Month: January 2018

31Jan

January 31 1324- Mansa Musa

GM – FBF – For this is the mark of a wise and upright man, not to rail against the gods in misfortune.

Remember – “People who fear me should because if they are not up right in all things, I will teach them or destroy them. – Mansa Musa

Today in our History – January 31, 1324 – Mansa Musa travels to Mecca. Musa Keita I (c. 1280—c. 1337) was the tenth Mansa, which translates as “sultan” (king), “conqueror”, or emperor of the wealthy West African Mali Empire. At the time of Musa’s rise to the throne, the Malian Empire consisted of territory formerly belonging to the Ghana Empire in present-day southern Mauritania and in Melle (Mali) and the immediate surrounding areas. Musa held many titles, including “Emir of Melle”, “Lord of the Mines of Wangara”, “Conqueror of Ghanata”, and at least a dozen others. It is said that Mansa Musa had conquered 24 cities, each with surrounding districts containing villages and estates, during his reign. During his reign Mali may have been the largest producer of gold in the world at a point of exceptional demand. One of the richest people in history, he is known to have been enormously wealthy; reported as being inconceivably rich by contemporaries, “There’s really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth.”

Musa was a devout Muslim, and his pilgrimage to Mecca made him well-known across northern Africa and the Middle East. To Musa, Islam was “an entry into the cultured world of the Eastern Mediterranean”. He would spend much time fostering the growth of the religion within his empire.

Musa made his pilgrimage between 1324–1325. His procession reportedly included 60,000 men, including 12,000 slaves who each carried 1.8 kg (4 lb) of gold bars and heralds dressed in silks who bore gold staffs, organized horses, and handled bags. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals. Those animals included 80 camels which each carried 23–136 kg (50–300 lb) of gold dust. Musa gave the gold to the poor he met along his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, including Cairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. It was reported that he built a mosque every Friday.

Musa’s journey was documented by several eyewitnesses along his route, who were in awe of his wealth and extensive procession, and records exist in a variety of sources, including journals, oral accounts, and histories. Musa is known to have visited the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, Al-Nasir Muhammad, in July 1324.

But Musa’s generous actions inadvertently devastated the economies of the regions through which he passed. In the cities of Cairo, Medina, and Mecca, the sudden influx of gold devalued the metal for the next decade. Prices on goods and wares greatly inflated. To rectify the gold market, on his way back from Mecca, Musa borrowed all the gold he could carry from money-lenders in Cairo, at high interest. This is the only time recorded in history that one man directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean. Research more about this great African Ruler and tell your babies. Make it a champion day!

30Jan

January 30 1910- Granville Tailer

GM – FBF – Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Remember – “Great dancers aren’t great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.” Granville Tailer Woods

Today in our History – January 30, 1910 – Granville Tailer Woods Dies. The magnitude of an inventors work can often be defined by the esteem in which he is held by fellow inventors. If this is the case, then Granville Woods was certainly a respected inventor as he was often referred to as the “Black Thomas Edison.”

Granville Woods was born on April 23, 1856 in Columbus, Ohio. He spent his early years attending school until the age of 10 at which point he began working in a machine shop repairing railroad equipment and machinery. Intrigued by the electricity that powered the machinery, Woods studied other machine workers as they attended to different pieces of equipment and paid other workers to sit down and explain electrical concepts to him. Over the next few years, Woods moved around the country working on railroads and in steel rolling mills. This experience helped to prepare him for a formal education studying engineering (surprisingly, it is unknown exactly where he attended school but it is believed it was an eastern college.)

