OURstory: Underground Railroad (1780-1862)

I believe in the Nguzo Saba, especially the Umoja (unity) principle. Umoja calls for us to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

One of the best examples of 'umoja' in American history is the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad, a vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves escape to the North and to Canada. This network was not run by any single organization or person. It effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year -- according to one estimate, the South lost 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850.

An organized system to assist runaway slaves seems to have begun towards the end of the 18th century. In 1786 George Washington complained about how one of his runaway slaves was helped by a "society of Quakers, formed for such purposes." The system grew, and around 1831 it was dubbed "The Underground Railroad," after the then emerging steam railroads. The system even used terms used in railroading: the homes and businesses where fugitives would rest and eat were called "stations" and "depots" and were run by "stationmasters," those who contributed money or goods were "stockholders," and the "conductor" was responsible for moving fugitives from one station to the next.

For the slave, running away to the North was anything but easy. After the initial escape for a slaveholde, the fugitives would move at night. They would generally travel between 10 and 20 miles to the next station, where they would rest and eat, hiding in barns and other out-of-the-way places. While they waited, a message would be sent to the next station to alert its stationmaster.

The Underground Railroad had many notable participants, including John Fairfield in Ohio, the son of a slaveholding family, who made many daring rescues, Levi Coffin, a Quaker who assisted more than 3,000 slaves, and Harriet Tubman, who made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom.

Ohio was crucial to the Underground Railroad saga. It has been estimated that 40,000 runaway slaves escaped to Canadian freedom through Ohio. A secret and successful network of over 700 safehouses and “depots” waited for those fugitives fortunate enough to make it to—and across—the Ohio River.

Although a “free state,” a designation indicating only that its residents could not own slaves, Ohio was a distinctly dangerous host to the escapees. Bounty hunters criss-crossed the state. Pro-slavery factions existed in many villages and cities. The Ohio Black Laws rewarded those who turned in or reported runaways. Lake Erie was a formidable obstacle to attaining Canadian freedom. Vigilante groups scoured the state, targeting all African-Americans. Law officers were aggressive, particularly following the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

I live in greater Cincinnati area. We are home to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Museum. I hope that all villagers have a chance to visit this remarkable museum.

Also, the Cincinnati Museum Center hosted a world-class exhibit, America I AM: The African American Imprint in 2010. The Center for African American Decorative Arts lent them a book simply entitled The Underground Railroad to be displayed in the Underground Railroad gallery at the America I AM exhibit. In 1852, a group of Philadelphia abolitionists formed a General Vigilance Committee to assist escaped slaves along the Underground Railroad. William Still was part of this group and kept detailed records of the runaway slaves he encountered. First published in 1872, this book is used to this day in genealogy searches. Many of the stories include references to Cincinnati and the Ohio River.

What are your thoughts about the Underground Railroad?

OURstory: William DeHart Hubbard (1903-1976)

I wonder how many folks that live in the greater Cincinnati area know about William DeHart Hubbard? Hubbard was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 25, 1903. As a student at Douglass School, Stowe School, and Walnut Hills High School, Hubbard was known as the fastest kid in school. He also knew that academics were as important as athletics. As such he earned a four-year scholastic average of 90 (out of 100) in his high school years.

Hubbard left Ohio to attend the University of Michigan (1922-1927) where he won six straight AAU long jump titles, two AAU triple jump titles, and two NCAA long jump titles. He also tied the world records for the 60- and 100-yard dashes. In 1927, he set a new world record for the long jump with a leap of 25 feet 10.85 inches.

At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, Hubbard became the first Black athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event, when he won the long jump with a leap of 24 feet 5 inches. The actual gold medal that he won was on display at the America I AM: An African American Imprint exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center on June 19, 2010 thru January 2, 2011.

Hubbard represented the USA in other Olympic events. He participated in the triple jump, but did not win a medal in that event. Hubbard also participated in the long jump at the 1928 Olympic Games, but did not earn a medal.

In 1927, Hubbard was hired by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, for which he worked until 1941. In 1942, he moved to Cleveland, where he became the Racial Relations Advisor for the Federal Housing Authority. He retired from this position in 1969.

William DeHart Hubbard was voted into the National Track Hall of Fame in 1957. He died in Cleveland on June 23, 1976.

