Yes, Comics Can Empower Black Girls!
I’m thrilled that comics scholar Qiana Whitted took the time to write this amazing guest post—enjoy and please share!
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It is unlikely that anyone who reads comics regularly will be surprised by Zetta Elliott’s answer to the question posed in her January 6, 2014 post, “Do Comics Empower Black Girls?” She’s doubtful, and understandably so, given the hypersexualized objectification of women that dominates superhero comics. Nevertheless, comics can tell deeply rewarding, complex stories about black women that affirm their intelligence, compassion, strength, and beauty on multiple visual and verbal registers. So I come away from the question with a different response, not only as someone who studies race and comics, but also as a black girl who has found much to love in a comic book!
Let’s be clear, though, about the term “comics.” Critics often take issue with the depiction of women in superhero titles produced by Marvel…
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March 8 Woman of the Day: Phyllis Mae Dailey, African American Nurse
Born on this day in 1945, Phyllis Mae Dailey becomes one of the first African American nurses commissioned to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve. To read more about her and other African American nurses, click here:
Additional information about Phyllis Mae Daley: Photo from National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=308
March 8 African American Historical Events
Today in Black History – March 8 *
1825 – Alexander Thomas Augusta is born free in Norfolk, Virginia. He
will graduate from Trinity Medical College in Toronto, Canada
in 1856, serve his medical apprenticeship in Philadelphia,
and join the Union Army in 1863 with the rank of major. In
1865 he becomes the first African American to head any
hospital in the United States, when the Freedmen Bureau
establishes Freedmen’s Hospital at Howard University with
Augusta in charge. In 1868, Howard University opens its own
medical school, with Augusta as demonstrator of anatomy. He
will be the first African American to receive an honorary
degree from Howard University (1869). He will join the ancestors
on December 21, 1890.
1873 – The United States Senate refuses to seat P.B.S. Pinchback of
Louisiana because of alleged election irregularities.
1898 – Louise Beavers is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She will become
an actress and will be cast as the Henderson’s maid in “The
Beulah Show,” the first network show on television to have an
African American female in the title role. She will join the
ancestors on October 26, 1962. She will be inducted posthumously
into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976.
1942 – Richard Anthony “Dick” Allen is born in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
He will become a professional baseball player with the
Philadelphia Phillies in 1963. He will play in the major
leagues for 14 years.
1945 – Phyllis Mae Daley, a graduate of Lincoln School for Nurses in
New York, receives her commission as an ensign in the Navy
Nurse Corps. She is the first of four African American Navy
nurses (including Helen Turner, Ella Lucille Stimley, and
Edith De Voe) to serve on active duty in World War II.
1971 – Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali in a heavyweight boxing
championship match billed as the “fight of the century.” Ali
was previously undefeated. Both Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali
collect $2,500,000 for the fight.
1977 – Henry L. Marsh, III is elected the first African American
mayor of Richmond, Virginia.
1991 – “New Jack City,” a film directed by Mario Van Peebles, actor
and son of director Melvin Van Peebles, premieres. Produced
by African Americans George Jackson and Doug McHenry, the
film, which tells the violent story of the rise and fall of a
drug lord played by Wesley Snipes, will suffer from
widespread violence among moviegoers.
2012 – Jimmy Ellis, who belted out the dance anthem “Disco Inferno” in
the 1970s for the Trammps, joins the ancestors at the age of 74.
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.
March 7 Woman of the Day: Janet Collins, African American Ballerina
Born on March 7, 1917, Jane Collins later becomes the first African American Ballerina to perform on stage at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. To read about this “prima ballerina”, click here:
March 7 African American Historical Events
Today in Black History – March 7 *
1539 – The first person of African descent to traverse the southern
portion of, what is now, the United States is Estevanico, or
Esteban, explorer from Azamov, Morocco. He discovers Arizona
and New Mexico. His journey lasted eight years. He was
leading an advance scouting party when he joins the ancestors
after being killed at Hawikuh Pueblo, New Mexico.
1870 – Governor William W. Holden of North Carolina, denounces Klan
violence and issues a proclamation declaring Alamance County
in a state of insurrection.