After two years of studying, Woods obtained a job as an engineer on a British steamship called the Ironsides. Two years later he obtained employment with D & S Railroads, driving a steam locomotive. Unfortunately, despite his high aptitude and valuable education and expertise, Woods was denied opportunities and promotions because of the color of his skin. Out of frustration and a desire to promote his abilities, Woods, along with his brother Lyates, formed the Woods Railway Telegraph Company in 1884. The company manufactured and sold telephone, telegraph and electrical equipment. One of the early inventions from the company was an improved steam boiler furnace and this was followed up by an improved telephone transmitter which had superior clarity of sound and could provide for longer range of distance for transmission.
In 1885, Woods patented a apparatus which was a combination of a telephone and a telegraph. The device, which he called “telegraphony,” would allow a telegraph station to send voice and telegraph messages over a single wire. The device was so successful that he later sold it to the American Bell Telephone Company. In 1887, Woods developed his most important invention to date – a device he called Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. A variation of the “induction telegraph,” it allowed for messages to be sent from moving trains and railway stations. By allowing dispatchers to know the location of each train, it provided for greater safety and a decrease in railway accidents.

Granville Woods often had difficulties in enjoying his success as other inventors made claims to his devices. Thomas Edison made one of these claims, stating that he had first created a similar telegraph and that he was entitled to the patent for the device. Woods was twice successful in defending himself, proving that there were no other devices upon which he could have depended or relied upon to make his device. After the second defeat, Edison decided that it would be better to work with Granville Woods than against him and thus offered him a position with the Edison Company.

In 1892, Woods used his knowledge of electrical systems in creating a method of supplying electricity to a train without any exposed wires or secondary batteries. Approximately every 12 feet, electricity would be passed to the train as it passed over an iron block. He first demonstrated the device as an amusement apparatus at the Coney Island amusement park and while it amused patrons, it would be a novel approach towards making safer travel for trains.

Many of Woods inventions attempted to increase efficiency and safety railroad cars, Woods developed the concept of a third rail which would allow a train to receive more electricity while also encountering less friction. This concept is still used on subway train platforms in major cities in the United States.
Over the course of his life time Granville Woods would obtain more than 50 patents for inventions including an automatic brake and an egg incubator and for improvements to other inventions such as safety circuits, telegraph, telephone, and phonograph. When he died on January 30, 1910 in New York City he had become an admired and well respected inventor, having sold a number of his devices to such giants as Westinghouse, General Electric and American Engineering – more importantly the world knew him as the Black Thomas Edison. Research more about this great American and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

29Jan

January 29 1850- The Compromise

GM – FBF – Be careful not to compromise what you want most for what you want now.

Remember – “If we do not compromise, the union will fail to exssist. By issuieing the compromise hopefully we acn avoid a great war of brother againist brother” – Henry Clay (W) KY.

Today in our History – January 29,1850 – The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills intended to stave off sectional strife that passed during Millard Fillmore’s presidency. With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American War, all the Mexican-owned territory between California and Texas was given to the United States. This included parts of New Mexico and Arizona. In addition, portions of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado were ceded to the US.

The question that arose was what to do with slavery in these territories. Should it be allowed or forbidden? The issue was extremely important to both free and slave states because of the balance of power in terms of voting blocs in the US Senate and House of Representatives.

Henry Clay was a Whig Senator from Kentucky. He was nicknamed “The Great Compromiser” due to his efforts at helping bring these bills to fruition along with previous bills such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise Tariff of 1833. He personally owned slaves which he would later free in his will. However, his motivation in passing these compromises, especially the 1850 compromise, was to avoid Civil War.

Sectional strife was becoming more and more confrontational. With the addition of new territories and the question of whether they would be free or slave territories, the need for a compromise was the only thing that at that time would have averted outright violence.

Realizing this, Clay enlisted the help of Democratic Illinois Senator, Stephen Douglas who would eight years later be involved in a series of debates with Republican opponent Abraham Lincoln.

Clay, backed by Douglas, proposed five resolutions on January 29, 1850 which he hoped would bridge the gap between Southern and Northern interests.

