KRLemmons African American Biography, African American Poetry, Resources

April 20 Poet of the Day: Naomi Long Madgett

Naomi Long Madgett is April 20 Poet of the Day.  Founder of Lotus Press, this poet, educator, Poet Laureate of Detroit, Naomi Long Madgett was the first woman awarded  Eminent Artist Award from the Kresge Foundation in 2012.  Read about this remarkable woman here:

Additional resources on Naomi Long Madgett:

History Makers: http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/naomi-long-madgett-41

Kresge Foundation: http://kresge.org/news/detroit%E2%80%99s-poet-laureate-naomi-long-madgett-named-2012-kresge-eminent-artist

Free Press: http://www.freep.com/article/20130407/ENT05/304070050/Naomi-Long-Madgett-Art-X

YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRUqrH1VRHU

KRLemmons African American History

April 20 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 20 *

1853 – Harriet Tubman starts as a conductor on the Underground
Railroad.

1871 – Third Enforcement Act defines Klan conspiracy as a rebellion
against the United States and empowers the president to
suspend the writ of habeas corpus and declare martial law
in rebellious areas.

1877 – Federal troops are withdrawn from public buildings in New
Orleans, Louisiana. Democrats then take over the state
government.

1908 – Lionel Hampton is born in Louisville, Kentucky. He will
become trained as a drummer and starts his musical career
on this instrument. In 1930, while in a recording session
with Louis Armstrong, He will become fall in love with the
sound of a vibraphone that was used only to play the famous
NBC bing-bang-bong station identification. This will lead
to Armstrong asking Hampton to add the instrument to the
score they were about to record. “Memories of You”, the
song premiering Hampton on the vibraphone, will become a
classic. He will go on to become the best-known jazz master
of the vibraphone. He will join the ancestors on August 31,
2002.

1920 – Mary J. Reynolds invents a hoisting/loading mechanism.

1926 – Harriet Elizabeth Byrd is born in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She
will become a teacher and in 1981, the first African
American legislator in Wyoming’s state history. She will
serve in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1981 to
1988, and in the Wyoming Senate from 1988 to 1992, becoming
the first African American to serve in both houses. During
her career in the state legislature, she will sponsor
legislation establishing a state holiday in honor of Martin
Luther King Jr., achieving a partial victory in 1991 through
the establishment of the Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming
Equality Day which is popularly recognized as King Day in
the state. Other legislation she will sponsor includes
requiring the use of child safety restraints, expansion of
available handicapped parking, and the establishment of
social services programs for adults.

1951 – Luther Vandross is born in New York City. An early backup
singer and commercial jingle writer, his big break as a
solo artist will come in 1981 when his album “Never Too
Much” will reveal his talents to both Rhythm & Blues and
pop audiences. He will make a string of hit albums,
earning seven consecutive platinum and double-platinum
albums and achieve his greatest crossover success with the
albums “The Best of Luther Vandross” and “Power of Love,”
which will earn him three Grammy awards. He will join the
ancestors from complications of diabetes and a stroke on
July 1, 2005.

1964 – Cleveland school officials report that 86 per cent of the
African American students in the school system participated
in one-day boycott.

1965 – President Lyndon Johnson awards the Medal of Freedom to
Leontyne Price, for “Her singing has brought light to her
land.”

1969 – James Earl Jones wins a Tony for his portrayal of
controversial heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in “The
Great White Hope.”

1971 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously that busing is a
constitutionally acceptable method of integrating public
schools.

2010 – Dorothy Height, the leading female voice of the 1960s civil
rights movement and a participant in historic marches with
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others, joins the ancestors
at the age of 98. Dr. Height, whose activism on behalf of
women and minorities dates to the New Deal, led the National
Council of Negro Women for 40 years. She continued actively
speaking out into her 90s, often getting rousing ovations at
events around Washington, where she was immediately recognized
by the bright, colorful hats she almost always wore. In a
statement, President Barack Obama calls her “the godmother of
the civil rights movement” and a hero to Americans. “Dr. Height
devoted her life to those struggling for equality … and
served as the only woman at the highest level of the Civil
Rights Movement _ witnessing every march and milestone along
the way,” Obama said.

