Virginians :Why Hillary Clinton is not African-American women first choice

This article is for the brothas who do not understand African-American women not automatically choosing Hillary Clinton. If brothas did not get it when hillary told all America that it is raced white people who got African-Americans their civil rightsthey should have got it when Bill suggested that the media needed to go after Obama and stop making Hillary cry. This was enough to bring out the first wave, out of the kitchen women voters for Hilliary and fuel the fire in the belly of the second wave women libbers, and confuse the genderless third wave women activists. But many of the African-Americans women have not forgotten Anita Hill..and her treatment by raced white women to push raced white women agenda.

“The [African-American] woman has occupied a unique if unenviable position in the United States. Historically she has borne the weight of inferior status ad prejudice derived from her [gender] as well as her color.” Treated as less than human, viewed as servant and not quite woman, but a breeder of enslaved children. Unlike raced white women, laws were not created to protect her as the better half of mankind. Although the African-American female suffered humiliate right along with the African-American male, and fought to secure his freedom, she was relegated to remain in her counter part male shadow. But not willing to remain behind, the African-American women had to step from the shadows and seek her own protection for her existence within the society that had casted her simply as invisible.

Through their experience as an African-American and a woman, African-American women have the special role of identifying with two oppressed group. Thus naturally, African-American women essence was more inclusive of others than the other two groups. African-Americans women related to both raced white females and African-American males. The African-American woman understood the African-American man had only been elevated up from slave to the stagnate role of servant. And with that understanding, that the African-American male was settling for less than full citizenship when compared to the raced white woman citizenship, African-Americans would be second class citizens.

African-American women would not settles for being a footstool for raced white women or African-American males.

Through this struggle, of existing in the shadow of both raced white women and African-Americans males,, African-American women were able to craft a political agenda that would meet the future needs of all African-American. In getting there, she had to overcome both race and gender, cby reating some political independent women, “By whatever unstated, immeasurable, invisible standards the American people applied to candidates for Congress, women have seldom been their choice.”

If this was true for raced white women, African-American women were never to be considered a part of the political equation. Three women spoke to the power of African-American women expressing their opinions. In doing so, speaks to the shaping of the history of African-American women in their contributions to the history of America.

Shirley Chisholm-inclusion--outsider- fought for immigrants' right to become citizens and to participant in the electoral process through democracy..a vote for the people by the people. Chisholm, a child of immigrants, in 1968 became the first African-American woman to serve in Congress, served seven terms. Chisholm saw that the political powers were not in recognition of the interest of the people. Chisholm ran on a platform created by the people and for the people by not following the procedure for entering the political arena. Chisholm credibility was established by staying connected to the people and not by who she knew. Chisholm remained with the people as an outsider. In 1972, she ran as the first African-American and African-American woman for President, a hundred years after the first raced white woman, Victoria Woodhull.

Barbara Jordan—diversity inclusion through the Constitution amendment
Jordan believed in the Constitution. Jordan's rally cry was in gratitude for the amendment of the Constitution. The amendment that allowed her to fully participate as a citizen. Jordan had something to contribute in the political and private sphere as an African-American born in the United States. Jordan believed that the constitution laws were color blind and that they applied to all Americans and should be enforced and upheld. Believing so, we was confronted to its greatest challenge, to impeach the former President of the United States, Richard Nixon. In doing so, reaffirmed the rock solid foundation in which the Constitution was drafted for all the people.

Lani Gunier-Dialogue-understanding the meaning of the voting right act purpose. The voting right act purpose was beyond having access to the ballot box. It would provide enough votes to elect African-Americans to political office. Once in political office these individuals would have an insider view in changing the laws that continue to support the exclusion of African-Americans from fully enjoying citizen rights. The voting right act of 1965 would serve a higher purpose than access to the ballot box to elect African-American candidates, it could used to influences legislature to improve the lives of African-Americans by electing those candidates who supported such interests. The interest of African-Americans included so many others.

The ability to influence lawmakers would be through political mobilization of voters creating a majority that supported African-Americans interest. A convergent of an interest group would have the ability to offset the tradition majority rule that excluded so many. This would be a group organized around interest that impact others beyond race.

