From The Mind Of A Black Man

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:00:06 +0000

John Mercer Langston

John Mercer Langston

The Man Credited With Being America’s First Black Elected Official, John Mercer Langston, Was Born December 14, 1829, In Louisa County, Virginia.

The Son Of A Virginia Planter And Slave Mother, Langston Was Freed At Age Five. After Graduating Oberlin College In Ohio In 1849, He Became One Of Ohio’s Prominent Black Leaders. He Was Elected To Local Offices In Brownhelm Township, Ohio (1855) And Oberlin (1865-67).

After The Civil War, Langston Moved To Washington, DC And Practiced Law. He Also Served Simultaneously, As Dean Of The Law School (1869-77) And Vice-President (1872-76), At Howard University.

During The Next Eight Years Langston Was Consul-General To Haiti And President Of Virginia Normal And Collegiate Institute.

After A Controversial Election (For A Seat In The U.S. House Of Representatives), That Took Two Years To Sort Out, Langston Became The First Black Elected To Congress From Virginia, On September 23. 1890. He Served Until March 3, 1891.

John Mercer Langston Died November 15, 1897. In His Honor, Oklahoma’s Langston University And Danville, Virginia’s Langston High School Are Named For Him.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:00:21 +0000

Lewis H. Latimer

Lewis H. Latimer

Black Inventor, Louis Howard Latimer, Died On December 11, 1928, In New York.

Latimer Was Born In Chelsea, Massachusetts And Was The Only Black Member Of The Edison Pioneers, An Organization Of Scientists Who Worked With Thomas Edison.

On January 17 1882, U.S. Patent No. 252,386 Was Assigned To Latimer For The Process Of Manufacturing Carbons. The Process Significantly Improved The Quality Of Carbon Filaments Found In Electric Lamps.

Latimer Had Earlier Patented An Electric Lamp, Commonly Referred To As “The Latimer Lamp,” That Was Widely Used In His Day. Earlier He Received Patents For A Pivoting Bottom For Train Bathrooms And Water Closets That Opened And Closed Automatically.

A Master Draftsman, Latimer Prepared The Drawings For Alexander Graham Bell’s 1876 Patent Application For The Telephone.

In Additition To His Technical Skills, Latimer Also dabbled In Writing Poetry. “In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:48 +0000

Otis Redding

Otis Redding

One Of The Purest Voices In Soul Music Was Silenced On December 10, 1967. R&B Legend, Otis Redding, Was Killed, Along With Six Other People (Including Memebers Of The R&B Group, The Bar-Kays), When His Private Plane Crashed Into Lake Monona In Madison, Wisconsin.

Just Three Days Earlier, The 26-Year-Old Redding Had Recorded His Most Memorable Hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay.” The Song Has Become A Classic And Went To Number One On The Billoard Chart, Where It Stayed For Four Weeks, Selling Over A Million Copies.

Some Of Redding’s Earlier Hits Included, “Satisfaction,” “Try A Little Tenderness,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now),” “Mr. Pitiful,” “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song),” “These Arms Of Mine,” “Tramp (With Carla Thomas),” “My Lover’s Prayer,” “Respect” (Also Recorded By Aretha Franklin) And “Hard To Handle.“

Redding, Who Was Born In Dawson, Georgia, September 9, 1941, Was Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame In 1989.

Otis Redding Performing “Try A Little Tenderness“

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:00:58 +0000

Redd Foxx

Redd Foxx

Comic Legend, John Elroy Sanford, A.K.A. Redd Foxx, Was Born December 9, 1922, In St. Louis, Missouri. Foxx Grew Up On Chicago’s South Side.

To Support Himself In The Early Days, He Worked As A Dishwasher, In A Speakeasy, Another Soon-To-Be Famous Employee Named Malcolm Little, Worked There With Him. Malcolm Little Would Later Become, Malcolm X. Little, Who Grew Up In Michigan, Was Known As “Detroit Red.” Foxx Was Known As “Chicago Red,” Due To His Reddish Complexion.

Foxx Took His Eventual Stage Name From Baseball Player, Jimmie Foxx. During Late 1947 – 1951 He Teamed Up With Comedian, Slappy White, Working Nightclubs.

