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May 09
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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Jack Thompson

On This Date In 1930, Bare-Knuckle Boxer Jack "The Frisco Flash" Thompson Defeated Defending World Welter Weight Champion, Jackie Fields.

Fields Had Beaten Thompson In An Earlier Title Fight (1929). The Second Fight, Which Was Considered An Upset, Was Witnessed By A Crowd Of About 14,000 Fans At The Olympia Arena In Detroit, Michigan. The Fight Receipts Totaled $70,000 Dollars.

Thompson, A Native Of Oakland, California, Beat Fields In 15 Rounds. It Had Been 15 Years Since An African American Had Won The Welter Weight Title.

Thompson Lost The Title To Tommy Freeman A Few Months After Winning It. He Reclaimed The Championship In 1931, And Lost It Again To Lou Brouillard.

Jack Thompson Retired From Boxing In 1932. He Died In 1946.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert
Gaddy, Jr.
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May 08
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

Posted by Hugh in Untagged 

Bishop Henry McNeal Turner


On This Day In 1915, Author, Activist And Church Organizer, Henry McNeal Turner, Died At Age 82.

Turner Was Born Free, In Georgia In 1834. Instead Of Being Sold Into Slavery, He Was Sent to Live With A Quaker Family. He Taught Himself To Read And Write.

Turner Was An Outspoken Bishop Of The African Methodist Episcopal Church And The First African American Chaplin To Serve In The U.S. Army.

A Strong Supporter Of The African Colonization Movement, Turner Called For A Separate Black Empire And Encouraged Blacks To Return "to the land of our ancestors" And To "give the world, like other race varieties, the benefit of our individuality."

He Founded A.M.E. Churches In Sierra Leone And Liberia, Both African Colonies For Former Slaves. He Also Established The International Immigration Society.

During Reconstruction Turner Was Elected To The Georgia House Of Representatives But Denied Admission. In A November 3, 1868 Letter, Regarding The Denial Of His Seat, Turner Wrote:

"You may expel us, gentlemen, but I firmly believe that you will someday repent it. The Black man cannot protect a country if the country doesn't protect him; and, if tomorrow, a war should arise I would not raise a musket to defend a country where my manhood was denied."

Turner Was Considered "Radical" For His Time. He Was A Fiery Orator Who Preached On Issues That Made Him Controversial In The Eyes Of White And Some Black Americans. One Such Sermon Dealt With The Ethnicity Of
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May 07
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

Posted by Hugh in Untagged 

Jesse Jackson
 
"Campaigning In Free Verse," An Article About Rev. Jesse Jackson's Bid For The 1984 Democratic Presidential Nomination, Appeared In The May 7, 1984 Issue Of Time Magazine.

A Predecessor To Recent Black Presidential Candidates, Al Sharpton And Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson Was The First African American To Be Taken Seriously As A Contender For A Major Political Party Nomination (Eldridge Cleaver Ran For President In 1968 And Shirley Chisholm Vied For The Office In 1972).

Jackson's Campaign Has Been Called "one of the most dramatic developments in modern American political history." The Long-Time Civil Rights Activist Proposed The Creation Of A New Political Alliance, The Rainbow Coalition.

Based On The Concept Of Economic Justice,
The Coalition Was To Be Composed Of Individuals Traditionally Marginalized By The American System -- African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, Elderly Women, The Poor, The Disabled And Small-Scale Farmers.

In The 1984 Primary Elections Jackson Got 2.5 Million Black Votes And 800,000 Votes From Non-Blacks, Giving Him 10 Percent Of The Total White Primary Vote.

He Ran Again In 1988 And Received 20 Percent Of The White Primary Vote.


"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy,
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May 06
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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Prince Hall

African Lodge No. 549 In Boston, Massachusetts Was Chartered On May 6, 1787, By England's Grand Lodge.

Prince Hall Had Established This Self-Help Organization 11 Years Earlier, After Being Denied Membership In White Masonic Lodges.

In Addition To Being A Pioneer In Institution Building, Hall Was A Revolutionary War Veteran, Soap Maker, Landowner And Voter. In 1800 He Founded A School For Black Children In His Own Home In Boston.

Hall Died Of Pneumonia In 1807.

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy,
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May 05
2008

BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In Our History

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James Bland


Composer/Songwriter, James A. Bland Died Of Pneumonia, May 5, 1911, In Philadelphia. He Was 56 Years Old.

Born On October 22, 1854, In Flushing, New York, Bland Was A Mulatto Of Mixed African, Native American And European Blood. His Father Was One Of The First Black College Graduates In America.

James Bland Was Given His First Instrument, A Banjo, By His Father. By The Age Of 14, He Was Performing Professionally.

Often Called "The World's Greatest Minstrel Man," And "The Prince Of Negro Performers," Bland Traveled The East Coast And Europe In Minstrel Shows, From 1875 Until 1881. He Was The Star Attraction With His Ballad, "O Dem Golden Slippers."

He Remained In Europe -- Which He Felt Was Less Racist Than America -- For More Than A Decade. There He Became A Star Entertainer, Earning $10,000.00 A Year From His Stage Shows And Music Royalties.

Bland Returned To The U.S. In The Early 1900's. Minstrel Shows Had Been Replaced By Vaudeville. Bland's Brand Of Entertainment Was No Longer In Demand And He Eventually Went Broke.

During His Lifetime, James Bland Wrote More Than 600 Songs. One Of His Best Remembered Tunes Is "Carry Me Back To Old Virginny," Which Became Virginia's State Song In 1940.


"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy,
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