Gunier, was an African-American Jewish academia who made her argument among her peers for the inclusion of the people who she had earlier represented. Academia encouraged her ideas, however, when her ideas for empowered African-Americans in the public arena, Gunier was silenced, by her long time friend, former President Bill Clinton. Gunier learned that in spite of her academic and professional accomplishment she was discredited as being on the fringe and not part of mainstream for standing up for what she believed in. The price is steep, but the African-American history never said it would be easy.

Read more on gender and race debate here

H/T to Blacksmythe

Also read Read Dr.Marc LamontHill post, February 8, 2008
Why Black Women Don’t Support Hillary

Henry Gates at IPFW Omnibus Lecture Series

IPFW Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and the Omnibus Lecture Series at Indiana Purdue University Fort Wayne during Black History presents Henry Louis Gates, Jr to the local community. Gates lecture is entitled, Genealogy and Genetics and the African-American Experience . Gates was born on Sept. 16, 1950, is a scholar, college teacher, critic, writer and chairperson read more about Gates below.

From the IPFW Website:

Henry Louis Gates Jr, one of the United States’ most influential cultural critics, is both an eloquent commentator and formidable intellectual force on multicultural and African American issues. He is widely acknowledged for taking African American studies beyond the ideological bent of the 1970s and 80s black power movement, and bringing it into a scholarly sphere that is the equivalent to all other disciplines. He is currently the W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Humanities and the director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Studies at Harvard University.

In 1997, Gates was named one of Time magazine’s “25 most influential Americans.” He is a prolific writer who has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited several books and written numerous articles. His books include Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man and The Future of the Race with co-author and Princeton professor Cornell West. His articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Time, The New Republic, and The New York Times. Gates is also the editor of Transition magazine, an international review of African, Carribean, and African American politics.

In 2006, he wrote and produced the PBS documentary African American Lives, the first documentary series to employ genealogy and science to provide an understanding of African American history. His current projects include a sequel to African American Lives, as well as a documentary titled Finding Oprah’s Roots, where he expands on one of the most popular individuals featured in African American Lives.

Gates’ honors and grants include a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” and the George Polk Award for Social Commentary, a national humanities medal. Gates has also received more than 40 honorary degrees.


African DNA
African Ancestored Genealogy

Family Treemaker

African DNA
project

Who Is Christopher Riley?

Christopher Riley, you will never forget him. Riley is focused and committed. Riley serves as Coordinator of Student Success and Multicultural Affairs at IPFW: Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. When you meet Riley, he is extremely attentive and committed to getting things done. Committed, it may appeare to be an overused word, but when you meet Riley, who is currently serving as co-chair of the Fort Wayne-Allen County #3049 Freedom Fund Banquet, the word fits him like a tee.

Obama's Kenya Grandmother tells Obama to keep trying

(AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

Obama's Kenya village looks to US vote by Katy Pownall, Associated Press Writer, writes:

"KOGELO, Kenya — Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother listened to primary election results under the shade of a mango tree, none too bothered to learn that the U.S. presidential contender was neck-and-neck with his chief rival..." Re/ad more click here

First Tiger Wood now Lewis Hamilton

Yeah, I told you about the shutterbuggers bugging Tiger, but now we got folks messing with Lewis Hamilton. Of course, I am not a racing fan and faintly heard of Hamilton but that's not the point. Read the story over at the afrospear think tank.



"Lewis Hamilton told today of his torment after being subjected to racist abuse as he tested his new Formula One car in Spain.
Fans at Barcelona’s Montmelo circuit shouted “black s***”, “black whore” and “f****** blacks” whenever the British driver, 23, made a pit stop.
Several others mocked him by wearing black make-up and wigs.
Hamilton, a hate […]"

History of black voting rights-when we vote we win

Excerpt from History of black voting rights

"Political Parties

The Democratic Party had become the dominant political party in America in the 1820s, [30] and in May 1854, in response to the strong pro-slavery positions of the Democrats, several anti-slavery Members of Congress formed an anti-slavery party – the Republican Party. [31] It was founded upon the principles of equality originally set forth in the governing documents of the Republic. In an 1865 publication documenting the history of black voting rights, Philadelphia attorney John Hancock confirmed that the Declaration of Independence set forth “equal rights to all. It contains not a word nor a clause regarding color. Nor is there any provision of the kind to be found in the Constitution of the United States.” [32]

