Category: 1900 – 1949

September 10 1923- Ossain Sweet

September 10 1923- Ossain Sweet

GM – Today, I would like to share a story with you of a professional man who wanted a better life for his wife, new born baby and himself. The story of Ossian Sweet rose from humble beginnings and became a doctor who tried to help the poor. His story is admirable. In a better world, it would be fairly unremarkable. But Dr. Sweet was African American in the 1920s, and his life tells the story of race struggles in this country—then and now. To know the history of the Sweet case, is to know the history of segregation in America. Unfortunately, his life also shines a light on issues still facing black Americans today: not just segregation (prescribed or by default), but also injustice at the hands of those meant to keep the peace. Enjoy and learn!

Remember – “I have faced racismall of my life and all I want to do is live and raise my family” – Ossian Sweet

Today in our History – September 10, 1923 – Ossian Sweet defends his home from a mob all night and in the early morning.

Ossian Sweet was born in 1895 in Bartow, Florida. He was the grandson of a former slave who lived in the Jim Crow South. When he was five, he watched from the bushes as a black man was burned at the stake. Years later, at his murder trial, Sweet would recall the smell of kerosene, the crowd taking pieces of the charred flesh as souvenirs.

When he was 13, his parents sent him north. He worked his way through prep school and college at Wilberforce University in Ohio, the first black university owned and operated by black Americans. He went on to study medicine at Howard University in Washington, DC.
While in Washington, Sweet witnessed the race riots of 1919, during what was known as “The Red Summer.”

Upon receiving his medical degree, Sweet joined thousands of other black Americans who were migrating to Detroit, most to work in the burgeoning auto industry. Between 1910 and 1930, Detroit’s black population increased twentyfold. The fast-growing population, however, meant competition for housing and jobs. Sweet arrived in the summer of 1921, seeking to become a doctor in the overpopulated Black Bottom neighborhood. Here, homes were decaying and conditions were unsanitary. Many black migrants were restricted to this area.

In 1922, Sweet met Gladys Mitchell. After they married in 1923, Upon returning to Detroit, the Sweets sought to own their own home in a nicer neighborhood than Black Bottom—or the other predominantly black neighborhoods. They bought a house at 2905 Garland Street. Aware of the brewing tensions in the city—and the dangers of moving to an all-white neighborhood—Sweet waited to move until after the summer, when things might be calmer.

As soon as neighbors heard a black family was moving in, they organized the Waterworks Improvement Association.
The Sweets sent their young daughter to stay with her grandmother and, after requesting police protection from the local precinct and help from a handful of friends and relatives, they moved into their new home.

On the first night, Sweet and his wife were joined by his brother, Henry, and three friends. In anticipation, they brought guns and ammunition. “Well, we have decided we are not going to run. We are not going to look for any trouble,” said Sweet. “But we are going to be prepared if trouble arises.” Crowds formed near the house, but the night was relatively peaceful. By the second night, however, the crowds had increased, so Sweet invited more friends to help.

The local police inspector and a detail of officers stood outside the house, ostensibly to protect the Sweets, as a People threw rocks relentlessly, and the police did nothing but look on… until a shot was fired from inside the house by Henry Sweet, Ossian’s brother. A white man outside was killed. All eleven adults in the house were arrested, initially denied counsel, then denied bail by Judge John Faust who presided over the preliminary hearing, and tried for murder.

But mob justice and a prejudiced police force did not rule the day. The NAACP agreed to support the Sweet defendants. Fundraisers were held in large cities throughout the country, and the NAACP contacted Clarence Darrow, the famous Scopes Trial lawyer, who took on the case for a small fee. Darrow’s defense was based on the history of race relations in the country, including testimony about the history of racial violence and lynching. Research more about “The Trial of Henry Sweet” and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

September 10 1923- Ossian Sweet

September 10 1923- Ossian Sweet

GM – Today, I would like to share a story with you of a professional man who wanted a better life for his wife, new born baby and himself. The story of Ossian Sweet rose from humble beginnings and became a doctor who tried to help the poor. His story is admirable. In a better world, it would be fairly unremarkable. But Dr. Sweet was African American in the 1920s, and his life tells the story of race struggles in this country—then and now. To know the history of the Sweet case, is to know the history of segregation in America. Unfortunately, his life also shines a light on issues still facing black Americans today: not just segregation (prescribed or by default), but also injustice at the hands of those meant to keep the peace. Enjoy and learn!

