DUDU ITAN OSÙ

Ek'abo Ebi! (Welcome Family!) 

Dudu Itan Osù, Black History Month.  Would you believe I was two days into February before I thought of the importance of this month?  It’s really easy to do that when you are caught up in life’s daily routines.  But it made me wonder, if I forgot, did others do so as well?  Have we in some way become more lax, less appreciative of what this month represents. Have we failed to remember all those who fought winning and losing battles to get us here? 

Besides Dr. King, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X, there are so many others that have caused change.  The ones who made the biggest difference in even the smallest ways?  The ones who opened the door for others, allowing them to become a part of history?  The ones who sacrificed much for the greater good?  The ones who moved forward regardless of the adversity? 

Here are a few examples: 

During the 1930s, painter Charles Alston founded the 306 group, which convened in his studio space and provided support and apprenticeship for African-American artists, including Langston Hughes; sculptor Augusta Savage; and mixed-media visionary Romare Bearden. 

In 1938, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt challenged the segregation rules at the Southern Conference on Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama, so she could sit next to African-American educator and activist Mary McLeod Bethune. Roosevelt would come to refer to Bethune as "her closest friend in her age group." 

Female science fiction author Octavia Butler was dyslexic. Despite her disorder, she went on to win Hugo and Nebula awards for her writing, as well as becoming the first science-fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant in 1995. 

"I wanted to write a novel that would make others feel the history: the pain and fear that black people have had to live through in order to endure."

– Octavia E. Butler 

Paul Cuffee, a philanthropist, ship captain and devout Quaker who supported a return to Africa for black citizens, transported 38 free African Americans to Sierra Leone in 1815. He also founded one of the first American integrated schools in 1797.

African-American Matthew Henson accompanied Robert Edwin Peary on the first successful U.S. expedition to the North Pole, reaching their destination on April 6, 1909. In 2000, Henson was posthumously awarded the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal. 

Buffalo Soldiers— a name given by Native-American plainsmen—were the all-black regiments created in the U.S. Army beginning in 1866. These soldiers received second-class treatment and were often given the worst military assignments, but had a lowest desertion rate than their white counterparts. More than 20 Buffalo Soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their service. The oldest living Buffalo Soldier, Sergeant Mark Matthews, died at the age of 111 in 2005, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Cathay Williams was the first and only known female Buffalo Soldier. Williams was born into slavery and worked for the Union army during the Civil War. She posed as a man and enlisted as William Cathay in the 38th infantry in 1866, and was given a medical discharge in 1868. 

In 1881, Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles founded what would become the first college for black women in the United States. The school was named Spelman College after Laura Spelman Rockefeller and her parents, who were abolitionists. Laura was also the wife of John D. Rockefeller, who made a significant donation to the school. 

Phillis Wheatley became the first published African-American poet in 1774 with her collection Poems on Various Subjects, a work of distinction that looked to many literary classical traditions. 

“Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land,

Taught my benighted soul to understand,

That there's a God, that there's a Saviour too:

Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.

Some view our sable race with scornful eye,

“Their color is a diabolic die.”

Remember, Christians, Negroes,

black as Cain, May be refin'd,

and join th' angelic train.” 

– Phillis Wheatley 

Renowned African-American architect Paul R. Williams mastered the art of rendering drawings upside-down so that his clients would see the drawings right side up. Williams's style became associated with California glamour, beauty and naturalism, and he joined the American Institute of Architects in 1923.  Because he worked during the height of segregation, most of the homes designed by African-American architect Paul R. Williams had deeds that barred blacks from buying them. 

In 1926, Carter Godwin Woodson established Negro History Week, which later became Black History Month. The month of February was chosen in honor of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, who were both born in that month.

Well, I hope my trip through history has in some way, enlightened you, educated you and/or reminded us all of what was done in the past and what we are capable of doing in the future. No excuses fam!

Mari e laipe!
See you soon! 

S-

*****

Thanks for visiting ‘Amachi is Hope.’ If you were inspired or felt a connection with today’s blog (or any of my previous entries) please leave a comment. J

THE DREAM

Ek'abo Ebi! (Welcome Family!)