The original Republican platform in 1856 had only nine planks – six of which were dedicated to ending slavery and securing equal rights for African-Americans. [33] The Democratic platform of that year took an opposite position and defended slavery, even warning that “all efforts of the abolitionists [those opposed to slavery]. . . are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences and . . . diminish the happiness of the people and endanger the stability and permanency of the Union.” [34] The next Democratic platform (1860) endorsed both the Fugitive Slave Law and the Dred Scott decision; [35] Democrats even distributed copies of the Dred Scott ruling to justify their anti-black positions. [36]"

Read the whole article here

Super Tuesday-Tour of Selma Voting Right Museum

http://selmavotingrightsmuseum.org/


http://www.aclu.org/votingrights/

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/intro/intro_b.htm

http://www.civilrights.org/issues/voting/


Not another George Bush..defective touch screen voting machines may be hanging out in your community.

College Goal Sunday and FAFSA

Wane.com Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) is one of 36 sites statewide to host College Goal Sunday 2008. College Goal SundaySM is a charitable program of the Indiana Student Financial Aid Association (ISFAA) that provides free information and assistance to Indiana families filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

This year's event is Sunday, Feb. 17, beginning at 2 p.m. in the lobby of Neff Hall. Gerald Curd, associate director of IPFW's financial aid office, says financial aid professionals walk through the online FAFSA line-by-line and are available to answer families' individual questions. This year, select sites offer FAFSA online capabilities and Spanish interpreters. To locate that information, visit www.CollegeGoalSunday.org.

These Women are more powerful than Hillary

Hillary and Bill it tis a little scary, checking out the number of bodies that are falling out for Obama. Michelle, Carolyn, Maria (Oprah's neighbor) and Oprah on the same team is a force to be reckon with. It seems like Bill, (my soul brotha )playing the saxophone is just a little of the you can fool some of the people some of the times, but not all the people all the times.

Tiger Woods wins Dubai Classic under par 65

Photo by Peter Dixon

Even Tiger Woods can't believe he is as good as he is, it seems. The Press Association quotes Woods as saying,"[i]t is about playing well at the right times and getting lucky and having everything going your way."

Tigers calls a win an element of luck, when in fact, Woods is just simply the best, better than all the rest. Woods got skills!!!!!

Mark Soltau of Tiger Woods webpage writes:

"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Tiger Woods knew he had to do something special on the back nine Sunday to win the Dubai Desert Classic. And that's just what the top-ranked Woods did, blazing a 6-under-par 31 capped by birdies at 17 and 18 to register a stirring one-stroke victory over Martin Kaymer of Germany.

Woods, who began the final round tied for fifth, four strokes behind Ernie Els, received a little help at the end. Needing a birdie to force a playoff, Els knocked his second shot in the water at the par-5 18th hole and settled for third place.

'It was a pretty neat finish,'said Woods, who closed with a 7-under-par 65 at Emirates Golf Club and finished at 14-under 274. 'I thought I had to shoot 30 on the back nine to win it.'

It marked the fifth-consecutive stroke play win and seven triumph in the last eight starts for Woods, who previously won this event in 2006, and is only the second player (Els) to win it more than once. Woods earned $416,660 for the victory.

He is also 2-0 in 2008, capturing last week's Buick Invitational by eight strokes. It's the third time in his career he has begun the season with two-straight victories.

'It's an ideal start,' Woods said. 'I just go out there and play to win.'

Wood has now won 72 tournaments world-wide, including 62 on the PGA Tour.

His chances didn't look good Sunday after a three-putt bogey at the ninth hole. But Woods regrouped with a birdie at 10, chipped in for birdie at 12, made a short birdie at 13, then drained a 15-foot putt for another at 14.

After parring 15 and 16, Woods ripped a driver just left of the green at the short par-4 17th, then nestled a sand wedge nine feet behind the hole. He made the birdie putt to climb into the lead at 13-under.

With Els playing several groups behind, Woods figured he needed at least one more birdie to hold him off. After a nice tee shot, Woods went for the green with a 5-wood and got a touch unlucky when the ball rolled through the green and hung up just above a back bunker.

'I just absolutely flushed it,' he said of his second shot, a high fade that wouldn't hold the firm green. "'I thought it was going to be perfect but it flew even further than I thought.'

