Happy Birthday Chaka Khan We Love You & We Like It!

I like It!

Closing Women's History Month & Starting National Poetry Month with Phylis Wheatley

TO S. M., A YOUNG AFRICAN PAINTER, 

On seeing his Works. 

To show the lab 'ring bosom's deep intent, 

And thought in living characters to paint, 

When first thy pencil did those beauties give, 

And breathing figures learnt from thee to live, 

How did. those prospects give my soul delight, 

A new creation rushing on my sight ! 

Still, wondrous youth ! each noble path pursue ; 

On deathless glories fix thine ardent view : 

Still may the painter's and the poet's fire, 

To aid thy pencil and thy verse conspire ! 

Memoir and poems of Phillis Wheatley, a native African and a slave  also, Poems by a slave (1864)

Author: Wheatley, Phillis, 1753-1784; Horton, George Moses, 1798?-ca. 1880. Poems by a slave; Odell, Margaretta Matilda; Knapp, Isaac, 1804-1843, publisher; Pendleton, William S., 1795-1879, engraver; Light and Horton, printer of plates
Subject: Wheatley, Phillis, 1753-1784
Publisher: Boston : Published by I. Knapp
Language: English
Digitizing sponsor: Emory University, Manuscript Archive and Rare Books Library
Book contributor: Emory University, Manuscript Archive and Rare Books Library

Link
https://archive.org/details/191229727.4837.emory.edu

Dr. Mae C. Jemison, First African-American Woman in Space (7/1/1992)

  The first African-American woman in space, Dr. Mae C. Jemison was born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama but considers Chicago, Illinois her hometown. She received a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering (and completed the requirements for a Bachelor in African and Afro-American studies) at Stanford University in 1977. Dr. Jemison also received a Doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University in 1981. After medical school she did post graduate medical training at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center. As an area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa, she managed the health care delivery system for U.S. Peace Corps and U.S. Embassy personnel.

  Jemison's background includes work in the areas of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and reproductive biology. She also developed and participated in research projects on the Hepatitis B vaccine and rabies. Jemison was a General Practitioner and attending graduate Engineering classes in Los Angeles when she was named an astronaut candidate in 1987. She flew her first flight as a science mission specialist on STS-47, Spacelab-J, in September 1992. She was co-investigator for the Bone Cell Research Experiment on that mission. In completing her first space flight, Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes and 23 seconds in space. Jemison resigned from NASA in March 1993. In 1994, she founded and began a term as chair of The Earth We Share (TEWS), an annual international science camp where students, aged 12 to 16, work together to solve current global dilemmas. From 1995- 2002 she was a professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College.

  She is currently director of the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in developing countries. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame and several corporate boards of directors on the Texas Governor's State Council for Science and Biotechnology Development. Dr. Jemison published her memoirs, Find Where DE:the Wind Goes:Moments from My Life in 2001. She currently resides in Houston, Texas.

THE NEGRO WOMAN'S FIFTY YEARS OF FREEDOM. 1918

 what might be expected of her to

accomplish within the next fifty years of

freedom?

Author: Graves, Charles Francis, 1878- [from old catalog]

Publisher: [Elizabeth City, N.C.

Noted Negro Women : Their Triumphs and Activities (1893)

African American She-roes of the late 19th Century.
They face no easy task right after the Civil War when so many of
their people were destitute. The freedmen often had no homes, no education
and limited prospects. These women gave their all to advance the race

E-Book available online in several popular formats and full text.



Author: Majors, Monroe A. (Monroe Alphus), b. 1864; Vivian, C. T., former owner. GEU
Subject: African American women; African Americans
Publisher: Chicago : Donohue & Henneberry
Language: English
Digitizing sponsor: Emory University, Manuscript Archive and Rare Books Library
Book contributor: Emory University, Manuscript Archive and Rare Books Library
Collection: africanamericanliterature; emory; americana

Link
https://archive.org/details/27056814.4698.emory.edu

Rosa Parks' Arrest Records (November 13, 2012)

Author: National Archives
Keywords: documentcloud; smithsonian; 3907-megan-gambino
Book contributor: Megan Gambino (Smithsonian.com)

Link
https://archive.org/details/514415-rosa-parks-arrest-records

See Also:
 Claudette Colvin

"Lifting As We Climb" Colored Women's Clubs

The Race Problem. As Discussed by Negro Women (March 1, 1901)





