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November 2015

African American Firsts In The NBA

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

nba
Bill Russell was an African American NBA player who played 13 seasons from 1956-1969. 4th African-American player to sign with the NBA team.  He was the first African American NBA coach (1966-1969).

Black Mail Fast Facts:  (From NBA.com)

The NBA shares a number of interesting sports related Black History Facts.  Check them out below:

  • 1968 First African American referee in the NBA (Ken Hudson)
  • 1971-72 First African American bench coach named (Earl Lloyd, Detroit Pistons)
  • 1972 First African American NBA General Manager named (Wayne Embry). He is the first black General Manager in professional sports.
  • 1972 First African American owner/coach elected to Basketball Hall of Fame as a significant contributor to the sport (Bob Douglass, New York Renaissance)
  • 1972 Title IX legislation prohibits sexual discrimination and mandates funding equity for women in sports in all federal funded educational facilities.
  • 1972 First African American head coach to win a NCAA Division I championship (John Thompson, Georgetown University)
  • 1997 First Season of the newly established WNBA, the sister league to the NBA
  • 2002 First African American owner of an NBA franchise team (Robert Johnson, Charlotte Bobcats)

Check out more black history facts from The NBA:

http://www.nba.com/sixers/blackhistorymonth

Check out some of our earlier posts:

Annie Lee: African American Artist Who Captured Black Americana Through Her Paintings

Mississippi Appendectomy: History of Involuntary Sterilization of African American Women

NASA Mathematician Recieves Medal of Honor

 

 

 

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From Ebony Magazine: 5 Things to Know About Blacks and Native Americans

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

thanksgiving

5 Things to Know About Blacks and Native Americans

Ebony Magazine’s “5 Things To Know About Blacks and Native Americans” is both a humorous and informative article on the relationship between Blacks and Native Americans.  The article touches on:

  1. How We First Hooked Up
  2. Some Native American Tribes Held Slaves:
  3. You Do Not Have “Indian Up In Your Family”  
  4. Okay, Maybe You Do Have Some Native Blood
  5. The Definitive Book:  Black Indians, By William Loren Katz

Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/life/5-things-to-know-about-blacks-and-native-americans-119#ixzz3sZN3IwiA

As many are celebrating Thanksgiving, this article shares some historical perspectives regarding the relationship between the English settlers and Native Americans who were already here when the Pilgrims arrived.  Though Thanksgiving for many is a time to celebrate and be thankful with family and friends; there are many who view the holiday as a national day of mourning due to the displacement and disenfranchisement of Native American tribes by English settlers.

Thanksgiving was made an official U.S. national holiday by President Lincoln during the Civil War 1863.  He felt this would promote national unity since the country was in the throes of war.  Thanksgiving had been celebrated in various states and during various times of the year since 1621.  However 1863, would mark the first time the holiday was celebrated nationally at the same time.

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Check out some of our recent posts:

NASA Mathematician Recieves Medal of Honor

Mississippi Appendectomy: History of Involuntary Sterilization of African American Women

“But You See Now Baby, Whether You Have A Ph.d., D.D. Or No D, We’re In This Bag Together. And Whether You Are From Morehouse Or Nohouse, We’re Still In This Bag Together.”-Fannie Lou Hamer

Annie Lee: African American Artist Who Captured Black Americana Through Her Paintings

New Police Chief In Farrell, PA States: ‘N- – gers Gotta Learn How To Read’

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NASA Mathematician Recieves Medal Of Freedom

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

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Katherine G. Johnson is African American mathematician and physicist. In 1969 she calculated the flight path for NASA’s historic Apollo space mission to the moon.  Employed by NASA for over 30 years, she retired from  in 1986.

Johnson’s love for math dates back to her childhood. She recalls that she loved to “count everything”.  A gifted student, she graduated from high school at age 14.

On November 24, 2015, she was one of 17 individuals to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  She is truly a pioneer!  She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc!  We salute you Soror Jackson!! Well done!

Click here to view the video of the event on NBCBLK.COM

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nasa-mathematician-recieves-medal-of-honor-573771331621

 

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Mississippi Appendectomy: History of Involuntary Sterilization of African American Women

Black History: Special Delivery!!

fannie lou hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer 1917-1977

The term, “Mississippi Appendectomy” was popularized by Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. It refers to involuntary sterilization procedures that were performed on African American women. While having surgery to remove a tumor, in 1961 Hamer was given a hysterectomy without her knowledge or consent by a white doctor as a part of the state of Mississippi’s plan to reduce the number of poor blacks in the state. Hysterectomies or tubal ligations were performed on many other poor black women against their will and without their knowledge. Due to rampant discrimination and prejudice there was a belief that certain individuals of color or poor women in general were “unfit” to reproduce.

These forced/coerced sterilizations took place across the country but were considered particularly frequent in the deep south. Poor women, women with physical disabilities, or characteristics for which physicians deemed these women “unfit to reproduce” were often targeted for sterilization. Poor white women and Native Americans were also subjected to these types of coercive sterilization practices. Women outside the U.S. were also subjected to these involuntary sterilization procedures.

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“But You See Now Baby, Whether You Have A Ph.d., D.D. Or No D, We’re In This Bag Together. And Whether You Are From Morehouse Or Nohouse, We’re Still In This Bag Together.”-Fannie Lou Hamer

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

Fannie Lou Hamer Quote

But you see now baby, whether you have a ph.d., d.d. or no d, we’re in this bag together. And whether you are from Morehouse or Nohouse, we’re still in this bag together.

