Oliver R. Phillips
With the election of the first Black President of the United States, there are some who would submit that it is no longer necessary to celebrate some of the days, weeks, or months that remind us of both the struggle and the liberation of African descendants in these distant shores. Lest we forget, the journey has been chronicled by pain, exclusion, marginalization, oppression, miscegenation, deprivation, and a wholesale robbery of the intrinsic nature of a people who throughout their own history had experienced the heights of cultural achievements.
Black History Month commemorates and celebrates the contributions that people of color have made to this nation. The American historian Carter G, Woodson established Black History Week with the first celebration occurring on February 12, 1926. Subsequent to that occasion, the second week of February was chosen to celebrate the birthdays of abolitionist Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976 the week was expanded to a month as part of the US bicentennial.
Black History should never be viewed as a subversive or separate history. All things being considered, Black history is American History. There can be no authentic American History that excludes the rich tapestry of Black History quilted into the fabric of the American experiment. So the month of February should be a time of reflection on the journey of a people who demonstrated a resilience to co-exist in a society that said they did not belong.
Where are we now?
Population – as of July 1, 2008 it was reported that the Black population was 41.1 million, and represented 13.5 % of the US Population, an increase of 500,000 over the previous year. It is projected that by 2050 the Black population would be 65.7 million.
18 states report a Black population of over 1 million. New York, with 3.5 million, led the way. The other 17 states on the list were Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
38% Percentage of Mississippi’s population that was black in 2008, highest of any state. Blacks also made up more than a quarter of the population in Louisiana in 2008 (32 percent), Georgia (31 percent), Maryland (30 percent), South Carolina (29 percent) and Alabama (27 percent). They comprise 56 percent of the population in the District of Columbia.
67,000 was the increase in Georgia’s Black population between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008, which led all states. Texas (64,000), North Carolina (45,000) and Florida (41,000) also recorded large increases.
There were 24 states in which Blacks were the largest minority group in 2008. These included Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Remembering the Historical Contributions
Carter Woodson strongly believed that if Black people were to be successful in the future they had to be aware of their contributions to the American History. Here are a few facts:
• The first Black appointed governor was P.B.S. Pinchback, who served in Louisiana from Dec. 9, 1872, to Jan. 13, 1873.
• The first Black elected governor was Joseph Rainey; the first Black female U.S. representative was Shirley Chisholm, congresswoman from New York from 1969 to 1983.
• The first Black U.S. Secretary of State was Gen. Colin Powell, 2001-2004. The first Black female Secretary of State was Condoleezza Rice in 2005.
• The first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review was Charles Hamilton Houston, in 1919. Barack Obama became the first Black president of the Harvard Law Review.
• The first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice was Thurgood Marshall, 1967–1991. Clarence Thomas became the second Black person to serve on the court in 1991.
• The first Black Nobel Peace Prize winner was Ralph J. Bunche, who received the prize in 1950 for mediating the Arab-Israeli truce.
• The first Black casualty of the American Revolutionary War was Crispus Attucks.
• The first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was Colin Powell, from 1989 to 1993.
• The first Black Rhodes Scholar was Alain L. Locke in 1907.
• The first Black person to receive a Ph.D. was Edward A. Bouchet from Yale University.
• The inventor of the blood bank, a Black man, was Charles Drew.
• Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery and organized the first Black hospital, Provident Hospital.
• The first Black male Grammy award winner was Count Basie in 1958 for Best Jazz Performance, Group and Best Performance by a Dance Band for his album “Basie.”
• The first Black tennis champion was Althea Gibson, who was the first Black woman to compete on the world tennis tour and to win a Grand Slam title.
• Thurgood Marshall was the first Black U.S. Supreme Court judge and was a civil-rights lawyer who helped to win the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which integrated public education in the United States.
• The Little Rock Nine, after a strenuous and life-threatening battle, were the first Blacks to attend an all-white high school in Little Rock, Ark. Although racial segregation in the public school system was outlawed by this time, many public schools were not honoring the law.
As other tribes, nations, civilizations, and countries celebrate their history and look towards the future with enthusiastic optimism, so likewise Black history Month is such a time. The tragedy of the earthquake in Haiti brings in close proximity to the history of a people that is often forgotten. If we forget the history of Haiti, the perspective we engender might be fatally flawed, and we would be involved in missions from a paternalistic and condescending worldview.
God bless the people of Haiti! And God bless America!
Tags: Black History
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:31 am
Oliver - Many thanks for this excellent review and perspective on the history of people of African descent in the United States. In fact, all of the Africans who were brought to North and South America are African-Americans. I wonder what that total is. With that definition, the majority of Haitians are African-Americans as well.
In addition to the significant accomplishments of those you cited is the contribution of more ordinary African-Americans to our culture, including the faith communities of the US.
Black history is an important part of American history to be remembered and celebrated notwithstanding its origins in slavery and suppression.
Tom Nees
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Oliver, I enjoy and always look forward to the next issue of your blog,they are true to the headline,thought provoking and really jerks the attention of the reader to think on these things.
This segment on black history should cause all readers to expand and embrace the historical input and achievements of blacks, not only tailored as American history here in the USA, but we must also celebrate the achievements etched into the global life of man that blacks around the world have been a part of. Many of these black achievers reeked success and developed ideas and solutions under duress that have been a benefit to mankind in all corners of the world. We are indeed proud of those who have made meaningful contributions and left a mark with the intent of making the world a better place.
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Thanks for the response Mike! An old sage said that there is nothing new under the sun, but the history that we don’t know. You are correct; the history of Black people is present in the global community, and should also be heralded. The message coming from Haiti is a case in point. Black is Beautiful!
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Tom, thanks for your contribution! I am glad that you mentioned Haitians as integral to the collective trans-Atlantic journey of Black people from Africa. When this is taken into account, as well as the African population in Blazil, the numbers are astounding!
April 11th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Transat AG2R…
Transat AG2R 2010 La Mondiale (Concarneau - Saint Barth) : le site d’Henri-Paul Schipman et Pierre Canevet est en ligne. Suivez chaque jour leurs billets transmis depuis leur bateau par satellite….