1917 – Janet Collins is born in New Orleans, Louisiana. She will
become a prima ballerina and the first African American
ballerina to perform on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera
House in New York City. She will be one of the few classically
trained African American dancers of her generation. In 1951
she will win the Donaldson Award for best dancer on Broadway
for her work in Cole Porter’s “Out of This World” (musical).
She also will perform in Aida and Carmen. She will join the
ancestors on May 28, 2003 in Fort Worth, Texas.
1927 – In Nixon v. Hearn, the United States Supreme Court strikes
down a Texas law prohibiting African Americans from voting in
a “white” primary.
1930 – “The New York Times” capitalizes the word Negro “in recognition
of racial self-respect for those who have been for generations
in the lowercase.”
1941 – British troops invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia). This invasion will
result in the liberation of Ethiopia from fascist Italian
occupation (1936 – 1941).
1942 – The first five cadets graduate from the Tuskegee Flying School:
Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. and Second Lieutenants Mac Ross,
Charles DeBow, L.R. Curtis, and George S. Roberts. They will
become part of the famous 99th Pursuit Squadron.
1945 – Photographer Anthony Bonair is born in Trinidad. He will emigrate
to the United States in 1969. A photographer since the early 1970’s,
Bonair’s work will explore dance, Carnival, and the streets as
well as new directions utilizing multiple-exposure techniques.
1950 – Franco Harris is born in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He will become
a NFL fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle
Seahawks. In his career, he will be All-AFC three times, play
in eight Pro Bowls, MVP in Super Bowl IX, rush for 1,000 yards
for nine seasons, rush for 100 yards in 47 games, rush for
12,120 career yards, 91 touchdowns rushing, 9 TDs receiving,
14,622 combined net yards, and 1,556 yards rushing in 19 post-
season games. One of his most memorable plays will be “The
Immaculate Reception” in a Steeler win against the Oakland
Raiders. This play will be voted the play of the 20th Century
on Superbowl Sunday, January 30, 2000. He will be elected to
the Pro Football Hall of Fame on January 27, 1990 and enshrined
on August 8, 1990.
1951 – Ezzard Charles wins a 15-round heavyweight decision against
Jersey Joe Walcott.
1952 – Lynn Curtis Swann is born in Alcoa, Tennessee. He will become a
NFL wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will be
elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1993. Though
his professional career didn’t yield large statistics, he will
be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001. He will
also be selected to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team by Hall of
Fame voters. After retiring from football, he will become a
network sportscaster.
1965 – John Lewis leads a group of civil rights marchers across the
Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where they are attacked
by Alabama state troopers and sheriff’s deputies with tear gas
and billy clubs. This violent confrontation will be known as
“Bloody Sunday,” and will spark the historic Selma-to-
Montgomery voting rights march led by Martin Luther King Jr.
1985 – The record “We Are the World” is released as a single. The
song, whose proceeds benefit African famine relief efforts, is
written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced by
Quincy Jones, with the singing participants organized by Jones,
Harry Belafonte, and Ken Kragen. To insure that the all-night
recording session went off without a hitch and that the true
cause of the song was etched into the hearts and minds of the
wide array of internationally known talent performing, a hand-
written sign is placed outside the studio at A&M Records in
Hollywood which simply said, “Check Your Egos at the Door.”
1987 – World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champ, “Iron Mike” Tyson
becomes the youngest heavyweight titlist ever as he beats James
“Bonecrusher” Smith in a decision during a 12-round bout in Las
Vegas, Nevada.
2006 – Gordon Parks, renowned photographer, writer and director, joins
the ancestors at the age of 93.
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.
March 6 African American Historical Events
Today in Black History – March 6 *
1479 – The Treaty of Alcacovas is signed. This will establish the
territorial domains of Portugal and Castile (Spain) along a
longitudinal line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.
Spain, thereby, recognizes Portugal’s rights to explore the
African coast. Portugal becomes the first European nation to
exploit the West African slave trade.
1775 – Prince Hall and fourteen other African Americans are initiated
into British Military Lodge No. 441 of the Masons at Fort
Independence, Massachusetts. Hall is a leather-dresser and
caterer. On July 3, 1775, African Lodge No. 1 will be
organized in Boston by this group of African American Masons.
