He Plowed The Path to African-Americans US Citizenship

ASALH (The Association for the Study of African American Life and History) - the Founders of Black History Month, is a non-profit organization established on September 9, 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The 2009 Black History Theme is “The Quest for Black Citizenship in the Americas”. In keeping with this years theme, I’d like to present Dred Scott:

Dred Scott (1799 – September 17, 1858), was a slave in the United States who sued unsuccessfully for his freedom in the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857. His case was based on the fact that he and his wife Harriet were slaves, but had lived in states and territories where slavery was illegal, including Illinois and Minnesota (which was then part of the Wisconsin Territory). The United States Supreme Court ruled seven to two against Scott, finding that neither he, nor any person of African ancestry, could claim citizenship in the United States, and that therefore Scott could not bring suit in federal court under diversity of citizenship rules. Moreover, Scott's temporary residence outside Missouri did not effect his emancipation under the Missouri Compromise, since reaching that result would deprive Scott's owner of his property. source Wikipedia

“Roswell M. Field was a prominent lawyer in St. Louis and also the father of journalist and poet Eugene Field”. “Field took few slave cases, but when he did, he represented slaves. Even then, however he had but limited experience with the law of slavery when he became Dred Scott's attorney. Scott had filed his freedom suit in the spring of 1846; six years later, after "bitterly fought" (p. 180) and complex litigation, and after the Missouri Supreme Court reversed itself on freedom suits, Field became Scott's attorney.” source Humanities & Social Sciences Online

“The Eugene Field House was the home of Eugene's father Roswell Field, the attorney who formulated the legal strategy that placed slave Dred Scott's lawsuit for freedom before the U. S. Supreme Court. In Scott v. Sandford, one of the most controversial cases of the 19th century, Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared that no slave could be a U.S. citizen and that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 (that abolished slavery in most territories) was unconstitutional. The 1857 decision widened the political gap between the North and the South and helped precipitate the Civil War. A very outspoken critic of the decision was Abraham Lincoln, a relatively unknown Illinois lawyer, whose attacks on the case thrust him into the national political scene. Anger over Taney's decision energized the Republican party and led the nation's first antislavery political party to victory in 1860. It took the civil war and post-war constitutional amendments to overturn the Dred Scott decision.” source Eugene Field House and St. Louis Toy Museum


(source from Dred Scott Case Collection):"1858 Dred Scott dies of tuberculosis and is buried in St. Louis. He was buried in Wesleyan Cemetery at what is now the intersection of Grand and Laclede Avenues in St. Louis (now part of the campus of St. Louis University). In 1867, Wesleyan cemetery closed and the bodies were disinterred and re-buried at other sites. Dred Scott's body was moved to an unmarked grave in Section 1, Lot No. 177, Calvary Cemetery, in north St. Louis County. In 1957 a marker was placed on Dred Scott's grave which reads":

"DRED SCOTT BORN ABOUT 1799 DIED SEPT. 17, 1858 DRED SCOTT SUBJECT OF THE DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1857 WHICH DENIED CITIZENSHIP TO THE NEGRO, VOIDED THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE ACT, BECAME ONE OF THE EVENTS THAT RESULTED IN THE CIVIL WAR"



*The back of the tombstone says, "Freed from slavery by his Friend Taylor Blow."

“On its way to the United States Supreme Court, the Dred Scott case grew in scope and significance as slavery became the single most explosive issue in American politics. By the time the case reached the high court, it had come to have enormous political implications for the entire nation. On March 6, 1857, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney read the majority opinion of the Court, which stated that black people were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the federal government or the courts; the opinion also stated that Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a federal territory. The decision of Scott v. Sandford, considered by legal scholars to be the worst ever rendered by the Supreme Court, was overturned by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution (1865-1868), which abolished slavery and declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens of the United States.” source National Archives and Records Administration

Excerpt from the poem “Freedom’s Plow” by Langston Hughes

(Complete poem American Poems)

BETTER DIE FREE,
THAN TO LIVE SLAVES.
Who said those things? Americans!
Who owns those words? America!
Who is America? You, me!
We are America!
To the enemy who would conquer us from without,
We say, NO!
To the enemy who would divide
And conquer us from within,
We say, NO!
FREEDOM!
BROTHERHOOD!
DEMOCRACY!
To all the enemies of these great words:
We say, NO!

