The News Argus February Page 12
BLACK HISTORY
BLACK CULTURE
Diane Oliver
1943-1966
She was a writer who was born in
Charlotte, NC. She was the managing
editor of The Carolinian, the University
of North Carolina’s newspaper, and served
as guest writer for Mademoiselle
magazine in 1964. Oliver has written
many short stories which have appeared in
journals and magazines. Oliver was also a
student in the Writers’ Workshop at the
University of Iowa.
Toussaint L’ Ouverture
1743-1803
A slave until he was almost 50, he led
a slave revolt in Haiti against the French in
1791. In 1793 when slaves were freed by
the French, he aided them in fighting the
Spanish. In 1799, a civil war broke out
between blacks and mulattos. Toussaint
was the leader of the Blacks. Later he was
the ruler of Haiti. Determine to subdue
Haiti, Napoleon reestablished slavery.
Toussaint had resisted which cause a
French expedition against him. He was
eventually captured and he died in prison.
The name L’ Ouverture (The Opening)
was given to him by the French governor
of Haiti because he said that Toussaint
was a man who finds an opening
everywhere to break through enemy lines.
Salem Poor
Salem Poor, a soldier of the
American Revolution, was born in 1758
as a freeman in Massachusetts. Very little
is known about his adolescence, but when
the colonies declared war on England,
Poor answered the call by enlisting in a
Massachusetts Militia company under
Capt. Benjamin Ames. He was said to
have served with valor and bravery at the
Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. A
most memorable fact about Poor is that he
was credited with picking off Lt.Col.
James Abercrombie. Later, thirteen of his
fellow white officers petitioned the
General Court of Massachusetts
suggesting that he be rewarded for his
actions and praising his display of bravery
and his great character.
There is no record that Poor received
an award. He did however, go on to serve
at Valley Forge, Pa., and at White Plains,
N.Y., although his service went
unrecognized.
John R. Mitchell Jr
John R. Mitchell Jr., was born on
the northern outskirts of Richmond, Va.,
to slave parents. He managed to acquire a
formal education and after graduation,
spent a brief time as a teacher and as a
correspondent for The New York Globe.
Mitchell assumed control of The
Richmond Planet in 1884 and transformed
it into one of the nation’s leading Negro
newspapers.
Mitchell was best known for his
stands against discrimination, lynching,
and “ruinous race-legislation”. He was
also one of the nation’s most outspoken
Negro opponents of imperialism.
In 1902, Mitchell founded the
Mechanics Savings Bank of Richmond,
Va., in hopes of economic betterment of
the black people. He became a very
successful businessman and created many
opportunities for his race.
Nathan Ashby
. Nathan Ashby was a former slave.
He became the first black minister of a
independent Negro Baptist Church in
Montgomery, Alabama.
Benjamin Mays
Benjamin Mays was the first Black
man to head an all Black Male school in
the nation. The school is located in the city
of Atlanta Georgia named Moorehouse
College.
W. E. B. Dubois
W. E. B. Dubois is known for being
the President of the National Association
Advancement of Colored people,
(NAACP). He was also the first black to
be admitted to The House of
Representatives in the United States
Government.
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall is known for
being the first Black elected Supreme
Court Judge. He was also a member of the
NAACP were he was a lawyer who was
active in the Civil Rights Movement
Matthew Hanson
Matthew Hanson was responsible for
breaking the trail on the hind leg of the
trek to the North Pole with explorer
Robert Peary.
Scott Joplin
(1868 - 1917)
Born in Texarkana, Texas on
November, 24. His father was a former
slave and his mother was bom free. Both
of his parents were musically inclined.
Scott was one of six children. His musical
interest was with the piano. He left home
at an early age and went to St. Louis. He
played Ragtime Piano, which was big at
that time. He also toured the Vaudeville
Circuits. His composition “Maple Leaf
Rag” (1897), reportedly sold over a
million copies of sheet music. After this
success, he taught and composed such
music as “Guest of Honor” a Ragtime
Opera, “The Entertainer,” “Paragon Rag”,
and his greatest negro folk opera -
“Treemonisha”. Joplin was considered a
Genius by many people.