In April of that year, a Committee of Thirteen was created to consider the resolutions. On May 8th, the committee led by Henry Clay, proposed the five resolutions combined into an omnibus bill. The bill did not receive unanimous support. Opponents on both sides were not happy with the compromises including southerner John C. Calhoun and northerner William H. Seward. However, Daniel Webster put his considerable weight and verbal talents behind the bill. Nonetheless, the combined bill failed to win support in the Senate. Thus, the supporters decided to separate the omnibus bill back into five individual bills. These were eventually passed and signed into law by President Fillmore.

The Five Bills of the Compromise of 1850

The goal of the Compromise bills was to deal with the spread of slavery to territories in order to keep northern and southern interests in balance. The five bills included in the Compromises put the following into law:

California was entered as a free state.
New Mexico and Utah were each allowed to use popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery. In other words, the people would pick whether the states would be free or slave.
The Republic of Texas gave up lands that it claimed in present day New Mexico and received $10 million to pay its debt to Mexico.
The slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia.
The Fugitive Slave Act made any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery.
The Compromise of 1850 was key in delaying the start of the Civil War until 1861. It temporarily lessened the rhetoric between northern and southern interests, thereby delaying secession for 11 years. Clay died of tuberculosis in 1852. One wonders what might have happened if he had still been alive in 1861. Research more about this Compromise and tell your baby. Make it a champion day!

27Jan

January 27 1861- Martin R. Delany

GM-FBF – You have to choose your path.
You have to decide what you wish to do.
You are the only person that can determine your destiny.

Remember – “Every people should be originators of their own destiny.” Major Martin Robertson Delany

Today in our History – January 27, 1861 – Martin R. Delany (May 6, 1812 – January 24, 1885) was the first African-American commissioned as a major in the Army. The soldier was also a writer, editor, abolitionist, Harvard medical student, physician and judge.

As the bicentennial birthday of Delany approaches, historians want the nationalist to be recognized as a man who shaped history. Martin Delany believed that ‘every person should be the originator of their own destiny.’ He was so fed up with American slavery and segregation that he negotiated a treaty with rulers in West Africa to allow the creation of a new black settlement.

The Charleston, Virginia native was born to a free mother and slave father who risked their lives to educate their children. With his future ahead of him, Martin Delany studied medicine as an apprentice and opened a medical practice that specialized in cupping and leeching.

In 1839, Delany toured slave country to observe the racism endured by his enslaved brothers and sisters. A few years later, Martin Delany joined the fight of Frederick Douglass through literature by publishing a newspaper in Pittsburgh called “The Mystery” then joined Douglass’ North Star publication in Rochester.

By 1850, Delany successfully entered Harvard Medical School to continue his studies. However, he was booted out of the program after three weeks when white students petitioned for his removal. Angered by the discrimination, Delany recorded his frustration in another publication that insisted blacks immigrate to Africa for justice. In 1859, Martin Delany led a commission on a site visit to West Africa, looking for the best location for a new black nation along the Niger River.

Delany’s next effort would be through the Union Army in the Civil War. In 1861, he returned to the U.S. and recruited thousands of blacks to serve in the Union. Four years later he met with President Lincoln and got approval to create an all-black Corps led by African-American officers. He was commissioned a Major in the 52nd U.S. Colored Troops Regiment and became the first line officer in U.S. Army history. His next stop was to run for Republican office. Delany ran for Lt. Governor against Richard Howell Gleaves. In 1874, Delany lost the election to Gleaves. Research more about this great American and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!

26Jan

January 26 1863- General Recruitment of African Americans

GM – FBF – The negro served honorably during the Civil War in Arkansas, Illinois, Rode Island and many other areas of the country but The Massachusetts 54th gained early glory.