Most of us know about Carl Lewis or Flo-Jo. Perhaps we should take a moment to honor the first African American gold medalist ... William DeHart Hubbard ... next time we think about the Olympics!

Good News Tuesday: Dr. Tonya Matthews (Cincinnati Museum Center)

I think that the Cincinnati Museum Center is a wonderful culture icon for my city. One reason for the continued excellence of the Cincinnati Museum Center can be found in its leadership.

Meet Dr. Tonya Matthews from Cincinnati, Ohio, whose interests have led her to become a scientist, educator, community activist, and a writer/poet. Dr. Matthews received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her graduate degree from Johns Hopkins University, both in biomedical engineering.

Her career history has been varied, including community science education, creating a biotechnology program with the Maryland Science Center, developing a biomedical science curriculum with Project Lead the Way, and working as a biomedical engineer for the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Matthews currently serves as the Vice President for Museums at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Her message to girls:

"My advice for you is to declare a dream and get on the path... any path. If I have learned anything, it is that it really is the journey, not the destination. I have never ended up where I thought I would be, but every moment has been worth it and every place I have ended up has surpassed my dreams."

To learn more about Tanya, visit her FabFems profile at: http://www.fabfems.org/users/tonya-matthews.

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This blog will continue to seek out Good News stories about people of African descent and share them with you each Tuesday. We need to tell the positive and upbeat information about OURstory. We can't depend on others to do it for us. Please pass along any Good News story that comes your way. In the case of bloggers ... we want you to join our Good News parade every Tuesday.

OURstory: Black Brigade of Cincinnati

I have lived in greater Cincinnati area since the mid-1990s.  I'm sad to report that I only recently learned about the Black Cincinnati Brigade.  I wonder if the public schools in Cincinnati and its surrounding suburbs are sharing information about the Cincinnati Black Brigades with our young 'uns.   Probably not.   I hope that the young 'uns and the public school history teachers in Cincinnati read this blog post!

The Cincinnati Black Brigade was the first Black unit with military purpose in the Civil War as described in this 34-page document about Cincinnati Black Brigade created in 1864.

Following the success of Confederate forces in eastern Kentucky and General John Hunt Morgan 's raids there in 1862, Cincinnatians believed that Southern invasion was imminent. Anxious officials ordered Cincinnati citizens to form home guards, but Black men willing to volunteer were rebuffed when they attempted to join a defense force. Instead, police serving as provost guards rounded up many and marched them by bayonet to build fortifications in Kentucky. Reacting to the shameful treatment of the Blacks eager to support the Union, the commander of the Department of Ohio dispatched Major General Lewis Wallace to command the civilians and to liberate Black men forced into service.

Judge William Martin Dickson, who favored enlisting Black soldiers in the Union Army, assumed command of the brigade, composed of 1,000 African American volunteers determined to fight to end slavery. From September 2-20, they cleared forests and built military roads, rifle pits, and fortifications. Receiving deserved praise for their labor, the unit disbanded when the Confederate forces no longer imperiled the city. Members of the Cincinnati Black Brigade later fought with the 127th Ohio Voluntary Infantry and other Black regiments.

The Ohio Historical Society shared the original Cincinnati Black Brigade flag for display in the Civil War gallery of the America I AM: The African American Imprint exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center in 2010. This is an important Cincinnati story that needs to be shared with all residents in the greater Cincinnati area.

Did you know that plans are underway for a monument in Riverfront Park to honor the Black Brigade?

Did you already know about the Black Cincinnati Brigade?   Migs Hackett, 15, researched, wrote and produced an award-winning documentary [see her 9-minute video] on the Black Brigade of Cincinnati.

Anyhow, I hope that more of us talk about OURstory. Our young 'uns need to learn about Black history 365 days of the year ... not just in February!

OURstory: Colonel Charles Young (1864-1922)

One of most courageous African Americans in the history of the U.S. military was Colonel Charles Young. I'm pleased to see that a saber owned by Col. Young was included in the America I AM exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center a few years ago.

Young was born March 12, 1864 to ex-slaves in Mayslick, Kentucky. His family moved to Ripley, Ohio, where he attended high school. After he graduated he taught in the Black high school in Ripley. Young was a professor at Wilberforce University. His house near Wilberforce is a National Historic Landmark.

He was the third African American to graduate from West Point in 1889. He graduated in spite of the hatred, bigotry and discrimination he encountered as an undergraduate.

