Hiran  Rhodes Revels

Hiran Rhodes Revels was born in Fayetteville NC on September 27, 1827 to free parents.  He attended Knox College in Illinois and  later became a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Churches.  In 1845 he accepted a pastoral position in Baltimore Md.  Revels helped organize churches in several states.  The news of the Civil War spread throughout the south.  Both freed northerners and newly freed slaves were ready to enlist in the Union Army.  Revels was responsible for recruiting two regiments of troops in  Maryland and served as a chaplain for the Negro regiment.  He also established schools in several states for freed persons.  After the war was over Revels settled in Natcgez,Mississippi.  In 1866 Revels was elected Alderman.  In 1870, he was elected to the Senate to fill the Mississippi vacant U.S. Senate seat as the state prepared to rejoin the Union.  On September 23, 1870, Revels credentials arrived in the Senate but were immediately blocked.  Senate members did not want to see a Black man serve in congress.  They argued that Revels was not a  US Citizen.  The law required a Senate member be a citizen for at 9 years.  The Civil Rights Act on 1866 made them free for just four years prior to the election.  Revels fought by saying he had been voting in  Ohio for many years before that and  therefore he was a citizen.  Revels became an outspoken opponent of racial segration.  He served only one term but he broke new ground for African Americans in Congress.  His term ended March 3, 1871. After leaving the Senate he returned to  Mississippi as president of Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College.  In 1882 after a long and successful career he passed away.

Early African American Politicians

Pitney Benton Stewart Pinchback

African-Americans have been a part of the American political system  since the mid 1800’s. Their purpose was to be the voice of the newly freed men.  Once the Civil War was over the emancipated freedom was short lived.  Laws were enacted to keep African Americans in bondage.  Organizations were established to help improve the lives conditions for newly freedmen.  Programs were created to teach literacy and vocational training for the masses of freed men.  P.B. Stewart Pinchback served Louisiana as the Lieutenant governor and Congress. 

P.B. Stewart Pinchback was one of these individuals that politically fought for the equality of newly freed men.  Pinchback was born May 10, 1837 in Macon Georgia; his father was William Pinchback who was a plantation owner and his mother Eliza Stewart, his former slave.  Pinchback often found himself in unique situations.  During those times he found himself facing harsh discrimination from both sides.  Pinchback was born during the family’s move to Mississippi.  His father had purchased a parcel of land for a larger plantation. Pinchback’s father died, leaving his mother and siblings to fend for themselves.  By his wife being of African descent the extended family confiscated the estate from her.  This left Pinchback and is mother to provide for the family.  His mother fled with all five children to Illinois.  He worked on a river boat to help his mother support the family. 

When the Civil War started Pinchback traveled to New Orleans to fight for the Confederate side.  There he was able to recruit black volunteer s to join the Louisiana National Guard. It is a little known black history fact that ,” Pinchback was the only African American officer in the Civil War and because of it he encountered a great deal of prejudice.  In 1863 he had been passed over twice for a promotion and so he resigned  from the guard.  When the Civil War ended he moved his family to Alabama.  Being unhappy with the racism they encountered he moved his family back to New Orleans.  Pinchback entered politics out of necessity.  He organized the fourth Ward Republican Club.  In 1868 he was a member of the delegates that established a new constitution for the state of Louisiana. 

In 1871, the Lieutenant governor suddenly died and Pinchback was appointed to take his Senate seat. Pinchback held the Senate seat until 1872. In the same election he ran for U.S. Senate and became a congressman.  Opposing forces came against him and implied that the seat was won by fraud.  This position was short lived and his attempt as a politician.  In 1885, Pinchback decided to study law at Straight University.  Upon graduating college he moved his family to New York City where he served as a U.S. Marshall.  Pinchback died on December of 1921. His legacy was that he devoted his life to fight for equality for African Americans.

Michael Jackson

“A Gift from God”  African American music history – part 2

By Ahmad Daniels

Perceptive, courageous, gifted and self-actualized are just a few of the adjectives that so inadequately describe Michael Jackson; a man whose untimely death has taken the world by surprise.  Michael’s demise epitomizes the passing of an icon whose words continue to touch the very soul of the multitudes who loved him dearly.  I join the ranks of those who were surprised at just how moved they were upon hearing of his initial hospitalization to quickly follow by the incredulous announcement of Michael Jackson’s death. 

Michael’s international appeal was legendary.  Personally, nothing is more indicative of this than his stellar performance in Romania before a spellbound crowd of tens of thousands.  His “Man in the Mirror” wasn’t executed as a song as much as an anthem appreciatively received by compatriots.  Cameras scanning the massive crowd showed women and yes men crying unapologetically as Michael evoked emotions on what I believe was a cellular level, a level that penetrated deeper and deeper with every, “Ooh!” “Ooh!” “Ooh!”that would leave his mouth as he spun around and around before being totally consumed by his own musical genius and falling to what must have been an energy filled stage only to rebound with increased vitality; vitality that would further whip the crowd into a more intense frenzy. 