1857 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules against citizenship for African
Americans in the Dred Scott decision. The Court rules that
Dred Scott, a slave, cannot sue for his freedom in a free
state because he is property and, as such, “has no rights a
white man has to respect.” This ruling also opens up the
northern territory to slavery.
1862 – President Lincoln sends message to Congress recommending
gradual and compensated emancipation of the slaves.
1901 – Virginia State University in Ettrick, Virginia (Outside of
Petersburg), is founded.
1909 – Obafemi Awolowo is born in Ikenne, Nigeria. He will become
the first Premier of Western Nigeria. He will also be a
strong antagonist of the north’s feudal system and its spread
to other parts of Nigeria and an advocate of the creation of
more states in Nigeria. Chief Awolowo and 28 other members
of his party will be later put on trial for treasonable
felony. He was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment, and,
on appeal to the Federal Court the sentence was upheld.
After spending just over three years in Calabar prison, he
will be released with a state pardon. Nine days later, amid
jubilation he was unanimously elected leader of the then
10,500,000 Yorubas and leader of the Western delegation to
the All Nigerian Conference on the future association of
Nigeria. Chief Awolowo will be an author whose publications
will include “Path to Nigerian Freedom, Thoughts on the
Nigerian Constitution”.
1923 – Charles Ethan Porter joins the ancestors in Rockville,
Connecticut. A student of the National Academy of Design in
New York City, the first African American artist in the
United States to graduate from a four-year school of art,
and member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Porter
did not receive the recognition that contemporaries Edward
Bannister and Henry Ossawa Tanner won. He will be best known
for the paintings “Still Life (Crock With Onions),”
“Strawberries,” and “Daisies,” but there will not be a major
retrospective of his work until 1987.
1941 – Wilver Dornel “Willie” Stargell is born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma.
He will become an all-star baseball player for the Pittsburgh
Pirates. He will hit 475 career home runs – twice leading
the National League with 48 in 1971 and with 44 in 1973. He
will drive in 1540 runs, score 1195 and have 2232 hits with a
lifetime batting average of .282. He will be inducted into
Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1988.
1944 – Mary Wilson is born in Greenville, Mississippi. In 1959, she
will begin singing with a group called the “Primettes”, a
sister group to a male group, The Primes.” The Primes will
become “The Temptations” and the Primettes will become “The
Supremes.” The Supremes will become the only American act to
have five consecutive number one hits! From their beginning
to the end of the group, the Supremes will have 33 songs
reach the top 40. After the group disbands in 1977, Mary
Wilson will become a successful businesswoman, author,
lecturer, actress, and singer of not just pop music, but
Jazz, Rock, R&B, and Dance. She will author the best-seller
“Dreamgirl-My Life as a Supreme.” In 1988, Mary Wilson will
become the first female rock star to accept her lifetime
achievement award from the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.
1957 – Ghana becomes the first African nation to achieve freedom from
colonial rule when the Ashanti, Northern Protectorates, the
Gold Coast and British Togoland declare their independence.
The celebration ceremonies are attended by a number of
American dignitaries, including African American leaders
Ralph Bunche, A. Philip Randolph, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.,
Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King.
1981 – Dr. Bernard Harleston, former dean of arts and sciences at
Tufts University, is appointed president of New York’s City
College.
2000 – Three white New York police officers are convicted of a cover-
up in the brutal police station attack on Haitian immigrant
Abner Louima.
2000 – “Earth, Wind and Fire” is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame.
2006 – Kirby Puckett joins the ancestors, one day after the Hall of
Fame outfielder had a stroke at his Arizona home, at the age
of 45. He carried the Minnesota Twins to World Series titles
in 1987 and 1991 before his career was cut short by glaucoma.
He played his entire career with the Twins and was an icon in
Minnesota.
Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.
March 5 Woman of the Day: Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly
In 1920, Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly is born in Washington, DC.
Later, she will become the first African American woman to be named a bishop of the United Methodist Church. She joined the ancestors June 28, 2012.
Information about her, can be found at this link: http://www.post-gazette.com/obituaries/2012/07/11/Obituary-Leontine-T-C-Kelluy-First-black-woman-bishop-in-a-major-Christian-denomination/stories/201207110127 and this link: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/07/local/la-me-leontine-kelly-20120707
The CamaraIfe Maktaba 