Ida B. Wells Barnett
(1862 - 1931)
Bom in HollySprings Miss., she was
left an orphan at 14 with 7 younger
brothers and sisters to care for. She taught
school, and later became an Editor and
Publisher of “Free Speech” in Memphis,
Tenn. Her fight against lynching was so
fearless that her plant was burned and she
was forced to flee for her life. In New
York she continued her Anti-Lynching
Editorials thru the Black New York Age
Newspaper. She took her cause to
England in 1893-94. In 1895 Miss. Wells
married Ferdinand L. Barnett, the
Publisher of Chicago’s first Black
Newspaper, The “Chicago Conservator”.
They fought tirelessly for Equal Rights in
America. She organized Civic and
Welfare Groups. A courageous woman
with vision.
Anna Julia Cooper
(Pioneer Teacher)
Anna Julia Cooper had a lifelong
quest for higher education for Blacks.
She fought for Women’s Rights. Bom in
1858 in Raleigh, N.C. and historians
presumed, fathered by her master. Dr.
Haywood. As a child was sent to
Raleigh’s St. Augustines Normal School
and Collegiate Institute, a school to
prepare Black teachers. At 19, she
married her Greek Studies Teacher George
A.C. Cooper, who died two years later
(1879). Anna became a full - time teacher.
Eager for higher education, she enrolled at
Oberlin College (Ohio) in 1881. Cooper
became one of the first black women to
earn a Bachelor’s Degree at a major
college (1884). She headed the Science
and Modern Language Department at
Wilberforce College. For this work,
Oberlin Awarded her a master's degree.
She taught a “M” Street Preparatory
School a black school in Washington,
D.C. — bccamc Principal in 1902. The
D.C. School Board fired her in 1906.
Later, the D.C. System rehired her. She
went to Paris and earned a Doctorate at
Sorbonne University. She died in 1964 at
the young age of 106 years..
Robert Smalls
(1839- 1915)
Born a slave, he rose to become a
Congressman from South Carolina. In
1862 he was a pilot on the Armed
Confederate steamer (The Planter). One
night he stole the boat and ran it into the
union lines. It had valuable war
dispatches and cargo. The U.S. Navy
made him the Chief Pilot on the The
Planter. After the attack on Charleston, he
was promoted to Captain. He also served
as a Brig-Gen., in the Militia in South
Carolina.
Fanny L. Jackson Coopin
(1835 - 1913)
Was born a slave in Washington,
D.C., in 1835 and left an orphan at an
early age. Her Aunt bought her freedom
for $125. Fanny worked for her schooling
at State Normal School in Bristol, R.I.
Later to Oberlin (Ohio) College where she
graduated in 1865. She accepted a
Teacher position in Philadelphia, PA., at
the “Institute for Colored Youth."
(Later known as the Cheyney Training
School). In 1874 she became Principal
and was outstanding as an Educator until
her death, Jan. 21, 1913. Mrs. Coppin was
active as Organizer and Lecturer in the
Black Women’s Rights Movements.
Harriett Ross Tubman
(1821-1913)
Harriett Tubman became the greatest
conductor of the Underground Railroad, a
network of waystations that helped Blacks
escape from the South to free states and
Canada.
She almost always began her escapes
on Saturday night because it gave her 24
hours before anyone could advertise for
runaway slaves. She also made a practice of
escaping in the carriages of slave masters.
Fugitive slave laws passed in the
United States in 1850 forced Harriet to
move to Canada. She carried her aged
parents there in 1857. Getting her parents
out of Maryland was perhaps the most
daring of the 19 trips she made.
Blacks referred to her as Moses and
they sought her assistance. Tubman helped
free more than 300 slaves.