His first assignment after graduation was with the Buffalo Soldiers in the 10th Cavalry in Nebraska, and then in the 9th and 10th Cavalries in Utah.

Young was then awarded a commission as a Major in the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Later, during the Spanish-American War, he was in command of a squadron of the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers in Cuba.

After the war with Spain, Young was reassigned to Fort Duchesne in Utah where he encouraged Sergeant Major Benjamin O. Davis ... who later became the first African American to reach the rank of Army General.

In 1903 Captain Young was in command of the 10th Cavalry, who were segregated at the Presidio of San Francisco. He was assigned as the acting superintendent of Sequoia National Parks. During his supervisory tenure his troops built a road longer than all previous roads combined. Soon wagons and automobiles were winding their way to the mountain-top forest for the first time.

Young was sent to the Philippines to join his 9th regiment and command a squadron of two troops in 1908. Four years later he was once again selected for Military Attaché duty, this time to Liberia. For his service as adviser to the Liberian Government and his supervision of the building of the country's infrastructure, he was awarded the NAACP Springarn Medal.

Because of his exceptional leadership of the 10th Cavalry in the Mexican theater of war, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was briefly Fort Huachuca's commander in Texas.

Young was devoted to his wife Ada and their two children; son, Charles Jr. and daughter Marie. He was a renaissance man who played several instruments (piano, violin and guitar) and spoke several languages.

Colonel Charles Young was the highest ranking African American officer in the army when World War I started.

With the explosive arrival of WW1, the public, and especially African Americans considered the possibility of Young receiving a major leadership role in the war. He had met challenges of racism, bigotry, and discrimination embedded within society and within the military. He had shown himself to be exceptional, not only as an military officer, but also as a leader of men.

But justice and the rule of equality in the military were not for Lt. Colonel Charles Young. When he took his scheduled army physical, the doctors said his blood pressure was too high. Young and his comrades, his supporters, and the African American news media believed otherwise. On June 22, 1917, Young was retired, under protest.

The forced retirement didn't sit well with Lt. Col. Young. In June 1918 he made his way on horseback ... over 500 miles ... from Wilberforce OH to Washington DC to demonstrate that he was fit for duty. Once in DC, he asked the military for immediate reinstatement and command of a combat unit in Europe. Young was reinstated and promoted to full Colonel.

Col. Young, was assigned to Liberia as Military Attaché. He died at that post on January 8, 1922, while on a research expedition in Lagos, Nigeria.

OURstory: Charity Adams Earley (1918-2002)

The folks at the National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT) recently issued a provocative slideshow called 'The Facts'. It talks about the challenges faced by women in the IT industry.

If it is tough for women in 2010 ... how much tougher must it have been for a Black woman back in the 1940s?

That is the thought that came to me as I learned that Charity Adams Earley will be honored in the America I AM exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center on June 19, 2010 thru January 2, 2011.

It turns out that Earley held a degree in math and physics while attending Wilberforce University and the Ohio State University. She taught and attended graduate school before joining the Army. She did not let racism hinder her superior work. In fact, our BDPA Dayton chapter often celebrates their annual banquet at the auditorium in Sinclair Community College named after her.

At a time when a segregated military provided few opportunities for Blacks, Charity Adams was one of only two to hold a wartime rank in the WACs as high as major. A subsequent promotion made her a lieutenant colonel briefly before she left military service in 1946.

The Army first permitted Black members of the WACs to serve overseas in the winter of 1945, when it created the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black unit, and assigned some 850 African American women to it. The unit, based in Birmingham, England, and later in Rouen, France, and Paris, routed mail to millions of members of the armed forces in Europe.

The assignment of Major Adams as the battalion commander seemed a natural choice. Having grown up in Columbia, S.C. -- her father a minister in the A.M.E. Church, her mother a teacher -- she joined the WACs in 1942. She was among 39 Black women in the corps's first training class, at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, and became one of its first Black officers. She then held administrative and command positions at Fort Des Moines for two and a half years.

The members of the 6888th postal unit were the first Black women many Britons in Birmingham had ever seen, and they shattered stereotypes.

"These WACs are very different from the colored women portrayed on the films, where they are usually either domestics or the outspoken old-retainer type or sloe-eyed sirens given to gaudiness of costume and eccentricity in dress," The Birmingham Sunday Mercury said. "The WACs have dignity and proper reserve."

