afternoon thatthere will be a day... uten all nen can live with dignity...that my four little children will not come up in the sameyoung days that I came up in - that they will be judged onthe basis of the content of their character, not the colorof their skin...
I have a dream this afternoon that one day in thisland the words of Amos will become real. And justice will
roll down like waters and righteousness like a mightystream...
I have a dream this afternoon that one day everybodywill be exalted - every hill and valley shall be made low -the rough places will be made plain and the crooked placeswill be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall berevealed and all flesh shall see it together.
I have a dremn this afternoon that the brotherhood ofman will become a reality in this day. With this faith I
will go out to carve a tunnel of hope through the mountainof despair. With this faith I will go out with you andtransform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. With thisfaith um will be able to achieve this new day when all God'schildren - Black men and White men, Jew and Gentiles,Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands andsing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last!Free at lost! Thank God Almighty, we're free at last!"
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., from"I Have a Dream"March on Washington for Jobs andFreedom - August 28, 1963
* ILl. IIIMININT POMO OffICE 1 1170 0-4110712
40 S
Deprivation..."The Negro baby born in America today, regardless of
the section of the Nation in which he is born, has about
one-half &smith chance of completing high school as a white
baby born in the same place on the sane day; one-third as
much chance of completing college; one-third as much chance
of becoming a professional man; twice as much chance of
becoming unemployed; about one-seventh as much chance of
earning $10,000 a year; a life expectancy which is seven
years shorter and the prospects of earning only half as
much."
John F. KennedyJune 11, 1963
Human Rights...I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny
pf democracy... At times history and fate meet at a single
time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's
unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and
Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was
last wee% in Selma, Alabama.There is no constitutional issue here. The command of
the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is
wrong - deadly wrong - to deny any of your fellow Americans
the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of
States' rights or national rights. There is only the
struggle for human rights... This time, on this issue, there
must be no delry, no hesitation, and no compromise with our
purpose.But even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be
over. What happened in Selma is part of a far larger
movement which reaches into every section and State of
America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for
themselves the full blessings of American life.Their cause must be our cause, too. Because it is not
just Negroes, but really it is all of us who must overcome
the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And... we...
shall . ovarccsoa.
President Lyndon Baines Johnsonfrom a speech before the U.S. Congress
March 15, 1965
61
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