I understand the sentiments of the attendees holding the banner that read, “Michael A Gift from God.”  His incredible talent and depth of compassion confirms that.  Yet, I also believe every human is a gift from God.  Michael, however, had the discipline and sense of focus to remain true to his gift and not allow life’s distractions to take him permanently off course.  Surely he  had his trials and tribulations but it is his loving ways that many will remember and hold in their heart. 

It has been said there are occurrences so breathe taking, so mind boggling that they could only have happened when all that stars in the universe were perfectly aligned.

Bob Beamon long jumping his way into the record books at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games is such a moment in history.  His jump of 29’ 2 1/2′” shattered the previous world record by almost 2 feet In  an event where records are broken by the inch or part thereof.  The election of Barack Obama to the White House is another point in time when the stars uniquely aligned and history was made.  Michael Jackson has never competed in the Olympics nor has he ever sought political office.  Yet, he has leaped into the hearts of a world-wide audience unlike any other performer in all of history with a music and a presence so loved his constituents they elected him the King of Pop.  Of course no one can say when such an alignment of the stars will again take place.Yet we can express limitless gratitude to the celestial for doing so and gifting us with Michael Jackson.

To Your Journey.

A CALL TO ACTION

African Americans have displayed great leadership abilities throughout history.  Most have showed their leadership abilities by forging the way for others. Many have played key leadership roles such as inventors, educators and humanitarians. Much of the comforts that we enjoy today are because of them.   Historians have continuously distorted and rewritten many of the accomplishments of great African Americans.  We must remember our great heritage and not let it be taken for granted.  No one in history has been through struggles such as the African American race.  History books teach us about bits and pieces of just a few individual African American leaders.  In reality there were many individuals that played key roles serving both in the struggle for equality and the building of this country.

There was a time when we as a people took pride in our accomplishments. African Americans were known as a people of great character.  Early on in our history we found that hard work alone would not get our people ahead.  We excelled not by choice but out of a necessity.  Much of the struggle was done to keep the family unit together.  The generations after slavery worked very hard to gain equality. Today we are still fighting this same fight.  We knew in order to survive we must perform at a level above our white counterpart.  There was little room for error and the slightest bit of imperfection was counted a complete failure. We began to expect a high level of performance from one another.  In most cases we worked twice as hard as our counterparts and many times we still were denied our rights.  This work ethic of high expectation became our blueprint to success for several generations.  In many cases it developed strong character in many great African Americans.  Past leadership skills taught our people to work through the obstacles of racism and inequality.  This determination helped to overcome any adversity.  Many dedicated their life’s work to what they believed.  They proudly gave their lives to serving humanity.  They were not driven by fame but by the need to change the situation for themselves and for others.  Very few of our past African American leaders ever received their just reward. 

Leaders such as:

Al Sharpton, Civil Rights Activist

Andrew Young, Former Congressman & Mayor ofAtlanta Georgia

Dr. Mae C. Jemison, First African American Astronaut

Maxine Waters, Congresswoman

Medgar Evers, Civil Rights Activist

Ralph Abernathy, Civil Rights Activist

Just to name a few.  There were some not so well known leaders such as:

Tom Bradley –Mayor ofLos Angeles(served 4 terms form 1963-1973

Marian Anderson – Opera Singer (First African American named to the Metropolitan Opera Company

Benjamin Davis – first African General

Paul LawrenceDunbar-Poet and Novelist

Althea Gibson- Famous tennis player

Our leaders paved the way for us to follow in their footsteps.  Because of their struggle, the youth of today have more opportunities then ever but with these opportunities there comes responsibility.  We must realize that without the understanding of purpose and direction our youth are being set up to fail. This may not be the intention but that is reality.  If we do not take a renewed interest in our youth we will surely lose them. To forge ahead as a people we must remember where we came from the struggle as well as the accomplishments.  

Our youth are being bombarded everyday by images that are mostly negative.  These images offer no significant value to their lives.  How can society expect misguided youth to be the future leaders?  Many young people are not seeing the right images to pattern after.  This has created a break down of the perception of positive leadership.  It is not that there are no positive strong leaders in our Black communities but our young people have the wrong image of a real positive leader.  The media has led them to believe that celebrities are to be their leaders.  For some young people the only role models are in the media.  This is not to discredit the few celebrities that are making a difference in the world.  Those few celebrities only account for a handful of all the celebrities that are paraded in front of our youth daily.  We must not let our youth be deceived any longer.  They are being led astray by a false since of reality.  It is up to our African American communities to uplift positive role models that are leading in a positive way.  It is important that we instill purpose and direction in the youth of today. 

