Untold Black History: Madam C.J. Walker Has First African-American Woman To Become A Self-Made Millionaire In The United States.
Untold Black History: Madam Walker ascended to power as USA’s first female self-made billionaire after being born on 1867 to former slave on Louisiana cotton farm. She did it by establishing the Madam C.J. Walker Corporation. Her company, which had its headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, specialized on beauty & hair care products for African American women.
Untold Black History: butler, Octavia E., Was Dyslexic.
As a youngster, the woman who would go on to become first science-fable writer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship & win innumerable accolades for her work throughout a 40-year career battled a “mild” case of dyslexia. After her father died young, Octavia E. Butler has been reared mostly by her mom and grandma. Butler, a shy child with dyslexia who felt foolish, used to hide at the bookstore in her town of Pasadena. Untold Black History: She discovered legendary science fiction periodicals there, which piqued her interest in writing. She was working on a plot that became the basis of a few of her big series before the age of twelve. Her debut novel, Pattern master, the first in that series, was published seventeen years later.
Shirley Chisholm Was The Target Of Three Assassination Attempts During Her Presidential Campaign.
“I’m unbossed and unbought.” Those words, a particle of Shirley Chisholm’s legacy, reverberate powerfully. Chisholm, who was born & raised in Brooklyn, was elected to Congress for the first time in 1968. Chisholm began her presidential campaign after four years as the representative for New York’s 12th congressional district (which includes the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods). She was first Black candidate for the presidency from a major party, and also first female candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination, at that time.
Untold Black History: As she ran for the highest office in our country, Chisholm’s life was in jeopardy. During her campaign, the representative garnered a number of 28 delegates. Chisholm studied at Mount Holyoke & Spelman University, both all-women institutions, after leaving Congress . President Barack Obama presented her with a posthumous National Medal of Freedom in 2015. A statue honoring Chisholm will be constructed in Prospect Park in Brooklyn in 2020.
Untold Black History: Jackie Robinson’s Brother, 32, Was Also A Professional Athlete.
Although Jackie Robinson is now more known, her older brother Matthew “Mack” Robinson was also a great athlete. In fact, when Jesse Owens shattered the record holder for the 200 metre sprint just at 1936 Summer Olympics, Mack also shattered the previous mark. The elder Robinson’s name has not made the same impression in history like his brother & competition, having won a silver medal to Owens’ gold by by 0.4 seconds
Thurgood Marshall’s Path To Supreme Court Started When He Was A Child.
Untold Black History: Marshall’s parents instilled in him the value of knowledge, the Constitution, & the rule of law from an early age. Thurgood’s father, a train porter, took him & his brother to court hearings in Baltimore, where they grew up. Marshall’s mother, a professor, would join the 3 of them after supper for a discussion about the cases they’d seen that day & other current topics. Marshall credits his father with helping him become a lawyer, saying, “He did it by training me to debate, by testing my logic on each and every point, and by making me substantiate every assertion I made.” President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Marshall to be first Black high Court nominee in 1967.
Lincoln College Was The United States’ First Historical Black University To Provide Degrees.
Untold Black History: This modest public institution in Pennsylvania, which is still in operation today, lately made headlines following Mackenzie Scott gave $20 million towards the school. In 1854, the Lincoln Institute (then known as Ashman Institute) received its first pupils. Medal of Honor winner poet Langston Hughes, graduation of 1929 & Revolutionary War soldier Christian Fleetwood, graduation of 1860; & Thurgood Marshall, a first Black Supreme Court justice, class of 1930, are just a few of the notable thinkers and creators who have passed through its halls.
Interesting Untold Black History Facts.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler Is A Character In The Film Rebecca Lee Crumpler.
Untold Black History: Rebecca Lee Crumpler started medical degree at New England Women Medical Center in 1860 after eight years as nurse. According to Harvard, this institution was the first in U.s to teach female doctors. She becomes first Black woman in the United States to get an M.D. in 1864. Only 300 of 54,543 doctors were women at the time, & none of them had been Black. She served poor women and children after founding a medical clinic near Boston, often asking for no money for her services.
African-Americans Fought For The Union.
By the conclusion of the War, the United States Army had 179,000 Black soldiers, accounting for 10% of all personnel. Per the National Archives, another 19,000 people served in the Navy. Over the duration of the battle, about 40,000 Black troops died, with 30,000 of them succumbing to sickness or death. Black soldiers operated in the artillery & infantry, and were responsible for all noncombat support roles required to keep an army running. Chaplains, cooks, guards, laborer’s, nurses, scouts, detectives, steamboat pilots, doctors, and teamsters were all part of the war effort. Nearly 80 African-American commissioned officers were present.
Untold Black History: Fighting Again For Union By Black Women
In movies depicting the Civil War, black men are frequently shown, but nothing is stated about black women. As per the National Archives, these women who couldn’t officially join the Army worked as nurses, spies, and scouts. Tubman, who scouted for second South Carolina Volunteers, was the most famous.