On This Day In TCXPI History - November 2014

The First Black Woman To: Obtain a Ph.D. in Economics in the U.S.(Univ. Of Penn, 1921); Graduate from University Of Pennsylvania Law School (1924); Be Admitted To the Pennsylvania Bar (1927) and; Hold A National Office In The National Bar Association (1943).

Menelik II was crowned Negusa-Nagast (King of Kings) of Abyssinia, Ethiopia. Menelik II devoted much of his time to the building of railroads, schools, hospitals and industries. Menelik II is probably most known for leading his country to victory over the Italian forces who sought to colonize his country in 1896. 

Orchestra Conductor, who in 1931, when early pursuits of conducting engagements were stifled by racial bias, Charles Dean Dixon formed his own orchestra and choral society. 

Historian and Pan-African Activist, who is best known for his study of the post-Reconstruction period of the United States.

Journalist and Civil Rights Leader, who guided and advised the nine students, known as the Little Rock Nine, when they attempted to enroll at Little Rock Central High School in 1957. 

Playwright, who became the First African American playwright to have a non-musical production on Broadway with “The Chip Woman’s Fortune.” 

The First Tenured African American Professor of Law at Harvard University and the originator of Critical Race Theory

Hall Of Fame Boxer, and the winner of the Gold medal in the heavyweight boxing division at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, and winner of the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship in 1970.

The Mayibuye Resistance that took place on, November 8, 1952 at Number Two location in Galeshew, was as a result of the culmination of the Defiance Campaign which started in 1952.

The campaign was meant to protest against unjust laws used by the apartheid regime to oppress black people in South Africa. 

South African Singer and Activist, who is affectionately known as 'Mama Africa' or the 'Empress of African Song', Makeba's music transcended South African borders and entered the global stage.

Singer and Actress, who was cast as the lead in “Carmen Jones” which was a commercial success and resulted in her being nominated for the 1955 Academy Award for Best Actress. She was the Third African American to be nominated for an Academy Award and the First in the Best Actress category. She also appeared in “Island in the Sun” (1957) and “Porgy and Bess” (1959). 

Congolese Politician, who 

Jazz and Classical Flutist and Saxophonist, who nominated for three Grammy Awards and in 2011 was designated a NEA Jazz Master, the highest honor the nation bestows on a jazz artist, by the National Endowment for the Arts. 

A Veteran Of The War In The Peculiar Institution Of Enslavement. Rebellion Leader, was executed by hanging in Jerusalem, Virginia after initiating a rebellion of enslaved and free black people, November 11, 1831. 

November 12, 1896 - Moses Williams, a Buffalo Soldier, received the Congressional Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration, for his actions during an engagement in the foothills of the Cuchillo Negro Mountains in New Mexico during the Indian Wars. 

The First African American to have a Navy ship named in his honor. 

Hall Of Fame Figure Skater and Coach, who was not allowed to join skating clubs because of her race. She would found a skating club and coach many future champions, including Scott Hamilton, Tai Babilonia, Randy Gardner, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Tiffany Chin.

Educator, Author, and Political Leader, who would found and be appointed the first leader of Tuskegee Institute which he headed for the rest of his life. 

The First Black Person Elected To Represent Virginia In Congress.

Political Activist and One of the First Users of the Term “Black Power,”. 

A prominent Igbo (Ibo) writer, famous for his novels describing the effects of Western customs and values on traditional African society. 

The First Black College Student To Be Murdered In The Civil Rights Movement.

Lawyer, Judge, Educator, And Civil Rights Advocate, who advocated for the equal treatment of African Americans in the US Army.

The aim of this celebration was to make the public aware of the pivotal role statistics play, not only in economic and social spheres, but in all aspects of life. 

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. Although his commanding officer recommended him for the Medal of Honor on November 20, 1944, it was not until January 13, 1997 that President William Clinton presented the medal to Ruben Rivers’ family. This was indicative of the lack of recognition afforded to African American soldiers who served during World War II

Hall Of Fame Abolitionist and Women’s Rights Activist, who helped recruit black soldiers for the Union Army and later met with Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. 

In 1678, Zumbi became the leader of Palmares and for the next seventeen years led the fight for the independence of Palmares, a self-sustaining republic of Maroons who had escaped from the Portuguese settlements in Brazil. On November 20, 1695 was beheaded by the Portuguese.

Poet, Artist, Educator, Cultural Leader, and Founder of the DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, IL. 

Historian, Researcher, and Author, who in 1922, moved to the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History as a research associate and began researching the role of African Americans in the South during Reconstruction.

African American Orator, Dramatist, and Organizer, the first African American woman employed by the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in D.C. 