Remember – “I have faced racismall of my life and all I want to do is live and raise my family” – Ossian Sweet

Today in our History – September 10, 1923 – Ossian Sweet defends his home from a mob all night and in the early morning.

Ossian Sweet was born in 1895 in Bartow, Florida. He was the grandson of a former slave who lived in the Jim Crow South. When he was five, he watched from the bushes as a black man was burned at the stake. Years later, at his murder trial, Sweet would recall the smell of kerosene, the crowd taking pieces of the charred flesh as souvenirs.

When he was 13, his parents sent him north. He worked his way through prep school and college at Wilberforce University in Ohio, the first black university owned and operated by black Americans. He went on to study medicine at Howard University in Washington, DC.
While in Washington, Sweet witnessed the race riots of 1919, during what was known as “The Red Summer.”

Upon receiving his medical degree, Sweet joined thousands of other black Americans who were migrating to Detroit, most to work in the burgeoning auto industry. Between 1910 and 1930, Detroit’s black population increased twentyfold. The fast-growing population, however, meant competition for housing and jobs. Sweet arrived in the summer of 1921, seeking to become a doctor in the overpopulated Black Bottom neighborhood. Here, homes were decaying and conditions were unsanitary. Many black migrants were restricted to this area.

In 1922, Sweet met Gladys Mitchell. After they married in 1923, Upon returning to Detroit, the Sweets sought to own their own home in a nicer neighborhood than Black Bottom—or the other predominantly black neighborhoods. They bought a house at 2905 Garland Street. Aware of the brewing tensions in the city—and the dangers of moving to an all-white neighborhood—Sweet waited to move until after the summer, when things might be calmer.

As soon as neighbors heard a black family was moving in, they organized the Waterworks Improvement Association.
The Sweets sent their young daughter to stay with her grandmother and, after requesting police protection from the local precinct and help from a handful of friends and relatives, they moved into their new home.

On the first night, Sweet and his wife were joined by his brother, Henry, and three friends. In anticipation, they brought guns and ammunition. “Well, we have decided we are not going to run. We are not going to look for any trouble,” said Sweet. “But we are going to be prepared if trouble arises.” Crowds formed near the house, but the night was relatively peaceful. By the second night, however, the crowds had increased, so Sweet invited more friends to help.

The local police inspector and a detail of officers stood outside the house, ostensibly to protect the Sweets, as a People threw rocks relentlessly, and the police did nothing but look on… until a shot was fired from inside the house by Henry Sweet, Ossian’s brother. A white man outside was killed. All eleven adults in the house were arrested, initially denied counsel, then denied bail by Judge John Faust who presided over the preliminary hearing, and tried for murder.

But mob justice and a prejudiced police force did not rule the day. The NAACP agreed to support the Sweet defendants. Fundraisers were held in large cities throughout the country, and the NAACP contacted Clarence Darrow, the famous Scopes Trial lawyer, who took on the case for a small fee. Darrow’s defense was based on the history of race relations in the country, including testimony about the history of racial violence and lynching. Research more about “The Trial of Henry Sweet” and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

September 6 1904- Sarah Boone

September 6 1904- Sarah Boone

GM – FBF – Today I want to share a story with you about an Inventor that created something that is used by millions of people every day. Like most you jus use it and never really think about its beginning. Enjoy!

Remember – “ I wanted to make my work a little easier so I thought about it and said done” – Sarah Boon

Today in our History – September 6, 1904 -Sarah Boone Inventor of the Ironing Board dies.