A long time ago,
An enslaved people heading toward freedom
Made up a song:
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
The plow plowed a new furrow
Across the field of history.
Into that furrow the freedom seed was dropped.
From that seed a tree grew, is growing, will ever grow.
That tree is for everybody,
For all America, for all the world.
May its branches spread and shelter grow
Until all races and all peoples know its shade.
KEEP YOUR HAND ON THE PLOW! HOLD ON!

Please visit The Dred Scott Heritage Foundation

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is different cultures or cultural identities within a Society that includes African-American, Asian American, European American, Jewish American, Latino/Chicano/Hispanic American, Native Americans, etc. This February is dedicated to the origins of African-American multiculturalism and the Founder of the professional non-profit organization ASALH (The Association for the Study of African American Life and History), Carter G. Woodson.

Woodson whom is known as the Father of Black History, pioneered an intellectual movement to educate Americans about cultural diversity and democracy. My opinion is that a large part of African American history includes literature in publication throughout educational institutions and made readily available to the public.

U.S. Society & Values: “The actual study of multicultural literature has come about gradually during the past three decades. A student in a representative university in the late 1960s might have come upon one or two writers, at most, in his American literature survey course. This was linked, as always, to the publishing industry, to what publishers in the United States were issuing, less than to racism and elitism. The first challenge within the academic community was to successfully argue the case for ethnic literature in the curriculum. The second was to convince publishers of the merits of this body of work. Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple and many other books, has recalled reading a photocopy version of Hurston's landmark novel in graduate school, and wondering why she had never heard of it, and moreover, why it wasn't available anywhere in print.” (click to read complete article)

Wikipedia: “African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reaching early high points with slave narratives and the Harlem Renaissance, and continuing today with authors such as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou and Walter Mosley being ranked among the top writers in the United States. Among the themes and issues explored in African American literature are the role of African Americans within the larger American society, African-American culture, racism, slavery, and equality. African American writing has also tended to incorporate within itself oral forms such as spirituals, sermons, gospel music, blues and rap.

As African Americans' place in American society has changed over the centuries, so, too, have the foci of African American literature. Before the American Civil War, African American literature primarily focused on the issue of slavery, as indicated by the subgenre of slave narratives. At the turn of the 20th century, books by authors such as W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington debated whether to confront or appease racist attitudes in the United States. During the American Civil Rights movement, authors such as Richard Wright and Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about issues of racial segregation and black nationalism. Today, African American literature has become accepted as an integral part of American literature, with books such as Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and Beloved by Toni Morrison achieving both best-selling and award-winning status.”

This month Binding Ink is pleased to have presented a three part series to include the first three African-American Poets in the U.S.: Lucy Terry, Jupiter Hammon, and Phillis Wheatley. However; “¹There are, it seems, some differences of opinion even among scholars about where the study of black written poetry begins. Some, like Hughes and Bontemps in The Poetry of the Negro, begin with Lucy Terry, but The Negro Caravan, by Brown, Davis and Lee omits her altogether and opens with Phillis Wheatley. William H. Robinson acknowledges Terry in Early Black.”

Notably, historians also “disagree as to when the Harlem Renaissance began and ended”:

Wikipedia: “The Harlem Renaissance (also known as the Black Literary Renaissance and The New Negro Movement) refers to the flowering of African American cultural and intellectual life during the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the anthology The New Negro, edited by Alain Locke in 1925. Centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, the movement impacted urban centers throughout the United States. Across the cultural spectrum (literature, drama, music, visual art, dance) and also in the realm of social thought (sociology, historiography, philosophy), artists and intellectuals found new ways to explore the historical experiences of black America and the contemporary experiences of black life in the urban North.”

I found an excellent and highly recommended web site called African American Literature that covers African American Literature during the Twentieth Century, including the Harlem Renaissance and is geared to such knowledge being available especially in the educational system. The site includes: “75 novels, poems, autobiographies, and essays along with summaries of the selected literature. Also, we have provided you with some significant events of each decade and the literary themes that African American authors were writing about during that decade.”The array includes:

1920: “The start of the Harlem Renaissance, a period of creativity among Black artists, writers, musicians, and entertainers…”

1930: “With the slowing of African American writing during the Great Depression, African Americans confronted many new challenges and obstacles. During the 1930s, the United States voted for a new president and the government made promises to the African American community that they could not keep. Blacks were fighting for equal pay, educational facilities and equal protection under the law. Black authors voiced their rage and frustrations in their work. They still possessed the same intensities as they did during the Harlem Renaissance but the motivation and themes addressed changed. African American authors tackled themes such as racism, poverty,self-assertion,and race relations. “

1940: “A very transitional period for the United States and for African Americans. The Forties was marked by more African American enlisting in all branches of the military and the start of World War II. During this time period, African Americans were fighting for the right to enlist in combat roles in the armed forces. At this time, Blacks were primarily segregated and assigned only in noncombat roles. Whites responded to Black demands with lynchings, town burnings, and other forms of violence. The authors during this period continued the tradition of race and socially conscious writing. Literature with black themes of struggle, oppression, and daily life were often found in the works of the African American authors.”