Mayor For Life. Four time elected Mayor of Washington, D.C

Lawyer, Civil Rights Activist, and Political and Business Leader, who served in the New York State Assembly where he was instrumental in getting funding to establish the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. From 1966 to 1977, he served as Manhattan borough president

Newspaper Publisher, who became vice president and general manager of The Robert S. Abbott Publishing Company which published the Chicago Defender, the First African American daily newspaper in the US.

the First and Only African American Mayor of Chicago, Illinois

World Champion Cyclist, who entered his first professional race in Madison Square Garden and won. Over his career, he raced in the United States, Australia, and Europe, including winning the world one mile track cycling championship in 1899 and becoming known as “The Black Cyclone.” 

Hall Of Fame Guitarist, Singer, and Songwriter, who formed , The Jimi Hendrix Experience In 1966 and enjoyed immediate success in Europe, but did not achieve fame in the United States until their 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Author,who in 1940,  was selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African American writer. The novel was entitled, "Native Son".  

Former President of Liberia, who was the first African head of state to be invited to the White House. 

Hall Of Fame Educator and Politician, and the First African American woman elected to Congress

Novelist, Playwrit, Poet, Essayist, and Civil Rights Activist, who as an openly gay man, he became increasingly outspoken in condemning discrimination against lesbian and gay people.

Nakumbuka Day

Nakumbuka is a Kiswahili word that means "I remember". Nakumbuka is the name given to the annual day of observance for the Maafa (The African slavery holocaust).

Nakumbuka Day was the brainchild of Jomo Nkombe, a Tanzanian living in

Canada in 1990.

His idea was to remember the victims of the slave trade in East Africa

and upon learning about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in the west he felt

that those victims should also be remembered.

Nkombe decided on the date of November 11th because as the English,

French and Americans honored the Unknown Soldier, Africans should also honor their unknown warriors who fell resisting slavery.

Nkombe met with Charles ‘Mende’ Roach, a Canadian jurist born in

Trinidad, and asked him to take the idea to the World Pan African Movement

Conference which was held in Lagos, Nigeria in 1992.

At that conference it was resolved that the World Pan African Conference

would promote Nakumbuka Day to remember the Maafa (African Slave Holocaust) in which millions died.

Among those in attendance at the conference were Baye Kes-Ba-Me-Ra

(Duane Bradford) and Adande Ima-Shema-Ra (Denise Bradford) representing the Pan-African Association of San Diego (now the Pan-African Associations of

America). They returned to San Diego, California in 1992 with the mission

of establishing the observance of Nakumbuka Day in the U.S.

Baye Kes-Ba-Me-Ra created the first Nakumbuka Day ceremony and the first

observance of Nakumbuka Day in the U.S. was held in San Diego, Ca. on

November 11, 1994.

Dr. Shikana Orraca-Tettteh (Temille Porter), an AFRAS 101A instructor

at San Diego State University, hosted the first Nakumbuka Day ceremony in

her classroom on the SDSU campus.

Mwalimu (teacher) N’namdi Afi Sikumbuzo conducted the first Nakumbuka

Day ceremony that day in Dr.Shikana’s classroom. He was assisted by Chuma

Ahoto Wimana (Grant McKinney).

While there is no one specific, mandatory Nakumbuka Day ceremony the

Pan-African Associations of America model serves as the model that can be

duplicated by others wishing to conduct public ceremonies.

The PAAA Nakumbuka Day consists of three parts: The Ritual Chamber

activity, the Middle Passage Enslavement Line and the Ceremonial Chamber

activity.

There is also a family Nakumbuka Day ceremony. For the family ceremony

the following is needed: an alter of historical and family ancestors; a

white cloth to cover the alter, four white candles representing the four

cardinal points where African people live; a bowl of salt; a bowl of honey;

a small liberation flag (red, black and green). (See Family Ceremony for

details).

Customary greeting for the day: Q: Habari Gani? (What’s the news?).

A: Nakumbuka (I remember). Then the second person asks the question.

Nakumbuka means “I Remember” in Swahili. It is customary to also wear white on Nakumbuka Day.

Ash is worn on the forehead as a sign of mourning throughout the day

even if one cannot participate in a public ceremony or a family one.   The

ash is a part of the public and family ceremony.

While all people can participate in the Nakumbuka Day public and family

ceremonies, the ceremony should always be conducted by a person of African

descent.

Source:

http://lists.topica.com/lists/BW-Events/read/message.html?sort=t&mid=1721232012

Additional Sources:

http://www.nakumbuka.org/History01.html

http://malaikamutere.com/2013/11/11/i-re-member-nakumbuka-day-1111/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3

http://dailytrojan.com/2009/11/13/slave-auction-re-enactment-draws-crowd/

The Black Panther Party Of Self Defense, October 15, 1966

Pictured: Original six members of the Black Panther Party (1966)

Top left to right: Elbert "Big Man" Howard, Huey P. Newton, (Defense Minister), Sherwin Forte,

 Bobby Seale, (Chairman), Bottom: Reggie Forte and Little Bobby Hutton, (Treasurer).