Sarah Boone (1832–1904) was an African American inventor who on April 26, 1892, obtained United States patent rights for her improvements to the ironing board. Boone’s ironing board was designed to improve the quality of ironing sleeves and the bodies of women’s garments. The board was very narrow, curved, and made of wood. The shape and structure allowed it to fit a sleeve and it was reversible, so one could iron both sides of the sleeve. Along with Miriam Benjamin, Ellen Eglin, and Sarah Goode, Boone was one of four African American women inventors of her time who developed new technology for the home.

Sarah Marshall was born in Craven County, North Carolina, near the town of New Bern in January 1st 1832. She was a former slave. On November 25, 1847, in New Bern, she married James Boone (or Boon); they would have eight children.

The Boone family left North Carolina for New Haven, Connecticut, before the outbreak of the American Civil War; they settled into a house at 30 Winter Street. James Boone worked as a brick mason until his death on January 18, 1876 while his wife was listed in New Haven directories as a dressmaker.

Sarah Marshall Boone died in 1904 and is buried in a family plot in Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven. Research more about women Inventors and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

September 5 1916- Frank Garvin Yerby

September 5 1916- Frank Garvin Yerby

GM – FBF – Today, I would like to share with you a story of a man who lust for education and was close to receiving his doctorate degree but dropped out to teach school, work in an automotive plant and the aviation Industry. Then turned to the pen and wrote books during his college days. One of his books was required reading for me while I was in High School. He sold more than 55 million books and won numerous rewards. Let’s find out more about this commercially successful writer of the 20th Century. Enjoy!

Remember – “When it was over, it was not really over, and that was the trouble” -. Frank Yerby

Today in our History – September 5, 1916 – Frank Garvin Yerby was born in Augusta, Georgia.

His parents were Wilhelmina and Rufus Yerby. Frank Yerby was the product of an interracial marriage. His father was African American and his mother was of European origin. Yerby grew up in Augusta and attended two local institutions. He graduated from Haines Institute in 1933. Four years later he earned a second degree from Paine College. The following year Yerby entered Fisk University in Nashville where he earned a master’s degree. Yerby began studies toward a doctorate in education from the University of Chicago but dropped out before obtaining a degree.

Frank Yerby taught briefly at Florida A&M College and later at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He later migrated north, to Dearborn, Michigan where he worked as a technician at the Ford Motor Company and then to Jamaica, New York, where he worked in the aviation industry
Eventually Yerby gained success as an author. His story “Health Card” won the 1944 O. Henry Memorial Award for best first published short story of the year. Two years later his first novel, The Foxes of Harrow, received critical acclaim. Yerby would write more than thirty novels over his career. His best known novel, The Dahomean, appeared in 1971. His publications sold more than fifty-five million hardback and paperback books worldwide, making him one of the most commercially successful writers of the 20th Century.

Yerby’s novels often focused on strong male heroes but, unusual for the period, often included characters of various ethnic backgrounds. His complex story lines, known for their acute sense of history, were also usually enmeshed in romantic intrigue and violence which seemed to enhance their popularity.

Despite his commercial success Yerby, by the late 1960s, was the target of criticism by black literary critics and activists who charged that his work did not adequately address African America. Some of them contended that he deliberately denied the brutal realities of American racism that blacks faced in the historical periods his novels portrayed. Others charged that his treatment of many of the African American characters in his novels reflected the dominant anti-black stereotypes of the era. Thus, although Yerby was the first best-selling black novelist, he also became the most maligned because many critics felt his work lacked the appropriate racial consciousness.

Stung by the criticism, Yerby renounced his American citizenship and lived abroad for the rest of his life. Frank Yerby died on November 21, 1991 in Madrid, Spain. Research more about great black writers and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

September 1 1905- Elvera Sanchez

September 1 1905- Elvera Sanchez

GM – FBF – Today I want to share with you the story of a black woman who was forgotten by many of the history books and we need to remember her. Enjoy!

Remember – ” He was fun, quick to learn and I loved him for his body of work”

Today in our History – September 1, 1905 – Elvera Sanchez was an American dancer and the mother of Sammy Davis Jr.

During his lifetime, Davis Jr. stated that his mother was Puerto Rican and born in San Juan; however, in the 2003 biography In Black and White, author Wil Haygood wrote that Davis’ mother was born in New York City, of Afro-Cuban descent, and that Davis claimed she was Puerto Rican because he feared anti-Cuban backlash would hurt his record sales.