Faced with an awkward stance that forced him to place one foot in the bunker and choke down on his sand wedge, Woods caught the ball a little heavy out of the thick grass and left it 25 feet above the hole.

'I could easily chip the ball it in the water,' said Woods. 'You have to make your mistake short.'

Woods didn't take much time on the birdie putt, a slick, downhill slider from left-to-right. The putt looked good from the start and disappeared into the center of the cup, Woods pumping his right fist. It was the third time in four days he birdied the 18th hole.

Woods also felt sympathy for Els, having hit his second shot into the water at 18 on Saturday.

'I did the same thing,' he said. 'If you up-shoot it in the wind, it kills it.'

Tiger felt sympathy for Els, hell who felt sympathy for Tiger with all the shutter bugs flashes shots messing up his concentration. No excuses, Tiger you won fair and square.

Women battling for civil rights-Amelia Boynton Robinson and Marie Foster

Voices of the Struggle

Women don't just sit with their arms folded and watch their children get beat down, sistahs in the struggle, Amelia Boynton Robinsonand Marie Foster having her say.

A place to never forget, Selma, Alabama.

Superman-John Lewis, the Freedom Rider

Mountain get out of the way..Congressman John Lewis is fire!!

Never forget

Feed the Hungry-Reverend Hosea Williams, Sr.

Feed the hungry food for the mind.

A Goode yesterday and A Goode today

Sarah Goode was the first African American women to receive a U.S. patent. Patent #322,177 was issued on July 14, 1885 for a cabinet bed. Sarah Goode was the owner of a Chicago furniture store. Below you can view the patent issued to Sarah Goode.

According to Black Inventors website, "Her claim to fame is that she was the first Black Woman to receive a patent.

In an effort to help people maximize their limited space, Goode invented a Folding Cabinet Bed. The Cabinet Bed when folded up resembled a desk which included compartments for stationary and writing instruments. Goode received her patent on July 14, 1885."








Preston Goode, formerly of Gosport, is celebrating his 106th birthday today, Thursday, Nov. 29, at a Camden nursing facility.

Goode lived on a farm in Mobile until 1934 when he moved to Gosport. "There was no work in Mobile. I was not making any money. I was raised on a farm and I figured I could raise something, so I moved to the country to farm.

"In 1935 I didn't have the land to raise cotton so I farmed another man's land and raised bale cotton. Back then they came out with a stamp you had to have to sell cotton. The man had a stamp to sell the cotton and he was supposed to give me half of his allotment, but he only gave me a little bit. I went to Grove Hill to the to the office and asked them to give me a stamp to sell my allotment. They made the man give me more of his allotment. That made him mad so he wouldn't let me farm his land any more. The next year Mr. Gordon of Grove Hill let me raise a bale of cotton on the Rayborn field," Goode said.

Goode and his wife, Autherine Berries, were married in 1927 and lived happily together for 55 years before she died.

"We didn't have no problems. We got along together good. I was working and she was saving. She saved and cooked and didn't waste nothing. I missed her very much when she died," he said.

Goode said he enjoyed farming and contiued to farm until he was too disbaled to perform the work. He also loved to fish and hunt. "I've done a lot of fishing. I've got rods and reels hanging on the walls in my house in Gosport. I used to fish at the Claiborne Lock and Dam until my knees got too bad to make it down the rocks.

"I loved to hunt. I killed coons, possums and turkeys. I had a lot of turkey callers."

Goode provided the first "bus" for black school children in Clarke County. He began providing them with transportation in 1947.

"I carried a lot of children to school. Some of them from the first grade until they graduated the 12th grade."

Scott Wims' track star Wall paper lift as you climb

To get Scott Wims' Wallpaper click here. To read more about Wims click here and here And if you feel like singing after reading, click on the youtube below:

Carter Godwin Woodson- Black History Month 2008

In honor of our Ancestors, I will start with the father of Black History, Carter Godwin Woodson.


"Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history." Carter Godwin Woodson 1875-1950.

No record of what their forebears have accomplished...



lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching




of biography and history.


Attention Deficit

Get Inspired Black History happens every day.

From the NAACP website:

"These are the words of Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, distinguished Black author, editor, publisher, and historian (December 1875 - April 1950). Carter G. Woodson believed that Blacks should know their past in order to participate intelligently in the affairs in our country. He strongly believed that Black history - which others have tried so diligently to erase - is a firm foundation for young Black Americans to build on in order to become productive citizens of our society.