On this day, two comrades, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, sat down an wrote a Ten Point Plan that laid the foundation for The Black Panther Party Of Self Defense. 

The Black Panther Party (BPP) was a progressive political organization that stood in the vanguard of the most powerful movement for social change in America since the

Revolution of 1776 and the Civil War: that dynamic episode generally referred to as The Sixties. It is the sole Black organization in the entire history of Black struggle against

slavery and oppression in the United States that was armed and promoted a revolutionary agenda, and it represents the last great thrust by the masses of Black people for equality,

justice, and freedom. 

The Party’s ideals and activities were so radical that it was at one time labeled by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover as “the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States.” And despite the demise of the Party, its history and lessons remain so challenging and controversial that established texts and media erase all reference to the Party from their portrayals of American history.

The Black Panther Party was the manifestation of the vision of Huey P. Newton, the seventh son of a Louisiana family transplanted to Oakland, California. In the wake of the

assassination of Black leader Malcolm X, on the heels of the massive Black, urban uprising in Watts, California, and at the height of the Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

In October of 1966, Newton gathered a few of his longtime friends, including Bobby Seale and David Hilliard, and developed a skeletal outline for this organization. It was named, originally, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

The black panther was used as the symbol because it was a powerful image, one that had been used effectively by the short-lived voting rights group the Lowndes County

(Alabama) Freedom Organization. 

The term “self-defense” was employed to distinguish

the Party’s philosophy from the dominant nonviolent theme of the Civil Rights Movement, and in homage to the civil rights group the Louisiana-based Deacons for Defense. These

two symbolic references were, however, where all similarity between the Black Panther Party and other Black organizations of the time, the civil rights groups and Black power groups, ended.

Source:
http://www.civilrightsteaching.org/Handouts/BPPhandout.pdf

Remembering The Ancestors

We Must Never Forget their many contributions - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which has brought us to where we are TODAY.

And while we continue to struggle for Equity and Social Justice in a Society full of Hate and Racism, we must FOREVER Recognize Our Own Who Died So That We Could Live! 

Their Courage, Fearlessness, Self-Determination, and Resilience will Never Be Forgotten.

We Must Re Member, Re Claim, Re Construct, and Re Educate OUR STORY!

Chinue X, 

Founder

On This Day In TCXPI History

Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister and the First President of Ghana, was born in Nkroful, Gold Coast (now Ghana) on September 21, 1909.

In 1935, Kwame Nkrumah came to the United States to further his education, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939 and his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1942 from Lincoln University and his Master of Science degree in 1942 and his Masters of Arts degree in philosophy in 1943 from the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1947, Kwame Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast and became the leader of the United Gold Coast Convention which was working on independence from the British.

In 1950, the colonial administration arrested and sentenced Kwame Nkrumah to three years in jail for his political activities. As the result of international protests and internal resistance, he was released from jail in 1951 and elected Prime Minister of the Gold Coast in 1952.

On March 6, 1957, Nkrumah declared Ghana independent and in 1960 he was elected president.

In February, 1966, Nkrumah’s government was overthrown in a military coup which was backed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency and he went into exile in Guinea.

Kwame Nkrumah died April 27, 1972.

Kwame Nkrumah is best remembered for his strong commitment to and promotion of Pan-Africanism and his significant influence in the founding of the Organization of African Unity. In 2000, he was voted Arica’s Man of the Millennium by listeners of the BBC World Service. He was a prolific author and published his autobiography, “Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah,” in 1957. His other works include “Africa Must Unite” (1963), “Dark Days in Ghana” (1968), and “Revolutionary Path,” published posthumously in 1973.

Sources:

http://thewright.org/explore/blog/entry/today-in-black-history-9212012

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/people/person.php?ID=177

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‘WHAT TO THE SLAVE IS YOUR FOURTH OF JULY?’

Occasion: Meeting sponsored by the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society, Rochester Hall, Rochester, N.Y. To illustrate the full shame of slavery, Douglass delivered a speech that took aim at the pieties of the nation -- the cherished memories of its revolution, its principles of liberty, and its moral and religious foundation. The Fourth of July, a day celebrating freedom, was used by Douglass to remind his audience of liberty’s unfinished business.

What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
...“What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?”

Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?...

...But, such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, lowering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrecoverable ruin! I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and woe-smitten people!...

The speech was originally published as a pamphlet. It can be located in James M. Gregory’s, Frederick Douglass, the Orator (1893). More recent publications of the speech include Philip Foner’s, The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass (1950) and The Frederick Douglass Papers (1982), edited by John W. Blassingame.

Full Text: Manhood, Race, and Culture - http://www.manhoodraceculture.com/2014/07/04/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july-frederick-douglass-speaks/ Accessed on 07/04/2014.