He Went Solo During The 1950′s. Foxx Became Famous For The Adult Content In His Comedy Routines. The Raunchy Humor From His Stage Performances Also Became The Trademark For More Than 50 “Party Album” Recordings. He Paved The Way For Comics, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy And Chris Rock.

A Small Role In The Ossie Davis Film, “Cotton Comes To Harlem”, Landed Foxx The Role Of Junk Man, Fred G. Sanford, On The 1970′s NBC Sitcom, “Sanford And Son”. Foxx Used His Star Power To Employ Friends Slappy White (Melvin), LaWanda Page (Aunt Esther), And Pat Morita (Ah-Chew), As Part Of The Show’s Ensemble Cast.

“Sanford And Son” Ended In 1977. Foxx Filed Banruptcy In 1983. The IRS Claimed He Owed $3 Million And Seized Most Of His Property, Including His Home In Las Vegas.

Foxx Appeared In The Film, “Harlem Nights,”, With Richard Pryor And Eddie Murphy, He Also Attempted A Few TV Comebacks With The Shows, “The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour” (1977-78), “Sanford” (1980-81), “The Redd Foxx Show” (1986) And “The Royal Family” (1991).

Redd Foxx, Died On October 11, 1991, On The Set Of “The Royal Family”.

A CLASSIC “SANFORD & SON” EPISODE

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

FACEBOOK BADGE EMBED CODE
Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:00:36 +0000

Flip Wilson

Born Clerow Wilson On December 8, 1933, In Jersey City, New Jersey,
Comedian, Flip Wilson, Was Given His Nickname By His Air Force Buddies Who Said He “Flipped Them Out” With His Humor.

Flip Wilson Made History By Becoming Television’s First, Bona Fide, Black Superstar. His Television Comedy Program, The Flip Wilson Show, Ran From 1970 – 1974, And Received Consistently High Ratings. He Was Noted For His “Intellectual” Humor And His Knack For Creating Memorable Characters Earned Him Four Television Champion Awards.

His Signature Phrases, “The Devil Made Me Do It” And “What You See Is What You Get,” Became Part Of The Nation’s Vocabulary. At The Same Time, His Characters Geraldine Jones (Along With Her Jealous Boyfriend, “Killer”) And Reverend Leroy Of The “What’s Happening Now” Church, Became Household Names.

Wilson Also Used His Television Show To Give Weekly Exposure To Other African American Celebrities, Including: Ray Charles, Bill Cosby, Aretha Franklin, Jim Brown, Redd Foxx, Stevie Wonder, Richard Pryor, The Jackson 5, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Muhammad Ali, Louis Armstrong And Ella Fitzgerald.

On March 23 1971, The Comedian, Actor And Television Star, Received International Broadcasting’s Man Of The Year Award. The Following Year He Appeared On The Cover Of TIME Magazine.

He Died November 28, 1998, Of Liver Cancer. He Was 64 Years Old.

FLIP WILSON SKIT WITH REDD FOXX & JOAN RIVERS

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:10 +0000

Doris Dorie Miller

Dorie Miller

On December 7, 1941, Japanese War Planes Attacked Pearl Harbor.

Doris “Dorie” Miller, A Black Navy Mess Attendant Aboard The USS Arizona, Ran On Deck And Manned A Machine Gun.

With No Previous Gun Training, He Shot Down Four Enemy Planes Before Being Ordered To Abandon Ship.

Miller Was Awarded The Navy Cross For His Extraordinary Courage.The 24 Year-Old Sailor Was Then Sent On Tour In African American Communities To Help Sell war Bonds.

He Went Back Into The Navy Again, As A Mess Attendant, And Was Stationed On An Aircraft Carrier In The Pacific.

In 1943, The Liscombe Bay Was Hit By A Japanese Torpedo. All On Board Were Killed, Including Dorie Miller, The First Hero Of World War II.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

hughgaddyjr — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:33:22 +0000

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity

Alpha Phi Alpha, The First Black Greek Letter Society, Was Founded December 4, 1906, In New York, At Historically White, Cornell University.

Alpha Phi Alpha Was Organized As A Literary And Study Group.