After her military service, she received a master's degree in vocational psychology from Ohio State, then became a dean at Tennessee A&I College and Georgia State College. The Smithsonian Institution has included her in its listing of the historically most important Black women.

In 1996, Mrs. Earley was honored at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum for her wartime service. Before leaving Dayton for the ceremony in Washington, she said: "When I talk to students, they say, 'How did it feel to know you were making history?' But you don't know you're making history when it's happening. I just wanted to do my job."

We need to know OURstory for inspiration and direction. I hope that this blog post has been an eye-opener for you ... and for our daughters!

Would America Have Been America Without Her Negro People?

"Would America have been America without her Negro people?" asked famous scholar W.E.B. Du Bois.   Our recent celebration of Indepenence Day reinforced the need for us to continually look back and honor everyone who took part in her creation.

Walmart Stores, Inc. Regional General Manager David Gose, Cincinnati Museum Center President and CEO Douglass McDonald, exhibition presenter Tavis Smiley and Arts and Exhibitions International Senior Vice President Mark Lach stand in front of a specially decorated Metro bus to celebrate the opening of America I AM: The African American Imprint at Cincinnati Museum Center.

Tavis Smiley brought America I AM: The African American Imprint to the Cincinnati Museum Center so that we might explore the many ways that African Americans helped develop the United States.

This 15,000 square-foot exhibition is divided into 12 galleries that house an assembly of over 200 artifacts representing nearly 500 years of American history. Travel through time on a journey from struggle to triumph to experience how African Americans throughout history have shaped us as Americans today.

America I AM is a four-year traveling museum that has allowed people from all over the United Stated to leave their own video "imprints" through one of the exhibit's interactive pieces. This piece will continue to grow as the exhibit travels from city to city, and has potential to become the largest recorded oral history project in the U.S.

Don't miss the chance to not only learn the history of a highly influential group of people, but to become a part of history yourself. America I AM is now open at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Click here for ticket and time details.

America I AM: The African American Imprint Comes to Cincinnati Museum Center

America I AM: The African American Imprint
Presented by: Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal
Saturday, June 19, 2010 - Sunday, January 2, 2011

American's other story features artifacts collected from every period of U.S. history, including texts, religious items, music, narrations and media conveying a journey rom struggle to triumph. Discover five centuries of African American history. It's the American story, like it's never been told before, through more than 250 rare and stunning artifacts from all over the globe. The Cincinnati exhibition will also include the Cincinnati Black Brigade Flag; artifacts from Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin; and rededicated Spirit Gallery, showcasing the African American church in Cincinnati.






Price
$12.50

Order & Box Office Information
Box Office: (513) 283-7000
http://www.cincymuseum.org/

Venue
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal
1301 Western Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45203
http://www.cincymuseum.org/

OURstory: Ballot Box

The Ohio Historical Society is loaning a ballot box from the post-Civil War era to the America I AM exhibit when it comes to Cincinnati Museum Center on June 19.

All proud Black voters know that the 13th Amendment ended the system of slavery in America, while the 14th Amendment granted citizenship and the rights that came with it to African Americans. The 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote. These three (3) admendments to the US Constitution had a deep impact on our society.

After the 15th Amendment was ratified, African Americans sent 17 Black representatives to Washington – 15 to Congress and two to the U.S. Senate -- in a remarkable period of American history known as 'Reconstruction'.

I share this information in the hopes it will remind us 21st century citizens that freedom is never free. Many of our ancestors went through quite alot to get us the right to vote. Let's not take it for granted!

OURstory: Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)

I respect the public schools that are educating my three children. I know that the teachers and curriculum will provide them with a strong basis for their future. However, there are gaps in the education provided by public schools that I'm going to need to fill with my children. I realized that the public schools don't do a good job of teaching the impact of African Americans in US history. The teachers are good at HIS-story ... but, it is up to us to tell OUR-story.

I plan to provide some OURstory blog posts over the coming weeks. They will be here for posterity and I'll use them to fill the gaps in the education of my young Nubian.

For example, I wonder if the public schools mention the name of Phillis Wheatley in their history lessons? Phillis Wheatley was born in Gambia, Africa. She was a was a slave child sold to John and Susanna Wheatley in Boston on July 11, 1761. Her first name was apparently derived from the ship that carried her to America, The Phillis.