Elvera Sanchez was born in New York City to Luisa Valentina (née Aguiar; February 14, 1884 – October 5, 1996), a Cuban immigrant, and Marco Sanchez, who was from Spain. She began her career as a chorus-line dancer at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem, in 1921. She became known as “Baby Sanchez”, and married Sammy Davis Sr., also a dancer, in 1923. In 1925 their son and only child, Sammy Davis Jr., was born. He would often accompany his mother and father to the theater. When the child was three, the couple split up and the father obtained sole custody of his son, taking him on the road. Sanchez was a chorus-line dancer at Apollo Theater for six years and appeared in Carl Micheaux’s 1936 Swing. She continued to dance until the 1940s.

After retiring from her show business career at the age of 35, she began working as a barmaid for Grace’s Little Belmont in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She enjoyed telling jokes to customers and was known for sporting a gold napkin. Her connections with entertainers Count Basie, Billy Eckstine, and Sarah Vaughn drew these and other celebrities to her station, and her son Sammy would come to visit after performing across town at the 500 Club “and delighted everyone pouring drinks and singing”. Frank Sinatra’s valet George Jacobs recalled in his memoirs that Sinatra also liked to drop by Grace’s Little Belmont in the early morning hours after his shows at the 500 Club to say hello to Davis’ mother behind the bar.

From 1989, until her death in 2000, she was an adviser to the New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day. Elvera was survived by her daughter, Ramona. Research more about this great American family and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!


August 18 1907- Howard Swanson

August 18 1907- Howard Swanson

GM – FBF – Today as America still morns the death of the great Aretha Franklin, I want to bring together two outstanding Black poets and one of the world’s best opera singers of her day, who was Black – they will come together in composistion to give this Black composer honors that no other composer received before his time. He would go on to compose works for the prestigious Julliard School of Music. Enjoy!

Remember – “When I hear the words of the poets and the vison of their words on paper it inspires me to write beautiful music” – Howard Swanson

Today in our History – August 18, 1907 – Howard Swanson was an African American composer best known for his art songs based on the poetry of Langston Hughes and Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Swanson was born in Atlanta, Georgia on August 18, 1907. Born in a middle class home, Swanson’s family sent his two older brothers to college which was for the time unusual.

Swanson’s music career started after the family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1916. As a young boy he often sang in his church, sometimes performing duets with his mother. In 1925 when he was 18, Swanson’s father died which immediately and dramatically changed the family’s circumstances. Howard Swanson now had to earn money to support the family. After high school graduation he worked in the Cleveland Post Office.

In 1927, as his circumstances improved, Swanson decided to continue his education. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Music where he studied piano, eventually graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in music theory a decade later. In 1939 he received a Rosenwald Fellowship which allowed him to study in Paris, France with famed music instructor Nadia Boulanger. Swanson had planned to pursue graduate studies in Paris but in 1940 he was forced to evacuate Paris as the German Army overran France.

Swanson was virtually unknown until Marian Anderson included his setting of The Negro Speaks of Rivers at Carnegie Hall in 1949, and then the New York Critics Circle decided American composers were now well enough advanced that they could bestow their annual award on a local composer. Swanson was selected, and his Short Symphony was acclaimed the best new work performed in New York during the 1950-51 seasons. It was during this period that Joy was composed, soon becoming known by the recordings of Helen Thigpen, and of Phalese Tassie, and often performed by baritone Ben Holt.

Upon return to the United States he got a job with the Internal Revenue Service while studying and composing music on the side. In 1950, at the age of 43, Howard Swanson produced his first significant composition, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” a musical set to Langston Hughes’s famous poem of that name. His composition was performed in Carnegie Hall by Marian Anderson. Later that year his work Short Symphony was played by the New York Philharmonic orchestra. Swanson’s other works include “Music for Strings” (1952), “Concerto for Orchestra” (1957), and “Symphony No. 3” (1969).

