Shrimper & Son, c.1978 by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
The father and son are photographed on Daufuskie Island, located off the coast of South Carolina and are of Gullah Geechee heritage.
American Autocthonous History aka Black/African American History & History of Autocthonous People World Wide
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Shrimper & Son, c.1978 by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe
The father and son are photographed on Daufuskie Island, located off the coast of South Carolina and are of Gullah Geechee heritage.
Untitled, Daufuskie Island, South Carolina (woman in yard), 1952 by Constantine Manos
A Vudun Priest Silva Joseph in his temple in Bel Air, Port-au-Prince. Photo by Leah Gordon
In mother Gregória Días’ house in Bahia, Brazil by Caravana Cigana Amaya
A ceremony honouring the Haitian vodou spirit of Baron Samedi on the Day of the Dead in November in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince
Yoruba egungun imitating the ancestors protective nature.
Shango ceremony on the beach in Trinidad. Photo by Steven Vertovec
Jamaicans Celebrate First Ever ‘Sam Sharpe Day’ on December 27
CNW Reporter
December 27, 2020
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On December 27, 2020, Jamaicans across the diaspora observed the first-ever ‘Sam Sharpe Day’ in honor of Sam Sharpe, one of Jamaica’s seven national heroes.
The island’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, announced the proclamation of December 27 as Sam Sharpe Day, which was made by Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen.
Grange said the proclamation was made at the request of the Cabinet and is in keeping with the policy of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport “to promote the knowledge and memory of those who have contributed to the development of Jamaica [and] the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe stands tall among such men”.
The ministry noted that it was on December 27, 1831, that the Emancipation War of 1831-1832 began under Sam Sharpe’s leadership. It noted that the plan called for enslaved people to refuse to work after the Christmas break, unless they were being paid. They were also told to prepare to fight in the event plantation owners tried to force them to continue working as slaves, the ministry said.
Sharpe led the largest and most successful of the fights to end slavery, as his war was a major catalyst for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
Grange said Sam Sharpe Day, each year, will be an occasion to “reflect on and celebrate the unflinching courage and bold resolve of these our ancestors, led by Sam Sharpe, who gave their lives for our freedom”.
The minister expressed the hope that Sam Sharpe’s “life, commitment and ultimate sacrifice” would inspire Jamaicans to “commit to nation-building, to see ourselves as our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, and to promote the well-being and welfare of all Jamaicans”.
Sam Sharpe was born in 1780, and was the slave of an English lawyer of the same name who practiced in Montego Bay. He was baptized as a Baptist and became a lay deacon and appointed by the English Baptist Missionaries. Sharpe was a member of the Burchell Baptist church and became a daddy or leader in the congregation.
During Christmas 1831, enslaved black workers began demanding more freedom and a proper wage. They took an oath to stay away from work until their demands were met by the plantation owners. Sam Sharpe was the inspiration for the strike.
The uprising started on December 25, but exploded on December 27, when slaves set fire to Kensington estate, in the hills above Montego Bay. The rebellion lasted for 10 days and spread throughout the entire island, mobilizing as many as 60,000 of Jamaica’s enslaved population. It was the largest slave rebellion in Jamaica.
Sharpe was eventually captured and condemned to death by hanging. He was buried in the sands of Montego Bay Harbour but his remains were later recovered and buried beneath the pulpit at the Burchell Baptist Church in Montego Bay.
One year after Sharpe’s death, the UK parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act.
www.caribbeannationalweekly.com
CNW Reporter
December 27, 2020
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On December 27, 2020, Jamaicans across the diaspora observed the first-ever ‘Sam Sharpe Day’ in honor of Sam Sharpe, one of Jamaica’s seven national heroes.
The island’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, announced the proclamation of December 27 as Sam Sharpe Day, which was made by Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen.
Grange said the proclamation was made at the request of the Cabinet and is in keeping with the policy of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport “to promote the knowledge and memory of those who have contributed to the development of Jamaica [and] the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe stands tall among such men”.
The ministry noted that it was on December 27, 1831, that the Emancipation War of 1831-1832 began under Sam Sharpe’s leadership. It noted that the plan called for enslaved people to refuse to work after the Christmas break, unless they were being paid. They were also told to prepare to fight in the event plantation owners tried to force them to continue working as slaves, the ministry said.