Author: Blauvelt, Mary Taylor
Volume: 6
Publisher: The American Journal of Sociology
Language: English
Book contributor: JSTOR
Link
https://archive.org/stream/jstor-2762006/2762006


As an example of the above content I'll include the following.
The story of the Illinois Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (1922)

Author: Davis, Elizabeth Lindsay
Subject: Illinois Federation of Colored Women's Clubs; African American women; African American women
Publisher: [Chicago : s.n.]
Possible copyright status: Public Domain assumed. No evidence of copyright renewal could be found. Contact dcc@library.uiuc.edu for information.
Language: English
Call number: 1155289
Digitizing sponsor: CARLI: Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois
Book contributor: University of Illinois at Chicago
Collection: UniversityIllinoisatChicago; americana
Notes: Handwritten notes may not be legible. Some light text.
Link
https://archive.org/stream/storyofillinoisf00davi

The colored girl beautiful (1916)

Author: Hackley, E. Azalia (Emma Azalia), 1867-1922
Subject: Young women; Conduct of life
Publisher: Kansas City, Mo., Burton Pub. Co
Year: 1916
Possible copyright status: The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright restrictions for this item.
Language: English
Call number: 8248646
Digitizing sponsor: The Library of Congress
Book contributor: The Library of Congress
Collection: library_of_congress; americana

Link
https://archive.org/stream/coloredgirlbeaut00hack

Women Of Distinction :

Remarkable In Works And Invincible In Character (1893)

Digitizing sponsor: LYRASIS members and Sloan Foundation
Book contributor: State Library of North Carolina, Government & Heritage Library
Collection: statelibrarynorthcarolina; americana

Author: Scruggs, L. A. (Lawson Andrew), 1857-1914

Subject: North Caroliniana; African American women; African Americans; Women

Publisher: Raleigh : L. A. Scruggs

Link
https://archive.org/details/womenofdistincti00scru

Claudette Colvin Is Honored for Women's History Month

Young Claudette Colvin 

Claudette Colvin 

Claudette Colvin (born September 5, 1939) is a pioneer of the African-American civil rights movement. She was the first person to resist bus segregation in Montgomery, Alabama, preceding the better known Rosa Parks incident by nine months. The court case stemming from her refusal to give up her seat on the bus, decided by the U.S. District Court, ended bus segregation in Alabama. The case went to the Supreme Court and finally ended transportation segregation nationally.

An audio interview with Ms. Colvin

Last year (2013) for Women's History Month "The Peoples Organization for Progress" invited Mrs Claudette Colvin to New Jersey, in order to pay homage to the part she took  in the Montgomery, Alabama struggle for civil rights. It's my pleasure to share this effort by this active grassroots organization to honor the heroism exhibited this elder in very dangerous circumstances and to keep the memory of what she did always alive in our historical archive. God Bless.

Dionne, Gladys & Patti

Or as Oprah put it, "The Dream Team" This is Women's History Month and these sistahs have made their place.

1st All African American Female Flight Crew

Here's an interesting milestone tidbit for Women's History Month :)

Two Colored women with the American Expeditionary Forces c(1920)

 The Authors:
Addie. Hunton , b. 1866  and Kathryn M. Johnson (Kathryn Magnolia) , b. 1878
Put together this wonderful book that documents the participation of African Americans in WWI.
It contains lots of photographs often including the names of the men, making this a good source for genealogists to dig around in.





Author: Hunton, Addie W., b. 1866; Johnson, Kathryn M. (Kathryn Magnolia), b. 1878
Subject: World War, 1914-1918 -- African Americans; World War, 1914-1918 -- War work Young Men's Christian associations; World War, 1914-1918
Publisher: Brooklyn, N. Y. : Brooklyn eagle press
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: srlf_ucla:LAGE-1656845
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Collection: cdl; americana

Link

https://archive.org/details/twocoloredwomenw00huntiala

Women of Achievement by Benjamin Brawley

   Written for the Fireside Schools, 

Under the Auspices of 

the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society

by Benjamin Brawley

   I.     Introduction The Negro Woman in American Life

 II.     Harriet Tubman

III.    Nora Gordon

IV.     Meta Warrick Fuller

  V.     Mary McLeod Bethune

 VI.     Mary Church Terrell

Author: Brawley, Benjamin Griffith, 1882-1939; Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society

Subject: African Americans; Women; African American women
Publisher: [Chicago, Ill.] : Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: ucb_banc:GLAD-185380101
Digitizing sponsor: MSN
Book contributor: University of California Libraries
Collection: cdl; americana

Black History Month 2014 Closing - Women's History Month Opening ;)

Well it's been a lot of fun sharing with and learning from my sisters and brothers once again for
Black History Month. For those of you who think that BHM in February is just too short, I say don't fret.

