* Today in Black History - February 6 *
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* "Once a year we go through the charade of February being 'Black *
* History Month.' Black History Month needs to be a 12-MONTH THING. *
* When we all learn about our history, about how much we've *
* accomplished while being handicapped with RACISM, it can only *
* inspire us to greater heights, knowing we're on the giant shoulders *
* of our ANCESTORS." Subscribe to the Munirah Chronicle and receive *
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1820 - The first organized emigration back to Africa begins when
86 free African Americans leave New York Harbor aboard the
Mayflower of Liberia. They are bound for the British colony
of Sierra Leone, which welcomes free African Americans as well
as fugitive slaves.
1867 - The Anglo-American merchant George Peabody, founds the $ 2
million Peabody Education Fund. It is the first philanthropy
established in the wake of the Civil War to promote free
public education in 12 Civil War devastated southern states
for whites and African Americans. The Peabody Fund will
provide funding for construction, endowments, scholarships,
teacher and industrial education for newly freed slaves.
1898 - Haywood Hall is born in South Omaha, Nebraska. After
relocating to Minneapolis, Minnesota with his family, he will
join the U.S. Army. He will serve with the 370th Infantry in
France during World War I. Returning to Chicago, Illinois after
the war, he will be active as a Black Nationalist, becoming a
member of the African Blood Brotherhood and the Communist
Party of the USA. In 1925, he will adopt the pseudonym, Harry
Haywood. He will be a leading proponent of Black
Nationalism, self-determination, and the idea that American
Blacks are a colonized people who should organize themselves
into a nation. From 1926 to 1930, he will study in the Soviet
Union, where he will meet several anti-colonial
revolutionaries, including Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh. On his return
to the U.S. in 1931, he will be chosen to lead the Communist
Party's Negro Department, and in 1934 will be elected a
member of its politburo. The Spanish Civil War will take him to
Spain in 1937, where he will fight in a volunteer Communist
brigade against General Francisco Franco's fascist regime.
During World War II, his belief in black self-determination and
territorial autonomy will put him at odds with Communist
Party policy, which had gravitated away from support for a
Black nation in the American south. His agitation on "The
Negro Question" led to his expulsion from the Party in 1959.
He will remain in Chicago, supporting Black Nationalist
movements such as the Nation of Islam. He will publish
"Negro Liberation" (1948), a detailed analysis of the national
character of Black oppression, particularly in the South. In his
later years he will write his memoirs, "Black Bolshevik:
Autobiography of an Afro-American Communist" (1978). Harry
Haywood's greatest contribution will be his central role in
developing a theoretical understanding of the Black nation in
the United States. He will join the ancestors in January, 1985.
1898 - Melvin B. Tolson, author and educator, is born in Moberly,
Missouri. Educated at Fisk, Lincoln, and Columbia
Universities, his first volume of poetry, "Rendezvous with
America," will be published in 1944. He will be best known
for "Libretto for the Republic of Liberia," published in
1953.
1931 - The Harlem Experimental Theatre Group performs its first play
at St. Philips Parish House. The group's advisory board
includes famed actress Rose McClendon, author Jesse Fauset,
and Grace Nail.
1933 - Walter E. Fauntroy is born in Washington, DC. He will become a
civil rights leader and minister. He will later become the
non-voting delegate to the United States Congress for the
District of Columbia from 1971 to 1991.
1945 - Robert Nesta Marley is born in St. Ann, Jamaica to Captain
Norval and Cedella Marley. He will become a successful singer
along with his group, The Wailers. Bob Marley and The
Wailers were among the earliest to sing Reggae, a blend of
Jamaican dance music and American Rhythm & Blues with a
heavy dose of Rastafarianism, the Jamaican religion that
blends Christian and African teachings. He will join the
ancestors in 1981 at the age of 36, succumbing to cancer. As
a result of his accomplishments, he will be awarded Jamaica's
Order Of Merit, the nation's third highest honor, (April, 1981)
in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the country's
culture. He will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 1991.
1950 - Natalie Cole is born to Nat "King" and Maria Cole. She will
follow in her famous father's footsteps and become a
recording star. She will become a Grammy Award-winning
singer, and Best New Artist in 1975.
1961 - The "jail-in" movement starts in Rock Hill, South Carolina,
when arrested students demand to be jailed rather than pay
fines.
1993 - Arthur Ashe, tennis champion, joins the ancestors at the age of
49. He succumbs from complications of AIDS, contracted from
a transfusion during a earlier heart surgery.
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