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< Back Ethel Mae Singleton Bennett As a girl, Mrs. Ethel Mae Singleton Bennett (1914-2005) walked two miles to and from school—from her home in the Hickman Hill section near Havelock. The school is still standing and the Havelock Preservation Society has taken steps to preserve the structure. "As a girl, Mrs. Ethel Mae Singleton Bennett (1914-2005) walked two miles to and from school—from her home in the Hickman Hill section near Havelock. The school is still standing and the Havelock Preservation Society has taken steps to preserve the structure. Mrs. Ethel Bennett lived the remainder of her life on the property where the one room frame schoolhouse of her childhood is located. It was one of the first schools for African American children in Craven County. Twelve to fifteen students regularly attended classes. Mrs Bennett shared her memories of her teachers, Mrs Cox and Mrs. McDonald, who taught multiple grades in this small building. " (Photograph by Frances Eubanks) *Contributing Researcher-Stan Best Previous Next

< Back Alpha Phi Alpha - Morehouse College Alpha Rho Chapter circa 1940 Chapter dating back to its chartering in January 1924. Alpha Phi Alpha - Morehouse College Alpha Rho Chapter circa 1940 Chapter dating back to its chartering in January 1924. Previous Next

< Back Alma Levant Hayden ​ Alma Levant Hayden: First Black woman in the FDA By Kimberly Drake/Medical News Today February 19, 2021 Image: Amy Levant Hayden (1927–1967), spraying chromatogram with reagent, 1952 at NIH. Photographer unknown. Alma Levant Hayden was an American chemist, and one of the first African American women to gain a scientist position at a science agency in Washington, D.C. She joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 1950s. Hayden came to national attention in 1963 when she led the team that exposed a cancer drug fraud, the common substance in Krebiozen, a long-controversial alternative and expensive drug promoted as anti-cancer. . -Begin article- History shows many Black women scientists have been at the forefront of research, some holding positions in esteemed medical organizations. However, their accomplishments often go unrecognized. In this Special Feature, we highlight the life and achievements of the first Black woman chemist in the FDA: Alma Levant Hayden. Many scientists have garnered worldwide acclaim for their groundbreaking discoveries and accomplishments throughout the world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These individuals have been celebrated for their significant scientific contributions throughout history — many of which have saved countless lives. However, despite their equally monumental achievements, Black scientists have been largely overlooked in the annals of scientific history. One of these innovative researchers was Alma Levant Hayden (1927–1967). Known as one of the first Black women to hold a position at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), she was not only a pioneer in the field of chemistry but also an integral part of a discovery that exposed potentially dangerous false claims about a widely publicized cancer drug. In this Special Feature, we look at the life and career of Alma Levant Hayden, her monumental contributions to science, and why she may not have attained the acclaim she deserved. Early life and accomplishments Alma Levant Hayden was born in Greenville, SC, on March 30, 1927, and began her chemistry career by graduating with honors from South Carolina State College. She then obtained a master’s degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her expertise was in spectrophotometry, a type of electromagnetic spectroscopy that measures light wavelength absorption. In the 1950s, Hayden joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and thus became one of the first female Black scientists to hold such a position in Washington. She then went on to be one of the first Black women scientists to join the FDA. In 1963Trusted Source, Hayden came to lead the spectrophotometer research branch of the FDA’s Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. She was an accomplished scientist with research published in several journals. For example, using chromatography techniques, Hayden and her colleagues conducted a study on determining individual adrenocortical steroids in urine in 1956. In 1962, she was involved in research surrounding the identification and determination of adrenocortical steroids, barbiturates, and sulfonamides from paper chromatograms. Uncovering the Krebiozen scam Hayden’s most known contribution to American science involves Krebiozen, a substance allegedly discovered in the 1940s by Yugoslavian physician Dr. Stevan Durovic. Widely publicized as a cure for cancer, this white powdery compound allegedly came from the distilled blood serum of horses and was named Krebiozen after the Greek phrase for “that which regulates growth.” Dr. Durovic began treating people with Krebiozen, claiming that the drug eliminated tumors and reduced pain. Dr. Andrew C. Ivy and Dr. William F. P. Phillips were also involved in the drug’s distribution and fraudulent claims. With growing doubt about this unknown substance’s cancer-curing benefits and safety, the FDA sought to test a sample of the drug in their laboratory. On September 3, 1963, Hayden and her colleagues were assigned the task to determine what the “miracle” drug was and whether it had anti-cancer attributes as claimed. Using a small sample of the white compound, Hayden tested it with an infrared spectrometer, crossmatching it with known chemicals to reveal its identity. What she found was astonishing. The miracle cancer drug was nothing more than creatine, an amino acid derivative already found in the human body. An article Trusted Source from 1966 comments on the case, further explaining the findings: “By the fall of 1963, FDA had reached its scientific conclusions. The Krebiozen powder, the agency announced, had been identified by several chemical tests as creatine. The contents of Krebiozen ampules were identified as mineral oil, with minute amounts of two other substances, amyl alcohol and 1-methylhydantoin, found in ampules shipped in 1963. FDA’s chemical analysis was soon supported by the findings of the National Cancer Institute that Krebiozen ‘does not possess any anticancer activity in man.'” As a result of her discovery, officials issued dozens of indictments against several key players in this false cancer treatment scandal. Another article — this time from November 27, 1984, and published in Time Magazine — outlined the details: “After […] years of medical claims and counterclaims, of whodunit-style charges and countercharges, the loud controversy over the alleged anti-cancer drug Krebiozen seemed headed at last toward orderly disposition. A federal grand jury in Chicago handed up an 85-page indictment listing 49 counts against Dr. Andrew C. Ivy, 71, three associates, and a corporation. The charges ranged from mail fraud and conspiracy to mislabeling and making false statements to government agencies about the drug.” Despite the importance of Hayden’s discovery, historical documentation on the Krebiozen scandal does not mention her name. Deeply rooted inequities Commenters have pointed out that, in the mid-twentieth century, FDA researchers only occasionally testified in court cases. Furthermore, although Black scientists did hold official positions in the agency, the FDA did not recommend that they appear in court to relay data. In the book Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action, 1940–1972, Cornell historian Margaret W. Rossiter notes that FDA officials at the time tended to subscribe to antiBlack views, believing that “a [Black] person might prejudice the case in court, in certain sections of the country.” In the U.S., statistical data reveal inequities in the fields of science and technology, which continue well into the twenty-first century. According to a comment article published in the journal Nature Trusted Source, between 2015–2018, data collected by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and the Open Chemistry Collaborative in Diversity Equity (OXIDE) show that Black chemists are still denied access to academic jobs. Journal authors also note that in the top 50 schools in the U.S., Black students represent 7.9% of bachelor’s degree recipients, 4.5% of Ph.D. recipients, 3.2% of postdoctoral researchers in universities, and 1.6% of chemistry professors. The authors say: “In particular, Black women and early-career Black researchers suffer the devastating effects of institutionalized racism, with very little opportunity for training and promotion. In many cases, they are made to feel that they do not belong and are regularly subjected to various forms of discrimination, resulting in them leaving academia.” An example from Europe suggests the existence of widespread global inequities. The Chemistry Europe Fellows Program Trusted Source was founded in 2015 to identify chemists for outstanding research and support as authors, advisers, and services to their national chemical societies. The organization include 16 chemical societies from 15 countries and have not yet recognized any Black chemists. Promoting equality in STEM Equity across STEM is an urgent need, and several organizations have been formed in the U.S. to bring reform to the scientific community. The OXIDE are one such organization working toward rectifying inequitable policies found in some academic chemistry departments. They also select diversity leaders within chemistry departments based on accomplishments in their field. The National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) are another organization supporting and promoting equitable education and professional development of Black students and professionals. NOBCChE say it is a “nonprofit professional organization dedicated to assisting Black and other minority students and professionals in fully realizing their potential in academic, professional, and entrepreneurial pursuits in chemistry, chemical engineering, and allied fields.” The goal of these and similar organizations is to prioritize the changes needed to foster the academic and career aspirations of Black students in the science fields. Hayden’s life continues to inspire others Besides Hayden’s professional life and accomplishments, her personal life was equally fulfilling. She was married to NIH chemist Alonzo Hayden and had two children, Michael and Andrea. On August 2, 1967, Hayden died of cancer. Despite the racial inequities she endured, her work will be forever engrained in the hearts and minds of chemists worldwide. Her pioneering spirit is also a shining example of unwavering determination and dedication that continues to inspire scientists of all racial and ethnic backgrounds decades later. Article source link: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/.../alma-levant-hayden... Previous Next

< Back Hester Ford A Charlotte, NC woman, Mrs. Hester Ford with 260 descendants, celebrates August 15, 2020 as her 116th Birthday! Records say she's the oldest living American. Mrs. Hester Ford has seen and experienced a lot in her life, and she saw one more birthday on Saturday, August 15, 2020. The Gerontology Research Group said Ford, who lives in Charlotte, is the oldest living American. She and her family have long thought she was born in 1905, which would make her 115 years old, but census documents show Ford was actually born in 1904, which makes her 116 years old. Other numbers from her life are clearer - Mrs. Hester Ford has 12 children, 48 grandchildren and more than 200 great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. Ford has lived in the same home in charlotte for more than 58 years. She was born in 1904 in Lancaster, South Carolina. Ford and her husband had 12 children. The family moved to Charlotte in 1953 where she worked as a nanny for two families. Her grandchildren say they think her faith has helped her get through tough times. The Mayor of Charlotte, Vi Lyles declared August 15 as "Mother Hester Ford Day.” Previous Next

< Back William Artis The Gifted Hands Of Sculptor William Artis The Gifted Hands Of Sculptor William Artis William Ellisworth Artis was born on February 2, 1914, and he was an African-American sculptor, whose favorite medium was clay. The freedom of modeling gave him a broad range of expression. During the latter part of his life, he began to focus on potting. He was born in Washington, NC, but as a teen, he moved to New York 1927. He taught at the Harlem YMCA after finishing high school, then was involved with Works Progress Administration's artists project. He studied sculpture and pottery at Augusta Savage Studios in the early 1930s and was a part of the Harmon Foundation exhibition in 1933. He was featured in the 1930s film A Study of Negro Artists, along with Savage and other artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance, including Richmond Barthé, James Latimer Allen, Palmer Hayden, Aaron Douglas, William Ellisworth Artis, William Ellisworth Artis, Lois Mailou Jones, and Georgette Seabrooke. He received the John Hope Prize, which led to a scholarship at the Art Students League in 1933-34. Artis was hired by Audrey McMahon, the director of the College Art Association, along with several other artists to teach crafts and paint murals in churches and community centers. From 1941 to 1945, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he earned his academic degrees. In 1950 he received his Bachelors in Fine Arts, and in 1951 his Masters in Fine Arts from Syracuse University, where he studied with the sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. After leaving Syracuse, he taught at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In 1945, Artis, with fellow artist Romare Bearden and Selma Burke, were together in the landmark Albany Institute of History and Art exhibit and over the next decade found the black artist making inroads in national exhibits and major galleries. From 1956 to 1966 he was Professor of Ceramics at Nebraska Teachers College after which he was Professor of Art at Mankato State College until 1975. Artis died in 1977. During this time a joint retrospective exhibition with his works was held in 1971 at Fisk University. He is also featured in Against the Odds, an exhibition of African American Artists from the Harmon Foundation. His works can also be found at Atlanta University, the Whitney Museum, the Two Centuries of Black American Art exhibited and collected by Fisk University, Hampton University, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and private collectors. Previous Next

< Back Booker T. Washington ​ Booker T. Washington's Legacy in Wilmington, NC By Claudia Stack / NewsBreak Feb. 20, 2021 Image description: Booker T. Washington, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing front. [Between 1880 and 1890] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . In the fall of 1910, famed educator and president of Tuskegee Institute, Booker T. Washington, made a series of speeches in North Carolina. On November 3, 1910, he spoke at the Academy of Music in Wilmington (Reaves, Strength through Struggle p. 48). A large crowd of both races attended his speech, in which he said: "The Negro is here, and is here to stay. We are to live in the South together, black and white, and it is sometimes helpful for us to speak directly and frankly to each other... [we must] do everything that will promote good will and friendship rather than enmity and discord." Underneath this cordial appeal, Washington had a steely determination to further African American education and enterprise. Although criticized by some for accepting segregation, it’s important to realize that Washington earned the nickname “The Wizard of Tuskegee” for a reason. Operating in the hostile climate of Alabama, where more than 300 African Americans were lynched between 1877 and 1950, Washington couldn’t advocate for social equality between the races and stay alive. As it was, he received death threats on a regular basis for doing things such as dining with Theodore Roosevelt in 1901. Washington was continuously playing a game of strategy with his own life at stake. He pushed the limits of what was acceptable advocacy for African American education. I think he did so because he believed in the wisdom of the sentiment of this quote attributed to abolitionist Frederick Douglass: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” Literacy opens a door in the mind that, once opened, cannot be closed. Accompanying Washington on his 1910 North Carolina speaking tour were some of the state’s leading African American men: Charles Clinton Spaulding (Manager of and later president of NC Mutual Insurance Company), James Benson Dudley (President of NC A&T), George Clinton Clement (A.M.E. Zion Bishop) and Robert R. Taylor (Architect and Tuskegee faculty member). However well received Washington was in Wilmington in 1910, his greatest impact on New Hanover County generally would not be felt for several more years. That came with the advent of the Rosenwald school building program, begun in 1912 near Tuskegee under the guidance of Washington and his assistant Clinton J. Calloway, using money donated by philanthropist Julius Rosenwald. The Rosenwald School building effort, structured as a matching grant program, began with a $25,000 gift Julius Rosenwald made in 1912 to Tuskegee in support of teacher training. At the behest of Booker T. Washington and Clinton J. Calloway, Rosenwald allowed $2800 of that money to be used in a pilot program to help communities build small rural schools. From 1912, when the first six Rosenwald Schools were built in Alabama, to 1932, when the Rosenwald Fund ceased funding schools, the program helped to construct over 5,000 buildings for education across the South: 4,977 schools, 163 shops, and 217 boarding houses for teachers (see Hoffschwelle, The Rosenwald Schools of the American South, 2006). Many articles about the Rosenwald schools highlight the generosity of Julius Rosenwald but downplay or even omit mention of untold millions of African Americans who donated. Out of his fortune, Rosenwald donated $4.3 million for southern African American schools between 1912 and 1932. The Rosenwald Fund also provided modern plans free of charge to districts, raising the standards for school building for all children. There is not doubt that Rosenwald’s vision and generosity galvanized school building. At the same time, out of their relative poverty, African Americans donated $4.7 million for Rosenwald schools, over and above the taxes they paid. They also often frequently donated materials, labor, and land. This sacrifice is almost beyond imagining. The first Rosenwald school built in North Carolina was the Warren Grove School in Chowan County, completed in 1915. At that time, the Rosenwald school building program was administered by Tuskegee Institute, and schools built between 1915 and 1920 are usually designated as “Built under Tuskegee” in the Fisk University Rosenwald School Database. In 1920, the program’s administration was moved to Nashville. In New Hanover County, communities raised funds and built Rosenwald schools soon after the Rosenwald school program was extended to North Carolina. During the period of Tuskegee administration (1915 to 1920), New Hanover County families organized and raised funds to build six one and two teacher schools. Those early schools -- called East Wilmington, Masonboro, Middle Sound, Oak Hill, Scott’s Hill and South Wilmington-- were in the more rural areas of the county. For these six schools, African American residents paid their taxes, then contributed an additional $2,525 (equivalent to $51,601 in value today). Part of the Rosenwald Fund’s requirement to release their matching portion (usually up to 20-25% of the school’s cost) was that school boards commit to finishing the school and running it as part of the public school system. If the experiences of communities in New Hanover County are anything like those in nearby Pender County, where I filmed the documentaries Under the Kudzu and Carrie Mae: An American Life (both available on Amazon Prime Video), African American families often put teachers up in their homes. For decades, they also continued to donate funds and materials for basic school needs. As the Rosenwald Fund’s school building effort evolved through the 1920s, there was a change in emphasis. The focus shifted from aiding small rural schools, to providing larger, more centralized schools in urban areas. As part of the 1930-31 Rosenwald school budget, two rooms were added to the East Wilmington School. The same year (1931), New Hanover County Schools received Rosenwald Fund support for a new building for Williston Industrial School. As many in Wilmington know, Williston as an institution has a storied past that begins in 1865. It was originally organized by the Freedman’s Bureau, and then operated until 1873 by the American Missionary Association (AMA). The school was named for Samuel Williston “a northern philanthropist who gave considerable amounts of money to the AMA for educating southern black children.” (Reaves, Strength through Struggle, pp 152) Williston was taken over by the city in 1873, and became a public school. Over the years it was located in different buildings. Principal David Clarke Virgo introduced higher grades, and Williston was accredited as a high school in 1923. The school built a reputation for academic excellence. The 1931 Williston building, partially funded by a $6,000 contribution from the Rosenwald Fund, was an impressive school built to accommodate 20 teachers. It was a stately brick building with tall white columns and a sweeping staircase to the front entrance. Sadly, it burned in 1936. However, it was rebuilt on a very similar plan, and that building still stands on 10th street in Wilmington, although now in use by the Gregory school (another historic African American school). (Reaves, Strength through Struggle, pp 159) The Rosenwald support for Williston reflects the fact that by 1930, the Rosenwald Fund was focusing on larger, urban high schools that could offer vocational classes. However, this does not mean that Williston, or any other North Carolina historic African American high school, used a curriculum that was primarily vocational. Due to the fact that many African American high schools were called “training schools” (which actually originally just designated a school for teacher training- see Redclay, County Training Schools and Public Secondary Education for Negroes in the South), and based on their vocational course offerings, many people mistakenly believe that the curriculum in North Carolina’s historic African American schools differed substantially from the curriculum in European American schools. However, three important counterpoints show the error of this belief. 1. North Carolina’s historic African American schools were NOT structured around a vocational curriculum. The vocational courses were electives, while the core curriculum was based on the liberal arts and suitable for college preparation. The issue of whether the European American and African American schools in North Carolina would follow the same curriculum was settled in 1924 by the founding Director of the Division of Negro Education, Nathan Carter Newbold. He stated then that “the State Department of Public Instruction takes the position that the courses of study in Negro high schools should be identical with those for the whites.” (Thuesen, Greater than Equal, p. 59) 2. The 1917 Smith-Hughes Act sent federal funds to the states for secondary vocational education, and alumni of the historically European American high schools in Wilmington can attest to courses that were available there in various areas such as masonry and auto mechanics. African American students in North Carolina were actually shortchanged of their share of vocational funds. A 1937 state report documented that although African American students made up 29% of the NC student population, they received just 10-15% of vocational funding. (Thuesen, Greater than Equal, p. 76). 3. While all Rosenwald elementary school plans had a designated “industrial room,” in North Carolina that space was usually quickly taken over for other uses, such as more academic classroom space, or for food preparation. North Carolina did not allocate funds or develop a curriculum for vocational/industrial education at the primary level. Out of hundreds of interviews with Rosenwald school alumni, I have only met one person who recalls any kind of handiwork done in a Rosenwald primary school, and that was a brief time of weaving baskets. That experience probably stemmed more from the teacher’s interest in that area than any wide scale initiative. Like alumni of Pender County Training School I have interviewed, Williston alumni recall taking French, Algebra, History, and other liberal arts courses, in addition to vocational courses they may have taken. This is in no way meant to demean vocational education, but simply to try to correct an inaccurate perception of Williston and other historic African American high schools in North Carolina. During the 1920s, the high school dropout rate was high in North Carolina for both races. This was due to the fact that young people often had to work to help support their families. However, of those who were able to complete high school at Williston, many went to college and/or pursued careers in business, the military, education, and government. It would be impossible to overstate the impact that Booker T. Washington had on New Hanover County through the Rosenwald school program. Washington inspired Rosenwald to contribute to schools that had a profound impact both locally and across the South. However, it was the striving and sacrifice of African American families that created the schools, just as they had created independent schools, parochial schools, and colleges prior to the Rosenwald Fund. (See Schools Built by African Americans Changed the South.) Ultimately, segregated school systems are ethically indefensible and fiscally unwise. However, in examining Washington’s legacy in Wilmington, the dichotomy of vocational vs. liberal arts education seems less important than the way he helped African American communities obtain decent school buildings for their children. As Washington said in a 1896 address in Brooklyn, NY, sixteen years before the start of the Rosenwald School program: "There are a few things of which I feel certain that furnish a basis for thought and action. I know … that, whether in slavery or freedom, we have always been loyal to the Stars and Stripes, that no schoolhouse has been opened for us that has not been filled." Source: https://www.newsbreak.com/.../booker-t-washingtons-legacy... Previous Next

