Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker was born free in November 1731.  He was an essayist, inventor mathematician and lay astronomer, and because of his intellect, he  was called a sable genius.  While still a youth he made a wooden clock that was said to kept accurate time.  This clock is believed to be the first clock wholly made in America!!!Now, this is a little known black history fact.

In his forties, with some books that were lent to him by Ellicott’s of Maryland, he became a proficient mathematician, able to solve any problems submitted to him.  Banneker started publishing an almanac in 1781, which he continued until 1791. While publishing his almanac, Banneker also published a treatise on Bees.  Deeply interested in natural phenomena Banneker did a mathematical study of the 17 year locust and became a pamphleteer for a peace movement.  It was well known that Banneker had a very unusual life style.  By night Banneker could be found wrapped in a cloak, studying the stars until dawn, by day he slept and worked on mathematical problems and received people that were curious.  Legend has it people came from near and far to see this strange genius.  Banneker never married but was said to be a most charming host.  It was noted that he received his quest in his full suit of drab cloth and wearing his beaver hat and carrying his cane.  History records that Banneker would show visitor around his large farm which he subsequently sold in order to devote all his time to his scientific pursuits. History also notes that Banneker was aware of slavery and its evils.  In 1791, he wrote his famous letter to Thomas Jefferson in which he declared that if Jefferson’s liberalism were true,’ note I apprehend you will embrace every opportunity to eradicate that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions which so generally prevail with respect to our universal father hath given being to us all; that God not only made us all one flesh, be that God hath also without partiality afforded us all with the same faculties and that, however variable we may be in society or religious, however diversified in situation or color we are all the same family and stand in the same relation to God.  Banneker died in 1806.  That famous letter to Jefferson did not end slavery but it did indicate to even the most skeptical that possibilities with in the Negro. / When left free and unfettered.  Soul tic-magazine salutes Benjamin Banneker for being one of the first Black men in history to stand up for his religious beliefs, his country, his convictions and most of all his race.

Don’t stop the music

By Janice Fralin-Steele

Music has always been and always will be around.  Many faces of music have changed but then so have the sounds.  Music as we’ve known it has changed tremendously.  The music that is created today is a far cry from what most of us have grown up with.  It’s hard for this younger generation to imagine a time before CD’s and MP3 players.  There was a time when music was pure unadulterated which came from raw talented individuals.  Little boys and girls dreamed of being musicians and singers.  For generations this country has produced many of the world’s greatest musical minds.  People such as Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Louie Armstrong, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Prince and a host of other great musicians, of which the list is to long to share.  They all had one thing in common they all freely shared their love of music through the playing of musical instruments.  Their blood sweat and tears could be felt in their music.  There is a respect that is given to someone who can share his or her love of music through a musical instrument.   Today’s musicians are becoming a dying bread.  Our children today are replacing instruments with many other things.  The few that pursue music are becoming rappers.  It is harder to find children today that want to take up the idea of being a musician.  Many of our school systems in this country have cut out music being taught in school.  In some parts of the country music departments  are  a  thing of the past.  Even those schools that teach music have families that don’t have the money to buy instruments let alone rent them. Between the influence of rap on our children and the lack of qualified music teachers the face of music has changed forever.  Our countries present circumstance has helped to influence many lives.  When we look around at the music industry we are seeing fewer of our young black males and females as musicians and more as rappers.  The idea of easy fast money and being rich has caused our youth to turn to rap.  Many have decided that the cost is more than they are willing to pay.  What they don’t know is that anything worthwhile takes hard work and determination.  Most of them are not interested in it for the love of rap as a form of expression but they are caught up in the excitement they think rapping brings. Don’t get me wrong there is a place for rap in music and there are many poets in the rap game to whom I give much respect to like some of the pioneers of rap.  Our youth of today must also understand that every young person can’t rap! And that rapping can’t take the place of musicians. This generation has this idea that everything has to happen for them right now. Too many of them are chasing instant fame and gratification.  Many don’t peruse being musicians because they know it will take hard work.  Learning a musical instrument has a way of making you use a part of your brain you might otherwise not use.  Intern this new way of learning ability carries over into other areas of your life, which increase your intellect.  There is something magical about listening to a musician playing a musical piece.  Our African American heritage as musicians came from street corner musicians, church choir  members and individuals who had a message to share. The concern here is that many of our future Miles Davis’ and Aretha Franklin’s will never be.  It is a must that our Black communities across the country encourage those young musicians to share with the world the music in their heart.  We must not allow the talented creative minds to give up.  We must help them to never loose site of the big picture.  That musical gifts are put in their life by God, and his intention is for them to share that talent with the world.

