Goodbye, February:

Spotlight on Us

Picture from Black Enterprise 

Black history covers a wide range of fields and subjects, from doctors and lawyers to surfers and ballerinas, inventors and politicians. Just like every other race, black people are diverse in interest and accomplishment. The blacks featured here for the past month illustrate not only how blacks have affected society but the power of inner-strength. Many of the men and women discussed this month were born in an era when being black was a crime enough and punishable by death. Some of these people were born slaves, others confined by the Jim Crow laws of the south.

Impossible Dreams:

Spotlight on Paul R. Williams

Don't let anyone tell you
Your dreams are impossible--
Because they will; and it may be true
But miracles are made possible.
Born in the wonder of stubbornness
And cultivated with persistence

Difference:

Spotlight on the Current State of Race in Public Schools

Differences are the definition of each
And without those subtle and overt changes
We are mere clones of one entity--
Boring and without value...
There's nothing wrong here.
This makes me, me and you, you

Confessions of a Shoe Fiend:

Spotlight on Jan Matzeliger

My closet is bursting at the seams:
Sneakers, pumps, and boots galore--
Different styles for different seasons
Every color of the rainbow
Dripping in to the soles
Of countless shoes

Sci-Fi Legend:

Spotlight on Octavia E. Butler

The fusion of ideas,
Blended into a world of possibility--
Uncontradicted and unheard of
Science and mythology combined,
Soaring above and beyond
The usual fantasy...

When I'm Gone:

Spotlight on NC Mutual Life Insurance Company

Who will mourn me when I'm gone,
Stand over me to whisper prayers,
Forgotten memories and experiences
Depict the ripples of my existence, hear
In the words of the community I leave behind...
Adorn my casket in sweet scented flowers

Justice for All:

Spotlight on Charles Hamilton Houston

To be just in all actions--
Fair in every thought uttered and every step braved...
A journey past prejudice
Over the hills of wrongs never righted
Through a valley of forgiveness.
Far away, beyond the known world,

Prime Time is My Time:

Spotlight on Hattie McDaniel

Four shows in,
    and not a colored face--
Not a black, or a Latina, an Asian or Indian--
So I turn to something more ethnic,
Something a little more like me
And it's funny

Keepin' It 100:

Spotlight on the One-Drop Rule

Black faces all around me,
From coffee to the color of sand
A rainbow shining through eyes
Blue, green, bright shimmering brown,
Short 'fros, locks, curls, and waves--
Pin my face in this sea of faces,

La Belle et la Bête:

Spotlight on Saartije Baartman

La Belle et la Bête...

Admire me from afar and take note--

My skin, my hair, my face, and my curves

Forget the heart beating in my chest

Judge me, if you will--

Berate and condemn as you "ooh" and "ahh"

Decoding My Own Thoughts:

Spotlight on the 1870 Brick Wall

I feel like my mind is blank...
When really, it's so jumbled with thought
It can't find its baring,
Thought after thought piled higher and deeper
Merging into a homogeneous blob
Until one thought is another thought
And I'm confused--
Am I full or empty?
High alert: my brain wants to decipher
Some internal code I've created
But I've forgotten the password to my own mind,
Locked it away so I'm locked out
Barred from entry
Lost in my own sanctuary.

Known as the 1870 brick wall, the census of 1870 is a critical point for black/African-Americans researching their roots. Prior to 1870, slaves were not recorded by name, thus making it difficult to locate information on these ancestors. Since many families did not initially relocate after the civil war, the 1870 census is the best and only place for descendants of slaves to begin tracing their family roots [1]. The 1870 census was the first census in America to include freed slaves by name, previous censuses listed only ages and gender making them impossible to glean information from. While many believe that using a surname to trace the final slaveholder of an ancestor to find records, an estimated 20% are all that adopted the slaveholder's surname as their own [2]. The progress of the internet has led to various cites and more availability to documents pertaining to genealogy as well as in increase in interest. Some of us may never find those missing pieces, but that doesn't mean we can't continue to search.

[1] Reclaiming Kin
[2] The 1870 Brick Wall

Imagination Frees:

Spotlight on Morrie Turner

Imagination creates the image,
But the image is what inspires--
Reaches out to visitors
Captures their attention,
Whisks them away
    into the depths of the creator's mind--
Here they can be swept up
Drawn into a dream of a perfect world
And visualize the possibilities.
The images don't fade;
But burn into the brain
Leaving smoke trails back to perfection,
A memory embedded in the visitor's soul
Ready to be visited,
     ready to be realized
           ready to come true.