Phillis was taught to read and write by her slave-owners and their daughter, Mary. Phillis had a gift for writing poetry -- her first poem was published at the age of twelve. There were a number of benefactors in Phillis' life -- Selina Hastings financed the publication of her book of poetry; former slave Obour Tanner, who made the Middle Passage journey with Phillis, was a lifelong supporter.

I wonder how many villagers are well-versed in Latin? Would you be surprised to learn that Phillis used Latin to write her "Niobe in Distress" publication? It's the truth (or 'veritas', as they say in Latin)!

Phillis' popularity as a poet both in the United States and England ultimately brought her freedom from slavery on October 18, 1773. She even appeared before General Washington in March, 1776 for her poetry and was a strong supporter of independence during the Revolutionary War. She felt slavery to be the issue which separated whites from true heroism: whites can not "hope to find/Deivine acceptance with th' Almighty mind" when "they disgrace/And hold in bondage Afric's blameless race."

Phyllis is remembered for many first time accomplishments from a woman of her day:

• First African American to publish a book
• An accomplished African American woman of letters
• First African American woman to earn a living from her writing
• First woman writer encouraged and financed by a group of women (Mrs. Wheatley, Mary Wheatly, and Selina Hastings.)

Phillis Wheatley died in Boston, Massachusetts while giving birth.

I understand that the Cincinnati Historical Society is loaning one of Wheatley's 1st edition (1773) books to the America I AM: The African American Imprint exhibit coming to the Cincinnati Museum Center on June 19th. This book will be displayed with Phillis Wheatley's table, which is on loan from the Massachusetts Historical Society in the 'enslavement display'.

What are your insights, thoughts or comments on Phillis Wheatley?  Personally, I think that every little Black girl in America should learn about Phillis Wheatley!

America I AM: The African American Imprint

I truly appreciated Tavis Smiley back in the day when he was engaged in a series of forums branded as 'Blacks in Technology'. However, his recent tantrums against POTUS have caused me (and most of Black America) to be disappointed in Tavis.

However, even a person with questionable political antennae can do good things. I think that the creation of the America I AM museum exhibit is a positive addition to Tavis' resume.

This traveling museum exhibit celebrate nearly 500 years of African American contributions to the nation through artifacts, documents, multimedia, photos and music. In fact, some have called it 'the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of African American history ever created.'.

I am pleased to note that the America I AM exhibit is coming to the Cincinnati Museum Center in June 2010 for about 6-7 months. Cincinnati isn't your usual suspect for things that uplift Black culture ... however, when someone does good ... it should be acknowledged. Kudos to the leaders of the Cincinnati Museum Center for getting this exhibit to our town!

America I AM is a four-year touring exhibit that premiered in Philadelphia last year. It is currently in Los Angeles CA. The exhibit endeavors to bring together Americans of all cultures, ages, and backgrounds to celebrate and further understand the indelible African American imprint on this country.

The exhibit is HUGE ... containing twelve galleries encompassing over 15,000 square feet. It takes visitors through a journey that spans nearly five (5) centuries of American history ... there has never been a culture and history exhibition as complete and impactful.

My understanding is that Tavis Smiley used his brand and contacts to obtain over 250 rarely toured artifacts from over 70 contributors from across the globe. The exhibition will include the doors to the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana (Doors of No Return), Alex Haley’s typewriter used to write Roots, personal Koran of Malcolm X, the door key and stool from the Birmingham jail cell that held Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sports memorabilia from Michael Jordan and Arthur Ashe, Muhammad Ali’s robe, a personal loan of Prince's guitar, and much more.

The Cincinnati Museum Center is going to take advantage of this national exhibit to present its internationally significant collection of J.P. Ball photographs -- the largest collection of his works in the world. For those villagers that don't know ... J.P. Ball was a free Black man who settled in Cincinnati in the mid-19th century. An entrepreneur, abolitionist and photographer, Ball was a careful observer and recorder of key transformations of his time.

Anyhow, I hope that the Cincinnati community -- of all races, but particularly African Americans -- support the America I AM exhibit when it gets here in a few weeks. This exhibit can have a positive impact on our community life -- from economics to self-image to youth and community development to social progress to spirituality.

Have you seen the America I Am exhibit yet? Do you plan to do so over the course of its 4-year run?