Known as the "Father of Black History," Carter G. Woodson holds an outstanding position in early 20th century American history. Woodson authored numerous scholarly books on the positive contributions of Blacks to the development of America. He also published many magazine articles analyzing the contributions and role of Black Americans. He reached out to schools and the general public through the establishment of several key organizations and founded Negro History Week (precursor to Black History Month). His message was that Blacks should be proud of their heritage and that other Americans should also understand it.

Carter G. Woodson was born in New Canton, Buckingham County, Virginia, to former slaves Anne Eliza (Riddle) and James Henry Woodson. Although his parents could neither read nor write, Carter G. Woodson credits his father for influencing the course of his life. His father, he later wrote, insisted that "learning to accept insult, to compromise on principle, to mislead your fellow man, or to betray your people, is to lose your soul."

His father supported the family on his earnings as a carpenter. As one of a large and poor family, young Carter G. Woodson was brought up without the "ordinary comforts of life." He was not able to attend school during much of its five-month term because helping on the farm took priority over a formal education. Determined not to be defeated by this setback, Carter was able "largely by self-instruction to master the fundamentals of common school subjects by the time he was seventeen." Ambitious for more education, Carter and his brother Robert Henry moved to Huntington, West Virginia, where they hoped to attend the Douglass High School. However, Carter was forced to earn his living as a miner in Fayette County coal fields and was able to devote only a few months each year to his schooling. In 1895, a twenty-year-old Carter entered Douglass High School, where he received his diploma in less than two years.

From 1897 to 1900, Carter G. Woodson began teaching in Winona, Fayette County. In 1900, he returned to Huntington to become the principal of Douglass H.S.; he finally received his Bachelor of Literature degree from Berea College, Kentucky. From 1903 to 1907, he was a school supervisor in the Philippines. Later he traveled throughout Europe and Asia and studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 1908, he received his M.A. from the University of Chicago, and in 1912, he received his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University.

During his lifetime, Dr. Woodson developed an important philosophy of history. History, he insisted, was not the mere gathering of facts. The object of historical study is to arrive at a reasonable interpretation of the facts. History is more than political and military records of peoples and nations. It must include some description of the social conditions of the period being studied.

Woodson's work endures in the institutions and activities he founded and promoted. In 1915, he and several friends in Chicago established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The following year, the Journal of Negro History appeared, one of the oldest learned journals in the United States. In 1926, he developed Negro History Week and in 1937 published the first issue of the Negro History Bulletin.

Dr. Woodson often said that he hoped the time would come when Negro History Week would be unnecessary; when all Americans would willingly recognize the contributions of Black Americans as a legitimate and integral part of the history of this country. Dr. Woodson's outstanding historical research influenced others to carry on his work. Among these have been such noted historians as John Hope Franklin, Charles Wesley, and Benjamin Quarles. Whether it's called Black history, Negro history, Afro-American history, or African American history, his philosophy has made the study of Black history a legitimate and acceptable area of intellectual inquiry. Dr. Woodson's concept has given a profound sense of dignity to all Black Americans.