< Back Patti Zarling How to improve transfer outcomes for community college students A new guide advises two- and four-year institutions to coordinate programs, offer tailored advising and make transferring a priority. by Patti Zarling -Published March 5, 2018 How to improve transfer outcomes for community college students A new guide advises two- and four-year institutions to coordinate programs, offer tailored advising and make transferring a priority. by Patti Zarling -Published March 5, 2018 Students who are most successful moving from two-year to four-year colleges — and earn degrees — attend community colleges that make transferring a priority, create clear programmatic pathways and provide tailored advising. That’s according the Columbia University Community College Research Center, which recently partnered with the Aspen Institute and other research groups to create a guide for higher education institutions looking to improve transfer outcomes. Transfer outcomes aren’t good. Research indicates that although more than 80% of first-year students attending two-year schools intend to transfer to four-year colleges or universities, only about 32% do so within six years. And of those who transfer, just 14% earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. Graduation rates are even worse for marginalized students. According to the Community College Research Center, one-in-10 lower-income students who start at a community college earn a degree at a four-year institution within six years. Only 9% of black and 11% of Latino students who start at a two-year college earn degrees at traditional institutions during the same time period. Improving outcomes is increasingly important as two-year and four-year schools look to boost enrollment and make college more affordable. Developers of the guide, or “playbook,” looked at college partnerships that work. Successful institutions may implement plans differently, but success tends to start with buy-in from faculty and staff members from at both two- and four schools, not to mention with state lawmakers. “These colleges clearly made transfers a priority,” said John Fink, a researcher with the Community College Research Center. “They made transferring a default plan for every student, rather than optional.” Successful transfer programs often share faculty to help design classes at two-year institutions that will not only count for credit at four-year schools but that will fulfill specific requirements at the college or university. “One of the things that can cause a huge barrier is that students take these classes without any idea of what they need at the four-year level,” Fink said. “A culture of ‘start anywhere, go anywhere,’ is important. That takes a lot of coordination by community college and four-year college leadership. Successful partnerships will review agreements annually so students know which classes to take.” Partnering for transfer success It’s also important to carefully direct students to the right classes, Fink said. Successful partnerships tailor transfer advisement, with staff explaining the process as soon as possible to incoming students and learning the student’s goal. “They make sure students are finding the right pathways,” he said. Some four-year schools offer advisement to students attending two-year colleges, and in Washington state, students who declare a major while in community college are given priority for moving onto Western Washington University, Fink said. Several states, including Ohio, North Carolina and Washington, recognize that transfers shouldn’t depend on where a student lives, and have brought public two- and four-year schools together to create transfer guarantee programs across their higher ed systems. Ohio has been working to create a successful transfer program for about 25 years, according to Paula Compton, associate vice chancellor of articulation and transfer for the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The system began with coordinating general education courses among community colleges and universities, then added business classes. It's now trying to expand two-plus-two programs to all majors. “We have really expanded in the past eight years,” she said. “We know most of our students are very mobile. Many high school students now come to college with up two years of college credits, or they have adult career training or military training. We have to find a way to coordinate it all to benefit not only the students, but our outcomes and the state workforce as a whole.” Ohio state legislators directed the state's higher ed institutions to make transfers more seamless in order to make college more affordable for all students, including minorities and those living in rural areas that may see community college as their only path to a four-year degree. To that end, higher ed administrators created a website that allows students and educators to plug in classes they have taken at certain colleges and see how they match up to similar classes at other institutions. The idea is that students can see which four-year schools might be the best match for them, as well as plan which classes they should take at a community college that will transfer to four-year schools. But it can be daunting, and Compton said administrators encourage guidance counselors to work closely with students as they create education goals. Transfers must be managed from all sides, she said. “Our strategy is to have everyone working together,” she said. “You can have clear pathways, but if you don’t have advisors it won’t work. But you also have to have institutional buy-in to create the clear pathways.” Ohio is in the early stages of researching the impact of its transfer-guarantee program, she said. Addressing equity issues As many systems work to engineer more seamless transfer programs, Fink said minority and lower-income students may bring their own set of challenges. He said that although community college students may start out seeking a bachelor’s degree, they may change their minds because of biases of educators or advisors. He cited a recent study by Xueli Wang, faculty member in the University of Wisconsin's Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis department, which found that men who sought advising were more likely to transfer into STEM programs than women seeking advisement. Another way students may “cool down” to the idea of seeking a four-year degree can be the time they spend in remedial courses at the community college level. “The majority of entering students at many community colleges are placed into developmental education, which disproportionally effects black and Latino students,” Fink said. “So, instead of exploring their interests, accumulating college credit and starting to concentrate their course-taking in their field of interest, these students have to retake high school level classes.” This not only makes the process longer, but may be demoralizing for students. Even if learners make it through the developmental course sequence, figuring out the right courses to take to transfer and apply to a bachelor's degree program is usually complicated, Fink said. Judy Scott-Clayton's 2011 paper described this lack of structure and systematic support like navigating a "shapeless river on a dark night". Minority and lower-income students may not have the college-educated relatives to help them navigate the complicated transfer path. If they do no systemically receive guidance and answers to questions, they might not know they need to ask, Fink noted, they may drop out. Recommended reforms in the Community College Research Center playbook include directing schools to work systematically to help all new students clarify end goals and to show them clear pathways, which should in turn improve equity issues, Fink said. Colleges working to improve transfer outcomes and reduce inequality need to address structural barriers to transfer success and scrutinize practices, such as implicit biases, which might lead to inequality. “Schools have to make the extra effort to make sure every student has the help they need in order to achieve equitable outcomes,” Fink said. https://www.educationdive.com/.../how-to-improve.../517351/ Previous Next

< Back Negro tenant farmer’s wife. Near Stem, Granville Co., North Carolina. 1940 May. Photographer: Jack Delano. Negro tenant farmer’s wife. Near Stem, Granville Co., North Carolina. 1940 May. Photographer: Jack Delano. Negro tenant farmer’s wife. Near Stem, Granville Co., North Carolina. 1940 May. Photographer: Jack Delano. Previous Next

< Back Zeta Phi Beta Sorority - Shaw University. ​ ZETA PHI BETA SORORITY Shaw University. Image source: Shaw Bears 1963 Yearbook. Previous Next

< Back Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray We #NCMAAHC Celebrate The Life And Work Of Sista Rev. Pauli Murray!! For the many doors that she opened, for the many injustices against African Americans, specifically African American Women that she worked to correct, her work shall not be forgotten! Born on November 20, 1910 Died on . July 1, 1985 Previous Next

< Back James FARMER and John LEWIS Photograph: Montgomery, AL. 1961. James FARMER (seated in chair) and John LEWIS, (sitting on floor) at a strategy meeting for the Freedom Riders. Lewis' head is bandaged, having been beaten earlier by the Ku Klux Klan. Photograph by Bruce Davidson/Mangun Photography Source: https://pro.magnumphotos.com/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchResult... ----- James Leonard Farmer Jr. (b. January 12, 1920 – d. July 9, 1999) was an American civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." He was the initiator and organizer of the first Freedom Ride in 1961, which eventually led to the desegregation of interstate transportation in the United States. In 1942, Farmer co-founded the Committee of Racial Equality in Chicago along with George Houser, James R. Robinson, Samuel E. Riley, Bernice Fisher, Homer Jack, and Joe Guinn. It was later called the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and was dedicated to ending racial segregation in the United States through nonviolence. Farmer served as the national chairman from 1942 to 1944. By the 1960s, Farmer was known as "one of the Big Four civil rights leaders in the 1960s, together with King, NAACP chief Roy Wilkins and Urban League head Whitney Young." Early Life James L. Farmer Jr. was born in Marshall, Texas, to James L. Farmer Sr. and Pearl Houston, who were both educators. His father was a professor at Wiley College, a historically black college, and a Methodist minister with a Ph.D. in theology from Boston University. His mother, a homemaker, was a graduate of Florida's Bethune-Cookman Institute and a former teacher. When Farmer was a young boy, about three or four, he wanted a Coca-Cola when he was out in town with his mother. His mother had adamantly told him no, that he had to wait until they got home. Farmer wanted to get one right then and enviously watched another young boy go inside and buy a Coke. His mother told him the other boy could buy the Coke at that store because he was white, but Farmer was a person of color and not allowed there. This defining, unjust moment was the first, but not the last, experience that Farmer remembered of segregation. When Farmer was 10, Farmer's Uncle Fred, Aunt Helen, and cousin Muriel came down to visit from New York. They had no trouble getting a sleeping compartment on the train down but were worried about getting one on the way back. Farmer went to the train station with his dad. While his father convinced the manager to give his uncle a room in the sleeping car on the train, Farmer realized his dad was lying. Farmer was shocked to hear the lies, as his father was a minister. On the way back, his father told him, "I had to tell that lie about your Uncle Fred. That was the only way we could get the reservation. The Lord will forgive me." Still, Farmer was very upset that his father had to lie to get the bedroom on the train. This was when Farmer began to dedicate his life to ending segregation. Farmer was a child prodigy; as a freshman in 1934 at the age of 14, he enrolled at Wiley College, a historically black college where his father was teaching in Marshall, Texas. He was selected as part of the debate team. Melvin B. Tolson, a professor of English, became his mentor. At the age of 21, Farmer was invited to the White House to talk with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt signed the invitation. Before the talk with the president, Mrs. Roosevelt talked to the group. Farmer took a liking to her immediately, and the two of them monopolized the conversation. When the group went in to talk to President Roosevelt, Mrs. Roosevelt followed and sat in the back. After the formalities were done, the young people were allowed to ask questions. Farmer said, "On your opening remarks you described Britain and France as champions of freedom. In light of their colonial policies in Africa, which give the lie to the principle, how can they be considered defenders?" The president tactfully avoided the question. She exclaimed, "Just a minute, you did not answer the question!" Although the president still did not answer the question as Farmer phrased it, Farmer was placated knowing that he had gotten the question out there. Farmer earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Wiley College in 1938, and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Howard University School of Religion in 1941. At Wiley, Farmer became anguished over segregation, recalling particular occasions of racism he had witnessed or suffered in his younger days. During the Second World War, Farmer had official status as a conscientious objector. Inspired by Howard Thurman, a professor of theology at Howard University, Farmer became interested in Gandhi-style pacifism. Martin Luther King Jr. also studied this later and adopted many of its principles. Farmer started to think about how to stop racist practices in America while working at the Fellowship of Reconciliation, which he joined after college. During the 1950s, Farmer served as national secretary of the Student League for Industrial Democracy (SLID), the youth branch of the socialist League for Industrial Democracy. SLID later became Students for a Democratic Society. Farmer married Winnie Christie in 1945. Winnie became pregnant soon after they were married. Then she found a note from a girl in one of Farmer's coat pockets, an event that served as a catalyst for the end of their marriage. She miscarried, and the couple divorced not long afterwards. A few years later, Farmer married Lula A. Peterson. She had been diagnosed with Hodgkins disease, so the two were told not to have children, because at that time pregnancy was thought to exacerbate cancer. Years later, they sought a second opinion. At that time, Lula was encouraged to try to have children. She had a miscarriage but then successfully had a daughter, Tami Lynn Farmer, born on February 14, 1959. A second daughter, Abbey Farmer, was born in 1962. Founding CORE James Farmer later recalled: "I talked to A. J. Muste, executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), about an idea to combat racial inequality. Muste found the idea promising but wanted to see it in writing. I spent months writing the memorandum making sure it was perfect. A. J. Muste wrote me back asking me about money to fund it and how they would get members. Finally, I was asked to propose my idea in front of the FOR National Council. In the end, FOR chose not to sponsor the group, but they gave me permission to start the group in Chicago. When Farmer got back to Chicago, the group began setting up the organization. The name they picked was CORE, the Committee of Racial Equality. The name was changed about a year later to the Congress of Racial Equality." In an interview with Robert Penn Warren in 1964 for the book Who Speaks for the Negro?, Farmer described the founding principles of CORE as follows: 1. that it involves the people themselves rather than experts, 2. that it rejects segregation, and 3. that it does so through nonviolent direct action. Jack Spratt was a local diner in Chicago that would not serve colored people. CORE decided to do a large-scale sit in where they would occupy all available seats. Twenty-eight persons entered Jack Spratt in groups, with at least one black person in each group. No one who was served would eat until the black people were served, or they gave their plate to the black person nearest them. The other customers, already in the diner, did the same. The manager told them that they would serve the colored customers in the basement, but the group declined. Then it was proposed that all the colored people sit in the back corner and get served there, again the group declined. Finally the establishment called the police. When the police entered, they refused to kick the CORE group out. Having no other options, all patrons were served. Afterward, CORE did tests at Jack Spratt and found that the diner's policy had changed. The White City Roller Skating Rink allowed only white patrons. Its staff made excuses to blacks as to why they could not enter. For example, white CORE members were allowed to enter the rink, but black members were refused because of "a private party". Having documented that the rink was lying about the circumstances, CORE decided to sue them. When the case went to trial, a state lawyer conducted the prosecution, rather than the county. The judge ruled in favor of the rink. Although the outcome of the case was a setback for CORE, the group was making a name for itself. Freedom Rides In 1961, Farmer, who was working for the NAACP, was reelected as the national director of CORE, as the civil rights movement was gaining power. Although the United States Supreme Court in Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 328 U.S. 373 (1946) had ruled that segregated interstate bus travel was unconstitutional, and reiterated that in Boynton v. Virginia (1960), interstate buses enforced segregation below the Mason–Dixon line (in southern states). Gordon Carey proposed the idea of a second Journey of Reconciliation and Farmer jumped at the idea. This time the group planned to journey through the Deep South. Farmer coined a new name for the trip: the Freedom Ride. They planned for a mixed race and gender group to test segregation on interstate buses. The group would be trained extensively on nonviolent tactics in Washington D.C. and embark on May 4, 1961: half by each of the two major carriers, Greyhound Bus Company and Trailways. They would ride through Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and finish in New Orleans on May 17. They planned to challenge segregated seating in bus stations and lunch rooms as well. For overnight stops they planned rallies and support from the black community, and scheduled talks at local churches or colleges. On May 4, the participants began. The trip down through Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia went smoothly enough. The states knew about the trip and facilities either took down the "Colored" and "White Only" signs, or didn't enforce the segregation laws. Before the group made it to Alabama, the most dangerous part of the Freedom Ride, Farmer had to return home because his father died. In Alabama, the other riders were severely beaten and abused, narrowly escaping death when their bus was firebombed. With the bus destroyed, they flew to New Orleans instead of finishing the ride. Diane Nash and other members of the Nashville Student Movement and SNCC quickly recruited college students to restart the Freedom Ride where the first had left off. Farmer rejoined the group in Montgomery, Alabama. Doris Castle persuaded him to get on the bus at the last minute. The Riders were met with severe violence; in Birmingham the sheriff allowed local KKK members several minutes to attack the Riders, badly injuring a photographer. The violent reactions and events attracted national media attention. Their efforts sparked a summer of similar rides by other Civil Rights leaders and thousands of ordinary citizens. In Jackson, Mississippi, Farmer and the other riders were immediately jailed, but law enforcement prevented violence. The riders followed a "jail no bail" philosophy to try to fill the jails with protesters and attract media attention. From county and town jails, the riders were sent to harsher conditions at Parchman State Penitentiary. As the Freedom Rides were attacked by whites, news coverage became widespread, and included photographs, newspaper accounts, and motion pictures. The Congress of Racial Equality and segregation and civil rights became national issues. Farmer became a well known as a civil rights leader. The Freedom Rides inspired Erin Gruwell's teaching techniques and the Freedom Writers Foundation. The following year, civil rights groups, supplemented by hundreds of college students from the North, worked with local activists in Mississippi on voter registration and education. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, all of whom Farmer had helped recruit for CORE, disappeared during the Mississippi Freedom Summer. A full-scale FBI investigation aided by other law enforcement, found their murdered corpses buried in an earthen dam. The murders inspired the 1988 feature movie, Mississippi Burning. Years later, recalling the event, Farmer said, "Anyone who said he wasn't afraid during the civil rights movement was either a liar or without imagination. I think we were all scared. I was scared all the time. My hand didn't shake but inside I was shaking Later Career In 1963, Louisiana state troopers hunted him door to door for trying to organize protests. A funeral home director had Farmer play dead in the back of a hearse that carried him along back roads and out of town. He was arrested that August for disturbing the peace. As the Director of CORE, Farmer was considered one of the "Big Six" of the Civil Rights Movement who helped organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. (The press also used the term "Big Four", ignoring John Lewis and Dorothy Height.) Growing disenchanted with emerging militancy and black nationalist sentiments in CORE, Farmer resigned as director in 1966. By that time, Congress had passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ending segregation, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, authorizing federal enforcement of registration and elections. Farmer took a teaching position at Lincoln University, a historically black college (HBCU) near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also lectured around the country. In 1968, Farmer ran for U.S. Congress as a Liberal Party candidate backed by the Republican Party, but lost to Shirley Chisholm. In 1969, the newly elected Republican President Richard Nixon offered Farmer the position of Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now Health and Human Services). The next year, frustrated by the Washington bureaucracy, Farmer resigned from the position. Farmer retired from politics in 1971 but remained active, lecturing and serving on various boards and committees. He was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II in 1973. In 1975, he co-founded Fund for an Open Society. Its vision is a nation in which people live in stably integrated communities, where political and civic power is shared by people of different races and ethnicities. He led this organization until 1999. Farmer was named an honorary vice chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America. He published his autobiography Lay Bare the Heart in 1985. In 1984, Farmer began teaching at Mary Washington College (now The University of Mary Washington) in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Farmer retired from his teaching position in 1998. He died on July 9, 1999, of complications from diabetes in Fredericksburg, Virginia WORKS Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement. James Farmer, Penguin-Plume, 1986 ISBN 0-452-25803-0 He wrote Religion and Racism but it has not been published. Freedom-When was published in 1965. Several issues of Fellowship magazine of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1992 (Spring, Summer and Winter issues) contained discussions by Farmer and George Houser about the founding of CORE. A conference at Bluffton College in Bluffton, Ohio, on October 22, 1992, Erasing the Color Line in the North, explored CORE and its origins. Both Houser and Farmer attended. Academics and the participants unanimously agreed that the founders of CORE were Jim Farmer, George Houser and Bernice Fisher. The conference has been preserved on videotape available from Bluffton College. #Irememberourhistory #DontLetThemForgetUs #TellTheWholeTruth #TeachTheChildren #BHM365 #decolonizeamericanhistory #freedomriders #civilrights #BlackHistoryKeepers #JohnLewis #JamesFarmer #FightingAgainstAmericanOppression Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Farmer Previous Next