Remember – “If you men won’t take 1/2 pay as your commander I also will not take pay” – Robert Gould Shaw

Today in our History – January 26, 1863 – General recruitment of African Americans for service in the Union Army was authorized by the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton accordingly instructed the Governor of Massachusetts, John A. Andrew, to begin raising regiments including “persons of African descent” on January 26, 1863. Andrew selected Robert Gould Shaw to be the regiment’s colonel and Norwood Penrose “Pen” Hallowell to be its lieutenant colonel. Like many officers of regiments of African-American troops, both Robert Gould Shaw and Hallowell were promoted several grades, both being captains at the time. The rest of the officers were evaluated by Shaw and Hallowell: these officers included Luis Emilio, and Garth Wilkinson “Wilkie” James, brother of Henry James and William James. Many of these officers were of abolitionist families and several were chosen by Governor Andrew himself. Lt. Col. Norwood Hallowell was joined by his younger brother Edward Needles Hallowell who commanded the 54th as a full colonel for the rest of the war after Shaw’s death. Twenty-four of the 29 officers were veterans, but only six had been previously commissioned.

The soldiers were recruited by white abolitionists (including Shaw’s parents). These recruiters included Lieutenant J. Appleton, also the first man commissioned in the regiment, whose recruiting efforts included posting a notice in the Boston Journal. Wendell Phillips and Edward L. Pierce spoke at a Joy Street Church recruiting rally, encouraging free blacks to enlist.[citation needed] About 100 people were actively involved in recruitment, including those from Joy Street Church and a group of individuals appointed by Governor Andrew to enlist black men for the 54th.

The 54th trained at Camp Meigs in Readville near Boston. While there they received considerable moral support from abolitionists in Massachusetts, including Ralph Waldo Emerson. Material support included warm clothing items, battle flags and $500 contributed for the equipping and training of a regimental band. As it became evident that many more recruits were coming forward than were needed, the medical exam for the 54th was described as “rigid and thorough” by the Massachusetts Surgeon-General. This resulted in what he described as “a more robust, strong and healthy set of men were never mustered into the service of the United States.” Despite this, as was common in the Civil War, a few men died of disease prior to the 54th’s departure from Camp Meigs.

By most accounts the 54th left Boston with very high morale. This was despite the fact that Jefferson Davis’ proclamation of December 23, 1862, effectively put both African-American enlisted men and white officers under a death sentence if captured. The proclamation was affirmed by the Confederate Congress in January 1863 and turned both enlisted soldiers and their white officers over to the states from which the enlisted soldiers had been slaves. As most Southern states had enacted draconian measures for “servile insurrection” after Nat Turner’s Rebellion, the likely sentence was a capital one.[citation needed]

After muster into federal service on May 13, 1863, the 54th left Boston with fanfare on May 28, and arrived to more celebrations in Beaufort, South Carolina. They were greeted by local blacks and by Northern abolitionists, some of whom had deployed from Boston a year earlier as missionaries to the Port Royal Experiment. In Beaufort, they joined with the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers, a unit of South Carolina freedmen led by James Montgomery. After the 2nd Volunteers’ successful Raid at Combahee Ferry, Montgomery led both units in a raid on the town of Darien, Georgia. The population had fled, a and Montgomery ordered the soldiers to loot and burn the empty town. Shaw objected to this activity and complained over Montgomery’s head that burning and looting were not suitable activities for his model regiment. Later on that year the battle of Fort Wagner will make them heroes. Research more about this great American Civil War Unit and all of the Black units that served during The Civil War and tell your babies. Make it a champion day!

January 25 – Instant Funk

GM – FBF – If you want to talk about dance bands – Trenton, NJ’s INSTANT FUNK is at the top of the list.

Remember – “Trenton Makes The World Takes”

Today in our History – Trenton, NJ own INSTANT FUNK to be honored this weekend January 27, 2017 “Father’s and Son’s United for a better Trenton – Unsung Heros.

