Category: Events- Bombings, Lynches, mass murders of blacks

26Feb

February 26 1921- Camp Atwater

GM – FBF- This camp is not designed for the average black families and that is a crime. – A. Philip Randolph.

Remember – “Our chrildren need activities in a structured formate that they will not get at home, so the middle class and upper class African American youth can enjoy their summers.” – W.E.B. Du Bois

Today in our History – February 26, 1921 – Camp Atwater is a cultural, educational, and recreational camp designed for the children of African American professionals. The camp, founded February 26, 1921 by Dr. William De Berry, was located in North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Initially named St. John’s Camp, in 1926 the name was officially changed to Camp Atwater when Ms. Mary Atwater donated $25,000 with the stipulation that the camp’s name honor her late father, Dr. David Fisher, a well-known and distinguished physician in the town. The camp is the oldest American Camp Association (ACA) accredited African American owned and operated camp in the nation.
The primary mission of the 75 acre, 30 building camp situated along Lake Lashway in Brookfield, Massachusetts is to focus on developing the emotional and academic maturity of its members. The camp was initially created to provide recreational opportunities for African American children of families who had moved to Springfield, Massachusetts from the south. Many of these families were part of the great migration that took place during the early years of the 20th century. Dr. De Berry also envisioned the camp as providing opportunities for his children to meet other black children of comparable social backgrounds.
Since African Americans throughout the North — regardless of their economic, educational, or social status — were excluded from the vast majority of the region’s white camps, many of them began to enroll at Camp Atwater.
Camp leaders provided boys and girls, who typically ranged from eight to 15 years, numerous activities such as basketball, soccer, boating, swimming, arts and crafts, tennis, archery, ballet, and drama classes. The Camp also sponsored activities which promoted African American history and culture. Over time those who had attended the camp developed lifelong national networks of important professional and social contacts. Children who met at Camp Atwater often married years later and then sent their children to the camp for similar exposure.
By the 1950s and 1960s Camp Atwater began to decline in popularity as middle class African American parents enrolled their children in desegregated summer camps closer to home. Camp Atwater, however, continues to operate today. It is owned and managed by the Urban League of Springfield and its enrollees are from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. Nonetheless the camp, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, continues to focus on its original mission, fostering the emotional and intellectual development of African American youth. Research more about this American Instuition and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!

11Feb

February 11, 1644- The First Legal Protest By African Americans

GM – FBF – My fellow Wilmington, North Carolina native Meadowlark Lemon is a true national treasure. I watched him play for the Harlem Globetrotters when I was growing up and his skill with the basketball and dedication to the game were an inspiration not only to me, but to kids all around the world.
Michael Jordan NBA Hall of Fame Basketball Player

Remember – “You must understand as a kid of color in those days, the Harlem Globetrotters were like being movie stars.”
Wilt Chamberlain NBA Hall of Fame Basketball Player

Today in our History – February 10, 1948 – THE DATE WAS SET FOR THE MINNEAPOLIS LAKERS AND THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS TO PLAY (February 19, 1948) IN WHICH THE GLOBETROTTERS WON! The Harlem Globetrotters originated on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, in the 1920s, where all the original players were raised. In spite of the team’s name, the squad was born 800 miles west of Harlem in the south side of Chicago. In 1926, a group of former basketball players from Chicago’s Wendell Phillips High School reunited to play for the Giles Post American Legion basketball team that barnstormed around the Midwest. The following year, the team became known as the Savoy Big Five while playing home games as pre-dance entertainment at Chicago’s newly opened Savoy Ballroom The Globetrotters began as the Savoy Big Five, one of the premier attractions of the Savoy Ballroom opened in November 1927, a basketball team of African-American players that played exhibitions before dances. In 1928, several players left the team in a dispute. That autumn, several of the players, led by Tommy Brookins, formed a team called the “Globe Trotters” and toured Southern Illinois that spring. Abe Saperstein became involved with the team as its manager and promoter. By 1929, Saperstein was touring Illinois and Iowa with his basketball team called the “New York Harlem Globe Trotters”. Saperstein selected Harlem, New York, New York, as their home city since Harlem was considered the center of African-American culture at the time and an out-of-town team name would give the team more of a mystique. In fact, the Globetrotters did not play in Harlem until 1968, four decades after the team’s formation.

