How much do you know about Black History Month?
Do you know that this remembrance was founded as “Negro History Week” in 1926 by African-American historian, author and journalist Carter Godwin Woodson (b. 12/19/1875-d.4/3/1950) is known as the Father of Black History.
Carter Godwin Woodson
The son of James and Anna Eliza Riddle Woodson, who were slaves that found freedom, Carter became an activist that put him at the very core of a devoted group of black intellectual and activist.
At the age of 25 (1900), Woodson became principal of Douglass High School prior to working in the Philippines as a school supervisor. In 1908 he attended the University of Chicago, receiving his M.A. In 1912, Carter Godwin Woodson received his Ph.D. from Harvard University
Dr. Woodson founded “Negro History Week,” devoting his career to authoring books, journals, articles and publishing newspapers, in part, to insure that the role of the African-American was neither ignored nor misrepresented by scholars and people.
Dr. Woodson is not only the founder of what is now Black History Month, he is also one of the reasons we should take pause and consider the stories of some of this countries most remarkable citizens.
One historian walking in Dr. Woodson’s footpath is Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Ph.D., Associate professor of History, Norfolk State University.
In 2003, Dr. Newby-Alexander began work on Waterways to Freedom: The Underground Railway in Virginia. Part of that project included working with the City of Norfolk, Virginia to develop an interactive map that tells the story of the Underground Railway in Norfolk.
A conversation with Dr. Newby-Alexander was very enlightening as I learned:
• The State of Virginia had more Slaves than any other state.
• That while issues of property were “State” governed, the ownership of Slaves was Federally protected under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
• That William Still (b.1821) was one of Black History’s ameuteur historian recording the stories of escaped Slaves who came through the Philadelphia Underground Railroad, one such interview revealing that the escaping individual was his lost brother, left behind in bondage when his mother escaped.
Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Ph.D.
“The story of the escaping Slave is interesting for many reasons, “ said Dr. Newby-Alexander from his Norfolk University office. “But at the heart of that story is a person willing to risk everything to run to freedom.”
Visit the Waterways to Freedom and explore twelve areas of importance to the Underground Railroad.
An 1873 map reflects a very different Norfolk, Virginia than the one that is there today. Click on the twelve different points and learn about the men and women, and places that played an important part in the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves escaping from Norfolk left primarily by water,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “In a rural area contiguous with a border to a northern state, it would have been difficult to make the journey undetected."
“They escaped Norfolk by ship, usually paying a white captain for their escape.”
Many of those ships left out of Higgins Wharf (Clickable #1), located at the far end of Widewater Street, near New Castle Street. Click and learn that the wharf’s owner, John A. Higgins, was the former owner of Shadrick Minkins.
Mr. Minkins place in history is recorded as he was being hunted under the Slave Fugitive Act. Abolitionists helped him to evade trial in Boston, MA and escape to Canada.
Lewis Hayden (b.1811-d.1889) led the Vigilance Committee group that abetted Mr. Minkins escape.
Mr. Lewis was an ex-Slave that, once finding his freedom, became a representative from Boston to the State Legislature in 1873.
Waterways to Freedom
Mr. Minkins escaped from the ownership of John DeBree, a prosperous landowner and former navy man (see #4).
Visit the Wharf where in 1855, Captain Alfred Fountain sailed to Philadelphia with 21 fugitive Slaves. Just before leaving dock with fugitive brothers, Thomas and Frederick Nixon, owned by merchant B.T. Bockover, Norfolk Mayor William Lamb and a group of men boarded the ship to search for escaping Slaves.
The Captain most surely received payment for his services but, if caught, would have been tried under the Fugitive Slave Act.
Though slavery’s origins tentacle back as far as the 1560, it was from 1654 until 1865 that slavery for life was legal within the boundaries of much of the United States.
Until the 18th Century, however, slave labor was often ruled by a form of bonded labor, or indentured servitude, in which whites and blacks alike would work to pay the cost of their transportation to the American colonies.
In the 18th century, Federal Court rulings allowed a racial bias to grow, establishing the right to “own” Black Africans as property, forcing them to unpaid, and usually harsh labor, particularly in the Southern plantations where tobacco and cotton were particularly labor intensive, big cash crops.
At the heart of this movement was the need for cheap, expendable labor that ensured the success of large plantations.
From the 16th to the 19th centuries, twelve million Africans were shipped to the Americas, with the majority being sent to South America, mostly to Brazil. However, during that period approximately 650,000 persons were sold into slavery from the transporters, however by 1860, the Slave population in the United States had grown to four millions persons.
“The story of the Underground Railroad is not the story of just Black people,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “It is the story of those people, black and white, that worked together against something that they saw as oppressive and wrong.”
“Ship Captains may have been paid in coin, but they still transported people at great risk. All along the Underground Railroad are stories of white and black abolitionists who worked together, helping people to escape to freedom. To evade those that would recapture them. “
Visit Waterways to Freedom and explore Norfolk’s role in the Underground Railroad.
Washington, DC
With the blizzard keeping us all indoors, visit the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and Culture Web site to add your families story to the National Memory Book, a virtual collection of stories from families all over the world.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History and Culture
While at the NMAAHC Web site visit the Program Calendar for more information on Black History Month Events including:
Saturday, February 13, 4:00 pm
Picturing the Promise: Remembering Black Washington
NMAAHC Curator Paul Gardullo discusses a collection of visitor responses to the Scurlock photo exhibition left for other visitors to read at the gallery's interactive station. Writers Holly Bass, Brian Gilmore, and E. Ethelbert Miller will read responses.