Instant Funk burst on the ’70s disco scene with the million-selling single “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” and the gold album Instant Funk. The Trenton, NJ, band started out with the core lineup of bassist Raymond Earl, drummer Scotty Miller, and guitarist Kim Miller. It later expanded to include keyboardist Dennis Richardson; lead singer James Carmichael; horn players Larry Davis, Eric Huff, and Johnny Onderlinde; and percussionist Charles Williams. The band can be heard on sides by Evelyn “Champagne” King (her gold single “Shame”), Archie Bell & the Drells (“Let’s Groove,” “The Soul City Walk,” and “Strategy”), South Shore Commission (“Free Man,” “A Train Called Freedom”), the O’Jays (” Let Me Make Love to You,” “I Swear I Love No One but You”), Lou Rawls (“From Now On,” “When You Get Home”), Gabor Szabo (“Keep Smilin'”), and Jean Carn, as well as for their mentor, Bunny Sigler, and his cover of “Love Train,” “Keep Smilin’,” “Let Me Party With You,” “Sweeter Than the Berry,” and “Only You,” a duet with Loleatta Holloway.

In the mid-’60s, bassist Raymond Earl met drummer Scotty Miller in grade school and formed the duo the Music Machine. In 1973, Scotty’s younger brother, guitarist Kim Miller, joined the duo. After hours and hours of playing together, the trio found that they clicked; they became so intuitively “tuned” into each other that they could anticipate and accent each other’s playing. In 1968, they began backing local vocal group the TNJs, appearing at local dances and venues building up a good reputation. Around 1971, the group’s manager Jackie Ellis christened the backup band Instant Funk because they could come up with funky grooves instantaneously.

Philly soul artist/producer/songwriter Bunny Sigler was invited by Ellis to see Instant Funk and the TNJs perform. Sometime during the show, Sigler was called on stage to perform. He was impressed that the band knew “Sunshine,” a song he co-wrote with Phil Hurtt that was made popular by the O’Jays. They began backing Sigler, the Manhattans, and various other R&B acts. As a staff songwriter/producer at Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International Records, Sigler began using Instant Funk on his sessions along with the TNJs. At those sessions and later, Sigler would record the basic track with Earl and the Miller brothers. Sigler, a brimming fount of ideas, would often stop the band midsong to implement one of his flashes of brillance. They backed Sigler on three of his PIR albums: That’s How Long I’ll Be Loving You, Keep Smilin’, and My Music. Some tracks from those LPs are on Sony/Legacy’s The Best of Bunny Sigler: Sweeter Than the Berry and the 1998 Sony CD Bunny Sigler. Instant Funk released a single on PIR’s TSOP imprint, “Float Like a Butterfly,” and an album, Get Down With the Philly Jump, issued in November 1976, whose title track and “It Aint Reggae (But It Sho Is Funky)” were popular in disco clubs.

Jean CarnInstant Funk can also be heard on sides by the O’Jays (“Let Me Make Love to You,” “You’ve Got Your Hooks in Me,” “Once Is Not Enough,” and “I Swear I Love No One but You” from Message in Our Music; “Strokety Stroke” from So Full of Love), Archie Bell & the Drells (“Let’s Groove,” “Strategy,” “The Soul City Walk,” and “I Could Dance All Night” on Tightening It Up:The Best of Archie Bell & the Drells), the Three Degrees (“Take Good Care of Yourself”), Jean Carn (“I’m in Love Once Again” and “You Are All I Need” from Jean Carn), Dexter Wansel (“Life on Mars,” the best recording that gives an idea of how the band sounded live, and “You Can Be What You Wanna Be” from The Very Best of Dexter Wansel), and M.F.S.B. (“Let’s Go Disco” from Universal Love). The band can be heard on studio bandmate T. Life’s That’s Life album and LPs by his protégée, Evelyn “Champagne” King (Smooth Talk and Music Box).
In 1977, M.F.S.B. guitarist Norman Harris started his own label, Gold Mind Records, distributed by New York-based Salsoul Records. Sigler signed on as a recording artist. He and the band were constantly in the studio recording ideas and songs. One track, “Let Me Party With You,” Sigler would listen to while driving around and excited passengers suggested that he release it. The single, co-written by the Miller brothers, Earl, and Sigler, went to number eight R&B in January 1978. The track was reminiscent of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” The album, Let Me Party With You, was a huge disco hit, and included the follow-up single, the funky Sam Peake’s sax-drenched ballad “I Got What You Need,” “Don’t Even Try,” and the club hit “Your Love Is So Good.”