Howard Swanson’s style was of the neo-classical school. Although his music drew mostly from western European styles he did incorporate African American styles with the addition of rhythmic complexity, syncopation, and instances of beat phrasing. Swanson returned to Paris after being awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952. He remained there until 1966. While in Europe he was commissioned to compose works for the Louisville Symphony Orchestra and the Julliard School of Music. In 1966 he returned to New York City.
Howard Swanson died in New York City on November 12, 1978. Research more about great American Black composers and share with your babies. Make it A Champion Day!

August 16 1947-Carol Moseley Braun

August 16 1947-Carol Moseley Braun

GM – FBF – Get ready for a great day! Let’s go back and examine the story of the first Black woman elected to sreve in the United States Senate. Enjoy!

Remember – “Bush is giving the rich a tax cut instead of putting that cut in the pockets of working people.” – Carol Moseley

Today in our History – August 16, 1947 – Carol Moseley Braun, the first African American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate, was born in Chicago, Illinois.

Braun, attended the Chicago Public Schools and received a degree from the University of Illinois in 1969. She earned her degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1972.

Moseley Braun served as assistant prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago from 1972 to 1978. In the latter year she was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives and served in that body for ten years. During her tenure Moseley Braun made educational reform a priority. She also became the first African American assistant majority leader in the history of the Illinois legislature. Moseley Braun returned to Chicago in 1988 to serve as Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

Capitalizing on the public furor over the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill controversy and in particular the way in which Hill was treated by U.S. Senators, Carol Moseley Braun upset incumbent Senator Alan Dixon in the Illinois Democratic Primary in 1992 and went on to become the first female Senator elected from Illinois and the first African American woman in the U.S. Senate. During her term in the U.S. Senate (1992-1998) Moseley Braun focused on education issues. She served on the Senate Finance, Banking and Judiciary Committee; the 
Small Business Committee; and the Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

In 1998, Moseley Braun was defeated for re-election in a campaign marred by allegations of illegal campaign donations during her 1992 campaign, although she was never formally charged with misconduct. Moseley Braun was also hurt by her business ties to Nigerian dictator Sami Abacha. After her 1998 defeat President Bill Clinton nominated Moseley Braun to the post of U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, a post she held until 2001

Late in 2003 Moseley Braun announced her candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for President. However, she failed to attract financial support and withdrew from the race on January 14, 2004.

After teaching briefly at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, Moseley Braun returned to Chicago where she now lives. Research more about the great American and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

August 13 1906

August 13 1906

GM – FBF – Today I would like to share with you a story that was so bad, the President hurt many people of color and their families. It would be know as the Brownsville Case. Enjoy!

Remember – ” I lost my livelthood and my future because of a lie! – Black Solder

Today in our History – August 13, 1906 – Black soldiers accused of killing a white bartender and a Hispanic police officer was wounded by gunshots in the town.

Since arriving at Fort Brown on July 28, 1906, the black US soldiers had been required to follow the legal color line mandate from white citizens of Brownsville, which included the state’s racial segregation law dictating separate accommodation for black people and white people, and Jim Crow customs such as showing respect for white people, as well as respect for local laws.
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A reported attack on a white woman during the night of August 12 so incensed many townspeople that Maj. Charles W. Penrose, after consultation with Mayor Frederick Combe, declared an early curfew for soldiers the following day to avoid trouble.

On the night of August 13, 1906, a white bartender was killed and a Hispanic police officer was wounded by gunshots in the town. Immediately the residents of Brownsville cast the blame on the black soldiers of the 25th Infantry at Fort Brown. But the all-white commanders at Fort Brown confirmed that all of the soldiers were in their barracks at the time of the shootings. Local whites, including Brownsville’s mayor, still claimed that some of the black soldiers participated in the shooting.
Local townspeople of Brownsville began providing evidence of the 25th Infantry’s part in the shooting by producing spent bullet cartridges from Army rifles which they said belonged to the 25th’s men. Despite the contradictory evidence that demonstrated the spent shells were planted in order to frame men of the 25th Infantry in the shootings, investigators accepted the statements of the local whites and the Brownsville mayor.

