It's as easy as A-B-C...

 Happy Black History Month! Another  February is upon us, so it's time for the the rest of the country to recognize/celebrate how trill we are. I like to surf the internet for things I haven't seen before in regards to our litness (I'm sure that's not a word, but I'm using it) accomplishments and history. I happened to stumble upon this set of Black ABCs that I read were used in the Chicago school system back in the 1970s. These were used to instill pride into growing minds. This set is too cute. Showing our kids that they are beautiful, worthy,and relevant enough to see in classrooms. I think it'd be awesome if we could modernize them for the kids today.I would not want to see any "N is for Nae-Nae" though. Anyway, I just wanted share these. Say it loud...

Excuse me while I testify...

I have had this same statement uttered to me more times than I can count! This young lady has put my feelings into words. I thank her for that and hopefully this makes you uncomfortable and allows you to rethink what you say.

Still Standing...

Real, soulful artists + their truth= REAL music and a happy listener. Happy Sunday.

Here comes the Judge...

Hey fam,
 Let me first apologize for falling off on my BHM duties. Somehow I became consumed with other things and neglecting my blog. I know we don't have that many days left in February so I may just take this on into March. I know that 's Women's History Month but it's my blog and I make the rules. I have some other rants/raves to share with you but I'll save those for another day.
With that said let me hit you with the BHM moment of today.

In 1939, Jane M. Bolin became the First African American Woman Judge in the United States. She was assigned by the Mayor to the Domestic Relations Court of the City of New York. She became a lawyer after being influenced by her father, Gaius Bolin (who was the first black graduate of Williams College). After graduating from Wellesley College, she entered Yale Law School where she was one of two African Americans and one of three women. After completing her law degree, she joined her father's practice. Ms. Bolin was also the first black woman to join the New York City Bar Association. She remained on the Domestic Relations Court, now known as the New York Family Court for nearly forty years leaving at the mandatory retirement age of 70. Bolin died in 2007 at the regal age of 98.

Feb 5- Mike Carey

Are you ready for some football?

I will admit that I'm not the biggest football aficionado, but I know a little bit. Since I was blessed with an awesome father, great brothers, male friends and marching band I have been immersed in it. I appreciate it. So today's BHM post is dedicated to it.

 Michael "Mike" Carey was assigned by the NFL to referee the 2008 Super Bowl game between the NY Giants and the NE Patriots, making him the FIRST African-American referee in Super Bowl history. This was Carey's eighteenth year as a football official. He is 1971 graduate of California's Santa Clara University where he was a running back. After an ankle injury his playing days were over. After graduation, he officiated for Pop Warner games. Then in 1990 was hired by the NFL as a side judge, he was then promoted to referee at the start of the '95 season.
 Mike's no one trick pony though. He and his wife, co-founded Seirus Innovation, a company that manufactures and sells cold weather accessories for skiing and snowboarding. He's invented numerous items of ski apparel, including Cat Tracks, a protective device that slips over the soles of ski boots.

So this Sunday while you're rooting for your team and scarfing down the snacks, pay special attention to men making the calls.  Black history is all around us.

It's official like a referee with a whistle...

Black Gold- Day 2

First off, if you don't know Esperanza and Algebra. Sugar get familiar. These ladies are really talented.! This song speaks to and for us. If you didn't know; I, you, we are BLACK GOLD! Be proud of us.
**Side note: I know I said I was bringing you folk you've never heard of. BUT this song was too good not to post. I'll be back on my mission tomorrow.

Feb 1, 2012- Intro/Frank Yerby

It's February again. So that means it's Black History Month. Now I know someone is going to say "I'm (your're) Black/African-American/Negro, etc everyday not just in February. It's the shortest month of the year anyway..." (Cue Kanye West). No need to shout sugar, I hear you and you're right. But since we were given this month to highlight/observe US and to (hopefully) start a year long conversation(s) and history lesson(s) about how intelligent, awesome, influential, and fly we are. So just like I did last year, I am going to hip my readers to some people you may or may not have heard of.



First up is Frank Yerby. He was a best-selling author with his first book The Foxes of Harrow (1946). The book sold over one million copies. It was the first novel by an African-American to be purchased by a Hollywood studio and it was made into a film in 1947. After the unexpected success of his first novel Yerby settled in Madrid, Spain, and went on to write more than thirty historical novels, most of which became best sellers. Yerby died in 1991. His work lives on.

James Van Der Zee

Photographer of the Harlem Renaissance James Van Der Zee was born in 1886 in Lennox, Massachusetts. Van Der Zee was self-taught photographer made famous by capturing the African American in a state of transition. He took pictures of such people as pan-African creator Marcus Garvey,neo-expressionist Basquiat. He moved to Harlem in 1905 to make a better life for himself.He took pictures of celebrities and of every day folk as well. He was very well known around the city but sadly he and his wife fell into poverty, and obscurity. Van Der Zee was nearly forgotten until someone decided to exhibit his work in a 1969 in a show titled Harlem on My Mind. This breathed new life into his career and brought his work back into the public. He passed away in 1983 at the age of 96. James Van Der Zee captured life as we lived it. He captured the beauty of life and death. We will always remember him for his talent as it will live on through his pictures.

Feb 10- Bill Becoat

Most people's approach to life is not to reinvent the wheel, but Bill Becoat did just that and it has put him into the history books. Bill Becoat invented the gear that turns the standard bicycle into a two wheel drive machine. Having two-wheel drive gives the rider more control and the freedom to ride in different terrains. Becoat is an accomplished blues musician and small business owner. In the late 80s while fixing his son's bike he stumbled upon this idea to make bike riding easier. After much trouble, he got his idea patented in over 32 countries including China (1993), financed,and manufactured. We are all now enjoying the fruits of his labor and he is peddling that bike all the way to the bank. This is just an example of Black History being current and effecting not just the nation, but the world.