-Fannie Lou Hamer

Fannie Lou Hamer (born Fannie Lou Townsend; October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting rights activist, civil rights leader, and philanthropist.

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Annie Lee: African American Artist Who Captured Black Americana Through Her Paintings

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Artist Annie Frances Lee (1935-2014) was born in Gadsen, Alabama and grew up in Chicago, IL. She began painting as a young girl and won her first art competition at age 10. Lee was offered a four year scholarship to Northwestern University after high school. However, she married instead and began to raise a family. Tragedy struck Lee with the death of her 1st and 2nd husbands with whom she had 2 children; a daughter and a son respectively. It would not be until age 40 that she would begin to pursue a career as an artist. Lee took night classes for 8 years to earn her masters degree in Interdisciplinary Arts Education from Loyola University. She also worked full time at Northwestern Railroad while going to school. Her employment with Northwestern Railroad inspired one of her most popular paintings, Blue Monday. The painting features a woman struggling to get out of bed on a Monday morning. Lee described Blue Monday as her “self portrait’.

blue-monday.jpg
Blue Monday

 

Lee held her first gallery show in 1985 at age 50. The show was highly successful for Lee and she sold all her available pieces at the show within 4 hours. In addition to artwork, Lee also had some of her most popular paintings produced as figurines, dolls, and housewares. A hallmark of Lee’s artistic style, was that faces in her artwork were painted without features. Following the death of her son in 1986, Lee decided to pursue an art career full time. She eventually opened her own gallery, “Annie Lee and Friends Gallery”. Her own artwork as well as the artwork of friends was displayed there. Several of her paintings were part of the sets for popular shows and films such as 227, Coming To America and A Different World. The appearance of her work on these shows greatly increased her exposure. Lee died in Las Vegas on November 14, 2014 at the age of 79.

you next sugar
You Next Sugar
XAAL002Melody
Melody

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Check more of our recent Black Mail Posts:

New Police Chief In Farrell, PA States: ‘N- – gers Gotta Learn How To Read’

5 People Shot At Site Of Black Lives Matter Protest In Minneapolis

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New Police Chief In Farrell, PA States: ‘N- – gers Gotta Learn How To Read’

Black History: Special Delivery!!

thomas burke.png

Thomas Burke was recently hired as the new police chief in Farrell, PA and is scheduled to start work on January 1, 2016.  Burke has issued a public apology for his use of the n-word in an email that was sent out earlier this year. Burke, who is white, shared the following comments during his apology:

“… I cannot tell you, from the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry. I apologize deeply”.  Burke sent the email in regard to a reading fundraiser. The email was sent in April 2015. In the email, Burke writes, “Good morning. Please click and review. Even a one dollar will be greatly appreciated. Them Sharon n–gers gotta learn how to read.”  Burke reportedly emailed about a dozen friends and colleagues while working in the security department of a local steel mill.

The city’s mayor, Olive McKeithan, who is African American, acknowledged that Burke has admitted to the incident. The mayor is indicating that she still supports Burke as police chief. According the local news station, she states, “As the mayor of Farrell and as an African American, I stand behind Mr. Burke as police chief for the city of Farrell,…….Until you get to know a man’s character, you can’t judge him by one off-the-cuff remark, or else we would have to judge all white people as equally guilty,” she added. “I have spoken to Mr. Burke and consider the matter as closed.”

Farrell City Councilwoman, Stephanie Sheffield feels he should be dismissed.  Burke came to her home with a written apology and according to Sheffield that he did not use n-word very often because, “that’s just the way it is here in our area.”

Other community residents have also serious concerns about Burke becoming the police chief. Burke is not facing any disciplinary action at this time. The local NAACP is meeting to discuss the incident.

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Check out some of our earlier posts:

5 Black Lives Matter Protesters Shot In Minneapolis, MN

Bertin Nahum: Robotic Surgical Equipment Inventor

 

 

 

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5 People Shot At Site Of Black Lives Matter Protest In Minneapolis

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

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5 Black Lives Matter Protesters Shot in Minneapolis, MN.  See. NPR article for more info.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/24/457214142/5-people-are-shot-at-site-of-black-lives-matter-protest-in-minneapolis

Posted from WordPress for Android

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Bertin Nahum: Robotic Surgical Equipment Inventor

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Bertin Nahum
Bertin Nahum

Black Mail Fast Facts: Bertin Nahum (1970-) a native of Benin, West Africa is the CEO of Medtech located in France which he founded in 2002. His company specializes in creating robotic surgical equipment to guide surgeons, and biologists during biopsies, implants and surgeries. He is considered to be one of the world’s most revolutionary high tech entrepreneurs.  One of his most notable robotic inventions developed in 2010 is, “ROSA”. ROSA helps surgeons perform brain surgery. The robot is utilized in hospitals around the world. Nahum holds an Engineering Degree from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (France) and a Master of Science in Robotics from Coventry University (United Kingdom).

Other recent Black Mail Posts:

Miriam Benjamin: Inventor of The Gong Signal Chair

Benjamin Thornton: Inventor of Telephone Message Recording Device:

 

 

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