When soldiers of the 25th Infantry were pressured to name who fired the shots, they insisted that they had no idea who had committed the crime. Captain Bill McDonald of the Texas Rangers investigated 12 enlisted men and tried to tie the case to them. The local county court did not return any indictments based on his investigation, but residents kept up complaints about the black soldiers of the 25th.

At the recommendation of the Army’s Inspector General, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered 167 of the black troops to be dishonorably discharged because of their “conspiracy of silence”. Although some accounts have claimed that six of the troops were Medal of Honor recipients, historian Frank N. Schubert has shown that none was. Fourteen of the men were later reinstated into the army. The dishonorable discharge prevented the 153 other men from ever working in a military or civil service capacity. Some of the black soldiers had been in the U.S. Army for more than 20 years, while others were extremely close to retirement with pensions, which they lost as a result.

The prominent African-American educator and activist, Booker T. Washington, president of Tuskegee Institute, got involved in the case. He asked President Roosevelt to reconsider his decision in the affair. Roosevelt dismissed Washington’s plea and allowed his decision to stand.

Both blacks and many whites across the United States were outraged at Roosevelt’s actions. The black community began to turn against him, although it had previously supported the Republican president (in addition to maintaining loyalty to the party of Abraham Lincoln, black people approved of Roosevelt having invited Booker T. Washington to dinner at the White House and speaking out publicly against lynching). The administration withheld news of the dishonorable discharge of the soldiers until after the 1906 Congressional elections, so that the pro-Republican black vote would not be affected. The case became a political football, with William Howard Taft, positioning for the next candidacy for presidency, trying to avoid trouble.

Leaders of major black organizations, such as the Constitution League, the National Association of Colored Women, and the Niagara Movement, tried to persuade the administration not to discharge the soldiers, but were unsuccessful. From 1907–1908, the US Senate Military Affairs Committee investigated the Brownsville Affair, and the majority in March 1908 reached the same conclusion as Roosevelt. Senator Joseph B. Foraker of Ohio had lobbied for the investigation and filed a minority report in support of the soldiers’ innocence. Another minority report by four Republicans concluded that the evidence was too inconclusive to support the discharges. In September 1908, prominent educator and leader W. E. B. DuBois urged black people to register to vote and to remember their treatment by the Republican administration when it was time to vote for president.

Feelings across the nation remained high against the government actions, but with Taft succeeding Roosevelt as President, and Foraker failing to win re-election, some of the political pressure declined.

On February 23, 1909, the Committee on Military Affairs recommended favorably on Bill S.5729 for correction of records and reenlistment of officers and men of Companies B, C, and D of the 25th Infantry.

Senator Foraker was not re-elected. He continued to work on the Brownsville affair during his remaining time in office, guiding a resolution through Congress to establish a board of inquiry with the power to reinstate the soldiers. The bill, which the administration did not oppose, was less than Foraker wanted. He had hoped for a requirement that unless specific evidence was shown against a man, he would be allowed to re-enlist. The legislation passed both houses, and was signed by Roosevelt on March 2, 1909.

On March 6, 1909, shortly after he left the Senate, Foraker was the guest of honor at a mass meeting at Washington’s Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. Though both whites and African Americans assembled to recognize the former senator, all the speakers but Foraker were African American. Presented with a silver loving cup, he addressed the crowd,

I have said that I do not believe that a man in that battalion had anything to do with the shooting up of “Brownsville,” but whether any one of them had, it was our duty to ourselves as a great, strong, and powerful nation to give every man a hearing, to deal fairly and squarely with every man; to see to it that justice was done to him; that he should be heard.

On April 7, 1909, under the provisions of the Act of March 30, 1909, a Military Court of Inquiry was set up by Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson to report on the charges and recommend for reenlistment those men who had been discharged under Special Order # 266, November 9, 1906. Of the 167 discharged men, 76 were located as witnesses, and 6 did not wish to appear.