2008 Black History Month Theme:
Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism

Books By Dr. Woodson
THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO PRIOR TO 1861: A HISTORY OF THE EDUCATION OF THE COLORED PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE BEGINNING OF SLAVERY TO THE CIVIL WAR. New York: Putnam's, 1915. Repr. Ayer Co., 1968 LC2741.W7
A CENTURY OF NEGRO MIGRATION. Washington, D.C.: ASNLH., 1918. Repr. Russell, 1969. E185.9.W89
THE HISTORY OF THE NEGRO CHURCH. Washington, D.C.: Associated Publishers, 1921. BR563.N9W6
THE NEGRO IN OUR HISTORY. Washington, D.C.: Associated Publishers, 1922. E185.9 .W89 1970
FREE NEGRO OWNERS OF SLAVES IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1830: TOGETHER WITH ABSENTEE OWNERSHIP OF SLAVES IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1830, ed. Washington: ASNLH., 1924; Repr. Negro Univ. Press. E185.W8873
FREE NEGRO HEADS OF FAMILIES IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1830: TOGETHER WITH BRIEF TREATMENT OF THE FREE NEGRO. Washington: ASNLH., 1925. F185.W887125
NEGRO ORATORS AND THEIR ORATIONS, ed. Washington: Associated Publishers, 1926. Repr. Russell, 1969. PS663.N4.W6
THE MIND OF THE NEGRO AS REFLECTED IN LETTERS WRITTEN DURING THE CRISIS, 1800-1860, ed. Washington: ASNLH., 1926. Repr. E185.W8877 1969b
NEGRO MAKERS OF HISTORY. Washington: Associated Publishers, 1928. E185.W85
AFRICAN MYTHS TOGETHER WITH PROVERBS: A SUPPLEMENTARY READER COMPOSED OF FOLK TALES FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF AFRICA. Adapted to use of children in the public schools. Washington: Associated Publishers, 1928. PE1127.G4 W7
THE NEGRO AS A BUSINESSMAN, joint author with John H. Harmon, Jr. and Arnett G. Lindsay. Washington: Associated Publishers, 1929. E185.8.H251
THE NEGRO WAGE EARNER, joint author with Lorenzo J. Greene. Washington: ASNLH., 1930. Repr. AMS Press. E185.G79
THE RURAL NEGRO. Washington: ASNLH., 1930. Repr. Russell, 1969. E185.86.W896
THE MIS-EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO. Washington: Associated Publishers, 1933. Repr. AMS Press, 1972. LC2801.W6 1977
THE NEGRO PROFESSIONAL MAN AND THE COMMUNITY: WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE PHYSICIAN AND THE LAWYER. Washington: ASNLH., 1934 Repr. Negro University Press, 1969. Johnson Reprints E185.82.W88
THE STORY OF THE NEGRO RETOLD. Washington: Association Publishers, 1935. E185.W898
THE AFRICAN BACKGROUND OUTLINED. Washington: ASNLH., 1936. DT351.W89
AFRICAN HEROES AND HEROINES. Washington: Associated Publishers, 1939. DT3525.W66 "



Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism

Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Ida Barnett Wells was born during slavery and lived during the emancipating of enslaved African-American. Wells witnessed the birth of Jim Crow laws instituted to prevent African-Americans for what Abraham Lincoln stated about African-American, "free but not equal" under the separate but equal doctrine. As an educated woman she discovered that would not protect an African-American woman from being manhandled by raced white men. During Wells time period she experienced the silence on the intersectional position of being both an African-American and a woman. Click here to read more.

Al Sharpton

Once again I was going to write about Ida Wells. But. Who could not stop and chuckling when hearing that good old Dixiecrat,Strom Thurmond's ancestors may have or did enslave some of the ancestors of Al Sharpton. What does it mean, ask Black Professor website? Read more click here.

The Press-During World War II

I wanted to write about Ida Wells today, but found this instead, its about the Negro Bulletin. The article The black press: setting the political agenda during World War II - African Americans and World War II is written by Charles G. Spellman with additional information on the black press. I will read it later. To Read more Click here

CREDO FOR THE NEGRO PRESS

I Shall Be A Crusader...

I Shall Be An Advocate...

I Shall Be A Herald...

I Shall Be A Mirror And A Record...

I Shall Have Integrity...

I Shall be a crusader and an advocate, a mirror and a record, a herald and a spotlight, and I Shall not falter.

So help me God.

The Credo, wrtten by Journal and Guide editor P. Bernard Young, Jr. represents a declaration to provide truth, honesty, and service to the black community. When the Credo was written, the black press was the sole "Voice of the Negro." As a crusader, the black press fought vigorously for Negro rights. As an advocate, the black press fought vigorously to ban "Jim Crow" laws which legally sanctioned segregation. As a herald, the black press was the bearer of both good and bad news, always heralding those causes that others would suppress out of bias or perceived lack of interest.

The black press gained its respectful reputation for being the "Voice of the Negro" in the early days of segregation and unconscionable discrimination. African Americans were often negatively depicted in the white media. The negative images were reflective of the perceptions held by many whites, resulting in the development of the advocacy movement by the black press.

In the early years of the black presence in America, access to the white press was denied to the "Negro." As a result, African Americans founded their own newspapers. In 1827, Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm established the first black newpaper, Freedom's Journal writing in an editorial:

"We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations in the things which concern us dearly."