Past generations have shown the world that we as a people cannot be eradicated off this earth. Our ability to survive decades of struggling has made us a strong people. We must take conscious effort to help prepare this next generation to go to another level.  We must go back to building character and morals in our youth.  It is imperative that we teach our young people that a strong character builds a strong person.  Building a strong character is more important than getting a good education and having a good work ethic.  After all, we can’t expect them to succeed if they are unprepared.  We can’t bypass the foundation of building good character.     Let us concentrate on raising well-adjusted young people.  Our communities, our society and our world will all benefit. As we celebrate African American heritage let’s not forget the things that made us who we are. 

SoulTic Staff Writer

Harry Burleigh was born on December 2, 1866.  Burleigh learned to love music through his grandfather. His grandfather taught him old slave songs.  His inspiration for composing Negro spirituals were rooted in old slave songs he learned growing up.  At a early age he was exposed to many prominent performers.  After high school he continued to develop his musical abilities.  Burleigh was a baritone soloist for St. George’s Episcopal Church in New York City from 1894 to 1946. Once a year he would give annual concerts.  In 1900 he preformed as a soloist for Temple Emanue land remained there for twenty five years.

While working at St. George’s Episcopal Church he met Czech composer Antonin Dvorak who became a great influence in his life. They collaborated on two occasions.  Burleigh shared with Dvorak songs passed down to him by his grandfather.  Dvorak used the songs as the basis of his symphony,songs like the  New World,  The other was Old Folks at Home in which Burleigh sang in.

Burleigh graduated in 1896 from the National Conservatory of Music and served on the faculty for several years.  He also received an honorary degrees from Atlanta and  Howard university.   Some of Burleigh’s early songs were published by G. Schirmer. It is a little known black history fact that he became the first African-American soloist from the prosperous New York synagogue,Temple Emanuel.  It is uncertain how many songs Burleigh wrote. Burleigh lectured at many black colleges throughout the nation.  Burleigh wrote somewhere between 200 and 300 spiritual arrangements.  One of his most well known songs is “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”  He published a major series of music called, Negro Spirituals, where he describes the origins of this music.  Burleigh retired in 1946 due to illness.  He died at the ripe old age of 82.

Roland Hayes was born in 1887 in Curryville Georgia.  He was the son of ex-slaves, Fanny and William Hayes.  When he was eleven his father died and his mother moved the family to Chattanooga Tennessee.  His family was very poor; he was forced to drop out of school to help support the family. 

Hayes attended church on regular bases.  He grew up singing African American spirituals that were passed down from generations.  He also sang in churches and eventually formed a singing group.  It was called; Silver-Toned Quartet.  A choir director heard him singing and really enjoyed his voice.  He offered to give Hayes voice lessons but his mother hoped he would become a minister.  Despite his mothers wishes he continued with his vocal lessons and attended Fisk College.  He was able to take prep-classes and later regular college courses. Hayes also became part of the famous Fisk Jubilee Singers.  In 1911 he toured with the group in Boston.  The group recorded nine spirituals for the Edison Phonograph Company.  After the tour was over the rest of the group returned to Fisk but Hayes decided to stay in Boston.  Hayes was determined to become a professional singer.  Despite the obstacles he faced he forged on.  He was able to save up enough money to rent Symphony Hall where he held a concert.    

Hayes successfully arranged several coast to coast tours form 1916 to 1919.  He succeeded in becoming a classical concert singer.  Although, he was a famous singer, financially he still struggled.  He was the sole supporter of his concerts.  Several times he tried to recruit a manager but he was unable. 

In April of 1920 he sailed for London England.  He and his pianoist Lawrence Brown toured through out Europe.  In the beginning he was not warmly received. After a few changes he was able to overcome that.  Eventually he won over audiences and was asked to sing for British Royalty.   It  is a little known black history fact that  he was able to sing before King George and Queen Mary.  He returned to America and  was welcomed home.  He was now able to achieve the success he had desired earlier.  He toured Europe several times and in several different languages.

During the 1920’s he became the highest paid tenor in the world.  He preformed and recorded a number of classical and spirituals.  He was able to perform before at least one de-segregated audience in Atlanta Georgia. Hayes toured internationally from 1920 to 1940.  Later he married and settled in Brookline Massachusetts. 

In 1962 Hayes celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday by performing at Carnegie Hall.  Hayes preformed the fund raiser for the American Missionary Association College Centennial.  He spent his later years developing young talent.  He became a mentor to several young artists.  He supported young African American singers who were inspired by him.  He influenced famous singers such as sopranos Leontyne Price and Dorothy Maynor and baritones Edward Boatner and William Warfield. In 1991 he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.  In 1995 the Georgia Department of Natural Resources erected and official historic marker in Hayes’s honor in Calhoun. Hayes was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP. 