1950: “A very politically unstable time for African Americans. Their rights were constantly under attack. All the efforts made during the Forties to integrate the Armed Forces were abolished during the Korean War. A new era of racist assassinations began to occur and African Americans started to take a stand against blatant racism. The NAACP argued cases in Southern states against the discriminatory practices in public schools. In May of 1954, the Brown vs. Board of Education occurred. This case ruled racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. The African American non-violent movement began taking the form of boycotts, sit-ins, and peaceful protests. The African American authors during this decade were writing about love, discrimination, the prison system, protest, black sexuality, and black life in Harlem.”

1960: “considered by many to be the Second Black Renaissance. It was African- American's most significant decade in terms of self-consciousness, goals, and achievements. In contrast, the Harlem Renaissance was in part fostered by white patrons and declined when white's financial support declined after the Crash of 1929. But the 1960s was self-generating, self- determining, and self-sustaining. Many significant events occurred during the 1960s such as the March on Washington, countless civil right demonstrations. The Sixties also saw the assassination of two Black America's greatest leaders: Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. New cries of black nationalism, black separatism, and violent resistance were often heard in African-American communities. The authors during this time addressed such themes as black pride, self- actualization, black sexuality, justice, and race relations.”

1970: “a time when African culture was adopted by African-Americans. The U.S government began to monitor Black organizations. Vietnam War ended and many African Americans soldiers faced many disappointments. Many Black Soldiers found that their lives were not improved by fighting in a war that was not theirs. Shirley Chisolm became the first black woman to run for the U.S. presidency. The Seventies saw the emergence of an open and ongoing discussion among Black men and women on the quality, forms and future of their relationships. African American authors still voiced their frustrations and desires in their writings, but many authors wrote about the same literary themes as in the Sixties.”

1980: “a time in history when Reganomics had expanded the gap in the economy to the point that poverty among blacks was at an all time high. Crack had hit the African American community harder than any other drug in the past. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday was established as a national holiday and Jesse Jackson ran for president. The Eighties was a time when female authors burst onto the scene. Publishing companies witnessed the enhancement of established talent among African American female writers. These writers became apart of America's pop culture and started to float in society's mainstream. African American authors discussed themes such as black female-male relationships, self-identity, and more authors had female main characters depicted in their works.”

1990: “has been categorized as the "Attack on the Black Male." The number of black males being put in prisons and killed on the streets increased tremendously in the nineties. Black on Black crime has risen at an astronomical rate. The nineties saw the Freeing of South Africa, Million Man March, the L.A. Riots, O.J. Simpson trial, increases in police brutality, and the murder of Tupac Shakur. Racial tension has increased dramatically over the decades with church burnings, recorded police beatings, hate crimes, and an attack on affirmative action. Black literature during the Nineties includes themes such as Black female-male relationships, urban life, self-awareness, economic power and black unity.”

In conclusion, Binding Ink would like to ask your support in helping to keep African-American multiculturalism literature alive; merely read, become knowledgeable, enjoy, and most of all - regardless of ethnicity, don’t be afraid to pick up a pen and write. Be a part of and add to future generations of history.

1. Memorial Hall

Technorati Tags Multiculturalism,Black History Month,African American Literature,Binding Ink

1st Poem Composed by an African American Woman

Memorial Hall: "Much in the achievements of Jupiter Hammon of Long Island and Lucy Terry Prince of Massachusetts and Vermont offers food for comparison. The pioneer black poet and poetess share race and literary priority as well as social status as chattel property in 18th-century America. Hammon has already received a measure of recognition as the first published African-American poet, with his broadside An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ With Penetential Cries, in 1761. Hammon's fame, nevertheless, rests on but seven poems and four prose pieces discovered eightyseven years ago.

Lucy Terry Prince, on the other hand, is credited with but a single poem, composed fourteen years before Hammon, although not until recently recognized as the first poetry by any black American. Both Hammon and Prince, however, have been overshadowed by Phillis Wheatley, whose precocity attracted attention in her own time and won for her contemporary literary recognition here and abroad.