< Back Wife and children of Mr. Hubbard, Negro tenant farmer, inside their home. They plant tobacco near Farrington, Chatham County, North Carolina, May 1940. Photographer: Jack Delano Wife and children of Mr. Hubbard, Negro tenant farmer, inside their home. They plant tobacco near Farrington, Chatham County, North Carolina, May 1940. Photographer: Jack Delano Wife and children of Mr. Hubbard, Negro tenant farmer, inside their home. They plant tobacco near Farrington, Chatham County, North Carolina, May 1940. Photographer: Jack Delano Previous Next

< Back James Timothy Brymn James Timothy Brymn was an African-American conductor, arranger, composer, and pianist who generally performed northeastern hot style jazz. He was usually credited as Lieutenant James Tim Brymn, and was sometimes billed as "Mr. Jazz Himself" James Timothy Brymn (October 5, 1874 or 1881 – October 3, 1946) was an African-American conductor, arranger, composer, and pianist who generally performed northeastern hot style jazz. He was usually credited as Lieutenant James Tim Brymn, and was sometimes billed as "Mr. Jazz Himself" He was born in Kinston, North Carolina; most sources indicate October 5, 1881, but researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest 1874 on the basis of his entry in the 1880 census. He studied at Christian Institute and Shaw University and received his musical education at the National Conservatory of Music. With Cecil Mack, he co-wrote a number of popular songs, including "Good Morning, Carrie" (1901), "Josephine, My Jo" (1902), and "Please Go 'Way and Let Me Sleep" (1902). By 1905, Brymn had written five songs that were used in the Smart Set Company shows: "Morning Noon and Night", "O-San", "Powhatana", "Travel On", and "Darktown Grenadiers". He joined the U.S. Army, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, serving throughout the First World War with the 350th Field Artillery. He became the bandleader of the regimental band, the "Black Devils". In 1919, Brymn’s Black Devil Orchestra performed at the opening of the Paris Peace Conference, in front of President Woodrow Wilson and General John Pershing, and were later credited with introducing jazz to France. The all African-American 70 piece orchestra was described at the time as "a military symphony engaged in a battle of jazz." Willie "The Lion" Smith also served in the 350th Field Artillery Regiment and claimed to have received the nickname of "The Lion" for his bravery while in this unit. Brymn and his musicians returned to the United States after the war. Brymn led orchestras at two leading New York City nightclubs, Ziegfeld's Roof Garden and Reisenweber's Jardin de Dance, and made a series of recordings for OKeh Records, including "Daddy Won’t You Please Come Home," "Don’t Tell Your Monkey Man," and "Siren of the Southern Sea." Later, in the 1920s, he became the musical director at James Reese Europe's Clef Club in Harlem, and for the Broadway theatre show Liza. With Chris Smith and Cecil Mack, he wrote "The Camel Walk", a popular dance tune in 1925. In 1933, he joined ASCAP. He died in New York City on October 3, 1946 Source: Red Hot Jazz Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tim_Brymn Previous Next

< Back Billy Kaye Born in Wilson, N.C. in 1932, drummer Billy Kaye has performed with jazz titans like Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Lou Donaldson, and George Benson. This summer he performed in his hometown for the first time ever. Meet Billy Kaye. Born in Wilson, N.C. in 1932, drummer Billy Kaye has performed with jazz titans like Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Lou Donaldson, and George Benson. This summer he performed in his hometown for the first time ever. Meet Billy Kaye. Interview by Sandra Davidson | Video by N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources | Editing Support by Scott Stegall Earlier this summer Wilson, N.C. welcomed home a native son: legendary jazz drummer Billy Kaye. Born Willie King Seaberry in Wilson in 1932, Billy has performed with jazz titans like Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Lou Donaldson, and George Benson. His performance career began in 1950 when he played with Percy Mayfield. A performer, composer, and educator, Kaye was the featured drummer for jazz workshops at the inaugural Newport Jazz Festival and is currently a music educator in the New York City public school systems through the Jazz Foundation of America’s Jazz in Schools program. Billy learned to play drums during his tenure in the U.S. Air Force, and has traveled the world as a musician. His concert on June 7that the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park marked the first time he ever played in his hometown. Tell me what you remember about growing up in Wilson. I was born in ‘32 a couple blocks from the train station near the Cherry Hotel, one of the top hotels in Wilson. My grandparents’ home was 517 Church Street which was something like a two-block walk to the train station. It was a block off Nash Street. Most of the employment was done there. Nash Street had [a] drug store, dentist, doctor. There was a Ritz Theater on Nash Street. There were three churches in that area. That was basically it. I grew up running around the yard playing the Lone Ranger with a broomstick between my legs. I used to enjoy coming home in the summers when I was a youngster to play in the dirt, climb the trees, play under the house. That kind of stuff. Tell me how you came to be a jazz drummer. That’s a hard one. It wasn’t a thing that I decided as a boy. During World War II, my folks moved to Brooklyn. Back in the ‘30s and early ‘40s, many people bounced back and forth wherever the work was. The music started in grammar school in Brooklyn. We had a class called Music Appreciation. My teacher played music and we had to identify, “What do you think this person who wrote this music was thinking about? What do you hear in this music?” [Once] the teacher [played] the William Tell Overture. We didn’t know that. All we could think about was, “Oh, that’s the Lone Ranger.” No, that’s not the Lone Ranger. We learned that was the finale from William Tell by Rossini. So, we start to learn about these writers. That’s where the life came into the music. They were musically photographing, so to speak, their imagination or what they were thinking about. Then I had to start taking piano lessons. I had this thing about “I think I want to play the drums,” [but] my father said, “You’ll learn how to play a piano so you’ll know what you’re beating on those things about.” It didn’t make me want to be a drummer, but as things went on and I grew older, I started listening to jazz, and I started hearing different things. I started listening more closely and fooling around on my grandmother’s piano. That really started the music. You’ve played with some amazing jazz musicians, and you’ve toured all over the world. Is there a recording you’ve done that stands out as your favorite? That’s hard to say. Financially, [that’s] one thing, but spiritually speaking, is another thing. I think the greatest thing that really did something was the Sugaralbum with Stanley Turrentine because that was [a] pretty outstanding thing with Ron Carter and the group involved in that. Ron Carter had gotten a new electric bass, and he wanted to play his electric bass. He literally laid down and pouted because he couldn’t play his new electric bass on that particular recording. That particular recording is what really took off. Had it been electric, who knows? I have to say this. There was never any music to read on these sessions. I [once] did a session where there was music, but it was not [with] any one of those guys. It was just a recording session, and I was trying to play and read at the same time. I was telling the producer, “Hey, what’s going on over there? I’m trying to check out what this music is about.” He says, “The melody tells you what it’s about. That’s just a reference. Just play the music.” So, a lot of it’s about feeling the music? Yeah. What does it feel like to play? Well, that’s what I learned from Papa Jo. He was the mentor of all of us—Art Blakey, Max Roach. Even though he was a drummer, he was always telling you that the melody tells you what’s supposed to happen…where you put your exclamation point, question mark, period, comma. The music tells you that. It don’t need to be on the paper. It’s in the melody, so just listen to the melody and you’ll get by. Alright. It worked. Will you tell me about your relationship to the Jazz Foundation of America? I was traveling with Leon Thomas, the scat singer, when I joined the foundation. I came off a road trip and somebody brought my attention to it, and I got interested in it. They were working on a program [to] get guys strung out on drugs out of their drug thing. It was just [a] small organization. What little money they could get—they got. So I got involved. I had a snakeskin jacket that Miles Davis gave me. I saw it in his closet when we were at his house. I liked it and [said,] “That’s a bad jacket, man.” He said, “Yeah, you can have it. I don’t bother with that.” So, he gave me that jacket. I wore it once and put it in the closet. [When] the foundation had a fundraiser, I gave them that jacket. Two people bid, and they were fighting together. They had a deal with each other, “I’ll keep it this time, and you keep it that time.” That was the first $25,000 that came in [to the foundation]. You did tour with one of North Carolina’s most famous jazz musicians—Thelonious Monk. Did you talk about how you were both from North Carolina? No, we never even talked about it. We just knew. We were born 18 miles apart. We ended up playing together. I met him through The Baroness. I was crossing the street leaving my gig at Count Basie’s. She was a Rolls Royce fanatic. She drives up, and she stopped. With her accent, she leaned out and says, “Get in.” It’s like, “Alright!” She drove me downtown to meet Monk. That was my first meeting of The Baroness. We only have time for one more question. What is it like for you to play your first hometown show? It’s hard to explain. It’s the biggest thing that ever happened. Playing at home was something I wasn’t even about when I left here. I had no history. I was just a guy that moved up [North]. I played in Greensboro some years back. It was okay. It was North Carolina, but it wasn’t Wilson. Goldsboro—that was great, but it still wasn’t Wilson. Home is where I was born. So, this thing here, it’s hard to explain. I’m playing at home. I’m seeing things that I didn’t see and appreciating things. I see these trees, the most magnificent things. There’s nothing there but trees. Man, they are the greatest trees I’ve ever seen. It’s like home. Videos in Soure Link: https://www.ncarts50.org/50-for-50-1/2018/8/17/billy-kaye See less Previous Next

< Back Nancy Jones She was born in Burke County in 1856 and died in 1943.. She lived near Magnolia her entire life She is holding Nan Fleming Jeter, born 1905 and died in 1991 "Aunt Nancy" as she was called, was on call to the whole community, Black and White people. Her custom was to stay in the home of the new baby until everyone was accustomed to the new baby living in the home. Photograph taken June 13, 1905 by Charles Gilliam, Morganton Previous Next

< Back PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, MU CHAPTER, Lincoln University, 1930. PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, MU CHAPTER, Lincoln University, 1930. PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, MU CHAPTER, Lincoln University, 1930. Source: Lincoln University Yearbook Archives. . Previous Next

< Back Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association Black farmers from Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and other southern states, and the national president of Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association (BFAA), Gary R. Grant, participated. The first of five protests took place at the Farm Services Agency (FSA) offices in Brownsville and Bolivar, Tennessee. It was in support of Black farmers who had been denied or delayed operating loans. At the time of the sit-in, corn was ready to be harvested, cotton plants were setting their blooms, and vegetable crops were ripe for picking. Many Black farmers who had applied for operating loans to plant their 2002 corps had not received their loan proceeds in Haywood and Hardeman Counties, Tennessee. "The main thrust of the Prayer Vigil and Farmers' Sit-in is to garner public and ultimately congressional support for the establishment of a Separate but Equal lending agency specifically for African American borrowers. To do otherwise will all but guarantee the demise of the African American farmer in the United States," charges Tom Burrell of the Tennessee-BFAA Chapter. Black farmers who prevailed in the April 14, 1999 Pigford v Glickman (USDA) class action lawsuit are entitled to operation loans. They are still being denied access to loan benefits, which were made available to them by the Consent Decree, signed by Judge Paul Friedman. Reference: The Associated Press permissions 450 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10001. Jet Magazine Johnson Publishing 820 South Michigan Avenue Chicago IL 60605 B.F.A.A. ---------------- And Then, In 2014, The Black Farmers Protested Again! --- Black Farmers Protest Government Behind Lawsuit Craig D. Frazier | 4/24/2014, Three years ago, after years of protests, numerous failed congressional bills and dozens of lawsuits, President Barack Obama signed the bill authorizing compensation for discrimination in farm lending at the hands of the United States Department of Agriculture. The settlement benefits thousands of Black farmers who say they were denied loans and other assistance for years by federal agriculture officials because of their race. Thousands of farmers received payments as part of a 1999 class action settlement in a case known as Pigford I. This second round of payments (Pigford II) is part of legislation designed to pay farmers who missed the filing deadline for Pigford I. Obama, who supported the settlement when he was a senator, signed the bill into law in December 2010. “The U.S. District Court’s approval of the settlement between the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and plaintiffs in the Pigford II class action lawsuit is another important step forward in addressing an unfortunate chapter in USDA’s civil rights history,” said Obama. “This agreement will provide overdue relief and justice to African-American farmers and bring us closer to the ideals of freedom and equality that this country was founded on. I especially want to recognize the efforts of Secretary [of Agriculture Tom] Vilsack and Attorney General Eric Holder, without whom this settlement would not have been reached.” Recently, Black farmers protested in front of the USDA office in Montgomery. The farmers say they’re not getting their payments and their complaints are going unanswered. “We have findings of discrimination, breaches of contracts, and we also want to continue to farm the land. We are coming to stand today to fight for justice, because the USDA has destroyed all our lives and discriminated against us across the country,” said Michael Stovall, a Black farmer from Alabama who has been fighting the USDA for 20 years. The protests are not just in Alabama. Similar demonstrations are being held nationwide. “I have been advocating for justice for Black farmers for the past 30 years. I went to Congress and successfully campaigned for three bills,” said John W. Boyd Jr., a fourth generation Black farmer, businessman and civil rights activist. He is the founder and president of the nonprofit National Black Farmers Association, a position that has frequently placed him in the national spotlight. Boyd said Congress lifted the statute of limitations for his group’s claims in 1998. In 2008, Congress passed a bill allowing the claims of late filers to be heard. Then, in 2010, Congress approved $1.25 billion in payments to compensate the Black farmers. “The struggle seems never to be over for Black people. We won in court. We won in Congress. Now that we have prevailed, playing by all the rules, the game is suddenly flawed.” Source:http://amsterdamnews.com/.../black-farmers-protest.../ Previous Next

< Back Howard University Women’s tennis class ​ Photograph of the Women’s tennis class / HU [Howard University] : [photoprint, ca. 1930s.] By photographer Addison Scurlock. Source Addison Scurlock Foundation Archive. Previous Next