Sharpe led the largest and most successful of the fights to end slavery, as his war was a major catalyst for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
Grange said Sam Sharpe Day, each year, will be an occasion to “reflect on and celebrate the unflinching courage and bold resolve of these our ancestors, led by Sam Sharpe, who gave their lives for our freedom”.
The minister expressed the hope that Sam Sharpe’s “life, commitment and ultimate sacrifice” would inspire Jamaicans to “commit to nation-building, to see ourselves as our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, and to promote the well-being and welfare of all Jamaicans”.
Sam Sharpe was born in 1780, and was the slave of an English lawyer of the same name who practiced in Montego Bay. He was baptized as a Baptist and became a lay deacon and appointed by the English Baptist Missionaries. Sharpe was a member of the Burchell Baptist church and became a daddy or leader in the congregation.
During Christmas 1831, enslaved black workers began demanding more freedom and a proper wage. They took an oath to stay away from work until their demands were met by the plantation owners. Sam Sharpe was the inspiration for the strike.
The uprising started on December 25, but exploded on December 27, when slaves set fire to Kensington estate, in the hills above Montego Bay. The rebellion lasted for 10 days and spread throughout the entire island, mobilizing as many as 60,000 of Jamaica’s enslaved population. It was the largest slave rebellion in Jamaica.
Sharpe was eventually captured and condemned to death by hanging. He was buried in the sands of Montego Bay Harbour but his remains were later recovered and buried beneath the pulpit at the Burchell Baptist Church in Montego Bay.
One year after Sharpe’s death, the UK parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act.
Jamaicans Celebrate First Ever 'Sam Sharpe Day' on December 27
On December 27, 2020, Jamaicans across the diaspora observed the first-ever ‘Sam Sharpe Day’ in honor of Sam Sharpe, one of Jamaica’s seven national heroes. The island’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, announced the proclamation of December 27 as Sam Sharpe...
www.caribbeannationalweekly.com
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: While you guys are out celebrating Black History Month with pictures of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and everybody else you celebrate, time in, and time out every year, I want to take time to acknowledge the “Black Nobody” who’s lives were taken because of the color of their skin. Those that were raped, hung, beaten, castrated, and burned among other things. So while you are out enjoying your freedoms,. It’s important to recognize those who had no name, no voice, no power, and thus no control over their destiny or even their own lives so you can appreciate yours.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: While you guys are out celebrating Black History Month with pictures of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and everybody else you celebrate, time in, and time out every year, I want to take time to acknowledge the “Black Nobody” who’s lives were taken because of the color of their skin. Those that were raped, hung, beaten, castrated, and burned among other things. So while you are out enjoying your freedoms,. It’s important to recognize those who had no name, no voice, no power, and thus no control over their destiny or even their own lives so you can appreciate yours.
Right on, brotha...
In 1967 Vic Moore appeared at the Long Beach International Karate Championships in Long Beach, California and participated in a martial arts speed drill against Jeet Kun Do founder and movie star, Bruce Lee. The point of the speed drill challenge was to stop Lee’s famous unstoppable punch. Lee told Moore that he was going to throw a straight punch to the face, and all he had to do was to try to block it. Lee took several steps back and asked if Moore was ready. When Moore nodded in affirmation, Lee glided towards him until he was within striking range.
He then threw a straight punch directly at Moore’s face, and stopped before impact. Moore blocked all of the punches except the one that Bruce Lee sneakly threw at the end toward his face Moore and Grandmaster Steve Mohammed said that Lee had first told Moore that he was going to throw a straight punch to the body, which Moore blocked. Lee attempted another punch, and Moore blocked it as well. The third punch, which Lee threw to Moore’s face, did not come nearly within striking distance. Moore claims that Lee never successfully struck Moore but Moore was able to strike Lee on two successful attempts, immediately after Lee had made the three attempts described above. Moore further claims that Bruce Lee said he was the fastest American he’s ever seen and that Lee’s media crew repeatedly played the one punch towards Moore’s face that did not come within striking range, allegedly in an attempt to give the impression that Lee had thrown eight successive punches and thereby preserve Lee’s superstar image.
Somalia 1956.
THE WHITE MAN IS THE FUCKING DEVIL!!!