There are, it seems, some differences of opinion even among scholars about where the study of black written poetry begins. Some, like Hughes and Bontemps in The Poetry of the Negro, begin with Lucy Terry, but The Negro Caravan, by Brown, Davis and Lee omits her altogether and opens with Phillis Wheatley. William H. Robinson acknowledges Terry in Early Black."


Wikipedia: Lucy Terry was kidnapped in West Africa as an infant and sold into slavery. She was owned by Ebenezer Wells of Deerfield, Massachusetts, who allowed her to be baptized into the Christian faith at about five years of age during the Great Awakening.

PBS: Although best known as the author of the first poem composed by an African American woman, Lucy Terry Prince was a remarkable woman whose many accomplishments included arguing a case before the Supreme Court.

In 1756, Lucy Terry married Abijah Prince, a prosperous free black man who purchased her freedom.

The African American Registry: When a Colonel Eli Bronson attempted to steal land owned by the Princes, as a persuasive orator; Terry successfully negotiated a land case before the Supreme Court of Vermont in the 1790s. She argued against two of the leading lawyers in the state, (one of who later became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont) and won her case against the false land claims of Colonel Eli Bronson. Samuel Chase, the presiding justice of the Court, said that her argument was better than he'd heard from any Vermont lawyer.

Wikipedia: Although Lucy Terry was a poet, only one of her poems, a ballad called "Bars Fight" has survived, about an attack upon two white families by Native Americans on August 25, 1746. The attack occurred in Deerfield, in an area called "The Bars," which was a colonial term for a meadow.

African American Literature: Lucy Terry's " Bars Fight ", was first published in 1855 in Josiah Holland's History of Western Massachusetts.

Lucy Terry died in 1821, at the age of 97.

BARS FIGHT

Samuel Allen like a hero fout
And though he was so brave and bold
His face no more shall we behold.
Eleazer Hawks was killed outright
Before he had time to fight
Before he did the Indians see
Was shot and killed immediately.
Oliver Amsden he was slain
Which caused his friends much grief and pain
Samuel Amsden they found dead
Not many rods off from his head.
Adonijah Gillet we do hear

Did lose his life which was so dear.
John Saddler fled across the water
And so escaped the dreadful slaughter.
Eunice Allen see the Indians coming
And hoped to save herself by running
And had not her petticoats stopt her

The awful creatures had not cotched her
And tommyhawked her on the head
And left her on the ground for dead.
Young Samuel Allen, Oh! lack a-day
Was taken and carried to Canada.

Technorati Tags Lucy Terry,Black History Month,Poet,Binding Ink

America's 1st Published African-American Writer

George Wallace: Jupiter Hammon’s first published work, an 88-line broadside, came out in Hartford, Connecticut in 1760 -- when Phillis Wheatley was only seven years old and ten years prior to her first broadside publication, entitled “Elegy on the death of Whitefield.”

Wikipedia: Hammon was a slave his whole life, owned by several generations of the Lloyd family on Long Island, New York. However, he was allowed to attend school, and thus (unlike many slaves) was able to read and write.

The Address to the Negroes of the State of New York, or the Hammon Address, was a speech by Jupiter Hammon,...Hammon delivered the speech, in which he expressed his opinions on slavery, before the African Society on 24 September 1786.

Jupiter Hammon wrote the speech at age seventy-six after a lifetime of slavery in Long Island, New York. In the speech, Hammon gives his famous quote, "If we should ever get to Heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for being black, or for being slaves."

Perspectives in American Literature: Hammon was also a preacher for his fellow brethren on the Lloyd Manor Estate.

Questia: The American Revolution, which interrupted the comfort and stability of the poet-preacher's life, was the central political event of Hammon's experience. By the time of the struggle, the Lloyd family had split into Loyalist and Whig factions. When the British occupied Long Island in 1776, the sixty-five-year-old Jupiter Hammon went to Connecticut with two Lloyd Whigs, his second master, Joseph Lloyd (Henry's son) and John Lloyd II, Joseph's nephew. They lived first in Stamford and later in Hartford. Joseph Lloyd committed suicide mistakenly believing that the British had captured Charleston, South Carolina and were about to win the war.

Unfortunately, ¹“The actual death date of Jupiter Hammon is not known because no one can find a death certificate or the exact spot of his burial”, it is estimated between 1790 and 1806.

Hammon first work:

An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penetential Cries by Jupiter Hammon:

Salvation comes by Christ alone,
The only Son of God;
Redemption now to every one,
That love his holy Word.

Dear Jesus, we would fly to Thee,
And leave off every Sin,
Thy tender Mercy well agree;
Salvation from our King.