2011 – Gerard Smith joins the ancestors at the age of 36, succumbing to
lung cancer. He was an American visual artist, musician, and
member of the celebrated Brooklyn-based band “TV on the Radio.”
He recorded an album of original music as “A Rose Parade” with
Shannon Funchess of Light Asylum and also produced music with
Midnight Masses.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American Biography, African American Poetry, Resources

April 19 Poet of the Day: Jessie Redmond Fauset

April 19 Poet of the Day is Jessie Redmond Fauset. A scholar and novelist, she was the first black woman elected to Phi Beta Kappa.  Read about this pioneering woman here:

Additional information on Jessie Redmond Fauset:

Poets.org: Rondeau, a poem by Jessie Redmond Fauset http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23953

Dead Fires by Fauset: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19689

About.com: http://womenshistory.about.com/od/harlemrenaissance/p/jessie_fauset.htm

Voices From the Gap: http://voices.cla.umn.edu/artistpages/fausetJessie.php

Black Past: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/fauset-jessie-r-1882-1961

Harlem Renaissance: http://harlemrenaissancepoets7.wikispaces.com/Jessie+Redmon+Fauset

KRLemmons African American History

April 19 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 19 *

1775 – With the assistance of African American soldiers, Minutemen
defeat the British at Concord Bridge in the initial battle
of the Revolutionary War.

1837 – Cheyney University is founded as the first historically
Black institution of higher learning in America. It is
also the first college in the United States to receive
official state certification as an institution of higher
academic education for African Americans. Cheyney will
begin its existence in Philadelphia as the Institute for
Colored Youth. The Institute for Colored Youth successfully
will provide a free classical education for qualified young
people. In 1902, the school will be moved to George
Cheyney’s farm, 24 miles west of Philadelphia. In 1913 the
name will be changed to Cheyney Training School for
Teachers; in 1921 to the Normal School at Cheyney; in 1951
Cheyney State Teachers College; and in 1959, Cheyney State
College. In 1983, Cheyney joined the State System of
Higher Education (SSHE) as Cheyney University of
Pennsylvania.

1866 – The African American citizens of Washington DC celebrate the
abolition of slavery. 4,000 to 5,000 people assemble at the
White House and are addressed by President Andrew Johnson.
Led by two African American regiments, the spectators and
the procession proceed up the Pennsylvania Avenue to
Franklin Square for religious services and speeches by
prominent politicians. The sign on top of the platform
reads: “We have received our civil rights. Give us the
right of suffrage and the work is done.”

1942 – Atlanta University’s first exhibition of African American
art is held. Organized by Hale Woodruff, artist and former
professor at the university, it will be popularly known as
the Atlanta Annual. Winners in the first show will be
Charles Alston and Lois Mailou Jones.

1960 – Maj. General Frederic E. Davidson assumes command of the
Eighth Infantry Division in Germany and becomes the first
African American to lead an army division.

1960 – A National Education Association study reveals that African
Americans had lost thirty thousand teaching jobs since 1954
in seventeen Southern and Border states because of
discrimination and desegregation.

1960 – The home of Z. Alexander Looby, counsel for 153 students
arrested in sit-in demonstrations, is destroyed by a
dynamite bomb. More than two thousand students march on
the Nashville City Hall in protest.

1971 – Walter Fauntroy takes office as the first elected
Congressional representative from the District of Columbia
since Reconstruction.

1975 – James B. Parsons becomes the first African American chief
judge of a federal court, the U.S. District Court in
Chicago. In 1961, Parsons became the first African American
district court judge.

1982 – Astronaut Guion S. Bluford Jr. becomes the first African
American to be selected for U.S. space missions. He will
not, however be the first person of African descent in
space. That honor belongs to Cuban cosmonaut, Arnaldo
Tamayo-Mendez, who went into space on a Russian mission
September 18, 1980 (Soyuz 38).