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: While you guys are out celebrating Black History Month with pictures of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and everybody else you celebrate, time in, and time out every year, I want to take time to acknowledge the “Black Nobody” who’s lives were taken because of the color of their skin. Those that were raped, hung, beaten, castrated, and burned among other things. So while you are out enjoying your freedoms,. It’s important to recognize those who had no name, no voice, no power, and thus no control over their destiny or even their own lives so you can appreciate yours.
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: While you guys are out celebrating Black History Month with pictures of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and everybody else you celebrate, time in, and time out every year, I want to take time to acknowledge the “Black Nobody” who’s lives were taken because of the color of their skin. Those that were raped, hung, beaten, castrated, and burned among other things. So while you are out enjoying your freedoms,. It’s important to recognize those who had no name, no voice, no power, and thus no control over their destiny or even their own lives so you can appreciate yours.
5 Stars Lexx...way to bring it home Bruh.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: While you guys are out celebrating Black History Month with pictures of Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and everybody else you celebrate, time in, and time out every year, I want to take time to acknowledge the “Black Nobody” who’s lives were taken because of the color of their skin. Those that were raped, hung, beaten, castrated, and burned among other things. So while you are out enjoying your freedoms,. It’s important to recognize those who had no name, no voice, no power, and thus no control over their destiny or even their own lives so you can appreciate yours.
This Black History Month we remember Burkinabé socialist revolutionary Thomas Sankara.
Sankara became the President of Burkina Faso at the age of 33. He only lasted 4 years, because he was killed in a military coup, suspected to have had support from the US and France.
Sankara gained the love of his people because of his humble lifestyle, socialist programmes and economic prosperity, but also his confrontation with the national elite, as he stripped power away from them, and for challenging Western imperialism and neo-colonialism in the continent.
In those 4 short years he:
• Lowered his salary to $450 a month and limited his possessions to a car, 4 bikes, 3 guitars, a fridge and a broken freezer.
• Sold off the government fleet of Mercedes cars and made the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso the official service car of the ministers.
• Vaccinated 2.5 million children against meningitis, yellow fever and measles in a matter of weeks.
• Initiated a nation-wide literacy campaign, increasing the literacy rate from 13% in 1983 to 73% in 1987.
• Redistributed land from the feudal landlords and gave it directly to the peasants.
• Planted over 10 million trees to retain soil and halt the growing desertification of the Sahel.
• Built roads and a railway to tie the nation together.
• Appointed women to senior positions, encouraged them to work and granted pregnancy leave during education.
• Opposed foreign aid, saying that “he who feeds you, controls you."
• Called for a united front of African nations to repudiate their foreign debt, arguing the poor and exploited did not have an obligation to repay money to the rich and exploiting.
• Converted the army’s provisioning store into a state-owned supermarket open to everyone (the first supermarket in the country).
• Refused to use the air conditioning in his office on the grounds that such luxury was not available to anyone but a handful of Burkinabes.
Sankara: “Our revolution draws on the totality of man's experiences since the first breath of humanity. We wish to be the heirs of all the revolutions of the world, of all the liberation struggles of the peoples of the Third World."
I was reading this and it reminded me of the inventor of the Potato Chip. I saw a mini-documentary on it a couple of years ago. I can't find that one, but Simon did one on this channel in the second video. I wonder if it was the History Guy's channel that I saw it on first? He does some Black History topics justice from time to time too.
This Black History Month we remember the first democratically elected leader of Congo, Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba’s anti-imperialism and his vision of a united Congo made him an enemy to both Belgium and the United States. The CIA ordered his assassination but could not finish the job. Instead, the United States and Belgium covertly funneled cash and aid to rival politicians who organized a coup and arrested Lumumba, who was then beaten, tortured and killed.⠀
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Malcolm X called him "the greatest Black man who ever walked the African continent, [who] didn’t fear anybody and had the people in power so scared they had to kill him." Che Guevara called Lumumba a “martyr of the world revolution,” after hearing of his assassination.
No other race is told to forget their history! Never forget!
Dec 15, 2020
- 3 min read
Dr. Herbert Charles Smitherman Sr: The Jackie Robinson of Proctor & Gamble
Have you used Crest toothpaste recently? Or Bounce fabric softener? Then the name Dr. Herbert Charles Smitherman Sr. is one you should know. Dr. Smitherman Sr. was a chemist and the first Black person with a Doctorate level degree to be employed at Proctor & Gamble. During his time at Proctor & Gamble he dramatically improved the formulas for several products and has an incredible list of patents for improved formulas for products such as Crest toothpaste, Safeguard soap, Bounce fabric softener, Bix, Folgers Coffee, and Crush soda. Dr. Smitherman Sr. was called ‘the Jackie Robinson of Proctor & Gamble’ by his son. He was instrumental in breaking down racial barriers so that aspiring Black chemists and scientists could have an opportunity to be successful in STEM careers.