< Back Shelton Tucker Photograph: Three Generations of Documented Military Service Surrounded by family members, William A. Tucker a WWII and Vietnam veteran (center) accepts Butler Medal posthumously We at #NCMAAHC would like to Thank Mr. Shelton Tucker for sharing this family history with us. . Photograph: Three Generations of Documented Military Service Surrounded by family members, William A. Tucker a WWII and Vietnam veteran (center) accepts Butler Medal posthumously for Thomas Bell while holding the burial flag of his great grandfather Willie Bell a Spanish American War veteran. Pictured from left to right museum curator Hari Jones followed by descendants Demetria Tucker, Shelton Tucker, Addie Freshwater, William A. Tucker, Hattie Tharps, Henry Tharps and museum founding executive director Frank Smith (far right). UNION SOLDIER THOMAS BELL POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED MEDAL FOR SERVICE IN THE ARMY OF THE JAMES "Grandpa finally gets his medal!” proclaimed Shelton Tucker during a Descendant’s Day presentation at the African American Civil War on May 4, 2013. The medal he was referring to was the Butler Medal. According to historians, after distinguishing themselves in the Battle of New Market Heights, General Benjamin Butler commissioned a medal to be made to give to the black men who fought so hard in that battle. This silver medal was struck at Tiffany's, and the medal is inscribed with the words "Distinguished Courage Campaign Before Richmond 1864" Approximately 200 medals were made, only the names of 16 recipients of the Butler Medal are known to this day. Some had their names inscribed along the edge of the medal. The medal became controversial at a time where Lincoln was trying to recruit white soldiers and appease those that opposed fighting the war “to free the Negro”. So, the medal was not sanctioned by the US military, paid for out of Butler’s own money, only given to a handful of soldiers and the recipients were discourage from wearing it. “According to the muster roll records in his pension file, Thomas Bell was present and accounted for during the Army of the James and New Market Heights battles” said his direct descendant Shelton Tucker, “I can’t think of a reason why he wouldn’t deserve this Butler Medal.” So, Shelton and his sister Demetria -the family historian-spearheaded the effort to posthumously award the medal in memory of their ggg grandfather at the African American Civil War Museum and Memorial complex tucked away in the historic U street district of the nation’s capital. Frank Smith, founding executive director of the museum and memorial foundation, was very excited to attend the family presentation about the service of the civil war veteran. “Every first Saturday of the month we allow families to tell us about their ancestors that fought in the Civil War” said Smith who founded the museum in the year 2000. Smith along with his colleague Hari Jones, associate director and curator, encourage families to make presentations about the soldiers to let them emerge from obscurity. “The African American contribution particularly as soldiers and spies has been left out of history books” lamented Jones. “We’ve been able to uncover unique family stories by using the museum to inspire descendants to research these freedom fighters.” Three Generations of Documented Military Service homas Bell, a USCT serving in Company C of 37th Regiment was born in 1823 in Belvoir/Falkland township area of what is now known as the Greenville, NC metro area. He enlisted in the Union Army in 1863, mustered out in 1867 and died in 1903 at the age of 70. There to receive the replica of the Butler Medal was the oldest living direct descendant, William A. Tucker of Hampton, VA who is a WWII and Vietnam veteran. A host of other Bell and Tucker descendants also attended the presentation along with museum visitors. William Tucker (Thomas Bell’s gg grandson) accepted the medal from Frank Smith, founding director and Hari Jones, curator, while also holding the burial flag and medal of his grandfather Willie Bell who fought in the Spanish American War. “The presentation was an extremely well researched and documented account of their ancestor and his widow services as freedom fighters prior to, during and after the war.” said Hari Jones. Jones, who is an expert on the subject of the United States Colored Troops (USCT), was not only excited about the family’s long military history; but, also some new findings presented during the presentation. “The presentation introduced compelling new evidence that reveals previously unidentified blacks who played an integral role in the successful Union raid known as Potter’s Raid.” Analysis of family history, pension records and historical data, appears to conspicuously identify Thomas Bell and the men who (shortly after the raid) joined Company C of the USCT 37th Regiment as the 25 black men that were released from jail during General Potter’s raid of Greenville, NC. “General Potter and the Union troops raided 3 towns; but, they only released 25 black men jailed in Greenville who were schedule to be shot for trying to join the Union Army,” said Shelton,” their release was needed to help the Union troops avoid a Rebel ambush at Otter Creek Bridge in Falkland and navigate contrabands through enemy territory into freedom in New Bern, NC.” In fact, Tucker said that he sourced an “insightful” 1863 article in the New York Times that provided details of the Union raid. “Thomas Bell Is Trying to Tell You Something…” Shelton Tucker visited the museum while on a business trip. The museum is off the beaten path of the touristy National Mall. But, the award winning bronze sculpture of African American Civil War soldiers surrounded by stainless steel plates of more than 200,000 names makes for a very impressive memorial site. The founders selected the site to be a part of the revitalization efforts for that part of town. “I was awestruck by the bronze image of the sculpture; but, more impressed that the names of all the soldiers were listed by their respective regiment” said Shelton. “When I found my relatives, I went inside the museum, toured the exhibits and talked to Hari Jones who is one of the most brilliant subject matter experts I’ve ever met.” The museum gives each visiting descendant a free high quality certificate of their ancestor listing the name, company and regiment they served in. “For some reason, Thomas Bell’s certificate was the only one of my requests that kept coming up with a strange imperfection that looked like an imprint. After three attempts with no improvement, Hari Jones looked me dead in the eyes and said that Thomas Bell is trying to tell me something.” After a follow up visit to the National Archives, a trip to North Carolina, excursions to Civil War battlefields along the James River, Thomas Bell appears to have resurrected. The numerous discussions with his sister Demetria, the family historian, also provided insights about the Union soldier. Demetria Tucker has been doing extensive research on the family since receiving her Master’s Degree in library science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. “We have amassed a huge volume of source documentation to trace our lineage way back on both sides of my family.” she said. With her expertise in sourcing data and her brother Shelton’s background as an analyst they make a formidable team in connecting the dots in the challenging world of genealogical research. “Our attention to detail and respect for ethnographic practices such as recording family stories, visiting family members in rural and remote areas has uncovered the most awesome and simply amazing information about our family ancestry” says Shelton, who along with his sister presented “The Thomas Bell Story- For Family and Country” during the Descendant Day at the museum. Who Was Thomas Bell? he presenters wove a riveting story that featured information, primary source documentation and old photos of the descendant military families from the Civil War to present. There was significant circumstantial evidence of Thomas Bell’s involvement in the struggle for freedom prior to his joining the Union Army in November 1863. “We were able to glean information about his physical stature and personality from the pension depositions” says Shelton. His pension file included medical records, depositions, and muster rolls. The collection includes a letter from a Col. Alonzo C. Rembaugh recommending a furlough for Thomas Bell that included praises such as “a well-deserved indulgence” and “very good soldier”. “I think the furlough letter said it all in terms of the quality of military service he rendered. We also have a great collection of old family photos including a sketched portrait of Thomas Bell’s wife Henrietta that was in our great grandfather’s house,” said Shelton. Below are the highlights of the presentation about the life of Thomas Bell: -Pre-colonial family connections -Comments about his military service from Union officers and tent mates -Post war depositions from his neighbors that included former Confederate soldiers -Connections to Kehukee; Free Will Baptist Associations and freemasonry -Marriage to a free mulatto seamstress who had 23 children -Military service in North Carolina and Virginia under Generals Butler, Chamberlain & Paine -Role as boatman and knowledge of the eastern Carolina waterways -Process of filing for and receiving his military pension -Family farm in Plymouth, NC (the town of one of the worst atrocities against Black soldiers and families during the Civil War) which is still in the family at the present. “Life did not appear to be easy for Thomas Bell after the war” said Shelton. According to his pension records it took 9 years of pension application filings before he received a war pension. In fact took the Disability Act of June 1890 which instituted a service based pension for disabled veterans even if the disability was unrelated to the war for him to get a pension. “He got $12.00 a month until his death in 1903. There’s also an interesting story about how his widow Henrietta received a widow’s pension and made an inquiry about an increase via a local town publisher,” says Tucker. “It tells me a lot about her intellect and influence that she went through the press to inquire about an increase from the government.” With an arsenal of genealogical information this family has the Thomas Bell story appears to be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the stories this family has to share. (All Rights Belong To Shelton Tucker And His Family) Previous Next

< Back Sharecropper Dalton McLeod's children. Fuquay Springs, Wake County, NC, 1935 Sept. These three McLeod brothers, Edward, Dalton and David, are entertaining themselves on the porch of their new home Sharecropper Dalton McLeod's children. Fuquay Springs, Wake County, NC, 1935 Sept. Photographer: Arthur Rothstein, (1915-1985) Source: LOC - Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives. Arthur Rothstein had just turned 20 when he was given his first photographic assignment for the US Resettlement Administration in August 1935. Over 40 days he traveled south from Washington DC as far as Georgia, and as far west as Arkansas. His job was to coordinate with regional information officers to document the wretched condition of southern sharecroppers and tenant farmers, thousands of whom had been displaced by depressed prices and increasing mechanization. Rothstein visited dozens of projects across the south where his New Deal agency was providing assistance. While in North Carolina, he visited the McLeod family, sharecropper clients of the RA program at Fuquay Springs. These three McLeod brothers, Edward, Dalton and David, are entertaining themselves on the porch of their new home. He also documented community facilities that were improved with RA assistance: a sorghum mill, a blacksmith shop, and a new tobacco barn. Previous Next

< Back Alpha Chi chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 1949. Alpha Chi chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 1949. Alpha Chi chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 1949. Source: NCCU Archives Previous Next

< Back "The sharecropper" ca. 1920 Image of an elderly African American man, sitting with an object in his hands. He is bald and has a white beard. He is looking at his the object in his hands. "When the United States entered World War I in 1917, large numbers of African Americans in southern states were sharecroppers. White Americans, particularly in the South, were reluctant to shift their views of black Americans and sought ways to continue exploiting the labor of African descended people while remaining privileged. From sunup to sundown, day in and day out, black Americans worked land that made landowners rich, while they went further into debt. As sharecroppers, they rented farming plots from landlords and bought supplies from merchants on credit. At the end of each season, they often found they owed landlords and merchants more than they had earned. Sharecropping functioned as a debt-bonded labor system that contributed to a deepening racial divide." -Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Title of Photograph: "The sharecropper" ca. 1920 Photographer: Cornelius M. Battey (1873–1927) Medium: gelatin silver print Size: 20 x 17.1 cm. (7.9 x 6.7 in.) Image description: Image of an elderly African American man, sitting with an object in his hands. He is bald and has a white beard. He is looking at his the object in his hands. Previous Next

< Back Sigma Men, 1933, Lincoln University Our founder's maternal grandfather Rev. G.C. Hawley, is on the second row, second from right. Sigma Men, 1933 Lincoln University Our founder's maternal grandfather Rev. G.C. Hawley, is on the second row, second from right. Source: Family of Rev. G.C. Hawley Previous Next

< Back Frederick Douglass and his youngest child, ten year old Annie. ​ Image description: An 1859 portrait of Frederick Douglass and his youngest child, ten year old Annie. She was the youngest daughter of Frederick and Anna Murray’s children. She died the following year just days shy of her 11th birthday. Douglass never smiled in his photographs, yet he smiles in this one. This portrait hangs in the John B. Cade Library at Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The library is the only place where this print can be found. Photographer unknown. Source: The JOHN B. CADE LIBRARY/SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY . . Article Southern University's Library Is Home to A Rare Portrait Of Frederick Douglass And His Youngest Daughter Annie By Robin Miller | Staff writer The Advocate Monday Feb. 27, 2023 Her name was Annie, and she was the only one of Frederick Douglass' five children whose portrait wasn't on display at the house. That is, the house that now serves as the centerpiece of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, D.C. It's where the legendary abolitionist lived out the last decade of his life. He and his wife, the former Anna Murray, raised their five children in Rochester, New York. But it's the house in Washington that preserves Douglass' history, and the portrait of his youngest child, was missing until representatives of the historic site made a trip to Southern University. Why Southern? Because the university's Archives and Manuscripts Department is the only place that has a photo of Annie Douglass. Even better, Annie's dad sits next to her in the photo, his arm draped around her shoulder, the corners of his mouth upturned into a slight smile. "He never smiled in any of his photos," said Eddie Hughes III, head of Special Collections. "But in this photo, you see that he's smiling." Hughes' third-floor office houses the Special Collections room, where the photo has been hanging since the library's opening in 1984. Before that, it hung in the university's law school, where the library was located before moving across campus. Before that? "It was at the Southern campus in New Orleans," Head Archivist and Digital Librarian Angela Proctor said. Southern University's original New Orleans campus opened in 1880. It moved to Baton Rouge in 1914. "We don't know how the portrait came to Southern," Proctor continued. "And we don't know who gave it to Southern." Could Douglass have visited Southern's New Orleans campus? It's possible, but why would he have gifted such a portrait to the university? Proctor has checked some of Southern's early records and still no answers — at least, not yet. "Prominent African Americans like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois visited and gave gifts to the institution," Proctor said. "We're thinking the portrait is one of those gifts. One thing of which the librarians are certain is the John B. Cade Library is the only place in the world where this photo can be found. "When the Frederick Douglass House in Washington found out we had the photo, they asked if they could come down here and take a picture of it," Hughes said. "We told them yes, but they took pictures of only Annie. They framed it and added to their wall." Still, the photo's value also is found in Douglass' presence. "You never see him with his arm around anyone in any photo, except in this one," Hughes said. "And you never see him smile in his photos, because he wanted to dispel the myth found in the caricatures of the 'happy slave' that were common at the time." Douglass appears completely happy sitting next to his daughter. She was his youngest, his baby. Was she his favorite? She was 10 years old when the photo was taken in 1859. The photo might have recorded one of the last father-daughter moments between them. Douglass fled the country that year upon being implicated in abolitionist John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Annie may have prayed for her father's safety while anticipating his return, but the two would never reunite. She died the following year at age 10, just days shy of her 11th birthday. Some historical accounts say she died after a three-month battle with an unknown sickness. Other reports say she died of a brain hemorrhage. "Some say that she died of a broken heart, that she had a nervous breakdown," Hughes said. Annie was interred in the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, the inscription on her gravestone telling the story of her short life: "Annie was the youngest daughter of Frederick and Anna Murray's children and the light of the family. She was an abolitionist in the making and a stellar student. She is remembered as the twinkle of her father's eye and sweet spirit." The "twinkle of her father's eye" says it all. He and Annie clearly shared a special bond. Douglass was an outspoken Black man in a time when Black people were enslaved in the South, and he had enemies because of it. The exact date of Douglass' birth is in contention. Historians do know that he was born in either 1817 or 1818, before he escaped slavery in Maryland and became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York. He also was a statesman, orator and writer. He wrote three autobiographies, the first, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave," promoted the cause of abolition and was a bestseller in 1845. The second, "My Bondage and My Freedom," was published in 1855. His third, "Life and Times of Frederick Douglass," was published was released three years before his death in 1885. Douglass campaigned for the rights of newly freed slaves and actively supported women's suffrage. He also encountered danger after a meeting with fellow abolitionist John Brown. Brown is known for his 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, designed to initiate a slave revolt. Douglass didn't take part in it, but a warrant was still issued for his arrest for supporting Brown. Douglass fled to Canada, then traveled to England on a planned lecture tour. That was October 1859. Annie died five months later on March 13. The bond between Douglass and daughter is forever immortalized in the John B. Cade Library. Their portrait hangs in what appears to be its original wooden frame, which has taken a few bumps along the way. The print, itself, has a tear that needs repair, and it appears to be stuck to the glass along the bottom. "We just know that we can't send it anywhere to get repaired," Proctor said. "We can't let it leave this library." Dawn Kight, dean of the John B. Cade Library, agrees. "Sending the portrait out for repairs would be too big of a risk," she said. "It's the only one, and it has to stay here." -End article- . . Source: https://www.theadvocate.com/.../article_1a215922-b275... Previous Next

< Back Malvin Gray Johnson Self-Portrait Self-Portrait, 1934 By artist Malvin Gray Johnson oil on canvas, mounted on canvas, 97.2 x 76.2 cm National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of the Harmon Foundation Malvin Gray Johnson was born in Greensboro, NC January 28, 1896, and died October 4,1934 in New York City 1934. His family moved to New York City, where he studied art at the National Academy of Design. He rose to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance. He was "the youngest member of the Harlem Renaissance artists...migrated to New York with his family at an early age...where he was influenced by French Impressionism and Cubism Malvin "was one of the most far-reaching and versatile artists of his period. He drew upon many stylistic sources and demonstrated the disciplined learning necessary for high levels of creative expression...as he became familiar with the works of the Impressionists and the Cubists his artistic style changed." His work is often labeled as Symbolic Abstractionist, being one of the first African-American artists to paint in the Cubist style. Elements of his art seem also to derive from studies of African sculpture. He concerned himself with technical aspects of light, composition, and form, and a desire to express the experience of the spirituals in terms of abstract symbolism. Like many other artists, Johnson worked on the Federal Arts Project during the Depression. His work was displayed in many of the Harmon Exhibits in 1929 and the early thirties. In 1931 some of his work was hung in the Anderson gallery and the following year, the Salon of America displayed several of his paintings. In 1928 he won a prize at a Harmon exhibition, and in 1929 he won the Otto H. Kahn prize for painting. "Johnson's painting 'Swing low sweet chariot' was awarded the 1929 exhibition prize for best picture in the second Harmon group show." Johnson was featured in the 1930s film A Study of Negro Artists, along with Richmond Barthé, James Latimer Allen, Palmer Hayden, Aaron Douglas, William Ellisworth Artis, Augusta Savage, Lois Mailou Jones, Georgette Seabrooke, and others associated with the Harlem Renaissance Towards the end of his life, Johnson produced a group of watercolors of urban and rural blacks, many of which were set in Brightwood, Virginia. These paintings from his final period, are more widely regarded as some of his finest works. In The Negro in American Culture, Margaret Just Butcher, argued that some of Johnson's paintings "are among the most significant commentaries on the American Negro scene." Alain LeRoy Locke said that Johnson captured the cynical humor and mythical desolation in the moods of blacks better than most artists. Viewing Johnson as a maturing experimentalist, James A. Porter wrote that his later work was expressed in terse, pregnant patches of color. The exhibition of his oils, watercolors and drawings in 2002 at North Carolina Central University was the first since his death in 1934. On February 23, 2010, Swann Galleries auctioned Malvin Gray Johnson's celebrated painting Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, oil on canvas, 1928–29, for $228,000. It was the first time any significant work by Johnson had come to auction. Previous Next