“We must learn to live together as brothers

or perish together as fools.” 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) 

As we celebrate Dr. King’s life, (this year will mark forty-six years since his assassination) it saddens me to know that the dream he had for us has taken on a greyish hue.  Dr. King wanted all races, all people to live in harmony.  I’ll admit that there have been improvements through the decades, but not enough. Just when you think there might be a chance that we’ll all find some equal footing, we are faced with more conflict, more tension and more ignorance.  Not just between blacks and whites, but between people of color.  Every day when you turn on the news, there is another report regarding black on black crime.  I believe we are failing Dr. King and failing the legacy that he left behind.  He wanted so much for us.  His vision for the future was a bright one.  We have yet to learn to live together as brothers and sisters.  Did Dr. King die in vain?  Will we ever be able to truly live in harmony? 

Dr. King, like Nelson Mandela was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  He was awarded it for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.  In addition to all his other honors, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously.  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became a federal holiday in 1986. But it wasn’t observed by all 50 states until the year 2000.  In his short life, Dr. King was a civil rights activist, pastor, humanitarian, leader (as well as a husband and father).  

The purpose of the March on Washington (actually called The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom) in 1963, was to address a number of demands.  Among them were the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation, removal of racial segregation in public schools, protection from police brutality and other important topics. 

This year will commemorate nineteen years since the Million Man March in Washington, D.C.  Its purpose was to help men of color (people of color at large) re-evaluate their purpose and responsibility in connection to their communities.  Both demonstrations resulted in changes in the way people looked at the issues with race and how it was (and is) more important than ever to unify as a people. 

Are we going to perish as fools, doomed to hatred, ignorance, and un-enlightenment?  What are your intentions for the future?  We can all (even in the smallest way) work towards the vision that Dr. King had for us.  Whether you are educating the youth (through writing or speaking), recognizing and respecting the differences in others or even appreciating the potential that we all share and how we can benefit one another, we can one day realize Dr. King’s dream. 

All we have to do is, “Take the first step in faith.  You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”  

Mari e laipe!

See you soon! 

S- 

*****

Thanks for visiting ‘Amachi is Hope.’ If you were inspired or felt a connection with today’s blog (or any of my previous entries) please leave a comment. J

LEGACY

Ek'abo Ebi! (Welcome Family!)

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for

a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (July 18, 1918 – December 5, 2013)

It is with a heavy heart and great respect that I acknowledge the death of one of the greatest men in South African and African American history. Called home at the age of 95, Mr. Mandela accomplished after much sacrifice (27 years of imprisonment), the end of apartheid in South Africa.  A goal that seemed impossible; the country was ravaged with racism, hate and inequality.

Nelson Mandela. He was so many things to so many people. A father, son, husband, leader, politician, revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist, first black president of South Africa, the list is diverse. During his tenure as president he brought forth a new constitution for South Africa which was an essential part of the negotiations conducted to end apartheid. In addition, he was bestowed over 250 honors in his lifetime.  Among them was the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, “. . . for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa." 

One of my greatest regrets was not seeing him when he visited New York City and spoke at Yankee Stadium in 1990.  David Dinkins was mayor at the time and I was still in high school.  I cannot remember why I did not attend (it was likely impossible to get in or near the stadium) but I do remember a classmate saying how moved and emotional she was upon seeing him.  She could not stop her tears from falling. Imagine the power and energy that surrounded him.  It must have been immeasurable.

Nelson Mandela has left behind an awesome legacy. Not just to his family, but to the people of South Africa and to the world.  His death has forced us to re-evaluate our responsibility as people of color, as people period.  To understand that we have an obligation to teach our youth about the kind of people they should endeavor to become. To be the human race, not races divided. To acknowledge that there is nothing that they cannot achieve.  Strength, character and courage can be found within us all. Do not settle for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living! Amandla! Power! Recognize it!

Mari e laipe.

See you soon.  

S-

*****

Thanks for visiting ‘Amachi is Hope.’ If you were inspired or felt a connection with today’s blog (or any of my previous entries) please leave a comment. J