Roland Hayes died at the age of 89 in a Boston hospital.  He left a great legacy long after his death.   

Among the most famous and well known African American inventors is Dr. Charles Drew. It is a little known black history fact that his researches on the storage of blood plasma lead to his invention of the Blood Bank.  As a physician, surgeon and researcher who transformed the face of medicine. As an inventor his work in the field of blood plasma saved tens of thousands of lives.  Most surgical procedures would not be possible without the invention of the blood bank. 

Charles Drew lived from 1904-1950; he was born inWashington D.C. As a youth he excelled in academics and sports.  After graduating from high school he attended Amherst College where he excelled in track and football.  After graduating, Dr. Drew took a position at Morgan State where he coached sports and taught biology and chemistry.  

                                     THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN / African American heroes in history

Blacks in flight

When we speak of African American heroes in history  we must include the Tuskegee Airmen.  Their contributions to this country can not be overlooked.  Their courage and heroic acts made them a symbol of true leadership.  Their pioneering spirit encouraged many young men and women to pursue careers in the fields of aviation and engineering. They also paved the way for countless numbers of African Americans to serve in the military. 

Prior to the 1930’s they struggled to have the right to fly.  During the 1930 African American pilot were mostly self-taught. There were very few pilot training courses they were allowed to attend. From 1930 to 1940 the numbers began to increase.  Their sheer determination and political pressure caused the government to change their policy concerning black pilots.

Before 1940 the military limited blacks to labor jobs such as cooks,and cleaning. Pilots were not able to fly.  The conditions for African Americans in the military were worst than for their white counter parts.  They faced a great deal of discrimination and prejudice on a daily bases.  All African American pilots, ground crew and air crew were segregated and forced to live in second-rate living quarters.  After much pressure by civil rights organizations the Army Air Core (Air Force) formed an African Americans squadron. The U.S. military contracted Tuskegee Institute to train African American pilots.   

The Tuskegee Airmen were part of the Army Air Core/Air Force as primary pilots. They were the military aviation experiment. African American soldiers were viewed as less intelligent than their white counter parts although they were just as qualified.  They earned their respect through their hard work and determination. Out of necessity the military accepted them as Combat Fighter pilots.  The 332^nd air unit was later nick named “Red Tail”.  They flew over 15,000 missions.  Their contributions played a major role in the outcome of World War II.

Their courageous efforts opened the doors for countless African Americans to become both military and commercial pilots as well as aviation support personnel. Their achievements dispelled the myths that blacks were unintelligent. Today we are proud to note the many African American Officers, Generals and Special Force personnel that serve everyday to protect this country.  The sacrifices of these great  African American  heroes  both men and women will go down in military history.  We must never forget the soldiers that gave their lives for this country.

INNOVATORS BEHIND TODAY’S TECHNOLOGY

As we look around our homes we can see the conveniences technology has brought us.  Today’s technology has made it possible to do things we would never have dreamed of.  Technology has affected every part of our lives; whether it improved our transportation or gave us new medical treatment that improves our lives.  Behind these inventions were men and women that saw a need for change.   

We want to focus on the achievements of Frederick McKinley Jones. He was born on May 17, 1893 in Cincinnati were he grew up in an orphanage.  He attended school up to the 8^th grade.  As a child he had a love for automobiles.  His first job was at the age of 12 were he worked cleaning an auto garage. He spent a few years working on cars and racing them.  He developed an interest in gasoline engines and complexes machinery which continued for the rest of his life.  During WWI he enlisted in the U.S. Army as an electrician and a mechanic.  After serving in the military he retuned home where he continue his work as an inventor.    

It is a little known black history fact that Mr. Jones was credited with inventing a cooling unit for the compartments of trucks.  His invention made it possible to transport fresh produces.  It is also a little known black history fact that  he also invented cooling units for the boxcars of rail transportation.   During WWII he invented a portable air conditioner to preserve medicine and blood serum. He also invented air condition units used in automobiles.  Mr. Jones was awarded 61 patents in his life time.  Forty of his inventions were for refrigeration equipment.  He received an award and was the first African American inducted into the American National Medal of Technology.

He is an innovator in his own right.  He has created many inventions that changed our society and our world.  Despite his life struggles he overcame many obstacles and became inventor of multiple patents.  His sheer determination made him able to transcend race and class barrios. He was successfully in creating several life changing inventions.   He devoted his life to these inventions and he will be known as one of the great innovators of technology.   Society has greatly benefited from their hard work and diligences. 

This is a one of the many inventors’ innovators that accepted the call to greatness.  Despite his lack of formal education it never changed his passion.   This is an example of one individual’s life and what he was able to accomplish. 

BLACK INNOVATION

Author & Writer: Janice Fralin-Steele