Although Cornish and Russwurm were primarily concerned with negative aspects of the colonization of free African Americans and the gradualism of emancipation as advocated by the white press, they addressed many issues of concern to their readership. From this auspicious beginning, the black press became the primary voice for information and journalistic expression in the black community. That role remained a key one up to and during World War II.

When the war began, the news and information needs of the black community increased. The absence of news about African Americans in the segregated white media inspired additional coverage by the black press. As the only means of constant mass communication information particularly relevant to the African American, the black press assumed the awesome responsibility of relating the activities of the war to its readership. As reporting increased, so did newspaper circulation. Since the primary news of interest to African Americans appeared in the black press, it reached its peak circulation during the war years. The Pittsburgh Courier had a circulation of 350,000; the Chicago Defender, 230,000; the Baltimore Afro-American, 170,000 and the Norfolk Journal and Guide, 100,000.

The black press enhanced the political awareness of its readership during World War II while mobilizing black public opinion. As America went to war to fight against Nazism and Fascism abroad, the black press formulated a political agenda at home. Theoretically, "the [black] press did not tell its readership what to think; it told its readership what to think about."

The black press reported vital information that increased awareness about war activities and black participation in the armed services. As significant political information about the state of black affairs in the Armed Services was gathered and reported in the black press, black opinion leaders emerged. Ministers, politicians and community leaders were responsible conduits for spreading the word about the war. Consequently, government, political, social, and wartime issues were covered with great care. Important issues concerning the acceptance of African Americans in the armed forces, the types of jobs African Americans would have in the armed forces, the treatment of African Americans in the Armed forces, and whether or not African Americans would be allowed the "right to fight" for their country were among the most important issues covered.

What emerges from the analysis of news coverage is a composite picture of a black press that generally supported the involvement and participation of African Americans in the war effort. For example, the Afro-American Newspaper, based in Baltimore, Maryland, led the way. In an editorial entitled 'We Are For War," September 16, 1939, the editors provided the following reasons for supporting the war:

1. The War would stimulate black migration to the Northern industrial states, a benefit to the race,

2. The War would mean eventual freedom for African Americans, and

3. African Americans were against Hitler because of his race hatred of Jews.

In a strategic move, the press began to look carefully at the Nazi situation, comparing Nazism to racism. It was concluded that there was little difference between the two. Although Hitler had not been guilty of oppressing African Americans, his hatred of Jews sent a clear message that Nazism and racism were based upon similar principles. One black newspaper, The Pittsburgh Courier provided a detailed analysis of Nazism and racism by comparing Germany and Georgia. It suggested that the only difference between the two was that Germany was planning to do what the South had already done. This vivid comparison caught the attention of the black press readership, mainly because "Negroes" had been so negatively affected by racism.

As the black press continued to address issues of concern to the black community, its role and function began to crystalize. It becomes clear, through editorial analysis, that the black press was a "team player." While some editorials justly questioned the segregationist and discriminatory policies of the military, a sampling of messages disseminated through the black press about the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor reveals substantial support by the black press for the nation's war effort.

For example, the December 11, 1941 edition of the Savannah Tribune declared "The Black Tenth is ready," referring to the 10% black population, but wondered whether the country would let African Americans fight. The December 13, 1941 edition of The Afro-American headlined 'Mr. President, Count on Us;' "Strongly proclaims an allegiance to America" appeared as a headline in the December 18, 1941 edition of the Chicago Bee. One of the strongest statements appeared in the California Eagle. The editorial vowed that the newspaper would "Continue to fight against segregation and discrimination but indicated that it would also emphasize citizenship duties since quasi-democracy in America was superior to Fascism and therefore Nazism." As the war progressed, so did the vigilant news gathering and reporting efforts of the black press. Issue oriented messages were regularly sent to a large, disenchanted black audience anxious for information about their friends, relatives and loved ones.

