Black History Month 2014

[garbon]

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/biographies/banneker/

Benjamin Banneker

     Benjamin Banneker became a world-famous mathematician, astronomer, and inventor. He was a free man of African heritage, born in Maryland when it was still one of the 13 British colonies. Through his work and writing, Banneker tried to put an end to slavery in the early United States.   

     Born on November 9, 1731, Banneker was the son of two free Africans. When he was a child, Banneker's grandmother taught him to read the Bible. Until the age of 15, Banneker also attended school, where he did well in science and mathematics. He later outgrew the knowledge of his teacher and began making up his own math problems to solve. During his free time Banneker also taught himself literature, history, and advanced mathematics.   

     Banneker and his family lived and worked on the family's tobacco plantation, or large farm, in Maryland. Banneker's father designed an irrigation system that provided water for their crops even during droughts. This system helped make the plantation successful. Years later, wheat from the farm helped feed American soldiers during the Revolutionary War.   

     In 1752 a business associate of Banneker's gave him a pocket watch to study. Banneker instantly became interested in the watch and how it worked. He spent many hours taking the watch apart and putting it back together. In 1753 Banneker hand-carved a copy of each gear and made his own clock. It was the first clock made in North America. People came from all over Maryland to see Banneker's clock.   

     In 1759 Banneker's father died, and responsibility for the family farm passed to Banneker. He made friends with his neighbors, the Ellicott brothers, who built a mill on the property next to his farm. Banneker and one of the brothers shared an interest in astronomy. Astronomy is the study of the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, and other objects in space. This new friend lent Banneker books on astronomy and instruments for observing the night sky. Banneker built a "work cabin" with a skylight, or window in the roof, and began studying the night sky.   

     During the day Banneker made calculations about the movement of the stars and planets. Through his calculations he predicted that on April 14, 1789, there would be a solar eclipse. Other scientists said that he was wrong. When the eclipse took place, Banneker became well known as an astronomer. Based on his calculations, he created a table that showed the locations of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets at different times of the year.   

     In 1790 Banneker was asked to help survey the nearby land that later became Washington, D.C. Surveying is the use of mathematics to measure land and create boundaries. Major Pierre-Charles L'Enfant was asked to design the city. After a short time, L'Enfant was fired from the job and left town with the blueprints, or plan, of the city's layout. Luckily, Banneker had seen the plans and was able to redraw the layout of Washington, D.C., in two days. For this, Banneker won the admiration of the new American government.   

     After returning home, Banneker worked on more calculations based on astronomy. By 1791 he had collected enough information to publish an almanac. Banneker sent a letter and a copy of the almanac to Thomas Jefferson, who was then the United States secretary of state. Banneker's almanac was also given to abolition, or antislavery, societies in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The groups were so impressed by Banneker's work that they paid for the publication of Banneker's Almanac until 1797.   

     Banneker worked for abolition by writing antislavery pamphlets. He also published a book about bees. Banneker died on his family's farm in Maryland on October 26, 1806.

http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/biographies/bethune/

Mary McLeod Bethune

   Mary McLeod was born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina. She was the fifteenth of 17 children and the first of the McLeods to be born into freedom instead of slavery.   

   Through hard work and the charity of others, young Mary McLeod was able to gain a good education. She graduated from the Moody Bible Institute in 1895. Soon she began teaching and working as a missionary. A missionary is a person who teaches his or her religion to others. In 1898 McLeod married Albertus L. Bethune, who was also a teacher.   

   Mary McLeod Bethune moved to the east coast of Florida in 1904. There she started a school for African American children. She had only $1.50 and a great dream with which to start the school. Bethune's dream was that all children would one day have a chance to get an education. Bethune named her new school the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls. She picked through trash to find old lamps, desks, dishes, and other supplies for the school. She also worked tirelessly to get donations from the community to keep the school running. In 1923 Bethune's school merged with the Cookman Institute for Men and became Bethune-Cookman College.   

   As Bethune continued to improve educational opportunities for African Americans, she became more and more interested in political issues. In 1935 she founded the National Council for Negro Women with the goal of bettering the lives of African American women. That same year Bethune was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She was also appointed to the staffs of United States Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. Bethune advised the Presidents on such issues as child welfare, housing, jobs, and education. Because of her many accomplishments, Bethune became highly respected as a supporter of human rights-the freedoms that all people should have.