Dr. Herbert Charles Smitherman Sr. was born on March 23rd, 1937 in Birmingham, Alabama. He was the only child of a Baptist Minister, Reverend Smitherman Otis C., and his wife Mrs. Alberta. It is said that from a young age, Dr. Smitherman would often tinker with things, an innovator in the making. He went on to graduate from Tuskegee University with a Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Chemistry. While at Tuskegee University, Dr. Smitherman met his wife Barbara Smitherman. After graduation, he taught at Texas Southern University before a two-year stint in the United States Army after which he enrolled at Howard University to pursue his Ph.D in physical organic chemistry.
Dr. Herbert C. Smitherman Sr. made history at Proctor & Gamble in 1966, when he became the first Black person hired there with a Doctorate degree. He was instrumental in Proctor & Gamble’s growth because of his innovation, and during his 29 years working at the company developed patterns for improving the formulas for products such as Crest toothpaste, Safeguard soap, Bounce fabric softener, Crush soda, Folgers Coffee, and Biz detergent. His innovations were crucial to propelling the success of these products. Some of the patents he developed while at Proctor & Gamble were featured in the ‘America I AM: The African American Imprint’ exhibit at the Cincinnati Center, which then moved to the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts Culture in Charlotte, North Carolina. In addition, one of his patents for the toothpaste formula has been cited by 31 other patents, showing how his work has aided other scientists.
Dr. Smitherman was also instrumental in recruiting more minority undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. science, chemistry, and chemical engineering students for Proctor & Gamble. This was through a number of recruitment programs such as summer programs to invite college students to work at Proctor & Gamble. A lot of the Black chemists and chemical engineering students were hired in the ’70s & 80’s thanks to these various recruitment programs. Dr. Smitherman helped to establish the Black Technical Ph.D. Group at Proctor & Gamble that advocated for Black scientists and engineers to be awarded, paid, and promoted for their contributions. He wanted to help create a national program that supported Black chemists and engineers, and this led to him helping in the establishment of the National Organization for Black chemists and chemical engineers (NOBCCHE). NOBCCHE aims to push collaboration and professionalism among Black chemists and chemical engineers. Through NOBCCHE, Proctor & Gamble awarded the first scholarship to a Black Ph.D. candidate, and this program is still awarding scholarships to aspiring Ph.D. chemical engineers and chemists.
After working for 29 years at Proctor & Gamble, Dr. Smitherman left and returned to working in education. He worked for four years as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and a Chemistry professor, at Wilberforce University, and continued to work for Cincinnati Public schools between 2000-2009. Dr. Smitherman wanted to inspire and encourage the youth to pursue an education and career in STEM and played an important role in establishing a Saturday enrichment program at two Cincinnati inner-city schools. As part of the program, scientists and mathematicians from local industries would volunteer.
Dr. Smitherman passed away in October 2010 and is survived by his wife and 5 children. He was a true pioneer and worked tirelessly to break down barriers for future Black chemists and scientists. He has changed the lives of many not only through his innovation, but also through his dedication to making sure that other people’s dreams of being in STEM are realized. He made sure that he was not the last Black person with a doctorate at Proctor & Gamble, and broke down barriers for Black chemists and chemical engineers. His impact and legacy will not be forgotten.
Dr. Herbert Charles Smitherman Sr: The Jackie Robinson of Proctor & Gamble - Amplify Africa
Have you used Crest toothpaste recently? Or Bounce fabric softener? Then the name Dr. Herbert Charles Smitherman Sr. is one you should know. Dr. Smitherman Sr. was a chemist and the first Black person with a Doctorate level degree to be employed at Proctor & Gamble. During his time at Proctor &...
www.amplifyafrica.org
Health Mar 9, 2016 11:07 AM EST
Born Rebecca Davis in Delaware on February 8, 1831, she grew up in Pennsylvania, where her aunt provided care for the ill.