While brainstorming in the studio, Sigler and Instant Funk came up with “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl).” Sigler did overdubs on the track at Philadelphia-area studios, Alpha International and Sigma Sound Studios, before taking it to Bob Blank’s Blank Tapes in New York. When the track was done, Sigler shopped it around to the record labels, who rebuffed him with comments like “the hook’s not strong enough” and it sounds incomplete.” Instant Funk signed with Gold Mind, but by the time their single “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” was released, Gold Mind had folded and all of its acts were transferred to Salsoul.

Witch Doctor The million-selling “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” (remixed by Larry Levan) parked at number one R&B for three weeks, peaking at number 20 pop on Billboard’s charts in March 1979. Their second album, Instant Funk, issued January 1979, went gold hitting number one R&B in spring 1979. Other Instant Funk albums on Salsoul were: Witch Doctor (November 1979), The Funk Is On (October 1980), Looks So Fine (March 1982), Instant Funk, Vol. 5 (January 1983), and Kinky (September 1983). The band backed Sigler on his Salsoul LPs: I’ve Always Wanted to Sing…Not Just Write Songs (March 1979) and Let It Snow (June 1980). Other Salsoul LPs that feature Instant Funk are Loleatta Holloway’s Queen of the Night, Loleatta, and Greatest Hits; Double Exposure’s Locker Room; and the Salsoul Orchestra’s How High. For Neil Bogart’s Casablanca Records, the band can be heard on two albums Sigler produced for the label: Party Girl by Patti Brooks and Callin’ by the Pips. On Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom Records, Sigler and the band are on Barbara Mason & Bunny Sigler’s Locked in This Position, the self-titled debut of Mystique featuring Ralph Johnson, and Mayfield’s own Heartbeat. With the John Brothers, who were featured on Witch Doctor, they recorded a Sigler-produced RCA single, “Try to Walk a Mile” b/w “I Just Want to Be Free,” both songs written by Bunny’s brother Jimmy Sigler. They are also on Gabor Szabo’s Mercury LP Nightflight and Carl Carlton’s I Wanna Be With You.
When the Cayre brothers, owners of Salsoul Records, decided to fold the label in 1984, in an effort to concentrate on the then-emerging home video market, Instant Funk was without a record deal. The band toured for a few years then disbanded. Some of the members were still in the music business in one form or another as the 21st century began. Raymond Earl was operating his own studio and production company, Ray Ray Productions. Kim Miller, Dennis Richardson, and James Carmichael went into gospel music. Bunny Sigler was touring the world as a member of the Trammps.

Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” can be found on the CD reissue of their 1979 gold album Instant Funk, Greatest Hits from EMI/Capitol/The Right Stuff, in the movie and on the soundtrack for the Disney/Miramax movie 54, Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage, and various Salsoul and Salsoul-licensed compilations. For more Invermation and to get tickets for the event contact – Friends Who Like Instant Funk’s facebook page. Congradulations to one of Trenton’s finest. Make it a champion day!

24Jan

January 24 1938- The Jack And Jill of America Foundation

GM – FBF – Nobody said Jack and Jill doesn’t do good things. But don’t try to lie like Jack and Jill has nothing to do with elitism.