< Back Black Farm Ownership 1920 Percentage of Black farm ownership by County in North Carolina in 1920. (shared via Stan Best) Previous Next

< Back Phi Beta Sigma and The Crescent Club, Shaw University. ​ Phi Beta Sigma and The Crescent Club, Shaw University. 1959 Shaw Bear Yearbook. Previous Next

< Back Stagville Plantation ​ Durham's Stagville Plantation a somber reminder of the South's beginnings with Black America abc 11 News-By Tim Pulliam Friday, October 23, 2020 2:31PM DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Stagville Plantation in Durham was one of the largest slave plantations in the South. Nine hundred Africans were enslaved across the plantation's 30,000 acres of land; slaves built their own homes on this property. Each home has four rooms. There were eight to 10 people who lived in each room, according to curators who manage the historic state site. The Holman slave quarters were named after an enslaved family who lived here against their will back in the 1800s. "In many ways, I can touch what they've touched," Georie Holman Bryant first visited the site on a fifth-grade field trip. But in 2017, the 36-year-old learned his family is deeply connected to the plantation. His great, great grandfather, Willie Holman, and other relatives were born into slavery at the Stagville Plantation. "I feel angered, I feel saddened. I have a sense of pride around knowing where they are from. I feel loved as well," said Holman, who said he visits the site where his ancestors lived to meditate. "I talk to the trees. I use it as a space to communicate with them." Stagville Plantation dates back to the 1700s, as a wheat, corn, rye and textile farm owned by the Bennehan and Cameron families who profited from this free Black labor. Khadija McNair is a curator for the historic site, she says Black slaves were beaten regularly and raped. One of those survivors, Mary Walker, was a mixed-race slave. "She writes letters after she is freed and she alludes to sexual violence and being a victim of sexual violence in her letters. We know that she leaves behind three children here," McNair said. Although the story is heartbreaking, McNair says it is what keeps her going and is sharing the resilience of these slave families. After emancipation, some stayed on the property as sharecroppers. Others turned their skillsets in carpentry, masonry and textiles into thriving businesses. "The Hart's for example started a store in this building. Eventually, one of the son's of the Hart family moves that store into Durham and onto Black Wall Street," said McNair. Today, a lot of Stagville Plantation's property has been sold and transformed into an industrial hub along Old Oxford Road. One-hundred and sixty acres remain to tell the story of the enslaved; their struggle and triumph. "I know in many ways their blood that was shed is not in vain," Holman. "Their experiences were about my survival." Stagville has an extensive genealogy program for African Americans who want to trace their roots to the Bennehan-Cameron plantations. Descendant surnames connected to Stagville include: Amey/Amis, Bennehan, Cameron, Dunnegan, Edwards, Hart, Haskins, Henderson, Holman/Holeman, Justice, Meaks, Peaks, Reavis/Revis, Sowell, Turner, Umstead, Veasey, Walker, and more. Source: https://abc11.com/.../historic-slave.../7224775/... Previous Next

< Back Coltrane Project Moves Forward in High Point Once nearly forgotten, the childhood home of jazz legend John Coltrane is slated for preservation and extended new use as an historic site. Coltrane Project Moves Forward in High Point By Benjamin Briggs-Preservation Greensboro-January 31, 2020 Once nearly forgotten, the childhood home of jazz legend John Coltrane is slated for preservation and extended new use as an historic site. John William Coltrane was born in 1926 to Alice Gertrude Blair and her husband John Robert Coltrane in Hamlet, North Carolina. The young family remained in Hamlet only two months before moving to a house at 113 Price Street in High Point. The house was owned by Alice’s father, Reverend William Wilson Blair. In 1928, Reverend Blair purchased a vacant lot at 118 Underhill Street in an upscale new subdivision named Griffin Park. From the start, Griffin Park was to be an upscale community for African American citizens of means, including distinguished lawyers and doctors. Young John Coltrane moved with his extended family into this house in 1937 and remained a part of the household until 1943. However, the intriguing history of the house does not begin with John Coltrane. The patron of this extended family was John’s grandfather, Reverend W. W. Blair (1860-1938). Born into slavery in Chowan County, North Carolina, he was educated and capable, and rose within the ranks of the progressive Republican party. The party was a safe harbor for African Americans against the conservative and racially restrictive politics of Democrats. Blair was appointed head of the Chowan County Republican Party and was elected as a County Commissioner. He held an adversarial role to the powerful white-led Democrats and his testimony providing an alibi for a man charged with rape led to accusations of perjury by white supremacist Democrats. He was tried, convicted, and jailed in 1903, thereby weakening the organization of local Republicans. Sympathetic Chowan County citizens petitioned for his release from jail and he was pardoned by Governor Charles Aycock in 1904. Blair left North Carolina and moved his family to Tampa, Florida in 1908, where he served in the AME Zion Church there. Blair worked within the AME church across Florida, and even served briefly in East St. Louis in Illinois in 1915, before returning to North Carolina in 1917. He served the large St. Stephen AME Zion Church in High Point beginning in 1920. John Coltrane spent his teenage years in his grandfather’s house on Underhill Street, where he attended the nearby William Penn High School, roller skated down the hill on Underhill Street and sang in the choir of his grandfather’s church. These were formative years for the young man, who have faced frustrating and aggravating restrictions in the American South under Jim Crow Laws. Predictably, John left High Point in 1943, never to return. The Underhill Street house, now known as the Blair-Coltrane House, is a two-story, frame structure built in the style of Dutch Colonial architecture. The side-hall entry with stair opens to a large parlor with a corner fireplace. A dining room and kitchen round out the first-floor plan, and three bedrooms and a bath comprise the second floor. The house retains a high degree of original materials that lend to the authenticity of the site, including window sash, flooring, built-ins, a fireplace and mantel, stairs, and plaster walls. A complete assessment of the house was completed in 2019 by Winston-Salem architect David Gall. The house has been owned by the City of High Point since 2006, when it was used for a dozen years as rental housing. In reaction to growing interest to celebrate the history of Coltrane in High Point, the city appointed a Coltrane Project task force in March 2019 to include community leaders, historians, preservationists, and musicians. The task force is gathering information related to three areas critical to the care of the property, including a History Committee, a Site Function Committee, and a Preservation Committee. A number of accomplishments have been completed over the course of the past year. In August, the History Committee orchestrated the placement of a city historical marker to John Coltrane in front of the house. The Committee has also gathered facts on the Coltrane family genealogy, gathered photographs, and has investigated the existence of surviving furnishings. The Site Function Committee has held a community meeting to gauge neighborhood support for various uses of the house, that range from an interactive exhibit space to community office use. Tours have been conducted of the house for local conventions and convenings. The Preservation Committee has organized a property clean-up and is working to see that the house is designated as an historic property. Over the next several months, work will continue as community opinions for site usage are compared with functional capacities of the property such as floor loads and safety needs. Additionally, work should begin on designating the site as a local Guilford County landmark through city council. As plans continue, fundraising goals will be established to restore and interpret the house in its extended use. Other sites with close associations to Coltrane exist in Hamlet, Philadelphia, and Long Island, New York. The later two sites are both already recognized to the National Register of Historic Places due to their relevance to Coltrane during his most musically productive years. However, the High Point site is connected to Coltrane’s most formative years, and still holds community connections to nearby Washington Street and the William Penn Auditorium where he performed in the 1930s. Through the work of the Coltrane Project, High Point’s role in Coltrane’s work may be better explained to fans and scholars of his work, and High Point should take more pride in the accomplishment of one of its most celebrated citizens. Special thanks to historians Phyllis Bridges, David Tegnell, and David Gall for their research on the house and history. Source: https://preservationgreensboro.org/coltrane-project.../ Previous Next

< Back Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing (PTSS) Dr. DeGruy's book combines years of historical and psychological research, PTSS describes a set of behaviors, beliefs and actions associated with or, related to multi-generational trauma experienced by African Americans that include but are not limited to undiagnosed and untreated Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in enslaved Africans and their descendants. PTSS posits that centuries of slavery in the United States, followed by systemic and structural racism and oppression, including lynching, Jim Crow laws, and unwarranted mass incarceration, have resulted in multigenerational maladaptive behaviors, which originated as survival strategies. The syndrome continues because children whose parents suffer from PTSS are often indoctrinated into the same behaviors, long after the behaviors have lost their contextual effectiveness. DeGruy states that PTSS is not a disorder that can simply be treated and remedied clinically but rather also requires profound social change in individuals, as well as in institutions that continue to reify inequality and injustice toward the descendants of enslaved Africans. DeGruy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication, a master's degree in Social Work, a master's degree in Clinical Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Social Work Research. She teaches social work at Portland State University and gives lectures on PTSS nationally and internationally. Previous Next

< Back Joseph H. Ward, M.D. The Indiana History Blog published Nicole Poletika's detailed look at Dr. Joseph H. Ward's role in challenging segregation as the head of Tuskegee, Alabama's Veterans Hospital No. 91 in the 1920s and '30s. Dr. Ward is on the front row, center (next to the nurse) in this 1933 photograph of Veterans Hospital staff. Photo courtesy of VA History Highlights, "First African American Hospital Director in VA History,". Below Is A Note From Black Wide-Awake researcher- Dr. Ward was born in Wilson, NC about 1869. Dr. Ward was not born to “impoverished parents” per the article, though it is possible that he himself gave this gloss on his early life. Rather, his father was Napoleon Hagans, a prosperous freeborn farmer in nearby Wayne County, and his mother was Mittie Ward, a young freedwoman whose family moved into town after Emancipation from the plantation of Dr. David G.W. Ward near Stantonsburg.] End Note--READ More From This Wilson, NC Researcher Here: https://afamwilsonnc.com/.../dr-joseph-h-ward-finding-a.../ ------ How Indianapolis Surgeon Dr. Joseph Ward Challenged the Jim Crow South By Nicole Poletika' If you scour Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in the World War, On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier, The Encyclopedia of African American Military History, The African American Encyclopedia, and the Who’s Who of the Colored Race, Dr. Joseph Ward’s name is nowhere to be found. This is a concerning omission, given that his leadership at Tuskegee, Alabama’s Veterans Hospital No. 91. helped prove to some white Jim Crow Southerners, medical practitioners, U.S. military officials, and even President Calvin Coolidge that African Americans were fit to manage large institutions. His significance is two-fold: in an era where African Americans were often excluded from medical treatment, Ward made care accessible to those in Indianapolis and, on a much larger scale, to Southern veterans. Born in Wilson, North Carolina to Mittie Ward and Napoleon Hagans, Joseph traveled as a young man to Indianapolis in search of better opportunities. In the Circle City, he attended Shortridge High School and worked as the personal driver of white physician George Hasty. According to the African American newspaper The Freeman, Dr. Hasty “‘said there was something unusual in the green looking country boy, and to the delight of Joe as he called him, he offered to send him to school.'”[1] By the 1890s, Ward had earned his degree from Indiana Medical College and practiced medicine in his adopted city. In 1899, The Freeman remarked “The fact that he has risen from the bottom of poverty, th[r]ough honorable poverty, without any assistance, is sufficient evidence to justify our belief in his success in the future.” Barred from treating Black patients in city hospitals due to institutionalized discrimination, he opened Ward’s Sanitarium and Nurses’ Training School on Indiana Avenue around 1907, which soon garnered the praise of white physicians. He also convinced administrators at the segregated City Hospital to allow Ward’s Black nursing students to attend courses. By enabling them to pass the same state licensing test as white students, he opened professional opportunities to African American women in an era in which they were often relegated to domestic service and manual labor. Dr. Ward became as foundational to Indianapolis’s rich Black history as The Freeman publisher Dr. George Knox and entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker, for whom Ward helped get her professional start. He gave back to his city by helping found the African American Senate Avenue YMCA. During World War I, Ward temporarily left his practice to serve in the Medical Corps in France with the 92nd Division Medical Corps, where he worked as ward surgeon of Base Hospital No. 49. Again, his diligence propelled him to excellence, and he became one of two African Americans to achieve the rank of Major in World War I.[2] In 1924, Dr. Ward’s name was etched into the annals of history, when he became the first African American commander of the segregated Veterans Hospital No. 91 at Tuskegee, Alabama. Ward’s decision to accept the position was itself an act of bravery, coming on the heels of hostility from white residents, politicians, and the Ku Klux Klan. Initially, the Veterans Bureau placed the new hospital in control of a white staff, despite promising Black personnel they would manage it. After seemingly talking out of both sides of their mouths, Bureau officials gradually began replacing white staff with Black staff due to the unrelenting protest of African Americans across the country. This decision essentially pulled the pin from a grenade. Vanessa Northington Gamble contended in Making A Place for Ourselves: The Black Hospital Movement, 1920-1945 that “White Tuskegeeans saw the fight over the hospital as a ‘test of the supremacy of the Angle-Saxon race’ and were prepared to win the battle by any means necessary.”[3] When African American bookkeeper John C. Calhoun arrived at the hospital to replace his white predecessor, he was handed a letter that warned[4]: WE UNDERSTAND YOU ARE REPORTING TO HOSPITAL TO ACCEPT DISBURSING OFFICERS JOB, IF YOU VALUE YOUR WELFARE DO NOT TAKE THIS JOB BUT LEAVE AT ONCE FOR PARTS FROM WHENCE YOU CAME OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES, KKK. He took heed, and an hour after Calhoun fled, approximately 50,000 Klan members marched on Tuskegee and burned a forty-foot cross, before silently marching near the veterans’ hospital. Although violence was avoided, one “fair-skinned” man reportedly “infiltrated the Klan by passing as white” and learned they planned to kill a Black leader and blow up the Tuskegee Institute. The community at large expressed their disapproval of Black leadership by protesting at the White House. Southern politicians did so by writing pieces for the local papers, like State Senator R. H. Powell, who insisted in The Montgomery Advertiser “We know that a bunch of negro officers, with uniforms and big salaries and the protection of Uncle Sam . . . will quickly turn this little town into a place of riot such as has been experienced in so many places where there has occurred an outbreak between the races.” But President Calvin Coolidge’s Republican administration stood up to the Klan and continued to replace white staff with Black personnel. In a nod to the Confederacy’s defeat in the Civil War, The Buffalo American wrote that the Klan’s demonstration “proved to be another ‘lost cause’ and Negro workers continued to arrive.”[5] With Dr. Ward’s appointment, the hospital’s staff was composed entirely of Black personnel. The hospital’s pioneering practitioners treated Southern Black veterans, many of whom suffered from PTSD following WWI service. Under Ward’s leadership, the Buffalo American reported, patients “are happy, content and enjoying the best of care at the hands of members of their own race who are inheritently [sic] interested in their welfare.” The Montgomery Advertiser noted in 1935 that No. 91 was among the largest U.S. veterans hospitals in the country, offering 1,136 beds, and experiencing a monthly wait list of about 375 patients. In addition to neuropsychiatric treatment, the hospital’s library hosted a bibliotherapy program and patients could view moving pictures and attend dances. The sprawling complex also provided job opportunities for Black laborers, waiters, stenographers, plumbers, and electricians. In describing his leadership, Ward’s colleagues recalled that his purpose was firm, demeanor alert, and interactions with subordinates fair. Ward reportedly “amassed an enviable reputation in the Tuskegee community. His legendary inspection tours on horseback and his manly fearlessness in dealing with community groups at a time when there was a fixed subordinate attitude in Negro-white relations are two of the more popular recollections.”[6] He proved so adept as a leader that the War Department promoted him to Lieutenant Colonel. A 1929 editorial for the Journal of the National Medical Association praised Ward for his ability “to win over to your cause the White South.”[7] The author added that Ward “has served as an inspiration to the members of the staff of the hospital. He has stimulated original observation and contributions”[8] and noted “‘Those who led the opposition to the organization of a Negro personnel openly and frankly acknowledge their mistake and their regret for the earlier unfortunate occurrences.'”[9] President Coolidge affirmed these characterizations in an address to Congress. Howard University conferred an honorary Master of Arts degree upon Ward for honoring his profession “under pioneer conditions of extraordinary difficulty.”[10] The accolades go on. In regards to this praise, Ward was characteristically humble, stating in The Buffalo American on October 30, 1924, “‘My associates have worked as though they realized that not only them personally, but the entire group was on trial and whatever success we have had was due to that spirit.'” Years after Ward’s appointment, racial tension had not entirely dissipated. In 1936, a federal grand jury charged Ward and thirteen others on the hospital’s staff with “conspiracy to defraud the Government through diversion of hospital supplies.” After more than eleven years of service, the esteemed leader was dismissed “under a cloud,” and he plead guilty to the charges in 1937.[11] Black newspapers provided a different perspective on Ward’s rapid descent from grace. According to The New York Age, Black Republicans viewed the “wholesale indictment of the Negro personnel” at Veterans Hospital No. 91 as an attempt by Southern Democrats to replace Black staff with white, to “rob Negroes of lucrative jobs.”[12] The paper added that these Southern Democrats tried to “take advantage of the administration of their own party in Washington and oust colored executives on charges they would not have dared to file under a Republican regime.” These Black employees, the paper alleged, became the “hapless victims of dirty politics.” Given the previous attempts of the white community to usurp control of the veterans hospital, one is tempted to see truth in this interpretation. After Ward’s dismissal, he quietly returned home to Indianapolis and resumed his private practice, which had moved to Boulevard Place. He practiced there until at least 1949 and in 1956 he died in Indianapolis. The struggle for leadership of the new veterans hospital shifted the threat of African American autonomy from theoretical to real for the white Jim Crow South. It exposed the organizational capabilities of the white community in terms of protesting the possibility of this autonomy. It also exposed the capabilities of the Black community in terms of demanding their own governance, efforts Dr. Ward ensured were not made in vain. The young man who journeyed out of the South in search of better opportunities later returned to create them for others. Yet somehow his efforts are virtually absent from the historical record. With the help of doctoral student Leon Bates, IHB is changing that this summer by commemorating Lt. Col. Joseph H. Ward with a historical marker. Source:https://blog.history.in.gov/author/nicole/ ---- This is from BlackThen web site- Dr. Joseph H. Ward was the first African-American Doctor to head a VA Hospital in Indianapolis. Ward was born in Wilson in 1870. Although he began his life in Wilson, North Carolina, a place that at the time had few prospects for an African Americans. Little is known of his early life, but by 1897, he had graduated from the Physio-Medical School of Indiana and later would establish one of the first hospitals for African Americans in Indianapolis. He enlisted for military service during World War I on August 10, 1917 and served with the 92nd Division medical corps. The 92nd Division was one of two segregated units of the Army, at that time, and Dr. Ward became one of only two African American officers in the medical corps to attain the rank of Major during the war. He was honorably discharged from active service on May 29, 1919. On February 12, 1923, Vice President Calvin Coolidge dedicated a new veterans hospital in Tuskegee, Alabama for African American veterans who served in World War I. The segregated hospital was authorized as part of the First Langley Act in March 1921 and constructed by the Treasury Department for the Public Health Service. Dr. Ward led the new veterans hospital through its tumultuous beginnings. He hired the best staff, and shaped its success as an all-black hospital. He even proposed medical internships in cooperation with Tuskegee Institute as early as 1925, a generation before a national program was initiated at VA in 1946. Dr. Ward retired in 1936, after 12 years of service and returned to Indianapolis. He died on December 12, 1956. Source:https://thegedsection.com/doctor-joseph-ward-world-war... Source: https://blackthen.com/dr-joseph-h-ward-first-african.../ Previous Next