Morrie Turner was the cartoonist the introduced black characters to comic strips. In1965, he created Wee Pals, a strip he designed to portray a world of equality and devoid of prejudice. Only 5 newspapers would run the comic. After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., over 100 papers picked up the comic. In 2000 Turner was awarded the prestigious "Sparky Award" [1]. Eventually his comic went on to become the first syndicated comic with integrated characters. Turner passed away in January of this year (2014) [2].

[1] About Wee Pals
[2] RIP Morrie Turner

What About Everyone Else?:

Spotlight on Dr. George Franklin Grant

Often you wonder,
If only half the country was enslaved,
Then half the country was free...
And if the free were free
Why is it that we only hear about the slave?
While the south relegated us to fields,
Harvard was graduating black PhDs
And while the south was beating us in the ditch,
Blacks up north were moving ahead--
But history teachers have us believing
Slavery is our only legacy:
Three-fifths of a person,
Not whole individuals...
How can that be?
First shot in the revolutionary war
And still bound to the image
Some alter-er of history created
To blind us of our own accomplishments
Our true strength, our true potential

Dr. George Franklin Grant received his degree from the Harvard Dental School in 1870 and went on to become the first black professor at Harvard. Along with practicing dentistry and educating others on the practice, Grant's love of golf led him to invent the wooden tee [1]. While it is unknown who the first black to take up the sport was, it is speculated that it happened on the coast of South Carolina. With one of the first golf clubs to appear in the US being located in Charleston, SC, thus leaving people to assume that slaves acted as caddies. From studying history, there is reason to argue that blacks were involved with golf from its birth in the states [2].

[1] Harvard Records
[2] Forbidden Fairways: African-Americans and the Game of Golf
[3] Timeline of African-American Achievements in Golf

Suppressed Voices:

a Spotlight on Hip Hop

People are judgmental--
Quick to pass judgement on things
They know nothing of
Based on hear say
Coated in rash generalizations
And topped with assumption...

Loving You With All My Heart:

Spotlight on Richard and Mildred Loving

Love is an infinite, colorless void
Wrapped deep in the human soul--
It is patient and kind,
    committed and selfless
An act of devotion to another half of one's self
Pure and beautiful,
A gift, given freely

A Voice as Smooth as Silk:

a Spotlight on Jazz

Smooth--
All the way back to the beginning
A merging of worlds,
A collision of souls
Poured over ivory keys
Exploding in brass bellies
Under moon lit streets
As the beat steadies steps...

Victim of the Hive Mind:

Spotlight on Jordan Davis

Why am I not like the others?
You ask as though we're bees
    forever clumped together
Following some Queen Bee--
A hive mind unable to think.
Independence is a luxury
We can't possibly have...

Cyborg Nation:

Spotlight on John Thompson

Sleek and slim
Robotic limbs and
   instant networks,
Disguised as ordinary...
Common.
We are inseparable
And I cannot function
Without my attachments.
Gadgets and widgets
    replace faces and places
An ordinary cyborg
Living in an ordinary world
With extraordinary components
Plug me in--
    let me charge
Then let me work

John Thompson is replacing Bill Gates as Microsoft's new chairman. This makes Thompson the first and only chairman of a technology company of such caliber [1]. He will be advising Microsoft's new CEO Satya Nadella (also a minority) who is a first time CEO. Previously the CEO of Symantec for 10 years and IBM employee for 28 years, Thompson brings 38 years of experience to the position. Symantec enjoyed prosperous years, increasing annual revenue from $600 million to $6 billion, under Thompson's lead. Thompson is an alumni of Florida A&M University, a historically black university [2]. Thompson is estimated to have a worth of $72 million dollars and also owns a 20% share of the Golden State Warriors NBA team [1].

[1] CBS News
[2] Who is John Thompson?

Ebb and Flow of the Tide:

Spotlight on Nick Gabaldon

Water is universal,
Blue and white waves
Breaking...
Warm sand and broken shells...
A universal poem
Whispers of carefree days
And legendary creatures
Promises of happiness
Churning in watery smiles
Cast off worries and fears,
Let the tide take you.

Nick Gabaldon is noted as the first black (and Mexican [2]) surfer. Paddling from "Inkwell"--a black beach--to Malibu (which has the best waves in California) roughly 12 miles away, Gabaldon broke racial barriers and ignored the bounds of segregated beaches in California. During his years he befriended and impressed many of the white surfers who were saddened when Gabaldon died in an unfortunate surfing accident [1]. June 1, 2013 was declared Gabaldon day and several organizations hosted events in honor and memory of Gabaldon. A documentary, 12 Miles North, has also been made to tell his story [2]. Gabaldon proved that some times, all you need is a common language.