U.S. Congressman from Georgia

When Jefferson Long took his seat in Congress in 1870, he became the first Black to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. The day he was elected, it was said that white Georgians killed seven Blacks and chased Long to a courthouse where he remained until friends sneaked him to an uncompleted sewer.

Jefferson Long’s first speech in Congress was devoted to ways and means of protecting Blacks who were qualified to vote, but who were unjustly prevented from voting by reconstructed whites. The disheartening experience of Long’s election made such an impression on him that he declined to stand for re-election, but he did retain an active interest in Republican politics. In 1880 he attended the Republican National Convention which met in Chicago and nominated James A. Garfield for President.

Upon the completion of his term in Congress, Long returned to his tailoring business in Macon, Georgia. His early training was typical of many other Black Congressmen who followed him. He was largely self-educated, learning to read and write the best way he could. Born in Crawford County, Georgia, Long worked at a variety of odd jobs and occupations until he decided to open a tailoring business in Macon. This prospered and left him time and money for politics. Years after Long left Congress, Republican politicians, Black and white would seek him for advice, which he dispensed freely.

Soultic Magazine salutes Jefferson Long for his bravery and unwavering dedication to equality.  Public knowledge article AP Source.

Gaines was named the CIAA’s coach of the year a record five times during his 47 year coaching career at WSSU. Over the span of those 47 seasons, Gaines compiled an overall record of 828-447, well enough to place fifth in wins in NCAA history behind Dean Smith (North Carolina), Adolph Rupp (Kentucky), Bob Knight (Texas Tech and Indiana) and Jim Phelan (Mt. Saint Mary’s). He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.

A native of Paducah, KY, Gaines was born on May 21st, 1924. Despite his self-proclaimed mediocrity on the court as a player, Gaines would go on to become one of the greatest collegiate basketball coaches in history, as he is still, to this day, the African-American coach with the most wins in NCAA history.

Following his graduation from Morgan State University, Gaines would take a job as the head football coach at WSSU (then Winston-Salem State College), a position he would hold for three years (1946-49). Gaines would then become the Rams’ head basketball coach in 1949. Gaines would serve as the Rams’ head coach for 47 seasons until his eventual retirement following the 1993 season.

Gaines would graduate nearly 80 percent of his players over that 47 year span while winning nearly 65% of his games, sending several to the NBA, most notably, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe. Gaines was named to several basketball halls of fame including the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and his namesake adorns not only WSSU’s C.E. Gaines Center where the Rams play their home basketball contests, but adorns WSSU’s C.E. “Big House” Gaines Athletic Hall of Fame.

“Nothing anyone can say about Coach Gaines can really sum up the impact he had on Winston-Salem State University or the collegiate basketball world.

Coach Gaines was an icon, who helped raise the profile of WSSU to national prominence, said WSSU Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr. His contributions and accomplishments in sport were incredible, but the contributions he made to uplift the lives of so many young people during his lifetime, I think, is his greatest legacy. However, it was not just his exploits as a coach that marked his greatness. Gaines was very involved with youth throughout Winston-Salem, the state of North Carolina and beyond. He was founder and administrator of the WSSU National Youth Sports Program, a sports and academic enrichment program that still impacts the lives of hundreds of youth each summer. He served as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He was a cofounder of the Winston-Salem Youth Baseball League.

WSSU recently honored Gaines during the Rams’ Living Legend Benefit, a gala to raise funds for the Clarence Big House Gaines Endowed Scholarship. In January 2005, Gaines was honored during a half-time ceremony of the game between the University of Kansas and the University in Rupp arena, before a capacity crowd of more than 24,000. He received the designation of Kentucky Colonel from Governor Ernie Fletcher, the highest honor a native son of the State of Kentucky can receive.

For your accomplishments, SoulTic Magazine salutes you Clarence “Big House” Gaines.