The 1910 Court of Military Inquiry undertook an examination of the soldiers’ bids for re-enlistment, in view of the Senate committee’s reports, but its members interviewed only about one-half of the soldiers discharged. It accepted 14 for re-enlistment, and eleven of these re-entered the Army.[4][10]
The government did not re-examine the case until the early 1970s.

In 1970, historian John D. Weaver published The Brownsville Raid, which investigated the affair in depth. Weaver argued that the accused members of the 25th Infantry were innocent and that they were discharged without benefit of due process of law as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. After reading his book, Congressman Augustus F. Hawkins of Los Angeles introduced a bill to have the Defense Department re-investigate the matter to provide justice to the accused soldiers.

In 1972, the Army found the accused members of the 25th Infantry to be innocent. At its recommendations, President Richard Nixon pardoned the men and awarded them honorable discharges, without backpay. These discharges were generally issued posthumously, as there were only two surviving soldiers from the affair: one had re-enlisted in 1910. In 1973, Hawkins and Senator Hubert Humphreygained congressional passage of a tax-free pension for the last survivor, Dorsie Willis, who received $25,000. He was honored in ceremonies in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. Research more about the case and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

August 9 1902- Mary Lucille Perkins

August 9 1902- Mary Lucille Perkins

GM – FBF – And what a great day it will be. I would like to share a story with you. How many of you have had someone knock on your door not to buy anything but wants to sit and visit with you about their vision spin? Sometimes you hide and won’t answer the door. Today let’s look at a member of that relious group. Enjoy!

Remember – ” Many blacks will one day see the Importance of joining our family” – Mary Lucille Perkins Bankhead,

Today in our History – August 9, 1902 – Mary Lucille Perkins Bankhead dies.

Mary Lucille Perkins Bankhead, lifelong resident of Salt Lake City and member of the Genesis Group leadership, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on August 9, 1902. Her father, Sylvester Perkins, was a cowboy and farmer. Her mother, Martha Anne Jane Stevens Perkins Howell, was a homemaker and a farmworker. Martha and Sylvester celebrated a double wedding in 1899 with Nettie Jane (granddaughter of the famous Jane Manning James) and Louis Leggroan. The Perkins family proudly claimed Green Flake (Martha’s grandfather and one of three “colored servants” among the vanguard Mormon pioneers) as their ancestor.

Lucille Perkins grew up on a homestead originally granted by President Ulysses S. Grant. She was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). According to Bankhead, the relationship among neighbors was characterized more by camaraderie than by racial tensions, though she certainly found racial tension in her LDS congregation.

In 1922 Lucille Perkins married Thomas LeRoy Bankhead, a descendant of Nathan Bankhead, a slave of Mormon pioneers. Lucille and LeRoy had a total of eight children. The marriage lasted forty-five years until LeRoy died on February 18, 1968.

Bankhead maintained a close but complicated relationship with the LDS Church throughout her life. Her father and husband were Mormons, but both had refused to attend church. Her husband participated in social engagements and charitable activities sponsored by the church and accompanied Bankhead to meetings. However, rather than attend these meetings, he would wait for Lucille in the car in cold weather or in storms.

Their sons were practicing Mormons, but during their youth, the LDS Church was still enforcing its ban on blacks entering the priesthood. The Bankhead sons did not remain active in the LDS Church. Lucille Bankhead believed that people, rather than God, were responsible for the priesthood restriction.

Bankhead challenged the legitimacy of white supremacy on several fronts. In 1939 a Utah state senator proposed to relocate Salt Lake City’s black residents to a different side of the city in an effort to obtain black-owned real estate. Bankhead and members of her arts and crafts club went to the capitol and sat in the gallery for several hours. She and her group were able to stop this land repossession. When Bankhead served as secretary for the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, she was set to deliver a speech. As she approached the entrance of the meeting hall, the doorman closed the door. He expected Bankhead to enter through the kitchen, but she managed to have the door opened for her and delivered her speech as planned.

When the Genesis Group (a support group for black Mormons) was organized in 1971, Lucille Bankhead became the president of its Relief Society (the women’s organization). She also participated in the proxy endowment (an LDS temple ordinance) of Jane Elizabeth Manning James, a black woman close to LDS founder Joseph Smith. She was also a featured speaker at the first annual Ebony Rose Black History conference in 1987.