[1] Huffington Post: Celebrating Nick Gabaldon
[2] Gabaldon Day 

Do What You Do:

Spotlight on Charley Pride

Some things come naturally,
Like a spider spinning silk
And natural tendencies shine.
No matter how you hide--
Tuck it deep in the trunk of life
Drape it in black-out shades
And it still illuminates
Natural energy burns naturally,
It cannot be dimmed.
No matter how you contain it--
The force that exists naturally
Will be, however it chooses to be
Strong willed, long lived...
An uncontrollable light

Charley Pride was born in 1938 and grew up to be one of the few successful black artists in the country music genre. Pride was the first black artist to ever to play at the Grand Ole Opry.  He would go on to become the first black inductee of the Grand Ole Opry stage show in 1993. Pride taught himself to play the guitar at 14 years old. Though his first dream was to play baseball (which he did for some time with the Negro American League), Pride kept up with his music while traveling with the team by joining several bands onstage. After signing with RCA, Pride sold 36 #1 hits. Listed as one of the top twenty best selling country music artists of all time, Pride has only been bested in sales by Elvis Presley. Pride has since been inducted in to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the highest honor possible in Country Music  [1, 2].

Charley Pride's first #1 hit

[1] Charley Pride Official Biography
[2] Biography.com 

Express Yourself:

Spotlight on Thomas Blackshear

The need to express oneself
To release some of your essence
In words, or sounds, or images,
Meant to wash away pains
And illuminate great joys--
The right hand of a spirit
Too dry to shed tears
Too full to simply smile,
Therefore it must create
Paint, speak, and sing...
A spotlight on your very soul
Shining in near perfect creations
Reflecting a piece of you,
A gift you gave the world.

One of Thomas Blackshear's paintings titled Intimacy which sells for $475 [6].

Thomas Blackshear is an award winning artist of our time. His art has been used by companies such as Universal Studios and Lucas films as well as the US Post Office [1]. Blackshear is the artist behind several US postage stamps, including those honoring James Weldon Johnson, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, and other historical black figures [2]. The exhibit for his work on these stamps premiered in the Smithsonian in 1992. Blackshear has also earned the Society of Illustrators' Gold Medal [3]. Blackshear also has a line of figurines known as Ebony Visions, which feature black characters as an alternative to the usually predominately  white figurines sold in most stores [4], though he does produce figurines which feature white characters as well.

[1] Thomas Blackshear's Official Website Bio
[2] African American Stamp Artists
[3] Thomas Blackshear Biography
[4] Ebony Visions
[5] Stamp Images
[6] Artwork: Intimacy

Sacred Part of Me:

Spotlight on the Natural Hair Movement

Locked in an air tight box,
Put on display for the world to see
The Pride Tree is cut and pruned,
Kept at the height the world requests
Starved--
Withering from the inside,
Its disposition becomes a disease

Lost History:

Spotlight on Pedro Alonso Nino

Wasted history overflows pages
Overshadowed by untruths and
     more favorable tales...
Time is stolen from us
While we decorate mad men
Honor murderers and liars,
Sing praises of the oppressors
And forget the lives of the oppressed.
Scripted and misshapen
    the American dream
Is lost in the rubble
Of the untold it seems.

Pedro Alonso Nino also known as Alonzo Pietro was a black Spaniard who was both a navigator and an explorer. He was born in Spain in 1455 [1], and set sail with Columbus on the first voyage to the new world [2]. Nino later supervised his own expeditions in the West Indies in search of wealth. Upon returning to Spain, he was seized by the king for withholding the king's share of his profits. Nino died before his trial was complete [1]. (Side note: there are many artifacts that suggest Africans found South America long before Columbus see [3, 4, 5] )

[1] The North Star News
[2] PBS African-American Timeline
[3] Evidence Africans Discovered America
[4] The Africans Who Discovered America
[5] Before Columbus

Dreams of a Sugar Plum Fairy:

Spotlight on Misty Copeland

I was young
Everyone was doing it--
Blonde ponytails, pink tutus
And then there was me...
If I'd noticed,
Maybe I would've quit
But I loved it
And I wanted to shine.
Twirl and twirl
On pointed toe,
Ribbons and colors
Music and art--
Sugar plum fairy dreams
Swirling through snowflakes
And me in the background
Awaiting my chance...
Expensive dreams,
Pirouetting in front of me
Taunting and haunting
Until at last I concede.