Feb 9- Danitra Vance

If you're like me then you love to laugh. One of the best ways to do this is by watching the weekly sketch show Saturday Night Live. BUT I have noticed that the show is lacking some sisters of that look like me. I began to wonder, had they ever had one. In my research for BHM I found that SNL did have one regular cast member that mirrored my skin. Her name was Danitra Vance. She was apart of the cast from 1985-1990. Danitra struggled with being typecast as hookers and maids on the show. After leaving the show she performed in a critically acclaimed one-woman show The Radical Girl's Guide to a Radical Mastectomy. This told of her experiences with the disease. Sadly she passed away in 1993 at the age of 35. Although she had a short life she broke open a door for others to follow in her courageous and funny footsteps.

Feb 8- Lonnie G. Johnson

Lonnie G. Johnson is the inventor of one of the coolest toys ever created. The summertime favorite the Super Soaker. Johnson has worked with the US Air Force and with NASA and has over 40 patents. The Super Soaker is a simple machine, that produces maximum entertainment. Johnson has taken his product and made millions and brought smiles to many faces. He used that initial idea as a spring board to create his own company, Johnson Research and Development. Thanks to the intelligence and ingenuity of Lonnie G. Johnson, we have the Super Soaker and that has become synonymous with summer.

Feb 6- Charles Follis

In observance of Superbowl Sunday, I'd thought I give you an African-American in football fact.

Charles Follis was the first documented black professional football player. While he never played in the NFL, he still was talented enough to be seen and asked to play for a team in Shelby, Ohio back in 1902. This fact would not be accepted as valid until 1975 when written records proving this were found. He was even paid $500 for him playing. He was faced with harsh criticism before, during, and after he played opponents, sometimes inciting minor riots. He may not have earned a ring but he definitely has earned respect and place in the history books. His name is not one we should forget.

Feb 7- Clara "Mother" Hale

Human rights activist Clara "Mother" Hale founded the first and, at the time, the only black social services agency in America in 1975. Over the course of her life, Mother Hale received more than 370 awards for her work in the fight against AIDS and inner city drug use. It's because of people like Mother Hale that children from forgotten areas weren't forgotten. She gave them the nurturing they deserved. She did not let politics interfere with the greater cause of humanity.

Dr. James E. West- Feb 5

Dr. James E West is the inventor of the polymer foil electrets that are used in microphones. This invention can be found in over 90% of modern microphones. Telephones, camcorders, baby monitors, and even hearing aids use this piece of technology. So the next time you pick up a phone, or reach for that camcorder to put a video on Youtube, thank Dr.West for having the foresight to realize that an inexpensive piece of metal would impact the world.

Augusta Savage- Feb 4

Augusta Savage was a sculptor originally from Florida who moved to Harlem during the Great Migration. Her father, a Methodist preacher was against her art calling it "pagan." Augusta didn't listen to her father, thankfully. Like many African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance she was greeted with racism in the form of rejection by a European art school. From this her art became political. She got funding from the Julius Rosenwald Fellowship. She was commissioned to sculpt busts of W.E.B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey. She was one of four women and the only African American woman whose art was featured at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Sadly,due to her financial situation much of her work was never casted into metal and ultimately destroyed. Augusta Savage was not only a talented sculptor,and a spirited teacher. She was an activist. She was a force to be reckoned with. She won't be forgotten.

Ella Fitzgerald- Feb 3

In 1959, Ella Fitzgerald became the first African-American woman to earn a Grammy Award. She won five awards that year, including an award for best jazz soloist and one for best female pop vocalist. known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.
Her recording career that lasted an astonishing 59 years, she was the winner of 14 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush. A few of her major hits are :"A Tisket, A Tasket", "It's Only A Paper Moon","Baby It's Cold Outside". Ms.Fitzgerald was true talent.

Paul Cuffee- Feb 2

Paul Cuffee an African-American, philanthropist, ship captain, and devout Quaker transported 38 free African-Americans to Sierra Leone, Africa in 1815 in the hopes of establishing Western Africa. He also founded the first integrated school in Massachusetts in 1797. One of 10 children, Mr. Cuffe was half African-American and half native American, and born free. A devout Christian, Cuffee often preached and spoke at the Sunday services at the multi-racial Society of Friends meeting house in Westport. In 1813, he donated most of the money to build a new meeting house. He became involved in the British effort to resettle former slaves in the colony of Sierra Leone; many had been transported from the US to Nova Scotia after the American Revolution after gaining freedom with the British. Cuffee helped to establish The Friendly Society of Sierra Leone, to gather financial support for the colony.

The 306 Group-Feb 1st

Artist Charles Alston founded the "306 Group". Artist Henry Bannarn came on little later and became a co-director. It was a club that provided support and apprenticeship for African-American artists during the 1940s. It served as a studio space for prominent African-American artists such as poet Langston Hughes; sculptor Augusta Savage; and mixed-media artist Romare Bearden.Located at 306 West 141st street in Harlem the shows were attended by people from all over. Including the northeast, west and even Europe. It became a place where our talent was on display and could be appreciated.

(I'm a little behind in the dates for posting, don't judge me)

Black History Month 2011

In honor of Black History Month I'll be dedicating posts to random African Americans. We are a beautiful and talented people with a history that is too deep and long to be held to a mere 28 days. Hopefully I'll be giving you some information that you haven't seen before. We are more than Martin,Malcolm, Jesse, and even Obama. There is nothing wrong with these men but we more than them. SO...get hip and get educated.