A bright girl, Rebecca attended a prestigious private school, the West-Newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts, as a “special student.” In 1852, she moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, and worked as a nurse. In 1860, she took the bold step of applying to medical school and was accepted into the New England Female Medical College.
The New England Female Medical College was based in Boston and attached to the New England Hospital for Women and Children. It was founded by Drs. Israel Tisdale Talbot and Samuel Gregory in 1848 and accepted its first class, of 12 women, in 1850. From its inception, many male physicians derided the institution, complaining that women lacked the physical strength to practice medicine; others insisted that not only were women incapable of mastering a medical curriculum and that many of the topics taught were inappropriate for their “sensitive and delicate nature.”
Fortunately, Drs. Talbot and Gregory ignored such false claims and organized a school that required “a good English education,” a “thesis on some medical subject,” and a set of courses on the theory and practice of medicine, materia medica, chemistry and therapeutics, anatomy, medical jurisprudence, obstetrics and diseases of women and children, and physiology and hygiene. The coursework was 17 weeks in length (30 or more hours per week) during the first year of instruction. Following this was a two-year preceptorship, or apprenticeship, under an established physician’s supervision.
In 1864, Rebecca became the New England Female Medical College’s only African-American graduate (the school closed its doors in 1873.) A few statistics help put her remarkable achievement in perspective. In 1860, there were only 300 women out of 54,543 physicians in the United States and none of them were African-American. Some historians have wondered if Rebecca even knew of her status as “the first” given that for many decades in the 20th century that credit was awarded to Dr. Rebecca Cole, an African-American woman who received her medical degree from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1867. The first “historically black” medical school in the U.S., the Howard University College of Medicine, would not open until 1868. As late as 1920, there were only 65 African-American women doctors in the United States.
Around the time of her graduation, Rebecca married for the second time. (Her first marriage to Wyatt Lee, from 1852 to 1863, ended with his death in 1863.) In 1864, she married Arthur Crumpler. Rebecca began a medical practice in Boston.
Crumpler’s text, “A Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts,” was published in 1883.
After the end of the Civil War in 1865, the Crumplers moved to Richmond, Virginia, where, to use her own words, she found “the proper field for real missionary work, and one that would present ample opportunities to become acquainted with the diseases of women and children.” Rebecca worked under the aegis of General Orlando Brown, the Assistant Commissioner of the Freedman’s Bureau for the State of Virginia. The Freedman’s Bureau was the federal agency charged with helping more than 4,000,000 slaves make the stunning transition from bondage to freedom. In Richmond, Rebecca valiantly ignored daily episodes of racism, rude behavior, and sexism from her colleagues, pharmacists, and many others, in order to treat, as she later wrote, “a very large number of the indigent, and others of different classes, in a population of over 30,000 colored.”
In 1869, the Crumplers returned to Boston and they settled in a predominantly African-American neighborhood on Beacon Hill. She practiced medicine there, as well. In 1880, she and her husband moved, once again, this time to Hyde Park, New York. Although there exists little evidence that she practiced much medicine after this point, she did write a fine book, “A Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts,” which was published by Cashman, Keating and Co., of Boston, in 1883.
The book is divided, as the title implies, into two sections. The first part focuses on “treating the cause, prevention, and cure of infantile bowel complaints, from birth to the close of the teething period, or after the fifth year.” The second section contains “miscellaneous information concerning the life and growth of beings; the beginning of womanhood; also, the cause, prevention, and cure of many of the most distressing complaints of women, and youth of both sexes.” The volume, which may well be the first medical text by an African-American author, is dedicated “to mothers, nurses, and all who may desire to mitigate the afflictions of the human race.”
Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler died on March 9, 1895, in Hyde Park.
On this anniversary of her death, let us applaud her courage, perseverance and pioneering achievements. She is an inspiration to all who face adversity, seek diversity, and forge the path forward. Her passion “to mitigate the afflictions of the human race” was Rebecca’s gift and historic legacy.
Editor’s note: The headline has been updated to reflect that Crumpler was the first African-American woman physician, not African-American physician. It has also been updated to correct Arthur Crumpler’s occupation; he was not a physician.
Celebrating Rebecca Lee Crumpler, first African-American woman physician
Today we celebrate the life of Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the first African-American woman physician in the United States. On this anniversary of her death, let us applaud her courage, perseverance and pioneering achievements. Her passion “to mitigate the afflictions of the human race” was Rebecca’s...
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