After Banning Together Within The University’s Racially Hostile Environment, Henry Arthur Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle And Vertner Woodson Tandy, Collectively Known As The “Jewels” Of The Fraternity, Established The Organization On The Principles Of Scholarship, Fellowship, Good Character And Uplifting Humanity.

Today Alpha Phi Alpha’s Membership Totals More Than 175,000. Among Its Members, Past And Present: W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglass, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Owens, Dick Gregory, Thurgood Marshall, Paul Robeson, Dr. Cornell West, Dr. John Hope Franklin, Dennis Kimbro, Rosie Grier, Duke Ellington, Countee Cullen, Donny Hathaway, Andrew Young, Lionel Richie, Stuart Scott, Ron Brown, Adam Clayton Powell, Tony Brown, John Johnson, Garrett Morgan, Lenny Wilkins And Keenan Ivory Wayans.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:55:59 +0000

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

One Of America’s Pioneering Black Journalists, Frederick Douglass Published The North Star Newspaper On December 3, 1847, In Rochester, New York. The Paper’s Slogan Was: “Right Is On No Sex — Truth Is Of No Color — God Is The Father Of Us All, And All We Are Brethren.”

Douglass Had Recently Returned From England Where He Lectured On Such Subjects As Slavery And Woman’s Rights For Two Years. Overseas He Made Enough Money To Purchase His Own Freedom And To Establish The Publication. He Published The Abolitionist Newspaper Until 1851.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:00:06 +0000

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou

On December 2, 1992, Dr. Maya Angelou Was Asked To Compose A Poem For William Jefferson Clinton’s Presidential Inauguration.

The Piece,Titled, “On The Pulse Of Morning,” Was Read By Dr. Angelou January 20, 1993.

Maya Angelou Has Had A Very Interesting Life. At The Age Of 15, She Became The First Black Streetcar Conductor In San Francisco. She Appeared In The Opera, Porgy And Bess In 1954, And Taught At The University Of Ghana From 1963 To 1967.

She Was Nominated For An Emmy, For Her Role As Kunta Kente’s Grandmother In The Television Milestone, Roots. And In 1975, Ladies Home Journal Named Her “Woman Of The Year” In Communications.

Dr. Angelou Is Probably Best-Known For Her Five Autobiographies. The First And Most Famous Of These Is “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”, Published In 1970.

“On The Pulse Of Morning”
Inaugural Poem
Maya Angelou
20 January 1993

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon.

The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.

I will give you no more hiding place down here.

You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.

Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.

The Rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.

Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.

Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.

Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.

Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more. Come,

Clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I and the
Tree and the stone were one.

Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.

The River sings and sings on.

There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.

So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.

Today, the first and last of every Tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the River.

Plant yourself beside me, here beside the River.

Each of you, descendant of some passed
On traveller, has been paid for.

You, who gave me my first name, you
Pawnee, Apache and Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on bloody feet, left me to the employment of
Other seekers–desperate for gain,
Starving for gold.

You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot …
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought
Sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.

Here, root yourselves beside me.

I am the Tree planted by the River,
Which will not be moved.

I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree
I am yours–your Passages have been paid.

Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.

History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.

Give birth again
To the dream.

Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.

Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.

Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.

The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.

No less to Midas than the mendicant.

No less to you now than the mastodon then.

Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

hughgaddyjr — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:16:43 +0000

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks

On December 1, 1955, A Mild-Mannered, Alabama Seamstress Named Rosa Parks, Changed The Course Of The Modern Black Civil Rights Movement.

Tired From A Long Day’s Work, She Refused To Give Up Her Bus Seat To A White Man. Consequently, She Was Arrested, Convicted And Fined.

This Action Prompted A 382-Day Bus Boycott By The Black Citizens Of Montgomery. The Boycott, Called By 26-Year Old Martin Luther King, Jr. And Other Ministers, Cost The City Thousands Of Dollars In Fares. More Importantly, Alabama’s Segregated Bus System Was Subsequently Outlawed By The U.S. Supreme Court.

Rosa Parks To Continued To Be An Advocate For Civil Rights, As Well As An Icon Of Resistance To Racial Segregation, Until Her Death On October 24, 2005.

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

bbbclub