1994 – A Los Angeles jury awards $3.8 million to African American
motorist Rodney King in compensation/damages for the
beating he received at the hands of four Los Angeles
policemen.

1999 – Joseph Chebet of Kenya wins the Boston Marathon, in 2:9:52;
Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia wins the women’s race in 2:23:25.

2003 – Cholly Atkins, Tony Award-winning choreographer, joins the
ancestors after succumbing to pancreatic cancer at the age
of 89. He was choreographer for Marvin Gaye, The
Temptations and others.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American Authors, African American Poetry, Resources

April 18 Poet of the Day: Haki Madhubuti

April 18 Poet of the Day is Haki Madhubuti.  Born Donald Luther Lee in Little Rock, Arkansas, be is poet, essayist, editor and educator. He cofounded, along with two others, Third World Press. Read more about this multitalented poet here:

Additional resources on Haki Madhubuti:

Poetry Foundation: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/haki-madhubuti

African American Literature Book Club (AALBC): http://aalbc.com/authors/haki.htm

Third World Press: http://www.thirdworldpressbooks.com/

Black Past: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/madhubuti-haki-r-don-l-lee-1942

Interview on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss1ZwA9Zx9U

Speech given at Bethel AME Church in Baltimore, MD via YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfsfCzoitxQ

KRLemmons African American History

April 18 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 18 *

1818 – Andrew Jackson defeats a force of Indians and African
Americans at the Battle of Suwanee, ending the First
Seminole War.

1861 – Nicholas Biddle becomes the first African American in
uniform to be wounded in the Civil War.

1864 – The First Kansas Colored Volunteers break through
Confederate lines at Poison Spring, Arkansas. The
unit will sustain heavy losses when captured African
American soldiers are murdered by Confederate troops
as opposed to being taken as POWs, which is the
standard treatment for captured whites.

1877 – The American Nicodemus Town Company is founded by six
African American settlers in northwestern Kansas. The
town will be settled later in the year.

1924 – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown is born in Vinton, Louisiana.
He will become a blues musician and will be inspired by
the sounds of T-Bone Walker, Count Basie and Duke
Ellington. He will become a Grammy winner and be
nominated six times. He will be unrivaled in his
ability to seamlessly combine blues, country, soul and
jazzy Rhythm & Blues. He will be best known for his
hits, “Okie Dokie Stomp,” “Boogie Rambler,” “Just
Before Dawn,” “Dirty Work At The Crossroads,” and
“Gatemouth Boogie.” He will join the ancestors on
September 10, 2005,

1941 – Bus companies in New York City agree to hire African
American drivers and mechanics. This agreement ends a
four-week boycott.

1941 – Dr. Robert Weaver is named director of Office of
Production Management section, charged with integrating
African Americans into the National Defense Program.

1955 – The Bandung Conference of leaders of “colored” nations
of Africa and Asia opens in Indonesia. Hosted by
Indonesian President Sukarno, the conference is
attended by representatives of 29 African and Asian
countries. Its main objective was to express their
opposition to the colonialist and imperialist policies
of First World nations.

1961 – James Benton Parsons is the first African American judge
of a U.S. district court in the continental United
States. Chicago attorney Parsons is appointed judge of
the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois.

1983 – Alice Walker is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “The
Color Purple.” Ten days later, the novel will also win
the American Book Award for fiction.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

April 17 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 17 *

1758 – Frances Williams, the first African American to graduate
from a college in the Western Hemisphere, publishes a
collection of Latin poems.

1818 – For unknown reasons, Daniel Coker is expelled from the
AME Church. Coker had been a key organizer in the
church’s early history and was elected its first bishop,
a position he declined possibly because of his fair
complexion.

1947 – Jackie Robinson bunts safely for his 1st major league
hit.

1978 – Thomas W. Turner, founder of the Federation of Colored
Catholics, civil rights pioneer and charter member of
the NAACP, joins the ancestors in Washington, DC, at
the age of 101.