Remember – Our chrildren need a safe posative invirement to learn, grow, play and network with others who have the same intrests. – Marion Stubbs Thomas

Today in out History – The late Marion Stubbs Thomas founded Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated, on January 24, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She organized a group of twenty-one mothers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the idea of establishing a social and cultural union for their children. From the beginning, this new club, Jack and Jill, focused on instilling values and leadership skills in their children and providing “all the opportunities possible for a normal and graceful approach to a beautiful adulthood.” This group in Philadelphia quickly inspired others to found similar organizations. The second “chapter” of Jack and Jill was established in New York City in 1939, and a third in Washington, D.C. in 1940. The local group became an inter-city association, expanding to Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Maryland, Boston, Buffalo, New York, Columbus, Ohio, Durham, North Carolina and Memphis, Tennessee between 1944 and June 1, 1946 — the birth date of the national organization. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Jack and Jill of America, Inc. is divided into seven geographic regions for administrative purposes. Each region has a Director, Treasurer, Secretary and Foundation Member-at-Large, and is represented on a National Executive Board. At present, there are more than 230 Jack and Jill chapters in 35 states across the United States, with more than 10,000 mother members and 40,000 parents and children.

In 1968, the organization created its philanthropic arm, the Jack and Jill of America Foundation, incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois. The Foundation has been responsible for the origin and funding of a large number of educational and charitable projects benefiting children and families in communities across the United States. Through the years, Jack and Jill of America has made contributions to other organizations and projects, including: Africare, The United Negro College Fund, Rainbow/PUSH, King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (also called March of Dimes), the Children’s Defense Fund, and to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Mothers of children between the ages of 2 and 19 hold the membership and are required to plan and host monthly activities for the children, who are the focus of the program. Children are divided into age groups (2-5, 6-9, 9-12, 12-14, and 9th through 12th grade) and take part in cultural activities, fundraising, leadership training, legislative events and social events such as ski trips, pizza parties, cotillions, as well as college planning, theater trips and conferences, to name a few. Mothers attend required monthly meetings and act on committees focused on the work of the organization, as well as larger efforts aimed to better the conditions of all children, not just their own. Annual dues, mandatory philanthropic assessments and extensive children’s activities usually result in annual costs of several hundred dollars to each member.

Mothers have to be invited into the group. Members are professional women who are doctors, lawyers, business executives, professors, teachers or are housewives married to men who are doctors, lawyers or business executives. Each chapter may decide on its own selection process; some include a prospective member and her family to participate as guests prior to being voted upon by the membership. Chapters may also, at their own discretion and often when the chapter has become too large, close their membership intake during a given year; and do not entertain prospective members.

Graduating teenagers are celebrated and honored at the annual Regional Teen Conferences during an event where they are introduced to the other families in the membership and their guests, announce their college choice and are welcomed into the adult “village”. Children who graduate out of the program are granted legacy status and may automatically join when they have children of their own.

Jack and Jill of America celebrated its 75th anniversary in Philadelphia, PA in 2012 during the 40th National Convention, and again in April 2013.

There are currently 7 regions, including the Eastern region, Mid-Western region, Central region, Far West region, Mid-Atlantic region, South Central region, and South Eastern region. Each region has a certain number of states within it. Research more about this American Institution and you may want to get your babies in it. Make it a champion day!

23Jan

January 23 1977- Alex Roots

GM – FBF – Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.

Remember – “Roots is not just a saga of my family. It is the symbolic saga of a people.” – Alex Haley

Today in our History – January 23, 1977 – Roots is an American television miniseries based on Alex Haley’s 1976 novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The series first aired on ABC-TV in January 1977. Roots received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which still holds a record as the third highest rated episode for any type of television series, and the second most watched overall series finale in U.S. television history. It was produced on a budget of $6.6 million. The series introduced LeVar Burton in the role of Kunta Kinte.

A sequel, Roots: The Next Generations, first aired in 1979, and a second sequel, Roots: The Gift, a Christmas TV movie, starring Burton and Louis Gossett Jr., first aired in 1988. A related film, Alex Haley’s Queen, is based on the life of Queen Jackson Haley, who was Alex Haley’s paternal grandmother.