Salvation comes now from the Lord,
Our victorious King.
His holy Name be well ador'd,
Salvation surely bring.

Dear Jesus, give thy Spirit now,
Thy Grace to every Nation,
That han't the Lord to whom we bow,
The Author of Salvation.

Dear Jesus, unto Thee we cry,
Give us the Preparation;
Turn not away thy tender Eye;
We seek thy true Salvation.

Salvation comes from God we know,
The true and only One;
It's well agreed and certain true,
He gave his only Son.

Lord, hear our penetential Cry:
Salvation from above;
It is the Lord that doth supply,
With his Redeeming Love.

Dear Jesus, by thy precious Blood,
The World Redemption have:
Salvation now comes from the Lord,
He being thy captive slave.

Dear Jesus, let the Nations cry,
And all the People say,
Salvation comes from Christ on high,
Haste on Tribunal Day.

We cry as Sinners to the Lord,
Salvation to obtain;
It is firmly fixed, his holy Word,
Ye shall not cry in vain.

Dear Jesus, unto Thee we cry,
And make our Lamentation:
O let our Prayers ascend on high;
We felt thy Salvation.

Lord, turn our dark benighted Souls;
Give us a true Motion,
And let the Hearts of all the World,
Make Christ their Salvation.

Ten Thousand Angels cry to Thee,
Yea, louder than the Ocean.
Thou art the Lord, we plainly see;
Thou art the true Salvation.

Now is the Day, excepted Time;
The Day of the Salvation;
Increase your Faith, do not repine:
Awake ye, every Nation.

Lord, unto whom now shall we go,
Or seek a safe abode?
Thou has the Word Salvation Too,
The only Son of God.

Ho! every one that hunger hath,
Or pineth after me,
Salvation be thy leading Staff,
To set the Sinner free.

Dear Jesus, unto Thee we fly;
Depart, depart from Sin,
Salvation doth at length supply,
The Glory of our King.

Come, ye Blessed of the Lord,
Salvation greatly given;
O turn your Hearts, accept the Word,
Your Souls are fit for Heaven.

Dear Jesus, we now turn to Thee,
Salvation to obtain;
Our Hearts and Souls do meet again,
To magnify thy Name.

Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove,
The Object of our Care;
Salvation doth increase our Love;
Our Hearts hath felt they fear.

Now Glory be to God on High,
Salvation high and low;
And thus the Soul on Christ rely,
To Heaven surely go.

Come, Blessed Jesus, Heavenly Dove,
Accept Repentance here;
Salvation give, with tender Love;
Let us with Angels share.

Technorati Tags Jupiter Hammon,Black History Month,Binding Ink

1.PAL: Perspectives in American Literature

Phillis Wheatley 1st Published African American Poet

Wikipedia: Phillis Wheatley, as illustrated by Scipio Moorhead in the Frontispiece to her book Poems on Various Subjects.Phillis Wheatley (1753 – December 5, 1784) was the first published African American poet whose writings helped create the genre of African American literature. She was born in Gambia, Africa, and became a slave at age seven. She was purchased by the Boston Wheatley family, who taught her to read and write, and helped encouraged her poetry.

The 1773 publication of Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, brought her fame, with dignitaries such as George Washington praising her work. Wheatley also toured England and was praised in a poem by fellow African American poet Jupiter Hammon. Wheatley was emancipated by her owners after her poetic success, but stayed with the Wheatley family until the death of her former master and the breakup of his family. She then married a free black man, who soon left her. She died in poverty in 1784 while working on a second book of poetry, which has now been lost.

Renascence Editions:
The following is a Copy of a LETTER sent
by the Author's Master to the Publisher.

PHILLIS was brought from Africa to America, in the Year 1761, between seven and eight Years of Age. Without any Assistance from School Education, and by only what she was taught in the Family, she, in sixteen Months Time from her Arrival, attained the English language, to which she was an utter Stranger before, to such a degree, as to read any, the most difficult Parts of the Sacred Writings, to the great Astonishment of all who heard her.
As to her WRITING, her own Curiosity led her to it; and this she learnt in so short a Time, that in the Year 1765, she wrote a Letter to the Rev. Mr. OCCOM, the Indian Minister, while in England.

She has a great Inclination to learn the Latin Tongue, and has made some Progress in it. This Relation is given by her Master who bought her, and with whom she now lives.


JOHN WHEATLEY.