< Back Elizabeth City Teachers College Baseball Team-1909 ​ Elizabeth City Teachers College Baseball Team-1909 *contributing researcher Stan Best* Previous Next

< Back Halifax County Slaveholders' List ​ Below is a portion of the: HALIFAX COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA LARGEST SLAVEHOLDERS FROM 1860 SLAVE CENSUS SCHEDULES and SURNAME MATCHES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS ON 1870 CENSUS Transcribed by Tom Blake, June 2003 We will include the link so that others who do research are able to access the full list. . . Background information about web site: PURPOSE. Published information giving names of slaveholders and numbers of slaves held is almost non-existent. It is possible to locate an ancestor on a U.S. census for 1860 or earlier and not realize that ancestor was also listed as a slaveholder on the slave schedules, because published indexes almost always do not include the slave census. The last U.S. census slave schedules were enumerated by County in 1860 and included 393,975 named persons holding 3,950,546 unnamed slaves, or an average of about ten slaves per holder. The actual number of slaveholders may be slightly lower because some large holders held slaves in more than one County and would have been counted in each County. Excluding slaves, the 1860 U.S. population was 27,167,529, with about 1 in 70 being a slaveholder. It is estimated by this transcriber that in 1860, slaveholders of 200 or more slaves, while constituting less than 1 % of the total number of U.S. slaveholders, or 1 out of 7,000 free persons, held 20-30% of the total number of slaves in the U.S. The process of publication of slaveholder names beginning with the largest holders will enable naming of the holders of the most slaves with the least amount of transcription work. Surname matching of slaveholders with 1870 African Americans is intended merely as suggesting another possibility for further research by those seeking to make connections between slaves and holders. SLAVEHOLDER LIST: ALLEN, Marcus A., 21 slaves, page 433 ALSTON, Amarellas, 31 slaves, page 428 ALSTON, Charles J. P., 62 slaves, page 436B ANTHONY, John H., 34 slaves, page 411 ANTHONY, John, 35 slaves, page 414 ARRINGTON, Jas. C., Agt. For above? [unnamed] minors, 32 slaves, page 452 ARRINGTON, Louis, 35 slaves, page 443B BAILY, Valentine, 22 slaves, page 427B BARNES, G. N.?, 25 slaves, page 422 BASS, Turner, 50 slaves, page 404 BATCHELOR, L.? W., 33 slaves, page 455B BELL, D.? B., 36 slaves, page 424 BELL, Hudson, 20 slaves, page 404B BEVINS, John, 20 slaves, page 400 BISHOP, Heshman, 37 slaves, page 405 BOWENS, James B., 42 slaves, page 435 BRADLEY, James guardian for 3 minor heirs, 25 slaves, page 394 BRANCH, John, 77 slaves, page 425 BRANCH, S. W., 39 slaves, page 393 BRICKELL, William W., 33 slaves, page 447B BRYANT, Joseph, 29 slaves, page 403 BURGES, Thomas L., 35 slaves, page 440 BURNEY, Jno. R., 20 slaves, page 432B BUSTIAN, Wm., 51 slaves, page 427B CLARK, David C., 23 slaves, page 437B CLARK, David, 192 slaves, page 457 CLARK, Wm. R., 20 slaves, page 405B CONIGLAND, Edward, 22 slaves, page 396B CROWELL, T. M., 31 slaves, page 392 DANIEL, A. M., 30 slaves, page 424 DANIEL, J. R. P., 51 slaves, page 423 DANIEL, Joseph J., 20 slaves, page 445B DANIEL, W. W. Trustee for seven minors, 68 slaves, page 446 DANIEL, W. A. Gua. For 3 minor heirs, 72 slaves, page 396 DAVIS, Archibald H., 36 slaves, page 439 DAVIS, John H., 27 slaves, page 413B DAVIS, M. W., 25 slaves, page 411 DAVIS, Thaddeus and two other minor heirs, 37 slaves, page 445 DAY, Mary B. & eight other minor heirs, 81 slaves, page 450 DEVERAUX, Thomas R.?, 221 slaves, page 414 DRAUGHAN, Will, G. W. Buson? Agt., 32 slaves, page 401B EDMONDS, A. T.?, 48 slaves, page 411B EDMONDSTON, P. M., 98 slaves, page 415B EDMUNDS, Benja. C., 20 slaves, page 442 EDMUNDS, Virginia E., 25 slaves, page 412 EPPS, Martha B., 115 slaves, page 451 EPPS, Wiley J., 34 slaves, page 450B FAULCON, Isaac N., 103 slaves, page 433B FAULCON, Jessee M., 33 slaves, page 434B FAULCON, John, 24 slaves, page 434 FENNER, John H., 100 slaves, page 398B FENNER, W. E., 46 slaves, page 422 FENNER, Wm. Guar. For 2 minor heirs, 21 slaves, page 413B FERRALE?, M. Guar. For one minor heor, 21 slaves, page 421B GARY, G. G., 24 slaves, page 396 GARY, J. M.?, 26 slaves, page 446B GUNTER, Andrew, 29 slaves, page 425B HALE, Lewis, 53 slaves, page 392B HARRIS, Thos. W., 97 slaves, page 437 HARRISON, John H.?, 35 slaves, page 452B HARRISON, Martha, 20 slaves, page 430B HENRY, G. R., H. J. Henry Admr., 22 slaves, page 429 HIGGS, Jacob, 42 slaves, page 410 HIGGS, Jacob Guar. For 3 minor heirs, 23 slaves, page 410 HILL, W. J., 27 slaves, page 416 HINES, Peter R., 37 slaves, page 443B HOOD, Sarah, 25 slaves, page 393B HUNTER, Benja., 20 slaves, page 453 HUNTER, Thomas, 24 slaves, page 428B HUNTER, William, 23 slaves, page 428 HUNTER, Wm. Guar for one minor heir, 27 slaves, page 428 HYMAN, John H., 43 slaves, page 416 HYMAN, P.? B., 25 slaves, page 407 HYMAN, Samuel, 20 slaves, page 407 IVEY, Benj. W., 30 slaves, page 431B IVEY, John, 32 slaves, page 431 JOHNSON, Benja., 74 slaves, page 442 JOHNSTON, James C., 271 slaves, page 397 JOHNSTON, Margaret M., 46 slaves, page 448B JOHNSTON, Wade, 30 slaves, page 432B JONES, Mariah, 46 slaves, page 436 JONES, Rebecca J., 39 slaves, page 436B JOYNER, Henry, 28 slaves, page 429 JOYNER, Sarah W., 41 slaves, page 444B LANE, Sarah, 22 slaves, page 399B LAWRENCE, James T., 22 slaves, page 405B LAWRENCE, T. D., 28 slaves, page 407B LAWRENCE, W. T., 34 slaves, page 402 LINTER?, Jas. M., 34 slaves, page 411B LONG , W. L., 40 slaves, page 395 LONG, N. M. Sen., 133 slaves, page 426 LONG, N. M. Jun., 31 slaves, page 427 LOWE, Thomas G., 37 slaves, page 422B MARTIN, Thomas, 24 slaves, page 431B MOORE, John R., 27 slaves, page 434B MOSELEY, Richard, 31 slaves, page 430 NICHOLSON, Thomas W., 51 slaves, page 443 OUSBY, James S., 27 slaves, page 392 PARKER, Frank M., 22 slaves, page 451B PARKER, James H., 24 slaves, page 410B PARKER, Richd. D., 21 slaves, page 448B PERRY, Elijah B., 23 slaves, page 438B PIERCE, R. B., 52 slaves, page 447 PONTON, A.? M. T., 41 slaves, page 458B PONTON, Emily R., 47 slaves, page 458B PONTON, William H., 62 slaves, page 449B POPE, W. B., 41 slaves, page 423 POWELL, J. W., 71 slaves, page 403B POWELL, Rebecca J. & three other minors, W. L. Johnston Guardian for, 31 slaves, page 448 PRICE, J. L.?, 24 slaves, page 435B PURNELL, Mungo? P., 24 slaves, page 446B ROPER, William C., 21 slaves, page 439B SAVAGE, L. L., 34 slaves, page 404B SHIELDS, Charles C., 23 slaves, page 407B SHIELDS, Wm. H., 35 slaves, page 408 SHINE, Mary W., 37 slaves, page 449 SIMMONS, A.W., 35 slaves, page 448 SIMS?, Eli, 28 slaves, page 395 SMALLWOOD, R., 24 slaves, page 402B SMITH, George A., 40 slaves, page 421 SMITH, James M., 165 slaves, page 418B SMITH, Moses, 64 slaves, page 409B SMITH, Peter E., 58 slaves, page 419B SMITH, R. H. Guar. For 3 minor heirs, 54 slaves, page 418 SMITH, Richard H., 207 slaves, page 416B SMITH, W. H., 59 slaves, page 421 SMITH, Wm. R., 155 slaves, page 420 SNOW, Jas. S., 39 slaves, page 438 SOLOMON, William D., 102 slaves, page 456 TAYLOR, W. W., 25 slaves, page 424B TILLERY, J. B., 23 slaves, page 402B TILLERY, John, 143 slaves, page 412B TILLERY, Wm. H., 69 slaves, page 394 TILLMAN, O. T.?, 29 slaves, page 399B WALKER, Richd. H., 22 slaves, page 447B WEBB, R. H., 34 slaves, page 406 WHITAKER, F. H., 29 slaves, page 400B WHITAKER, M. T., 39 slaves, page 401 WHITAKER, M. C., 34 slaves, page 429 WHITAKER, R. T., 35 slaves, page 399 WHITAKER, W. O.?, 26 slaves, page 401 WHITAKERL.? H., 26 slaves, page 400 WHITEHEAD, J. B., 20 slaves, page 396B WHITFIELD, J. G., 39 slaves, page 424B WIGGINS, Mason L., 58 slaves, page 455B WILLIAMS, James M., 37 slaves, page 441 WILLIAMS, Solomon, James W. Browning agt. For, 25 slaves, page 426 WILLIAMS, Virginia, 63 slaves, page 456B WILLS, William H., 32 slaves, page 442 -End of this list- Source link: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ajac/genealogy/nchalifax.htm Previous Next

< Back Our Founder and Culture Keeper (cont.) We would like to share with you an opportunity that was provided to our founder, Lynda D. Edwards. In her work in being a culture keeper, to gather, protect, decolonize and make available in one space the History and Culture of the African Americans of NC, she found that one of her stories was in need to speak out and be heard.. Being asked to participate in this Our State Magazine article, and in the Toy Exhibit being created by the NC Museum of History took her by surprise, as she is focused on making known other Black people's stories. She is honored to have one of her stories added to the list of those that are usually not heard outside of a small setting or group. We are also pleased that the NC Museum of History is moving in the direction of including all cultures and people of NC in their telling of North Carolina's history in their voices. We Hope That You Enjoy Reading This Article and We'll keep you updated as to when the Toy Exhibit will open. Please Click the Link below to read the article in Our State Magazine's 2018 December issue! Thank You For Your Support, Encouragement and for being a part of This Community! *Lynda D. Edwards is an Arts Education & Culture Consultant, A Community Leader, An Advocate For Marginalized People, and A Lecturer.* Previous Next

< Back Hassie Brodie's "A TASTE OF FREEDOM" "A TASTE OF FREEDOM" by Hassie Brodie Hassie is a renowed quilter known for her signature brand of reverse applique. Walnut dyed frabric. — in Warrenton, NC. Previous Next

< Back Selma Burke Sculptor and educator who received national recognition for her relief portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which was the model for his image on the dime. Photograph: Selma Burke in her studio. Part of the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum J0100403 On December 31, 1900, renowned sculptor Selma Burke was born in Mooresville, NC. "Selma Burke was one of ten children born to a Methodist minister in rural North Carolina. When she was a child, Selma would mold the soft clay of the riverbanks into small figures. In the 1920s, Burke became one of the few African American women to achieve fame during the Harlem Renaissance, which brought many black male artists and writers to the nation's attention. She later taught at the Harlem Community Art Center and founded the Selma Burke Art School in New York City and the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh. Burke is most famous for her 1944 relief Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which inspired the Roosevelt dime." "Sculptor and educator who received national recognition for her relief portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which was the model for his image on the dime. Committed to teaching art to others, Burke established the Selma Burke Art School in New York City in 1946 and subsequently opened the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pa." Joan Stahl American Artists in Photographic Portraits from the Peter A. Juley & Son Collection (Washington, D.C. and Mineola, New York: National Museum of American Art and Dover Publications, Inc., 1995) -------- Selma Hortense Burke (December 31, 1900 – August 29, 1995) was an American sculptor and a member of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Burke is best known for a bas relief portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt that inspired the profile found on the obverse of the dime. She described herself as "a people's sculptor" and created many pieces of public art, often portraits of prominent African American figures like Duke Ellington, Mary McLeod Bethune and Booker T. Washington. In 1979, she was awarded the Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award. Selma Burke was born on December 31, 1900, in Mooresville, North Carolina, the seventh of 10 children of Reverend Neil and Mary Elizabeth Colfield Burke. Her father was an AME Church Minister who worked on the railroads for additional income. As a child, she attended a one-room segregated schoolhouse, and often played with the riverbed clay found near her home. She would later describe the feeling of squeezing the clay through her fingers as a first encounter with sculpture, saying "It was there in 1907 that I discovered me." Burke's interest in sculpture was encouraged by her maternal grandmother, a painter, although her mother thought she should pursue a more financially stable career. Burke attended Winston-Salem State University before graduating in 1924 from the St. Agnes Training School for Nurses in Raleigh. She married a childhood friend, Durant Woodward, in 1928, although the marriage ended with his death less than a year later. She later moved to Harlem to work as a private nurse.‍ Harlem Renaissance and Education After moving to New York City in 1935, Burke began art classes at Sarah Lawrence. She also worked as a model in art classes to pay for that schooling. During this time, she also became involved with the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement through her relationship with the writer Claude McKay, with whom she shared an apartment in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The relationship was brief and tumultuous – McKay would destroy her clay models when he did not find the work to be up to his standards – but it introduced Burke to an artistic community that would support her burgeoning career. Burke began teaching for the Harlem Community Arts Center under the leadership of sculptor Augusta Savage, and would go on to work for the Works Progress Administration on the New Deal Federal Art Project. One of her WPA works, a bust of Booker T. Washington, was given to Frederick Douglass High School in Manhattan in 1936. Burke traveled to Europe twice in the 1930s, first on a Rosenwald fellowship to study sculpture in Vienna in 1933-34. She returned in 1936 to study in Paris with Aristide Maillol. While in Paris she met Henri Matisse, who praised her work. One of her most significant works from this period is "Frau Keller" (1937), a portrait of a German-Jewish woman in response to the rising Nazi threat which would convince Burke to leave Europe later that year. With the onset of World War II, Burke chose to work in a factory as a truck driver for the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It was her opinion that, during the war, "artists should get out of their studios. "Burke returned to the United States and won a scholarship for Columbia University, where she would receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1941.‍Teaching and Later Life In 1940 Burke founded the Selma Burke School of Sculpture in New York City. She was committed to teaching art. She opened the Selma Burke Art School in New York City in 1946, and later opened the Selma Burke Art Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Open from 1968 to 1981, the center "was an original art center that played an integral role in the Pittsburgh art community," offering courses ranging from studio workshops to puppetry classes. Burke used her art to make opportunities to bring people together. In Moorseville, black children were banned from use of the public library. With her rising fame, Burke chose to donate a bust of a local doctor on the condition that the ban be removed. The town accepted. In 1949 Burke married architect Herman Kobbe, and moved with him to an artists' colony in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Kobbe died in 1955, and Burke continued to live in Pennsylvania until her death in 1995, at the age of 94‍ Sculpture Selma Burke sculpted portraits of famous African-American figures as well as lesser-known subjects. She also explored human emotion and family relationships in more expressionistic works. While she admired the abstract modernists, her work was more concerned with rendering the symbolic human form in ways both dignified and symbolic. She worked in a wide variety of media including wood, brass, alabaster, and limestone. Burke's public sculpture pieces include a bust of Duke Ellington at the Performing Arts Center in Milwaukee, as well as works on display at the Hill House Center in Pittsburgh, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, Atlanta University, Spelman College, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Her last monumental work, created in 1980 when she was 80 years old, is a bronze statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Charlotte, N.C. Burke was among the artists featured at The National Urban League's inaugural exhibition at Gallery 62 in 1978. She had solo exhibitions at Princeton University and the Carnegie Museum, among other venues. Her work is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the James A. Michener Museum of Art in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.‍ Portrait of F.D.R Burke's best-known work is a portrait honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms. She competed in a national contest to win a commission for the sculpture, created from sketches made during a 45-minute sitting with Roosevelt at the White House. Burke herself "wrote to Roosevelt to request a live sitting, to which the president generously agreed, scheduling the first of two sittings on February 22, 1944." The President passed before the third such appointment could be met. Mrs. Roosevelt objected to how young Burke chose to present Roosevelt as, but she responded by saying, "This profile is not for today, but for tomorrow and all time." When asked about her experience sketching the president, "she said he wiggled too much when she began to sketch him that day. She told him to sit still and he did." The 3.5-by-2.5-foot plaque was completed in 1944 and unveiled by President Harry S. Truman in September 1945 at the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C., where it still hangs today. It is widely accepted that John R. Sinnock's obverse design on the Roosevelt dime was adapted from Burke's plaque. Sinnock later denied that Burke's portrait was an influence. It is to close a resemblance to Burkes bas relief to not have been copied.‍ Honors Burke is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She received several honorary doctorate degrees during her lifetime, including one awarded by Livingston College in 1970 and one from Spelman College in 1988. Milton Shapp, then-governor of Pennsylvania, declared July 29, 1975, Selma Burke Day in recognition of the artist's contributions to art and education. Her papers and archive are in the collection of Spelman College. Burke was a member of the first group of women – along with Louise Nevelson, Alice Neel, Georgia O'Keefe, and Isabel Bishop – to receive lifetime achievement awards from the Women's Caucus for Art, in 1979 She received the award from President Jimmy Carter in a private ceremony in the Oval Office. She received a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1983 and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation Women's Award in 1987.‍ Selma Burke died at the age of 94 on August 29, 1995 in New Hope, Pennsylvania, where she had lived since the 1950s. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_Burke Previous Next