[Ideologue]

Until the age of 15, Banneker also attended school, where he did well in science and mathematics. He later outgrew the knowledge of his teacher and began making up his own math problems to solve. During his free time Banneker also taught himself literature, history, and advanced mathematics.   

So he wasted a little time.  But by and large, he was a good egg.

[derspiess]

I was gonna post a 1980s Eddie Murphy SNL Black History Minute, but this was all I could find:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5ke0khk8GI

[Neil]

Until the age of 15, Banneker also attended school, where he did well in science and mathematics. He later outgrew the knowledge of his teacher and began making up his own math problems to solve. During his free time Banneker also taught himself literature, history, and advanced mathematics.   

So he wasted a little time.  But by and large, he was a good egg.

You shouldn't judge him by modern standards.

[merithyn]

I found this blog earlier today. I find the website fascinating.... and horribly sad that it doesn't occur to people that there were people of color throughout Western European history.

http://medievalpoc.tumblr.com/

I really like his post about black women in the 16th century.

[Viking]

I can't help but think that actively going out of your way to identify a group of people by their skin colour and establishing a separate identity for that skin-colour group is not what MLK meant when he dreamed of his children being judged by the content of their character.

[Sheilbh]

That should have been thought of prior to slavery and colonialism then

[Valmy]

That should have been thought of prior to slavery and colonialism then

I am sure the people of the 16th century sat down and thought long and hard about how their decisions were going to impact people five hundreds years from now.

Edit: But I find it hard to believe people would not be tribalistic or nationalistic without colonialism and slavery.

[Valmy]

I can't help but think that actively going out of your way to identify a group of people by their skin colour and establishing a separate identity for that skin-colour group is not what MLK meant when he dreamed of his children being judged by the content of their character.

I am not sure MLK was the hard core anti-black identity guy you think he was.

[Valmy]

I found this blog earlier today. I find the website fascinating.... and horribly sad that it doesn't occur to people that there were people of color throughout Western European history.

People know basically nothing about Western European History except stereotypes generally.  But what exactly do you mean by 'people of color' here?  Surely everybody who knows even a little bit realizes there were Arabs and North Africans and all that in Western Europe, they ruled Spain for Godsake. 

Edit: Ok looking over the website I think I see the problem.  In popular media 'Medieval Europe' tends to mean the insular British Islands rather than say Italy or something.  I mean how often does something show up from in popular media about Medieval Germany?  However the most popular story that takes place in Medieval France is the Hunchback of Notre Dame which sort of concerns this very issue...I don't know if modern racism is really white washing Medieval history the way this website claims.  I mean heck there is a famous rant about Sicilians being descended from Black Africans (granted not in a very fluffy PC way).

[alfred russel]

I can't help but think that actively going out of your way to identify a group of people by their skin colour and establishing a separate identity for that skin-colour group is not what MLK meant when he dreamed of his children being judged by the content of their character.

I am not sure MLK was the hard core anti-black identity guy you think he was.

It is probably a silly game to try to assume what dead people would think about modern issues, but I find it hard to believe that MLK would oppose a black history month. Or that he would support right wing causes and oppose affirmative action, as some Republicans seem to think.

[Duque de Bragança]

I mean heck there is a famous rant about Sicilians being descended from Black Africans (granted not in a very fluffy PC way).

Only the Lega Nord can go this far.

[Eddie Teach]

I mean heck there is a famous rant about Sicilians being descended from Black Africans (granted not in a very fluffy PC way).

Only the Lega Nord can go this far.

I don't think Dennis Hopper is a member.

[Viking]

I can't help but think that actively going out of your way to identify a group of people by their skin colour and establishing a separate identity for that skin-colour group is not what MLK meant when he dreamed of his children being judged by the content of their character.

I am not sure MLK was the hard core anti-black identity guy you think he was.

He sure as hell wasn't a pro-black identity guy.

[Viking]

That should have been thought of prior to slavery and colonialism then

Well, my relatives were taken into slavery in africa, I want compensation. Plus, my country was subjected to almost 700 years of colonialism from 1262 to 1940.