Boston, Nov. 14, 1772.

e-text Renascence Editions Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral by
Phillis Wheatley

To the Publick

To Mæcenas

On Virtue

To the University of Cambridge, in New England

To the King's Most Excellent Majesty

On being brought from Africa

On the Rev. Dr. Sewell

On the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield

On the Death of a young Lady of five Years of Age

On the Death of a young Gentleman

To a Lady on the Death of her Husband

Goliath of Gath

Thoughts on the Works of Providence

To a Lady on the Death of three Relations

To a Clergyman on the Death of his Lady

An Hymn to the Morning

An Hymn to the Evening

On Isaiah lxiii. 1------8

On Recollection

On Imagination

A Funeral Poem on the Death of an Infant aged twelve Months

To Captain H. D. of the 65th Regiment

To the Right Hon. William, Earl of Dartmouth

Ode to Neptune

To a Lady on her coming to North America with her Son, for the Recovery of her Health

To a Lady on her remarkable Preservation in a Hurricane in North Carolina

To a Lady and her Children, on the Death of her Son and their Brother.

To a Gentleman and Lady on the Death of the Lady's Brother and Sister, and a
Child of the Name of Avis, aged one Year.

On the Death of Dr. Samuel Marshall

To a Gentleman on his Voyage to Great-Britain, for the Recovery of his Health

To the Rev. Dr. Thomas Amory on reading his Sermons on Daily Devotion, in which that Duty is recommended and assisted

On the Death of J. C. an Infant

An Hymn to Humanity

To the Hon. T. H. Esq; on the Death of his Daughter

Niobe in Distress for her Children slain by Apollo, from Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book VI, and from a View of the Painting of Mr. Richard Wilson

To S. M. a young African Painter, on seeing his Works

To his Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, on the Death of his Lady

A Farewel to America

A Rebus by I. B.

An Answer to ditto, by Phillis Wheatley

George Wallace stated: “Phillis Wheatley accomplishments aside, and they are impressive, she is not considered the first published African-American poet in America. That title goes to Jupiter Hammon.”

So to be Politically correct Binding Ink states: Phillis Wheatley 1st Published Female African American Poet

Technorati Tags Black History Month,Phillis Wheatley,Poet,Binding Ink

Mike Carey (Black History Month)

GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 03: Referee Mike Carey points upwards during warmups before Super Bowl XLII between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants on February 3, 2008 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Mike Carey headed the officiating crew for Sunday's Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots on Sunday, the first black referee at a Super Bowl.

(ESPN: Carey will head the crew, which also includes two other black officials, line judge Carl Johnson and field judge Boris Cheek.

The rest of the crew: umpire Tony Michalek; head linesman Gary Slaughter; side judge Larry Rose and back judge Scott Helverson. Ken Baker will be the replay assistant.)

Michael "Mike" Carey is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1990 NFL season. He began officiating football in 1972 working Pop Warner football games in the San Diego, California area. Later in 1985, he joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Carey was hired by the NFL in 1990 as a side judge before being promoted to referee for the start of the 1995 NFL season. He was the second African-American official to become a referee after Johnny Grier in 1988. Mike served as an alternate referee for Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. Of all the active referees in the NFL, Carey has ejected the most players. On the field, he wears the uniform number 94.

On October 3, 2005, Mike and his brother, Don, an NFL official as well (back judge), became the first brothers to officiate an NFL game together when they were assigned on the same officiating crew for the game between the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers.

Outside of football, Carey is also a co-owner of Seirus Innovation, a privately held company that manufactures ski and snowboarding gloves, face protection, and other cold-weather accessories. He is an inventor who owns or shares eight ski apparel patents, including "Cat Tracks," a protective device which he created at age 30 to slip over the sole of a ski boot, preventing damage away from the ski run. Mike's wife, Wendy, is the Chief Financial Officer of Seirus.

Mike and Wendy have two daughters, Drisana and Danica, and currently reside in San Diego, California.

The above emailed edited article was received Thanks to our 'Black History Committee 2008' at my place of employment.


Technorati Tags Black History Month,Mike Carey,NFL Official,
referee,sports,football,African American,Binding Ink

Celebrate Black History Month By Accentuating the Positives

Accentuating the Positives

“Originally established… 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African-American author and scholar, this event evolved into the establishment of February as Black History Month in 1976. This commemoration also has been referred to as African-American History Month. Both names are currently in use.

When Woodson established this… he realized the importance of providing a theme to focus the attention of the public. The intention never has been to dictate or limit the exploration of the Black experience, but to bring to the public's attention important developments that merit emphasis.