1980 – Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia, gains its
independence. Reggae stars Bob Marley and the Wailers
and others perform in the celebration festivities.
Robert Mugabe will be sworn in the following day as
prime minister of the newly formed nation.

1987 – Julius Erving becomes the 3rd NBA player to score 30,000
points.

1990 – Reverend Ralph Abernathy, civil rights activist, joins
the ancestors at the age of 64 in Atlanta, Georgia.

1991 – African American and African leaders meet in Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, in the first Summit Meeting of Africans
and African Americans. The summit, organized by the
Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, calls for closer ties
between Africans and African Americans and urges
Western governments to cancel Africa’s foreign debt.
“Hold on, Africa!” the Rev. Sullivan says in his
keynote speech. “We are coming! Home of our heritage,
land of our past, we can help. We have 2 million
college graduates in America. We earn $300 billion a
year. Three centuries ago they took us away in a boat,
but today we have come back in an airplane.”

1993 – A federal jury in Los Angeles convicts two former police
officers of violating the civil rights of beaten
motorist Rodney King. Two other officers are acquitted.

2003 – Earl King, Rhythm & Blues guitarist, joins the ancestors
at age 69 after succumbing to complications of diabetes.
His hits include the Mardi Gras favorite “Big Chief”
and “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll).”

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

April 16 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – April 16

1862 – Slavery is abolished in Washington, DC, and $993,407 in
compensation is paid to slave owners for their lost
“property.”

1868 – Louisiana voters approve a new constitution and elect
state officers, including the first African American
lieutenant governor, Oscar J. Dunn, and the first
African American state treasurer, Antoine Dubuclet.
Article Thirteen of the new constitution bans
segregation in public accommodation: “All the persons
shall enjoy equal rights and privileges upon any
conveyances of a public character; and all places of
business, or of public resort, or for which a license
is required by either State, Parish or municipal
authority, shall be deemed places of a public
character and shall be opened to the accommodation and
patronage of all persons, without distinction or
discrimination on account of race or color.”

1869 – Ebenezer Don Carlos Bassett is appointed Consul General
to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the first African
American to serve in a diplomatic position for the
United States. Bassett will hold the post for 12
years.

1947 – Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. is born in New York City.
He will become one of the finest basketball players in
history, first with UCLA, then with the Milwaukee Bucks
and, from 1975 to his retirement in 1990, with the Los
Angeles Lakers. After his conversion to Islam in
1971, he will change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
early in his professional career. The all-time leading
scorer in the NBA, he will lead the Lakers to five NBA
championships, including back-to-back titles in 1987
and 1988.

1962 – Three Louisiana segregationists are excommunicated by
Archbishop Joseph Rummel for continuing their
opposition to his order for integration of New Orleans
parochial schools.

1965 – Maj. General Benjamin O. Davis Jr., assistant deputy
chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, is named
lieutenant general, the highest rank attained by an
African American to date in the armed services.

1973 – Lelia Smith Foley becomes the first African American
female to be elected mayor of a U.S. city when she
takes office in the small town of Taft, Oklahoma. She
will hold the position for 13 years.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American Biography, African American Poetry, Resources

April 17 Poet of the Day: Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde is April 17 Poet of the Day.  She described herself as “black, lesbin, mother, warrior, poet.”  Read about this Caribbean American poet and novelist here.

Additional resources on Audre Lorde:

Poets.Org: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/306

Poetry Foundation: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/audre-lorde

Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, celebrated its second annual Audre Lorde Week February 3-8, 2014: http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/013114_lorde.cfm

Media Trailer on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diHzbQNyO2k

 

KRLemmons African American Biography, African American Poetry, Resources

April 16 Poet of the Day: Al Young

Al Young is April 16 Poet of the Day.  He was born on May 31, 1939, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  He later became Poet Laureate of California.  Read about this interesting poet and novelist here:

Additional resources about Al Young:

Website: http://alyoung.org/

Poetry Foundation: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/al-young

YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6FbyDZjpXM

NPR: Al Young reads some of his poems: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89884635