< Back Bree Newsome "“You come against me with hatred, oppression, and violence,” Newsome shouted with the flag in her hand. “I come against you in the name of God. This flag comes down today.” #BreeNewsome - June 27, 2015 - She removed the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state house grounds in the aftermath of the Charleston Shooting, The Charleston church shooting was a mass shooting carried out by an American white supremacist terrorist on June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Three victims survived . The resulting publicity of Bree Newsome and the other social activists put pressure on SC state officials to remove the flag, and it was taken down permanently on July 10, 2015. Brittany Ann Byuarm "Bree" Newsome Bass is an American filmmaker, musician, speaker, and activist from Charlotte, North Carolina. ------- Short Bio Bree Newsome is an artist who drew national attention in 2015 when she climbed the flagpole in front of the South Carolina Capitol building and lowered the confederate battle flag. The flag was originally raised in 1961 as a statement of opposition to the Civil Rights Movement and lunch counter sit-ins occurring at the time. The massacre of nine black parishioners by a white supremacist at Emanuel AME Zion Church in Charleston reignited controversy over South Carolina’s flag. Bree’s act of defiance against a symbol of hate has been memorialized in photographs and artwork and has become a symbol of resistance and the empowerment of women. Activism is one of a trio of pursuits that have driven her since a young age, when she showed talent as both a musician and a writer, particularly a writer of plays and films. Her roots as an artist and activist were planted early. Her father – who has served as the Dean of the Howard University School of Divinity, and the President of both Shaw University and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – is a nationally recognized scholar of African-American religious history and how it has impacted social justice movements. Her mother spent her career as an educator addressing the achievement gap and disparities of education. Her interest in the arts was fostered early in her life, and she showed promise even then. At the age of seven, she learned to play the piano, and wrote her first piece of music. Two years later, she wrote her first play. At the age of 18, Bree won a $40,000 scholarship from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as part of a short film competition. She studied film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her senior year short film, “Wake” won numerous accolades and was a finalist for the prestigious Wasserman Award, whose past recipients include Spike Lee. In 2011, while an artist in residence at Saatchi and Saatchi in New York, she marched with Occupy Wall Street. Much of her activism has focused upon incidents of young black people being unjustly killed and issues related to structural racism. She travelled with a group of youth activists from North Carolina to Florida during the Dream Defenders’ occupation of the statehouse as a protest against the killing of Trayvon Martin. She also participated in an 11-mile march from the Beavercreek, OH, Wal-Mart where John Crawford was killed by police to the courthouse in Xenia, OH, demanding release of the footage showing the killing. From 2013-2015, she served as the Western Field Organizer for Ignite NC, and she is one of the founders of The Tribe, a grassroots organizing collective. The Tribe was created in the aftermath of the 2014 uprising in Ferguson to address similar issues of structural racism and police violence confronting the community of Charlotte, NC. During the 2016 Charlotte uprising, Bree helped organize protests and community meetings. She continues to organize at the grassroots level in Charlotte, focusing on developing models for sustainable community organization. Her dedication to her community work has not lessened her interest in either film or music. She often interweaves the two. In 2016 she wrote, produced and directed a performance piece “Rise Up and Go” as part of The Monticello Summit, a four-day public summit on the legacy of slavery and freedom in America held at the site of Thomas Jefferson’s former plantation. The celebration was a collaboration between the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the University of Virginia. Her awards are numerous and include the Maryland Distinguished Scholars for Voice, the National Board of Review Student Film Award, and a 2016 NAACP Image Award. She has been named to the Root 100 and the Ebony 100 in recognition of her work on behalf of civil rights. Bree currently lives in Charlotte, NC, where she continues her work as an artist and grassroots community organizer. Image description: Bree Newsome an African American woman is holding a confederate flag in her right hand, and with her left hand she is holding on to a flag pole that she climbed. #Breenewsome #Irememberourhistory #civilrights #activist #WeAreTheMessengers #TellTheWholeTruth #RadicalBlackwoman #useYourVoice #teachthechildren #ncmaahc #BHM365 Source for Bio: https://www.biography.com/author/bree-newsome Previous Next

< Back 'Sister Circle, Activate!' RALEIGH (WTVD) -- When WakeMed pediatrician Rasheeda Monroe volunteered as a COVID-19 vaccinator last month, she saw something was missing. "I noticed that it was an amazing event, over 1,100 people got vaccinated. But, I thought where are the people of color," she said. By Joel Brown / abc 11 - Friday, February 12, 2021 RALEIGH (WTVD) -- When WakeMed pediatrician Rasheeda Monroe volunteered as a COVID-19 vaccinator last month, she saw something was missing. "I noticed that it was an amazing event, over 1,100 people got vaccinated. But, I thought where are the people of color," she said. As North Carolina grapples with data showing inequities in its vaccine rollout, Dr. Monroe and a group of Black Raleigh physicians hatched a plan to do something about it. She started brainstorming with her WakeMed colleagues who call themselves the "sister circle." They're all friends; they're all black; and they're all doctors: a psychiatrist, gynecologists, obstetricians, pediatrician and family med physician. "We were watching what was happening in the world, particularly the loss of life with black and brown people and we felt moved to do something about it," said WakeMed Behavioral Health Director Dr. Nerissa Price. Their first thought was to proudly post the pictures of themselves getting the COVID shot to help reduce vaccine hesitancy in marginalized communities impacted by historic medical abuse and distrust. "Once people in our community realized I was getting it and I trusted the vaccine, they were more willing to line up and get it," said WakeMed obstetrician Dr. Netasha McLawhorn. But, it's not merely an issue of hesitancy -- it's also access: seniors in communities of color who may have no computer, internet access or struggle to navigate a Wake County vaccine sign-up system overloaded with requests Dr. Monroe went to administrators at WakeMed with a proposition: if she could find the Black and brown seniors, would the health system provide the vaccine doses. WakeMed challenged her to find 300 people willing to get the shot. "So, I immediately reached out to the sister circle and I said, 'Alright it's time to activate.' And within 24 hours I came back to them and said, 'I have 700, is that enough?!'" The sister circle, aided by a small army of volunteers, vaccinated 700 people at its first clinic. In a second round of clinics in southeast Raleigh's hard-hit 27610 zip code, 1,700 people got the shot. 95% of the patients were people of color. "This was a soul-lifting experience," said WakeMed family medicine physician Dr. Jacqueline Hicks. "I don't think a lot of people know what we're capable of or knew the impact we would make on our community." WakeMed gynecologist Dr. Michele Benoit-Wilson has hopes the sister circle's efforts help encourage more people in communities of color to seek health care in general, not just because of COVID. "I'm hoping that this has far-reaching impact even beyond this effort. To tell our community members that we are here and that they can trust us," she said. The sister circle will spend this weekend giving second doses of the vaccine to patients from its first two rounds of clinics. There are plans for another round of clinics next Saturday, February 20 in Garner with a goal of 2,000 COVID shots in historically marginalized communities. Source: https://abc11.com/wakemed-wake-med-hospital.../10335179/ Previous Next

< Back Roberta Flack The Grammy-winning singer and pianist, now 85, “plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits,” the announcement said. Roberta Flack has ALS, now ‘impossible to sing,’ rep says The Grammy-winning singer and pianist, now 85, “plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits,” the announcement said. Nov. 14, 2022, 1:28 PM EST By Associated Press A representative for Roberta Flack announced Monday that the Grammy-winning musician has ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and can no longer sing. The progressive disease “has made it impossible to sing and not easy to speak,” Flack’s manager Suzanne Koga said in a release. “But it will take a lot more than ALS to silence this icon.” The announcement of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis comes just ahead of the premiere of “Roberta,” a feature-length documentary debuting Thursday at the DOCNYC film festival. Roberta Cleopatra Flack was born on February 10, 1937 in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Flack is known for hits like “Killing Me Softly With His Song” and “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face,” the latter of which catapulted her into stardom after Clint Eastwood used it as the soundtrack for a love scene in his 1971 movie “Play Misty for Me.” The release says that the Grammy-winning singer and pianist, now 85, “plans to stay active in her musical and creative pursuits” through her eponymous foundation and other avenues. The Antonino D’Ambrosio-directed documentary will be in competition at the festival and available via DOCNYC’s website for a week after, before airing on television Jan. 24 as part of PBS’ “American Masters” series. Flack also plans to publish a children’s book co-written with Tonya Bolden, “The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music,” that month. The North Carolina-born, Virginia-raised Flack is the daughter of pianists and classically trained herself — her talent won her a full ride to Howard University at just 15. “I have long dreamed of telling my story to children about that first green piano that my father got for me from the junkyard in the hope that they would be inspired to reach for their dreams,” Flack was quoted in the release. “I want them to know that dreams can come true with persistence, encouragement from family and friends, and most of all belief in yourself.” The documentary’s television debut and book’s publication kick off 2023, which also will see the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of her fourth album, “Killing Me Softly,” with a reissue. Her label for the first three decades of her career, Atlantic Records, is also celebrating its 75th anniversary. Flack had a stroke in 2016 and spoke to The Associated Press a little over two years later about returning to performing. When asked if she’d sing one of her old hits at a then-upcoming event, she quickly retorted: “There’s no such thing as an old hit,” preferring the term “classic” instead. “I could sing any number of songs that I’ve recorded through the years, easily, I could sing them, but I’m going to pick those songs that move me,” Flack said. “Now that’s hard to do. To be moved, to be moved constantly by your own songs.” Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/.../roberta-flack-als-now... See less Previous Next

< Back A Gullah Geechee native is fighting to keep her culture alive “Let mornin star greet you on yo praying groun.”—Gullah Prayer When Jackie Mikel (pronounced as “Michael”, a.k.a. Geechee Gal), stands in front of one of the slave houses at Boone Hall plantation, she must be standing where her great-great-grandmothers once stood. They must give Jackie enough strength, inspiration and conviction to tell a compelling story of the Gullah People. Like her great-great-grandmothers, who were brought from west Africa as slaves to the Gullah Geechee Corridor of North and South Carolina and Georgia. The Gullah people have preserved their culture and dialect for a long time. Perhaps, because of their isolation from the rest of the US. Slavery did not disappear from that area much after the end of the Civil War. She tells that many slaves on that plantation, as with others, had spent their entire lives on the plantation. *Contributing Researcher Stan Best* ----- The Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor extends along the coast of the southeastern United States through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida in recognition of the Gullah-Geechee people and culture. Gullah-Geechee are direct descendants of West African slaves brought into the United States around the 1700s. They were forced to work in rice paddies, cotton fields and indigo plantations along the South Carolina-Georgia seaboard where the moist climate and fertile land were very similar to their African homelands. After the abolition of slavery, Gullah-Geechee people settled in remote villages around the coastal swath, where, thanks to their relative isolation, they formed strong communal ties and a unique culture that has endured for centuries ------ A Gullah Geechee native is fighting to keep her culture alive by Caitlyn PenterTuesday, September 25th 2018 Hilton Head Island, S.C. (WTGS FOX 28) — The Town of Hilton Head Island recently hired a consultant to help preserve the Gullah Geechee culture on the island. The culture dates back centuries, and some of its descendants have remained in Hilton Head for generations. "My great grandfather was so proud to be able to tell somebody that he purchased 15 acres of land on Gumtree Road at $1 an acre," said Louise Miller Cohen. She runs the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island out of her family's home. She is a fifth generation descendant who has lived on Hilton Head Island almost her entire life. "I'm gonna be 75 years old, so I've been here for a while," said Cohen. Her great, great grandparents, along with other slaves, escaped to the island during the civil war. "They were trying to get to Hilton Head Island so they could be free," said Cohen. Her mission is to keep her culture alive. "We have to hold on to the land that we have," said Cohen. Her museum is run out of her uncle's home that she restored. It was built in 1930. She invites people inside to travel back in time to the days of her ancestors. Cohen said her community is in danger. "I just cannot believe what I'm seeing and what I'm hearing," said Cohen. She is fighting for what she believes is rightfully hers. "I cannot enjoy my community because you want to make it an express highway to get to what you call paradise. It's not right," said Cohen. Visitors to the museum on Tuesday agreed. They said she tells a story they relate to. "Her story goes back five generations. I have a similar story which goes back to my great grandmother who was also a freed slave," said William Thomas. Thomas was visiting from Atlanta. As the town of Hilton Head tries to come up with solutions, Cohen said she has one request. "My vision is that this community will be here," said Cohen. In a press release, the town said preserving this community is one of their top priorities. Source:https://fox28media.com/.../a-gullah-geechee-native-is... Previous Next

< Back Jamaal Barber Jamaal Barber-printmaker from Littleton, North Carolina Influenced by Elizabeth Cattlett. Jamaal Barber-printmaker from Littleton, North Carolina Influenced by Elizabeth Cattlett. "His work is one part narrative, one part portraiture and one part positive propaganda about blackness. Barber's prints project black nostalgia, contemporary life, and afro-futurism. His current exhibition, "Bright Black" centers black identity, and the color black, as the main driver of the American narrative. " ("Bright Black " at Atlanta’s Southwest Arts Center through February 23-2018) Source:http://artsatl.com/solo-show-artist-jamaal-barber.../ "Jamaal Barber is a creative imaginative soul who was born in Virginia and raised in Littleton, North Carolina. At a young age he was fascinated by the aesthetic images and vivid illustrations in children’s books and comic books. He soon started creating images of his own on the back of his textbooks in elementary school and on any other material that he could find. He finally answered the call to become an artist after reading about the legacy and life of Romare Bearden in high school. In 2013, after seeing a screen printing demo at a local art store, Jamaal started experimenting with printmaking and made it his primary focus. His fine art can be seen on display at the ZuCot Gallery. It has also been included in the Decatur Arts Festival, Atlanta Print Biennial Show and at various art shows around the Metro Atlanta area. Additionally, Jamaal has done print work for Black Art in America and Emory University. In 2004, Jamaal moved to Atlanta, GA where he now resides with his wife and two children. " Artist Statement: My art makes social commentary about black life and black identity. I explore all aspects of black life in America from the nostalgic reverence of small town, southern life to the societal forces that shape modern urban life across the country. My work features black figures as the main characters in the narratives. Kerry James Marshall often talks about there being a power in seeing the black figure as stars where they are not often seen. Figures in my art are carved and printed in relief with added layers of texture by screen printing patterns and colors to support the narratives. My aim is to create a new kind of propaganda to spread messages that speak to all aspects of black life. See more of his artwork and Read More about Jamaal Barber Here: http://jbarberstudio.com/home-1/ Previous Next