 March is "Women's History Month" and if you're a creative type, it won't take much imagination to see that you can feel free to dedicate this entire month to the extensive history of Black Women. You can go back as far as the mitochondrial Eve if you like, so I don't believe you'll be running short on history for the month of March.

  I have to say here, if that's still not enough for you then April is "National Poetry Month" if you catch my drift. Now between Phyliss Wheatly and the present day slam, hip hop, and other Black artists and writers you'll have your hands full. I doubt that you'll be able to cover even a fraction of Black literary notables that have graced the shores of this nation.

That  said let's close Black History Month with the Black National Anthem

"Lift Every Voice And Sing"

A voice from the South (1892) by Anna Julia Cooper

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (Raleigh, August 10, 1858 – February 27, 1964) was an American author, educator, speaker and one of the most prominent African-American scholars in United States history. Upon receiving her PhD in history from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1924, Cooper became the fourth African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree. She was also a prominent member of Washington, D.C.'s African-American community.

Anna Julia Haywood Cooper 

Author: Cooper, Anna J. (Anna Julia), 1858-1964; Woodson, Carter Godwin, 1875-1950, former owner. GEU; Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, former owner. GEU
Subject: African American women
Publisher: Xenia, Ohio : Aldine Printing House
Language: English
Digitizing sponsor: Emory University, Manuscript Archive and Rare Books Library
Book contributor: Emory University, Manuscript Archive and Rare Books Library
Collection: africanamericanliterature; emory; americana

This book has an editable web page on Open Library.

Link
https://archive.org/details/04244412.4838.emory.edu

Women on the front lines of the "civil rights movement"

"Hands on The Freedom Plow" Women on the front lines of the civil rights movement

Augusta Savage, Sculptor (February 29, 1892 – March 26, 1962)

Augusta Fells (Savage) was born in Green Cove Springs (near Jacksonville), Florida. She began making clay figures as a child, mostly small animals, but her father would beat her when he found her sculptures. This was because at that time, he believed her sculpture to be a sinful practice, based upon his interpretation of the "graven images" portion of the Bible. After the family moved to West Palm Beach, she sculpted a Virgin Mary figure, and, upon seeing it, her father changed his mind, regretting his past actions. The principal of her new school recognized and encouraged her talent, and paid her one dollar a day to teach modeling during her senior year. This began a lifelong commitment to teaching as well as to art.

An excellent audio bio on Augusta Savage given by Ashley Remer 

as part of the Chick History #HerStory project.

The Harp
Inspiration for this piece was
Lift Every Voice and Sing
The African American National Anthem

 Savage posing with her sculpture.

Identification on verso (handwritten and stamped): Art Service Project; 137 E. 57th Street, New York City;
Location: 137th St. and Edgecombe Ave.; DAte: 6/10; Negative No. 1060I; Photographer: Herman.
Identification on accompanying note (typewritten): Augusta Savage

The Role of Black Women in American History continued

This is the continuation of the talk by Dr. John H. Bracy on the role of Black Women in American History. You won't want to miss these next 3 segments of this informative and insightful talk.
(See parts 1&2 here)


Dr. John H. Bracey, Jr.: The Role of Black Women in American History 3



Dr. John H. Bracey, Jr.: The Role of Black Women in American History 4



Dr. John H. Bracey, Jr.: The Role of Black Women in American History 5

The Role of Black Women in American History 1&2

Dr. John H. Bracy delivers a poignant talk on the role of Black Women in American history with emphasis on Amanda Berry Smith and Mary Mcleod Bethune. This is recorded in 5 ten minute segments for convenient listening but I can tell you that once you start you'll want to go to the next segment for more ASAP.

Dr. John H. Bracey, Jr.: The Role of Black Women in American History 1




Dr. John H. Bracey, Jr.: The Role of Black Women in American History 2