Since 1926,The Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History (ASALH) has established the national theme for the month long celebration. The National Theme for the celebration in the year 2007 is From Slavery to Freedom” (from US INFO)

From Slavery:
“Charleston, SC was the major point of entry for Africans brought to America in the eighteenth century. Approximately three out of four enslaved Africans came to America through this port city, which had a black majority by 1790. In 1808, the foreign slave trade was abolished, but American-born slaves continued to be bought and sold until the Civil War.” (from The Aiken-Rhett House )

1441
The first cargo of African slaves arrive in Lisbon with Antam Goncalves.
1690
February 7. The first South Carolina law relating solely to slavery is enacted.
1743
September 12. The Reverend Alexander Garden (d. 1773) opened a school for blacks in Charles Town. The purpose was to train them "in principles of Christianity and the fundamentals of education, to serve as schoolmasters to their people."
1773
A black Christian church opens in South Carolina, reflecting the rapid growth of Christianity, the "white man's religion," among American blacks.
1790 SC Federal Census
Slave 107,094
Free Black 1,801
1800 SC Federal Census
Slave 146,151
Free Black 3,18
1810 SC Federal Census
Slave 196,365
Free Black 4,554
1820 SC Federal Census
Slave 258,475
Free Black 6,826
1821
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Calhoun Street was closed in response to the Vesey insurrection. Reorganized in 1865, it became a focal point for black political activity.
1829
Daniel A. Payne, a free black, opens a school for black children in Charleston.
1840 SC Federal Census
Slave 327,038
Free Black 8,276
1860 SC Federal Census
Slaves 402,406
Free Blacks 9,914
1861-1865
The Civil War: An estimated 250,000 African Americans, some of whom were slaves, serve as soldiers.
May 13 Robert Smalls, a black pilot, with a black crew sailed in the Confederate steamer Planter out of Charleston and joined the Union Fleet.
November The first black regiment was mustered into service in South Carolina. The First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers was commanded by Colonel Thomas W. Higginson, a white man from Massachusetts. During the war over 5,000 black South Carolinians joined the Union Army.
June 2 Harriet Tubman leads Union troops in a raid up only time a woman has led American troops in battle.
1865
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, organized by a black congregation, is established in Charleston.
November 13 The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery throughout the United States, is ratified.

(the above time-line is from Milestones in the History of Slavery)

For a more details on slavery in Charleston, SC, “Follow the African American Coastal Heritage trails and explore what our ancestors never imagined would become history” at The African American Coastal Trail

To Freedom:
“Both free and enslaved Africans helped shape Charleston’s economic and cultural life. Their agricultural knowledge is largely responsible for Charleston’s success. Ironwork, handmade sweetgrass baskets, she-crab soup and benne seed cookies are just a few of the well-known artistic and culinary contributions. Gullah, the Sea Island culture and language, continues to survive today.” (Charleston Area Convention and Visitor Bureau)

Serving Our Nation
2.4 million
Number of black military veterans in the United States in 2005. More military veterans are black than any other minority group.
(Source: 2005 American Community Survey. Data pertain to blacks of one race only.)

Education
80%
Among blacks age 25 and older, the proportion that had at least a high school diploma in 2005. In states such as Colorado, the proportion was even higher – 90 percent. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)
17%
Percentage of blacks age 25 and older who had a bachelor’s degree or more in 2005. In many states, the rate was higher. Twenty-six percent of blacks this age in Colorado, for instance, had this level of education. (Source: 2005 American Community Survey)
1.1 million
Among blacks age 25 and older, the number who had an advanced degree in 2005 (e.g., master’s, Ph.D., M.D. or J.D.). Ten years earlier — in 1995 — only 677,000 blacks had this level of education.
2.3 million
Number of black college students in fall 2004. This was an increase of roughly 1 million from 15 years earlier. U.S. U.S. Census Bureau

Businesses
$88.6 billion
Revenues for black-owned businesses in 2002, up 24 percent from 1997. The number of black-owned businesses totaled 1.2 million in 2002, up by 45 percent since 1997. Black-owned firms accounted for 5 percent of all nonfarm businesses in the United States.
129,329
The number of black-owned firms in New York in 2002, which led all states. New York City alone had 98,080 such firms, which led all cities.
10,716
The number of black-owned firms operating in 2002 with receipts of $1 million or more. These firms accounted for 1 percent of the total number of black-owned firms in 2002 and 55 percent of their total receipts, or $49 billion.
969
The number of black-owned firms with 100 or more employees in 2002. Firms of this size accounted for 24 percent of the total revenue for black-owned employer firms in 2002, or $16 billion.