< Back The Journey of Reconciliation Charlotte, North Carolina, May 8–9, 1961 In the first significant confrontation of the CORE Freedom Ride, Joseph Perkins is arrested for trespassing as he attempts to have his shoes shined at a whites-only shoeshine chair. Perkins refuses to post bail and spends two nights (May 8 and 9) in jail. On May 10, Judge Howard B. Arbuckle finds Perkins innocent of the trespassing charge based on the precedent set in Boyton v. Virginia. ----------- On Sunday, 04.13.1947 The Journey of Reconciliation is celebrated. This was the first civil rights freedom ride through the American South. George Houser and Bayard Rustin were its primary organizers. It was sponsored by CORE and the Fellowship For Reconciliation. Black and white members ventured on a "Journey of Reconciliation," trying to force the federal government to uphold the 1946 Supreme Court ruling that segregated seating of interstate passengers was unconstitutional. The original riders were arrested in North Carolina and forced to serve on a chain gang for six months. Reference: Contemporary Black Biography, various volumes Edited by Shirelle Phelps Copyright 1999 by Gale Research, Detroit, London ISBN 0-7876-1275-8 Source:https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedom-rides Previous Next

< Back Bennett College For Women, Greensboro, NC. AKA-Spring 1983 -Leslie B. Nesbitt on Right. Bennett College For Women, Greensboro, NC. AKA-Spring 1983 -Leslie B. Nesbitt on Right. Source: Bennett College Yearbook Archives. . Previous Next

< Back Jereann King Johnson's "HOPE IN IMPOSSIBLE ODDS "HOPE IN IMPOSSIBLE ODDS" by Jereann King Johnson According to the Bureae of Justice Statistics. 'one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetimes" - leaving behind children, wives, sisters and brothers, partners and best friends, communities and jobs. If this is true today, the trend must not continue to fo gorward. Even with the odds, Black men hae HOPES and dreams. Black and white cotton cloth, red linen, and grey felt. Machine and hand quilted. — in Warrenton, NC. Previous Next

< Back Appalachian Genealogy On 05/25/2012, a DNA study in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy was released. It found genetic evidence shows that the families historically called Melungeons are the offspring of sub-Saharan African men and white women of northern or central European origin. Found mainly in the states of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky, there had for years been varied and sometimes wild claims made about these dark-skinned Appalachian residents once known as the Melungeons. Some speculated they were descended from Portuguese explorers, or perhaps from Turkish slaves or Gypsies. And that report, which was published in April in the peer-reviewed journal, doesn't sit comfortably with some people who claim Melungeon ancestry. "There were a whole lot of people upset by this study," lead researcher Roberta Estes said. "They just knew they were Portuguese, or Native American." 'Beginning in the early 1800s, or possibly before, the term Melungeon (meh-LUN'-jun) was applied as a slur to a group of about 40 families along the Tennessee-Virginia border. But it has since become a catchall phrase for a number of groups of mysterious mixed-race ancestry. In recent decades, interest in the origin of the Melungeons has risen dramatically with advances both in DNA research and in the advent of Internet resources that allow individuals to trace their ancestry without digging through dusty archives. G. Reginald Daniel, a sociologist at the University of California-Santa Barbara who's spent more than 30 years examining multiracial people in the U.S. and wasn't part of this research, said the study is more evidence that race-mixing in the U.S. isn't a new phenomenon. "All of us are multiracial," he said. "It is recapturing a more authentic U.S. history." Estes and her fellow researchers theorize that the various Melungeon lines may have sprung from the unions of black and white indentured servants living in Virginia in the mid-1600s, before slavery. They conclude that as laws were put in place to penalize the mixing of races, the various family groups could only intermarry with each other, even migrating together from Virginia through the Carolinas before settling primarily in the mountains of East Tennessee. Claims of Portuguese ancestry likely were a ruse they used in order to remain free and retain other privileges that came with being considered white, according to the study's authors. The study quotes from an 1874 court case in Tennessee in which a Melungeon woman's inheritance was challenged. If Martha Simmerman were found to have African blood, she would lose the inheritance. Her attorney, Lewis Shepherd, argued successfully that the Simmerman's family was descended from ancient Phoenicians who eventually migrated to Portugal and then to North America. Writing about his argument in a memoir published years later, Shepherd stated, "Our Southern high-bred people will never tolerate on equal terms any person who is even remotely tainted with negro blood, but they do not make the same objection to other brown or dark-skinned people, like the Spanish, the Cubans, the Italians, etc." In another lawsuit in 1855, Jacob Perkins, who is described as "an East Tennessean of a Melungeon family," sued a man who had accused him of having "negro blood." In a note to his attorney, Perkins wrote why he felt the accusation was damaging. Writing in the era of slavery ahead of the Civil War, Perkins noted the racial discrimination of the age: "1st the words imply that we are liable to be indicted (equals) liable to be whipped (equals) liable to be fined." Later generations came to believe some of the tales their ancestors wove out of necessity. Jack Goins, who has researched Melungeon history for about 40 years and was the driving force behind the DNA study, said his distant relatives were listed as Portuguese on an 1880 census. Yet he was taken aback when he first had his DNA tested around 2000. Swabs taken from his cheeks collected the genetic material from saliva or skin cells and the sample was sent to a laboratory for identification. "It surprised me so much when mine came up African that I had it done again," he said. "I had to have a second opinion. But it came back the same way. I had three done. They were all the same." In order to conduct the larger DNA study, Goins and his fellow researchers who are genealogists but not academics, had to define who was a Melungeon. In recent years, it has become a catchall term for people of mixed-race ancestry and has been applied to about 200 communities in the eastern U.S. from New York to Louisiana. Among them were the Montauks, the Mantinecocks, Van Guilders, the Clappers, the Shinnecocks and others in New York. Pennsylvania had the Pools; North Carolina the Lumbees, Waccamaws and Haliwas and South Carolina the Redbones, Buckheads, Yellowhammers, Creels and others. In Louisiana, which somewhat resembled a Latin American nation with its racial mixing, there were Creoles of the Cane River region and the Redbones of western Louisiana, among others. The latest DNA study limited participants to those whose families were called Melungeon in the historical records of the 1800s and early 1900s in and around Tennessee's Hawkins and Hancock Counties, on the Virginia border some 200 miles northeast of Nashville. The study does not rule out the possibility of other races or ethnicities forming part of the Melungeon heritage, but none were detected among the 69 male lines and 8 female lines that were tested. Also, the study did not look for later racial mixing that might have occurred, for instance with Native Americans. Goins estimates there must be several thousand descendants of the historical Melungeons still living today, but the study only examined unbroken male and female lines. The origin of the word Melungeon is unknown, but white residents in Appalachia who suspected the families of being mixed race considered it a slur. "It's sometimes embarrassing to see the lengths your ancestors went to hide their African heritage, but look at the consequences" said Wayne Winkler, past president of the Melungeon Heritage Association. The DNA study is ongoing as researchers continue to locate additional Melungeon descendants. Reference: The Associated Press permissions 450 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10001. AP Writer Previous Next

< Back Belinda Mack Alston's "THE DECIMATION OF THE BLACK FAMILY" "THE DECIMATION OF THE BLACK FAMILY" by Belinda Mack Alston The foudnation of the Black family is challenged by poverty, violence, and health disparities, and as a result are a target of this country. Machine quilted. — in Warrenton, NC. Previous Next

< Back Delta Sigma Theta Alpha Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta at North Carolina Central University in 1939. ​ Delta Sigma Theta Alpha Lambda Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta at North Carolina Central University in 1939. Source: NCCU yearbook archive. . Previous Next

< Back Ernie Barnes Painting - "Friendly Friendship Baptist Church" "Friendly Friendship Baptist Church" by Ernie Barnes This is one of his many unpublished pieces that will be on exhibit at the NC Museum of History from June 29, 2018 through March 3, 2019. This exhibition will showcase many unpublished Ernie Barnes original paintings, as well as artifacts from his life. Barnes was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. *We would like to thank the NC African American Heritage Commission for their dedicated work in helping to make this exhibition happen.* Previous Next

< Back Andrea Harris #NCMAAHC is sad to share the news of the passing on May 20, 2020, of Ms. Andrea Harris. She was a pure fire trailblazer for Black North Carolinian's. -------- From: Congresswoman Alma S. Adams 4:02 pm Wed. May 20, 2020 · Top Photo credit: Congresswoman Alma S. Adams "Today, I am heartbroken by the loss of my dear friend Andrea Harris. Mayor Bill Bell once called her the “mother of minority enterprise,” but even that doesn’t begin to describe her contributions to our state. I’ll remember her as a Bennett Belle and a strong advocate for HBCUs, a champion for Black businesses, and as one of the first persons in our state focused on building wealth in minority communities; but most of all, I’ll remember her as a faithful friend and mentor. Thank you Andrea for lighting the way for so many others, including myself." ------- Andrea Harris, Minority Economic Development Trailblazer, Passes Phyllis Coley / Spectacular Magazine May 20, 2020 Bottom photo credit: Spectacular Magazine Henderson, NC – Andrea Harris’ life has been dedicated to overcoming barriers to economic growth and opportunity. She passed this morning (May 20) at the age of 72. She was co-founder and Senior Fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, headquartered in Durham, NC. Davis Royster Funeral Service in Henderson is handling arrangements, which are incomplete at this time. Growing up in the rural community of Henderson, NC, during the heart of the Civil Rights movement, she had seen more than her share of inequality. So, after graduating from Bennett College, she chose to become a community organizer, rather than attend graduate school. “I decided to be a part of saving the world,” she recalls. “I thought I was invincible.” Two years later, at age 23, Harris became Executive Director of a Community Action Agency in Henderson. She was the youngest community agency director in the nation, supervising 120 full-time employees and helping fight poverty across three rural communities. Harris stepped out of that role after 6 years to begin representing lower-income, older adults throughout the southeast and in Washington through the regional Office of Community Services. Her work helped the participation levels of minority and elderly in conferences on national aging policy more than ten-fold. When she was tired of the constant travel, Harris took a job with the North Carolina state government. Although the slow pace of progress frustrated her, she found the experience provided a new direction for her work. In 1986, she and two colleagues co-founded the N.C. Institute of Minority Economic Development, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting minority and women businesses. There were then fewer than 30,000 minority businesses in North Carolina; today, there are more than 132,000. Harris says the Institute’s work is founded on the belief that home- and business-ownership are the two most effective means for building economic assets and expanded access to opportunities. “Investing in populations with limited net worth is far less costly than the negative social consequences of economic isolation,” she said. “We must work towards widely shared prosperity as an economic imperative.” Spectacular Magazine honored Andrea Harris with the Spectacular Magazine Woman of the Year – Lifetime Achievement award in 2014. Previous Next

< Back Banner State Woman's National Baptist Convention in 1915 ​ June 4, 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of Congress passing the #19thAmendment, granting women the right to vote, a freedom they had long deserved. This Amendment did not allow for Black American women to use their right to vote, it only gave White American women the ability to use their right to vote. Black Americans did not get the Right to vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As America bgins the celebration of this 100 year anniversary, make sure that you know the whole turht about Which American Women were allowed to Vote. We have included an article that provides the history of the Suffrage Movement and how it was segregated by racist White women and Jim/Jane crow laws. ----- Photograph: Nine African-American women gather for the Banner State Woman's National Baptist Convention in 1915 (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA) ---- How the Daughters and Granddaughters of Former Slaves Secured Voting Rights for All Historian Martha S. Jones takes a look at the question of race versus gender in the quest for universal suffrage By Martha S. Jones SMITHSONIAN.COM MARCH 8, 2019 In the fall of 1916, four years before the 19th Amendment would make it unconstitutional to deny voting rights on the basis of sex, African-American women in Chicago were readying to cast their first ballots ever for President. The scenes in that year of black women, many of them the daughters and granddaughters of former slaves, exercising the franchise, was as ordinary as it was unexpected. Theirs was a unique brand of politics crafted at the crossroads of racism and sexism. African-American women had always made their own way. In Chicago, they secured a place at the polls by way of newly enacted state laws that, over 25 years, extended the vote to the women of Illinois, gradually, unevenly and without regard to color. The real story, however, is an older one that stretches across generations of black women’s ambition and activism. It only sometimes intersects with better-known tales of how white women campaigned for their political rights. And yes, sometimes black and white women clashed. Still, the history of black women and the vote is one about figures who, though subjected to nearly crushing political disabilities, emerged as unparalleled advocates of universal suffrage in its truest sense. Their story begins in an unexpected place—the church. For black women, church communities were central sites for developing their sense of rights and how then to organize for them. No one understood this better than Julia Foote, born in 1823 and who, at the age of 18, felt herself called to preach in the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. By the 1840s, Foote was a leader in a churchwomen’s movement which demanded that they, like men, should be entitled to occupy pulpits and interpret the scriptures. Victory came in 1848, when A.M.E. churchwomen won the right to preaching licenses. Black churches would never be the same. That year marked the start of a decades-long campaign in which women lobbied for religious power: voting rights, office holding and control of the funds they raised. Were they on a path toward women’s suffrage? Certainly, yes, if the proceedings that summer in Seneca Falls, New York, are any measure. There, white American women gathered to make demands upon the nation. They sought access to the ballot box, but they also shared the aspirations of A.M.E. churchwomen, insisting at the conclusion of the Declaration of Sentiments: “that the speedy success of our cause depends upon the zealous and untiring efforts of both men and women, for the overthrow of the monopoly of the pulpit. . .” Women in the A.M.E Church understood this demand well. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper is often overshadowed by figures like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frederick Douglass in the story about women’s voting rights in the 1860s. Watkins Harper was present during the fateful and divisive 1869 meeting of the American Equal Rights Association when delegates splintered over the question of whether they would support the proposed 15th Amendment, which protected the voting rights of black men, but not women. Delegates charged Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony with having advocated for “educated suffrage,” a position which implied that former slaves were not fit to exercise the vote. Frederick Douglass responded by conceding that women had a stake in the vote, but ultimately deemed their claims less urgent than that of black men for whom voting was “a question of life and death.” Watkins Harper took the floor, the lone black woman to speak. A teacher, poet and antislavery activist, she somewhat reluctantly supported Douglass: “If the nation could handle one question, she would not have the black women put a single straw in the way, if only the men of the race could obtain what they wanted.” She also had frank words for white women: “I do not believe that giving the woman the ballot is immediately going to cure all the ills of life. I do not believe that white women are dew-drops just exhaled from the skies. I think that like men they may be divided into three classes, the good, the bad, and the indifferent.” Watkins Harper was in the end a political visionary: “We are all bound up in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse of its own soul.” She demanded that black women be included as part of “one great privileged nation.” This was the purpose of the ballot. Sadly, her vision of unity failed, the movement splintered into two competing organizations—The American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association. The rift divided long-standing allies and undercut the possibility for the sort of coalition of which Watkins Harper spoke. For many black women, it was a wound that would never quite heal. Eliza Gardner began her women’s rights work as an A.M.E. church activist, continuing the campaign begun by Julia Foote decades earlier. In the 1880s, Gardner confronted a religious glass ceiling when it seemed that women would not be elevated above the status of preachers to become full-fledged ministers. She spoke directly to the men who headed her church: “I come from old Massachusetts, where we have declared that all, not only men, but women, too, are created free and equal, with certain inalienable rights which men are bound to respect.” Gardner then proposed a tough bargain: Women would continue to ensure the well-being of the church, but only if they received the support and respect of male leaders: “If you will try to do by us the best you can. . . . you will strengthen our efforts and make us a power; but if you commence to talk about the superiority of men, if you persist in telling us that after the fall of man we were put under your feet and that we are intended to be subject to your will, we cannot help you in New England one bit.” Her threat was not an idle one. Gardner was also building her power in new, secular women’s clubs. In 1895, she was among the leaders at the founding of the National Conference of Colored Women, serving as chaplain. Gardner had already imbibed women’s rights ideas in abolitionist and church circles. Now, she and other black women activists were joining forces to tackle national problems under the motto “lifting as we climb.” It was the “woman’s era,” though not because black women were adopting a single issue or focus in their on-going campaign for rights. Instead, their agenda was set as a response to the rise of segregation, racial violence and the disenfranchisement that affected black men and women alike. By the dawn of the 20th century, black women had arrived. And to understand how in Chicago they came to vote in 1916 requires understanding of what occurred in their churches and women’s clubs. Black women had always strived to enhance their power. And perhaps after voting and holding office in churches, doing the same in the realm of party politics was an obvious next step. What is certain is how through their clubs and their churches, black women then became party activists: rallying, marching, vetting candidates, electioneering, voting and even running for local office. Their success had only begun in 1916. And it would continue well beyond 1920 and the addition of the 19th amendment to the Constitution. In much of the country, racism continued to block black women’s political aspirations, as it had always done. At the start of the 20th century, it was not yet possible to see clearly the modern civil rights movement that lay ahead. Chapters were yet to be written, ones that included figures like Mississippi’s voting rights champion Fannie Lou Hamer, and landmark legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Also on the horizon was Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to be elected to Congress, and then run for President. Though they likely dreamed of her—a daughter of Chicago and an heir to those black women voters of 1916—Michelle Obama defied any script as she wrote her chapter in the history of black women and political power. And if the past might not have anticipated her, she certainly drew upon it when she stepped to the podium at the August 2008 Democratic National Convention, and explained how history had shaped her: “This week we celebrate two anniversaries. The 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when Dr. King lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.” Mrs. Obama claimed two histories: that of gender—as represented by the passage of the 19th Amendment, and that of race—as expressed through the Civil Rights movement: “I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history, knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me.” In Obama’s 21st-century view of American political culture, she drew insight from her position as a daughter of both Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. She embodied the legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Fannie Lou Hamer. Race and sex, in her analysis, were not only a fraught dyad or a burden to be borne, they were also core facets of black women’s political identities, and the starting place for any quest for rights. NOTE:Dr. Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and professor of history at Johns Hopkins University, as well as president of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians. She is the author of All Bound Up Together: The Woman Question in African American Public Culture, 1830-1900 and Vanguard: A Political History of African American Women, coming from Basic Books in 2020. Source:https://www.smithsonianmag.com/.../how-daughters-and.../ Previous Next