Mary Lucille Perkins Bankhead passed away in Salt Lake City on June 16, 1994, and is buried in the Elysian Gardens Cemetery. She was ninety-one. Research more about this great American and share withh your babies. Make it a champion day!

August 7 1906- Ernest Wade

August 7 1906- Ernest Wade

GM- FBF – Today I would like to share with you. Ernest Wade (August 7, 1906 – April 15, 1983) who was an American actress who is best known for playing the role of Sapphire Stevens on both the radio and TV versions of The Amos ‘n’ Andy Show. It was work but since there is name calling Ernest ( Nigger) I will leave here one day. Enjoy!

Remember ” A lot of people have given up having any hopes and dreams in exchange for escaping from reality. No wonder the world is such a bleak place; no one is doing anything about it.” – Ernest Wade

Today in our History – August 7,1906 – Is dead.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Wade was trained as a singer and organist. Her family had a strong connection to the theater. Her mother, Hazel Wade, worked in vaudeville as a performer, while her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Johnson, worked for the Lincoln Theater in Baltimore, Maryland
Ernestine grew up in Los Angeles and started her acting career at age four. In 1935, Ernestine was a member of the Four Hot Chocolates singing group.

She appeared in bit parts in films and did the ve performance of a butterfly in the 1946 Walt Disney production Song of the South. Wade was a member of the choir organized by actress-singer Anne Brown for the filming of the George Gershwin biographical film Rhapsody in Blue (1945) and appeared in the film as one of the “Catfish Row” residents in the Porgy and Bess segment. She enjoyed the highest level of prominence on Amos ‘n Andy by playing the shrewish, demanding and manipulative wife of George “Kingfish” Stevens. Wade, Johnny Lee, and Lillian Randolph, Amanda Randolph, Jester Hairston, Roy Glenn (and several others) were among the Amos ‘n’ Andy radio cast members to also appear in the TV series.

Ernestine began playing Sapphire Stevens in 1939, but riginally came to the Amos ‘n’ Andy radio show in the rolof Valada Green, a lady who believed she had married Andy.
In her interview which is part of the documentary Amos ‘n’ Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy, Wade related how she got the job with the radio show. Initially there for a singing role, she was asked if she could “do lines”. When the answer was yes, she was first asked to say “I do” and then to scream; the scream got her the role of Valada Green. Ernestine also played the radio roles of The Widow Armbruster, Sara Fletcher, and Mrs. Van Porter.

In a 1979 interview, Ernestine related that she would often be stopped by strangers who recognized her from the television show, saying, “I know who you are and I want to ask you, is that your real husband?” At her home, she had framed signed photos from the members of the Amos ‘n’ Andy television show cast. Tim Moore, her TV husband, wrote the following on his, “My Best Wishes To My Darling Battle Ax From The Kingfish Tim Moore”.

Wade defended her character against criticism of being a negative stereotype of African American women. In a 1973 interview, she stated, “I know there were those who were offended by it, but I still have people stop me on the street to tell me how much they enjoyed it. And many of those people are black members of the NAACP.” The documentary Amos ‘n’ Andy: Anatomy of a Controversy covered the history of the radio and television shows as well as interviews with surviving cast members. Ernestine was among them, and she continued her defense of the show and those with roles in it.

She believed that the roles she and her colleagues played
made it possible for African-American actors who came later to be cast in a wider variety of roles. She also considered the early typecast roles, where women were most often cast as maids, not to be damaging, seeing them in the sense of someone being either given the role of the hero or the part of the villain.

In later years, she continued as an actress, doing more voice work for radio and cartoons. After Amos ‘n’ Andy, Wade did voice work in television and radio commercials. Ernestine also did office work and played the organ. She also appeared in a 1967 episode of TV’s Family Affair as a maid working for a stage actress played by Joan Blondell.

Ernestine Wade is buried in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Since she had no headstone, the West Adams Heritage Association marked her grave with a plaque. Reacearh more about this great American and make it a champion day!