A primary concern to the audience of the black press was the unequal treatment of African Americans in the military. Although abhorrent social conditions related to inequality at home garnered much of the national news, the black press was also instrumental in seeking military justice for soldiers. As wartime casualties increased, so did the numbers of black men and women soldiers. As the number of soldiers increased so did the number of complaints about social injustices. Many were stationed in southern towns where race relations were at best poor. Many of the young men and women were from the North and had not experienced the "Jim Crow" laws they were subjected to upon their arrival. Soon, the black newspapers published stories detailing the complaints of soldiers. Selected opinion leaders were motivated to action after reading the complaints, focusing on the segregationist policies of the military and seeking social justice for the troops. Titles of selected articles appearing in the black press clearly document some of the concerns and issues:

"The Army's policy of racial segregation," Chicago Defender, April 18, 1942

"Military justice," Pittsburgh Courier, December 11, 1943

"Will They try to Discredit Our G.I.s?" New York Amsterdam News, December 2, 1944

"Wacs who staged a strike to protest discriminatory treatment and hostility directed at them," The Afro-American, March 31, 1945; Pittsburgh Courier, March 24, 1945.

Rather than suppress these politically oriented issues about the conditions affecting the lives of black soldiers at home and abroad, the black press chose to aggressively pursue and report all the news, whether good or bad.

On the home front, one of the most significant issues was "the fight for the right to fight." This struggle evolved because of the armed services practice that clearly restricted the use of Negroes in combat missions. Justifications for the practice were the Negroes perceived inability to fight, the impression that Negroes were afraid to fight based on their performance in World War I, and the fear that Negroes could not be trusted with weapons. As a result, the armed services developed a practice to only employ African Americans in menial service jobs behind the lines. The practice relegated black soldiers to a degraded status and further perpetuated their status as second class citizens.

The "right to fight" campaign was supremely important to the cause of equality. To be successful, the fight for the "right to fight" campaign needed wide coverage. The editors of blakc newspapers concluded that a positive record of combat service would significantly further the cause of the African American's civil rights. The editors also wisely concluded that "full equality" could not be achieved for African Americans without a combat record that showed black contributions to the war effort. With this goal, the editors of the black press began to write stories reflecting the right to fight campaign strategy.

To further emphasize the necessity for the success of the "right to fight," the November 27, 1943 edition of the Journal and Guide highlighted the importance of black soldiers being allowed to fight in combat units. "If Negroes didn't fight on the front lines and stayed behind the lines, it could be reasoned that they were not fully entitled to their full share of the fruits of society."
The idea of African Americans actually fighting in combat situations was not received well nor fully accepted. However, the task of the black press was to convince its readership that full participation in the war effort, including combat, would eventually pave the road to freedom, justice and equality. The black press also had to show its readership that World War II was not just a "white man's war." Without black participation in the war effort, losing the war abroad could mean absolute defeat at home. What emerged from this strategic thinking was a struggle for victory on two fronts: victory at home and victory overseas. The double "V" victory struggle became a cause celebrated by the black press. The official campaign was named "The Double V Campaign." For readers of the black press this campaign slogan meant there could be no victory at home without a victory against the Axis powers abroad.

None of the accomplishments of the black press would have been possible without the help of black correspondents who were information gatheres and writers. Most messages and articles were processed through a government censor to make certain vital classified information was not revealed. Even so, the right and need to know about the war effort was significantly enhanced by the presence of black war correspondents. The Pittsburgh Courier, The Afro-American, Chicago Defender, and the Norfolk Journal and Guide had foreign correspondents. The National Negro Publishers Association and the Associated Negro Press filed sotries with several newspapers during the war.
Vincent Tubbs of the Baltimore Afro-American, one of the most notable foreign correspondents, was the first black journalist in the Pacific, arriving in March 1943. He filed numerous stories about conditions affecting the black troops. He later became a movie publicist in Hollywood.

The black press during World War II was the single most important information source for African Americans. The black press set the political agenda for African Americans and was a crusader for human and civil rights. When soldiers were treated badly, the black press investigated and printed the facts.

The primary function of the black press during World War II was to impart vital military, political, social and cultural information to its readership and to ultimately have a significant impact on military and political awareness and participation.

Key objectives were to impact the opinion formation process of the black reader and to move its readership to active participation in the affairs of state and country. The desired result was full citizenship rights. Based on a theory of social responsibility and the Credo for the Black Press, one can only conclude that the black public was well served by the black press during World War II.

Jennifer Hudson -Dream Girl and Forest Whitaker -The Last King of Scotland

Jennifer Hudson leaves the stage of American Idol for wannabee stars. Hudson wins a place in Dreamgirl.Hudson win an Oscar for best supporting actress in Dreamgirl almost two years later. Forest Whitaker took home an Oscar for best actor in The Last King of Scotland.