Homeowership – the American Dream
46%
Nationally, the percentage of black households who lived in owner-occupied homes. The rate was higher in certain states, such as Mississippi, where it reached 56 percent.
(Source: 2005 American Community Survey)

Jobs
26%
The percentage of blacks age 16 and older who work in management, professional and related occupations. There are 44,000 black physicians and surgeons, 79,400 postsecondary teachers, 45,200 lawyers, and 49,300 chief executives. (Sources: 2005 American Community Survey and Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007, Table 602.)

For more information on the data in this section, see <http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/sb0200csblk.pdf>

Please note that this is the “18th year BellSouth has spearheaded the initiative, providing educators, parents, and visitors a method of identifying African-American role models for all youth, honoring notable African-American achievers with ties to South Carolina” at BellSouth in South Carolina.

Honorees like Marjorie Amos-Frazier, “The first woman to be elected to the Charleston County Council in 1974, she went on to even greater triumphs six years later when she was elected commissioner on the South Carolina Public Service Commission. Until that time, the commission had been a bastion of the state's white male legislators.”


On a personal note, I would like to add; born in Ohio –I had many African American Friends whom my Family and I would share in the enjoyment of playing together, dining, church attendance, school activities, picnics, sports, etc. As a child I never knew the world had racial lines. It wasn’t until about 1975, age 13 when we moved to Beaufort, SC and I attended the school Robert Smalls that I first heard the word ‘riot’. Isn't it sad my Readers that throughout history, humans - with all our knowledgeable intelligence have been far crueler to our own humankind, than any beast? Yet, thankfully the human race continues to persevere. Maybe because there are enough individuals, or communities, or positive efforts … to really make a difference! So lets just keep doing the best we can, rather as individuals or together - for the greater plan – and in the process let us never forget our roots, no matter where they began - for they were the seedlings of today’s many dreams come true.

"All men and women are born, live suffer and die; what distinguishes us one from another is our dreams, whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things, and what we do to make them come about... We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live."
by Joseph Epstein

Vanna White in Charleston SC, Who What Else!

“This month, South Carolinians are the lucky ones, asWheel of Fortune comes to Charleston for a series of show tapings to honor the home state of Vanna White. Vanna, born in North Myrtle Beach, has been one of South Carolina’s most famous faces since she joined Wheel of Fortune in 1982.” (Source: SouthCarolina Magazine)

Black History Month -- February 2007: Charleston’s African-American Heritage Honored:

“National Black History month has a special significance in Charleston, SC. The historical influence of African Americans in the South Carolina Lowcountry is reflected in the culture and customs that still resonate throughout the area…” (Charleston Area Convention and Visitor Bureau),ABC News 4

“The only tennis tournament offering the top junior players the opportunity to compete for a wildcard invitation into a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tier I event will once again bring more than 400 regionally and nationally ranked juniors from 14 states (and Canada) to Charleston as SMASH Magazine presents the 6th annual SMASH Junior Cup on Daniel Island in Charleston, SC from February 23-26, 2007.” (Family Cirlce Cup)

Toy Soldier Show: 50 tables of new and antique toy soldiers, diorama supplies, and military books on sale and display. Sponsored by the South Carolina Military Miniatures Society. For more info call 795-8720:
Event Date Sat 3/3/07
Start Time 9:00 - 4:00
Location Patriots Pt Holiday Inn
Cost $3.00, children under 12 free accompanied by an adult
South Carolina Military Miniature Society)

Lynyrd Skynyrd & 38 Special show April 14th at the Ladson Fairgrounds!

From Charleston City Paper:
“SOUTHERN ROCK FEST, The DJs at Q104.5 FM sure sound excited about what they're promoting as the Southern Rock Weekend at the Exchange Park Fairgrounds in Ladson in mid-April. In fact, the event is part of the annual Heritage Motorcycle Rally, which runs from April 12-22. Co-sponsored by Rock 104.5, the festival's main music lineup features Spartanburg's Marshall Tucker Band on Sat. April 14, the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd and '80s rockers .38 Special on Sun. April 15. The following weekend features modern country act Montgomery Gentry on Fri. April 20 and Illinois classic rock band REO Speedwagon, with support from Smashmouth, on Sat. April 21. Advance tickets for Marshall Tucker are available for $20, while advance tickets for Skynyrd are available for $30 (both at www.etix.com). Check out www.heritagemotorcyclerally.com and www.q1045.com for more.”

100th Birthday celebration for oldest woman on Wadmalaw Island SC - Sun 4/15/07, this event is given by her children and grandchildren.

Stay posted my Readers for more Binding Ink! Thanks for Reading!