In 2016, a remake of the original miniseries, with the same name, was commissioned by the History Channel and screened by the channel on Memorial Day 2015. Reserach more about YOUR FAMILY because your babies need to know from where they come from. Make it a champion day!

22Jan

January 22 1993- Hazel Rollins Reid

GM – FBF – When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It’s very simple.

Remember – “The use of energy for all Americans in our future is combunding upon, the use of energy Americans are usuig today” – Hazel Rollins Reid O’Leary

Today in our History – January 22, 1993 – The first and only woman to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of Energy, Hazel Rollins Reid was born May 17, 1937 in Newport News, Virginia. During this time of public school segregation, Reid’s parents, hoping for better schooling opportunities, sent their daughter to live with an aunt in New Jersey. There Reid attended a school for artistically gifted students.

Reid entered Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1955 and graduated with honors four years later. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society at Fisk. Seven years later she received a law degree from Rutgers University and soon became an attorney in the New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office.

By the early 1970s Reid moved to Washington, D.C., where she became a partner at Coopers and Lybrand, an accounting firm. Soon she joined the Gerald Ford Administration as general counsel to the Community Services Administration which administered most of the federal government’s anti-poverty programs. President Ford later appointed Reid director of the Federal Energy Administration’s Office of Consumer Affairs. In this position she became well known as a representative of the concerns of consumers who challenged the power and influence of the major energy producers.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Reid to head the Department of Energy’s Economic Regulatory Administration. Her agency included more than 2,000 employees who enforced price controls on numerous forms of energy. At this time she successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Fuel Use Act, which decreased the demand for natural gas and developed conservation programs that assisted low-income residents.

While working for the Carter Administration, Reid met her future husband, John F. O’Leary, who was at the time the nation’s deputy energy secretary. The two married in 1980 and together left the department to establish and manage their own energy-consulting firm, O’Leary Associates.

In 1989, following the death of her husband, Hazel O’Leary went to work for Northern State Power Company, a Minnesota utility, as executive vice president for environmental and public affairs and then president of its natural gas division. In 1992 President-elect Bill Clinton announced that he would nominate O’Leary to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. She would become the second woman and third African American nominated to the Clinton Cabinet.

On January 22, 1993, Hazel Rollins Reid O’Leary became the seventh U.S. Secretary of Energy. She would direct the 20,000 employees of the agency and be the principal architect of the Clinton energy policy which emphasized both conservation and innovation.

While in office O’Leary led the effort to find safer ways to dispose of atomic waste. She gained Congressional approval to convert one of three national nuclear weapons design laboratories into a research facility to study technologically advanced environmental cleanup practices. O’Leary also opposed increases in energy taxes.

Since 2002, Hazel O’Leary has served as President of Fisk University, her alma mater. She remains an avid supporter of environmentalism. She works with a variety of non-profit organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, Morehouse College and The Andrew Young Center of International Development. Recesrch more about this great American and tell your babies. Make It A Champion day!

21Jan

January 21 1773- Phillis Wheatly

GM – FBF – Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics.

Remember – ” Since my return to America my Master, has at the desire of my friends in England given me my freedom.” – Phillis Wheatley

Today in our History – Juanuary 21, 1773 – Phillis Wheatley Emancipated. Phillis Wheatley, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c.1753 West Africa – December 5, 1784) was the first published African-American female poet. Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America. She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.

The publication of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) brought her fame both in England and the American colonies. Figures such as George Washington praised her work. During Wheatley’s visit to England with her master’s son, African-American poet Jupiter Hammon praised her work in his own poem. Wheatley was emancipated (set free) shortly after the publication of her book. She married in about 1778. Two of her children died as infants. After her husband was imprisoned for debt in 1784, Wheatley fell into poverty and died of illness, quickly followed by the death of her surviving infant son. Research more of this great American and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!