Black History: Special Delivery!!
“I am the descendant of a WHOLE BUNCH OF BLACK FOLK who couldn’t be broken.”
-Darnell Lamont Walker
Black History: Special Delivery!!
Shortly before his death, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had traveled to Memphis, TN to support black sanitation workers in their quest for higher wages and better working conditions. King had become increasingly more vocal about the economic disenfranchisement and discrimination faced by blacks. The rally hoped to draw 6,000 people. On the original date of the march, Dr. King and his supporters withdrew from the march; feeling that the presence of the Black Panther might provoke violence. King later returned to Memphis to attend a second march that was planned. He hoped that this march would be a peaceful one.
Upon arriving, King checked into the Lorraine Motel. Despite security considerations, King chose to stay at the motel. During his earlier visit, he had been criticized for staying at the Holiday Inn because it was viewed as too “lavish”. On the evening of April 4th, King came out onto the balcony of his hotel room on the second floor. He began talking to friends on the ground below. At 6:05pm, a shot suddenly rang out, hitting King. He collapsed immediately. King had been shot by a sniper and was hit in the neck and head. He was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Memphis. Continue reading “48th Anniversary – Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Black History: Special Delivery!!
Moneta Sleet, Jr. (1926 – 1996) captured the images and experiences of the civil rights movement and the struggle for equality in the U.S. and Africa. Sleet is perhaps best known for his award winning photo taken at the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of Coretta Scott King her daughter Bernice who was 5 years old at the time. He received the Pulitzer Prize in journalism for the photo. He was the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for journalism. Sleet first began photographing the civil rights movement when he traveled to Montgomery, AL in 1955 to cover the Montgomery Bus Boycott lead by Martin Luther King, Jr. As fate would have it, Sleet would cover both the “birth” of the civil rights movement, as well as the funeral of its leader, and everything in-between. Sleet was also known for his coverage of various independence ceremonies and celebrations in Africa.
Continue reading “Moneta Sleet, Jr.: 1st African American To Win Pulitzer Prize For Journalism”
Black History: Special Delivery!!
In honor of Rosa Parks birthday, I’m reposting, 10 THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDNT KNOW ABOUT ROSA PARKS. She was truly a phenomenal woman! Many focus on her actions that launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott. But she was an activist long before that! She traveled the south on behalf of the NAACP investigating sexual assaults of black women.
Click the link to learn more!
Source: 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Rosa Parks!
Black History: Special Delivery!!
Black History: Special Delivery!!
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Black History: Special Delivery!!
11 Little Known Facts About MLK
Continue reading “11 Little Known Facts About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”