The Globetrotters were perennial participants in the World Professional Basketball Tournament, winning it in 1940. In a heavily attended matchup a few years later, the 1948 Globetrotters-Lakers game, the Globetrotters made headlines when they beat one of the best white basketball teams in the country, the Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers). The Globetrotters gradually worked comic routines into their act—a direction the team has credited to Reece “Goose” Tatum, who joined in 1941—and eventually became known more for entertainment than sports. Once one of the most famous teams in the country, the Globetrotters were eventually eclipsed by the rise of the National Basketball Association, particularly when NBA teams began fielding African-American players in the 1950s. In 1950, Harlem Globetrotter Chuck Cooper became the first black player to be drafted in the NBA by Boston and teammate Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton became the first African-American player to sign an NBA contract when the New York Knicks purchased his contract from the Globetrotters. The Globetrotters’ acts often feature incredible coordination and skillful handling of one or more basketballs, such as passing or juggling balls between players, balancing or spinning balls on their fingertips, and making unusual difficult shots.

In 1952, the Globetrotters invited Louis “Red” Klotz to create a team to accompany them on their tours. This team, the Washington Generals (who also played under various other names), were the Globetrotters’ primary opponents up until 2015. The Generals were effectively stooges for the Globetrotters, with the Globetrotters handily defeating them in thousands of games.

Many famous basketball players have played for the Globetrotters. Greats such as “Wee” Willie Gardner, Connie “The Hawk” Hawkins, Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain, and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton later went on to join the NBA. The Globetrotters signed their first female player, Olympic gold medalist Lynette Woodard, in 1985. The Globetrotters have featured 13 female players in their illustrious history. Baseball Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Bob Gibson, and Ferguson Jenkins also played for the team at one time or another. Because the majority of the team players have historically been African American, and as a result of the buffoonery involved in many of the Globetrotters’ skits, they drew some criticism during the Civil Rights era. The players were accused by some civil-rights advocates of “Tomming for Abe”, a reference to Uncle Tom and Jewish owner Abe Saperstein. However, prominent civil rights activist Jesse Jackson (who would later be named an Honorary Globetrotter) came to their defense by stating, “I think they’ve been a positive influence… They did not show blacks as stupid. On the contrary, they were shown as superior.” In 1995, Orlando Antigua became the first Hispanic player on the team. He was the first non-black player on the Globetrotters’ roster since Bob Karstens played with the squad in 1942–43. The Harlem Globetrotters have been featured in several of their own films and television series and still are a crowd favorite today. Research more about this American Iconic team 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!

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!

15Jan

January 15 1960- The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

GM – FBF – “An organization which claims to be working for the needs of a community – as SNCC does – must work to provide that community with a position of strength from which to make its voice heard. This is the significance of black power beyond the slogan”. – Stokely Carmichael

Remember – A final SNCC legacy is the destruction of the psychological shackles which had kept black southerners in physical and mental peonage; SNCC helped break those chains forever. It demonstrated that ordinary women and men, young and old, could perform extraordinary tasks. – Julian Bond

Today in our History – April 15,1960 – The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced /snɪk/ SNIK) was one of the major Civil Rights Movement organizations of the 1960s. It emerged from the first wave of student sit-ins and formed at an April 1960 meeting organized by Ella Baker at Shaw University. After its involvement in the Voter Education Project, SNCC grew into a large organization with many supporters in the North who helped raise funds to support its work in the South, allowing full-time organizers to have a small salary. Many unpaid grassroots organizers and activists also worked with SNCC on projects in the Deep South, often becoming targets of racial violence and police brutality. SNCC played a seminal role in the freedom rides, the 1963 March on Washington, Mississippi Freedom Summer, the Selma campaigns, the March Against Fear and other historic events. SNCC’s major contribution was in its field work, organizing voter registration, freedom schools, and direct action all over the country, but especially in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

In the later 1960s, inspired by fiery leaders such as Stokely Carmichael, SNCC focused on black power, and draft resistance to the Vietnam War. As early as 1965, executive secretary James Forman said he “did not know how much longer we can stay nonviolent” and in 1969, SNCC officially changed its name to the Student National Coordinating Committee to reflect the broadening of its strategy. It passed out of existence in the 1970s following heavy infiltration and suppression by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), spearheaded as part of COINTELPRO operations during the 1960s and 70s led by J. Edgar Hoover. Reserach more about SNCC and the begining of “The Black Panther Party” and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!