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Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr.: Performed The 1st Implantation of An Automatic Heart Defibrillator

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

levi watkins jr
Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr.

In 1980, Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr. (1944-2015) performed the first implantation of an automatic defibrillator in a human heart. Watkins was also a professor of cardiac surgery and an associate dean at John Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore Maryland. Dr. Watkins was born in Parson, Kansas. He grew up in Montgomery, AL and became good friends with civil rights leader, Dr. Ralph Abernathy. He also met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who, at the time had just started preaching at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Watkins was inspired by Dr. King and also became involved in the civil rights movement, serving as a volunteer driver transporting church members who were participating in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956. Continue reading “Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr.: Performed The 1st Implantation of An Automatic Heart Defibrillator” →

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Poor People’s Campaign of 1968

 Black History:  Special Delivery!!

poor_peoples_campaign_flyer_full

Dr. Martin Luther, King Jr. shared the idea of the “Poor Peoples Campaign” at a Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) staff retreat in 1967.  The campaign was to be a “middle ground” between violence and non-violence.  The campaign would be launched with an initial group of 2,000 people who would travel to Washington DC, southern states, and northern states to advocate with government officials for jobs, unemployment insurance, a fair minimum wage and education for the poor.
Continue reading “Poor People’s Campaign of 1968” →

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Operation Breadbasket: Economic Empowerment Program Of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Black History: Special Delivery!!

 

Operation Breadbasket was launched in 1962 by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., stated, “The fundamental premise of Breadbasket is a simple one. Negroes need not patronize a business which denies them jobs, or advancement or plain courtesy…..Many retail businesses and consumer goods industries deplete the ghetto by selling to Negroes without returning to the community any profits through fair hiring practices”. Operation Breadbasket’s first leader was Fred Bennette. Continue reading “Operation Breadbasket: Economic Empowerment Program Of The Southern Christian Leadership Conference” →

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