Busboys and Poets
1025 5th Street, NW
Washington, DC
Monday, February 22, 7:00 pm
Words Between Two Reformers: Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt
NMAAHC and the National Portrait Gallery present Words Between Two Reformers: Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt with Ysaye Barnwell as Mary McLeod Bethune and Linda Kenyon as Eleanor Roosevelt. Jewell Robinson, renowned actress and Helen Hayes Award nominee, produces the work. Admission is free but reservations are recommended at 202-633-8520.
Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium
Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery
9th and F Sts., NW
Washington, DC
Saturday, February 27, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Picturing the Promise: Making Photo and Memory Quilts
Participants learn to take the first step in assembling story-telling quilts by creating their own quilt squares using personal images and text. Documentary quilt maker Joan M. E. Gaither who teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore leads the workshop. Prior quilting experience is not required. Participants are invited to bring personal photos to scan onto their quilt squares. Families are welcome. Call 202-633-0070 or 202-541-6255 for more information.
Lamond-Riggs Public Library
5401 South Dakota Ave., NE
Washington, DC
Baltimore, MD
Black History Month at the B&O
The B&O Railroad Museum
Through February 28 celebrate the contributions of African Americans to the railroad industry. Learn about the men and women who filled vital jobs along the B&O Railroad's line, understanding how significant social issues, such as segregation, affected railroading.
The B&O Railroad Museum
901 West Pratt St.
Baltimore, MD 21223
Phone: 410-752-2490
From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden
At the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture through March 28, 2010, this exhibition presents a major survey of the extensive graphic works created by Romare Bearden over more than 30 years.
The works in the exhibition show Bearden’s extraordinary facility for weaving into every art form a rich tapestry of literary, biblical, mythological, popular culture and western and non-western themes that were informed by his African American cultural experiences.
Included are prints based on collages like the Odysseus Series and Piano Lesson that he reworked in several media through changes in technique, scale and color and through the use of photographic processes.
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
830 E. Pratt St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
443-263-1800
Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Happiness
The American Visionary Art Museum curator Roger Manley explores the quest for human rights and the search for personal fulfillment, as proposed in the 1776 American Declaration of Independence.
Works by the last surviving descendant of the Tsars of Russia, Iroquois Indians, French Revolutionaries, illegal immigrants, Algerian War veterans, Guantánamo Bay detainees, Holocaust survivors, incarcerated prisoners, African-American civil rights activists and Iraqi doctors are among the 50 visionary artists featured.
Renaldo Kuhler’s vast imaginary country of Rocaterrania, Tilden Stone’s masterful Furnitures of Secrets, and Duncan Laurie’s Purr Generator (a “happiness machine”) are among the numerous works that have never been shown publicly.
American Visionary Art Museum
800 Key Highway
Baltimore, MD 21230
410-244-1900
Chicago, Illinois
In honor of Black History Month, Chicago’s Navy Pier is offering a free exhibition that will showcase 28 notable African-Americans. This walk-through gallery experience, entitled "Perseverance & Persistence – An Exhibition of Pride," runs through Feb. 22.
Navy Pier
600 E. Grand Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 595-7437
Hours: open daily
"Harriet Jacobs" is the story of a woman and her battle for freedom. Based on the book "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," this play is an inspiring look at a young woman’s fascinating journey from slavery to freedom and just how far imagination can take you. The show runs until March 2.
Steppenwolf Theater
1650 N. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 335-1650
Philadelphia, PA
African American Museum in Philadelphia
The African American Museum in Philadelphia is the first institution built by a major United States city to house and interpret the life and work of African Americans. Our doors are open for your enjoyment and enlightenment six days a week. Visit us and experience the richness and vibrancy of African American heritage and culture come alive in four magnificent exhibition galleries filled with exciting history and fascinating art.
Please visit the web site for a listing of events that includes:
Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Colonial Dance Workshop with Amma and Ishmael (12 p.m.) Hip Hop Jazz Musicology and Drum Circle with Coda (2 p.m.)
Saturday, February 13, 2010 - Time TBA VOICES: Audacious Freedom Community Conversation Series with Richard Newman and Dennis Dickersondiscussing Freedom's Prophet: Richard Allen, the A.M.E. Church, and the Founding Fathers
Free Admission
1st District Plaza
Main Ballroom
3801 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 – 3 p.m. Cinema Sepia Afternoon Film Series: Walls and Doors: Inspiration from our Elders.
Free with Museum Admission
AAMP
701 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone (215) 574-0380
York, PA
Visit York, Pennsylvania for three events commemorating Black History Month all being held on Saturday, February 20th.
York's Black Pioneers - Come and engage in conversation and a lively Q&A session with some of York's Black pioneers. Learn what helped them persevere and be successful so as to reach the top of their profession.
York's Diverse Community - Join us to find out how much our diversity unites our community. Experience a wide array of cross-culture exhibits, as well as crafts, music and food.
York Today and Tomorrow -A community is only as strong as its combined parts. Our guest lecturer will lead a discussion on what Yorkers have to offer each other. We will examine the possibilities for the future and how we get there together.
Event Location:
Historical Society Museum
250 East Market Street
York, PA
Visit www.yorkheritage.org for a complete listing and details of upcoming events and programs.
Photo of Carter G. Woodson.
Source: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/NEWS/thisweek/images/woodson.jpg
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