Misty Copeland is a soloist in the American Ballet Theatre. According to some sources, she is the first black soloist for ABT [1, 4]. Another, however, states that she is the first black soloist in 20 years and the third in the theatre's history [2]. Either way, she has climbed the ranks even from a general late start at ballet. Performing as soloist in multiple productions as well as alongside Prince [3, 4], Copeland is breaking the mold in the ballet world and changing the image in an otherwise white art.

[1] Glamour Interview
[2] Huffington Post: Misty Copeland talks to Vogue Italia ...
[3] ABT Bio of Misty Copeland
[4] Huffington Post: Misty Copeland on Prince and the Curvy Ballerina Revolution

Overlooked & Overpowering:

Spotlight on Blanche Kelso Bruce

Scraps, cast aside as trash
Purposely overlooked and discarded
Lonely, in their unfilled lives
Grow weary of their label.

Were not they once grand?
Were not the grand once poor?
Thats when trash overthrows
Some ill fitted label,
Redefines itself and shows potential
Clamors up the ladder of success
And looks convention in the eye.

These scraps are a foundation
Strong and unpredictable--
An underdog waiting to arise--
They have nothing left to lose
And the world is theirs to gain.

Hold fast, theirs is majestic strength
To defy old definitions and rise.

Blanche Kelso Bruce was born a slave in 1841. After gaining his freedom, Bruce worked in a variety of fields including teaching black children,  becoming a cotton planter, and becoming involved with politics in Mississippi. He served as the superintendent of education, supervisor of elections, sheriff, as well as many other important positions before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1874 to 1881. Bruce was the second black man to be elected to the US Senate (Hiram Rhodes Revels, also from Mississippi was the first), but the first (and only) to have also been a slave and the first to preside over the Senate [1]. Since 1789, there have been 1.949 senators [2]. Of those senators only 26 have been of a minority race and only 9 have been black. Currently there are 6 senators that identify as a minority race, 2 of which are black: Tim Scott, SC and Cory Booker, NJ [3].

[1] US Senate Biography of Blanche Kelso Burce
[2] Senators of the United States
[3] Ethnic Diversity in the Senate

Limitations Won't Stop Me:

Spotlight on Derrick Coleman

I'm not perfect
I have limitations
But that won't stop me,
Discourage or burry me
I will fight--
When my body fails
And everyone else is stronger
Somewhere, somehow
Strength will find me
Sneak up from behind
And tackle them full force
Because I won't give up

Derrick Coleman is the first legally deaf person to play on an offensive line in the NFL. Inspiring hearing impaired children of all races, he has met several of his young fans to reinforce the idea that their disability shouldn't stop them form doing what they want to do ( see videos here and here). Yesterday,  he helped his team win Super Bowl XLVIII

Knowledge:

Spotlight on Dr. Ruth Simmons

Knowledge:
The original desire.
Power such to see
and understand
That which gives birth
To creation...
Choices and ideas,
Word strung together
To form newness
For better or worse.
A power to control
That which surrounds us
And stand.

Dr. Ruth Simmons

Upon being sworn in as president of Brown University in July 2001, Dr. Simmons not only became the first female president of Brown University, but also the first black president of an Ivy League institution.  Following the footsteps of early champions of education such as Mary McLeod-Bethune, Dr. Simmons continues to inspire through education and knowledge. Dr. Simmons resigned as president in 2012, after receiving numerous honors. Read more about Dr. Simmons here.

Welcome, February

My freshman year in college, I posted a poem I'd written in honor of Black History Month. Someone I went to high school with posted his opinion that Black History Month should be done away with, because "it made him feel bad." I was livid. You ever get so mad you can't speak? That was me; I just wanted to reach through the computer and strangle this guy. Unfortunately, my anger prevented me from being able to explain to him 2 very important things: why Black History Month is important and why it doesn't matter if it made him feel bad.

The Message

It amazes me how easily people can attach themselves to something they know absolutely nothing about. A cursory glance through social media or an impromptu conversation will show that even without knowing the facts, people will be adamantly for or against an issue. Relying solely on the media (which is hardly ever unbiased), they will vilify a person, proclaim that person's innocence and rant for days... 

This same insane ability to jump to conclusions extends in to the church. I had a preacher once who could barely read. He would stand in the pulpit, hoop and holler about some random topic, then stumble through some verses--and the congregation would "Amen" and "Preach!" this man like he was saying something worth saying! I've heard so many misconstrued ideas of what the Bible says not just from the ordinary church goers and preachers, but even disbelievers. I must admit, I laugh when a disbeliever tells me they don't believe because of something that isn't even in scripture.