j.h. white, homer plessy, w.e.b. ou bois, booker t ... of d.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the...

52
DOCOHRIT MORE 20 175 782 SO 011 949 TITLF For the Dignity of Humanity. 2nd Annual Commemoration of Black History. INSTITUTION National Oceanic and Atanspheric Administration 00C), Rockville, Bd. PUB DATE Feb 79 NOTE 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; *Cultural Awareness: Cultural Differences; *Democratic Values: Disadvantaged Groups; *Buten Dignity; Minority Groups: Negative Attitudes: Political Issues; Quality of Life: Racial Attitudes; Racial Segregation: 'Slavery: Social Change: *Social History: Social Integration; Social Problems: *United States History ABSTRACT This booklet contains selected background materials, biographical information, anecdotes, and statements documenting contributions sada by blacks to American history. Objectives are to i471 attention to information about blacks which has been -mimetically excluded from United States history books and to help t.,dle understand the life, heritage, culture, and problems of Americans of African descent. Organized in chronological order, the 22 sections focus on black individuals including Dred Scott, Harriet Tubman, Solourner Truth, Tnederick Douglass, Blanche K. Bruce, George H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T. Washington, Ralph J. Bunche, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Percy L. Julian. For each biographical axample, Inforsation is presented an personal data, the historical period in which the individual lived and worked, types of difficulties overcome by the individual in question, and major contributions. Major topics throughout the biographical sketches focus on the slavery system, prejudice and discrimination, and the civil rights movesent. A concluding section presents civil rights-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. ***********************************************************************

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Page 1: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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.***********************************************************************

Page 2: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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

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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

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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.

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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

Lu

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Page 7: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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-

Page 8: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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

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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

Famous QUotations 80011111,0 OOOOOOOOOO 11,411.1100041004100. OOOOOOO Of* 41

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Ofwas Attacks kids Boston townepoopie *Out &UM bvws Office of the Architect of the Caphel

The Metwoolicao Wm. of AftGift of elm Rave fop, 1910

11011111101111

10

Page 11: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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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yak Unlvanity Art Gallery

Page 12: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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

Page 13: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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

3

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soo,

Theeoevr of ammakorlit Alasamo,for the Yaw 1796

Pka of Me Chly of Waatiarfoo

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

Page 15: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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."

5

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Page 17: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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

Page 18: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in 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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Research canter, Howaid Univinity

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.

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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."

Selowner Ms& mad finsideat Liecorn The Mary of Cowes

A

Stiouresrnuttispasking

toenennekermitame

ASALH (Astociation far theStudy of AfroaAmorkanLife and Higary)

9

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Aviv** Doti", itifigitartimoolm*woad Capful Peks

Parderieb DouglasWoos Capita flits

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20

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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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United Stalls Pedal Sendai

<

AssisriskDosigiss'Asseastis, Waskhgton, D.t Home

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

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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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k-

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

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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

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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

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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

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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."

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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,

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

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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

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_

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

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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

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Fr.rtsfir11,,,,,er'xrit";7,

;-

'x''F.1

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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

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ei

JA .1)1,4

41.

new se Awed Aim taws Ix the AWionts madNational Coital Puts

ASIR Sai Miami Anfilwr

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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

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Hadquain of Om Mimi Maim, N. Ira* Ward *Am

ZoripoOviliro -*Amory 1 1W8

4

UMW Nadas

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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

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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

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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

Page 48: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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

Page 49: J.H. White, Homer Plessy, W.E.B. Ou Bois, Booker T ... of D.0. 3. 4. ... setting their mark upon the history of their times and ... William Tu^ker, the first Black child born in the

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

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-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

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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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