A Salute to Black History

Understanding Wisdom And FOREVER Appreciating The Past

~ Associate Dean of Business and Information Technologies (BIT) Division ~

~Chairperson of the BIT Birmingham Campus~

 ~ Acting Director of the Small Business Center ~

 ~ College Webmaster/BlackBoard/Tegrity Administrator ~

Below are links that will enrich your knowledge of the past and present selfless contributions made by just a FEW of our MANY great African Americans.  As you read the wealth of information on this page, think about how our world would be today without the selfless contributions and what we have learned from the good and the bad.  Also, recognize the unbending focus and intensity of their efforts despite repeated rejections and unfulfilled expectations.

We must continue to remember and respect our heritage (even though one might not agree with the actions of some--it is still history) by never saying good-bye to yesterday, for we are still standing on their shoulders—yesterday made our present possible . . .

Click Here for Memorial Program of Bernard Jeffery McCullough - "Bernie Mac"

Click Here for Overview of Life

,

Other African Americans Gone But Not Forgotten (2009-2010)

Click for Teddy Pendergrass' Obituary

Overview Teddy Pendergrass

Other African Americans Gone But Not Forgotten (2003 - 2008)

Russell Williams II

Won 2 Oscars, Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

  The Blue Baby Syndrome - Vivien Thomas

Black U. S. Marshals

Robert Moore

CEO/Executive Recruiter and Author -- Robert Moore Associates

Jack and Christine Hadley

Jack Hadley Black History Museum

How To Teach Black History

Compliments of Pine Mountain School District in California - 5th Graders

0

Black Indians

Aboriginal Australians

John Hanson, Actually the First President of the United States (Link1)

Link 2

  Other Presidents of the United States Considered to be Black or Mullatto

Link 1     and     Link 2 

The History of Afro-Mexicans

Afro-Mexicans - Article

Emiliano Zapata		Vicente Guerrero

Trans-Atlantic Slave Ports

Atlantic Slave Trade - Link 1

Atlantic Slave Trade - Link 2

Atlantic Slave Trade - Link 3

Atlantic Slave Trade - Link 4

African Names Database

List of Voyages

Estimates of the Slave Trade

 National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses

First Two Black NFL Coaches To Compete At The Super Bowl

Lovie Smith - Chicago Bears

Tony Dungy - Indianapolis Colts

Winner of 2007 Super Bowl

Read Story

Vincent "Bo" Jackson-- Was the First Athlete to be Named ALL-STAR in

Two Major American Sports and Won the Heisman Trophy in 1985

(Auburn University (War Eagle! - Alabama)

l

l

l

Cameron "Cam" Newton--Led His Team to the BCS Crown January 10, 2011

American Sports and Won the Heisman Trophy in 2010

(Auburn University (War Eagle! - Alabama)

Mark Ingram - First Heisman Winner for the Crimson Tide, set a single-season

rushing record with 1, 658 yards, was voted to the AP All-America first-team,

and helped lead the Tide to an undefeated 14–0 season including a victory

in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game

University of Alabama (Roll Tide! - Alabama)

                                                                  

Ruben Studdard - Singing:  "I Need An Angel"        Fantasia - Singing "Total Praise"     Even Angels         Songs Jennifer Hudson

A Salute to Coretta Scott King - A Virtuous Woman

Coretta Scott King's Obituary

The Memory of Coretta Scott King - Marion, Alabama

A Salute to Martin Luther King--Stop the Violence

The King's First Grandchild

Yolanda Renee King - Born May 25, 2008

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

Pictures of the Event

Make a Donation

Malcolm X's Speech Heard More Than One-Half of a Century Later (1961)

Ozzie Smith

Overview of Ozzie Smith

Click Here for Hall of Fame Photos

The First African Baptist Church  - Part I

Read More . . .  - Part II

George Leile, a slave who in 1773 was the first African American licensed by the Baptists to preach in Georgia, played a part in the founding of the Savannah church by converting some of its early members.

Apostle Frederick K. C. Price

Televised Ministry

Moses Tyson

The Awesome Organ Player

Bobby Jones

Videos

A Salute To Black Gospel

Gospel Duos -- Shirley Caesar and Joe Ligon 

d 

d 

Gospel Duos -- Fantasia and Her Mother (Diane Barrino Barber)

j

j 

j

j

j

j

j

j

j 

The Donnie McClurkin Radio Show 

j

j

j

j

j

Start At An Early Age -- "Nobody But You Lord"

View Some of the Competition

 

Click to Listen		Click to Listen
Y'Anna Crawley - Season 2		Crystal Aikin - Season 1

The Fisk Jubilee Singers

The Soul Train

Link 2

The Soul Train was a variety show that aired from 1971 - 2006.  The show featured artists in the area of hip hop, gospel, disco, R&B, etc.  The show was created by Don Cornelius, who also was the first host and executive producer.

CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUMS

International Civil Rights Museum - Greensboro, North Carolina
National Civil Rights Museum - Memphis, Tennessee

Alabama Civil Rights Museum - Montgomery, Alabama 

Birmingham Civil Rights Museum - Birmingham, Alabama 

Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum - Savannah, Georgia 

 

The Piney Woods School was born when, in the spring of 1909, a young black man named Laurence Clifton Jones, agreed to teach a half-grown, bare-foot boy to read. The next day the young boy not only arrived eagerly for his second lesson, but also brought along with him two friends. Thus The Piney Woods School was born, in a desperately poor section of Mississippi in rural Rankin County, under the shade of a cedar tree, with the students using a fallen log as a desk. Soon others would come, young and old alike, with only a burning desire to learn.		A Secondary School - Click Here

    A Salute to President-Elect Barack Obama      

Black Entertainers - A Tribute to Past and Present

A Great Tribute to the Old School - Part 1

R. Kelly

A Great Tribute to the Old School - Part 2

A Salute to Ray Charles

A Salute to the First Black Nurses

First Black Nursing School - Spelman College - Atlanta Georgia 

Tennessee Historic State Parks

T. O. Fuller State Park   -   Fort Pillow State Park   -   Booker T. Washington State Park

Georgia's Black Revolutionary Patriots

By:  Carole E. Scott

 

Inventors of Yesterday   and   A Salute of Historically Black Colleges and Universities M M       The United Negro College Fund   Inventors I    -    Inventors II    -    Inventors III    -    Inventors IV       Dr. Patricia E. Bath, Inventor -- Laser Phaco Dedicated her life to the treatment and prevention of visual impairments.       Link I - Laser Phaco 1      and      Link II  -  Laser Phaco 2                    The HBCUs in the United States - Web Sites               Coach Eddie Robison The  "WINNINGEST" Coach  56 Years as the Head Coach --Grambling State University - Louisiana      Robinson spent fifty-six years as the head coach at the historically black Grambling State University in Grambling in Lincoln Parish in northern Louisiana, from 1941 through 1997.  During his tenure, Robinson established himself as the winningest coach in Division I-AA college football history, with 408 wins. Robinson is second overall in college football victories at any level, behind the 471 wins owned by John Gagliardi of Division III St. John's University (Minnesota). Robinson retired in 1997 with an overall record of 408 wins, 165 losses and 15 ties. More than 200 of his players went on to play in the American Football League and in the NFL.           YOU HAVEN'T WITNESSED EXCITEMENT UNTIL YOU SEE AN HBCU BAND!   HBCU Marching Bands are Just Like a Box of Chocolates "You NEVER Know What You Will Get"       The FAMU Marching "100" was invited by the French government to participate in the Bastille Day Parade as the official representation from the United States. This event was held in celebration of the bicentennial of the French Revolution.   The Marching "100" was named the "Best Marching Band in the Nation" by Sports Illustrated (August 1992).  The band received national recognition in January 1993 when it performed in the 52nd Presidential Inauguration Parade by invitation of Bill Clinton. The band has also performed in the Super Bowl and in the 56th Presidential Inauguration Parade.                 Jackson State University Marching Band performed at the 34th NAACP Image Awards and Motown 30:   Click on the image or wording to view the performances!                  Alcorn State University FAMU - Link 1 Lincoln University Drum Line "Sounds of Dyn-o-mite" v Miles College Alabama A&M University Bethune –Cookman University Jackson State University Texas Southern University Grambling State University "Sonic Boom of the South"           Alabama State University               . Alcorn State University - Lorman, Mississippi       Inducted in the National Collegiate Hall of Fame   Named Sportsperson of the Year         Urban Prep         This mission of Urban Prep is a direct response to the urgent need to reverse abysmal graduation and college completion rates among young men in urban centers, particularly African-American males. Urban Prep’s tailored curriculum is based on the developmental stages and learning styles of boys as well as the unique challenges facing urban youth. The Urban Prep motto is “We Believe.”           Sweet BlackBerry Karen Parsons -- Well Known for Role of "Hilary Banks" -- Fresh Prince         About Karen Parsons   About Sweet BlackBerry - 2 About Sweet BlackBerry - 1             National Association for the Advancement of Colored People                   The Negro Motorist Green Book             First Black Bank - Capital Savings Bank of Washington D.C.         African American Holidays  ______________________________________       The History of Juneteenth       Kwanzaa         Martin Luther King, Jr. Day           How To Develop and Protect Your Inventions         Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Inc. "Soul food is part of our tradition, our makeup and our lifestyle; and it's not going to go away.  It just needed a face lift."                     Anthony D. Allen     In 1810 or 1811, Anthony D. Allen, a former slave of the Dougal family, came to the island of O`ahu from Schenectady, New York where he was born in 1774. He became a free man at the age of 24 in 1798 and spent the next twelve years at sea. Allen is on record as owning property in Waikiki in 1811. READ MORE     The African American on the Titantic            There was a Haitian on the Titantic:   Joseph Phillippe Lemercier Laroche was the only black man to perish on the Titanic--that's after he saved his wife and kids. Laroche was born in Cap Haitian, Haiti, on May 26, 1889.  The silence about the stranger-than-fiction life story of the Titanic's only Black passenger astonishes everyone, noted Titanic historian Judith Geller, author of Titanic: Women and Children First, who said, "It is strange that nowhere in the copious 1912 press descriptions of the ship and the interviews with the survivors was the presence of a Black family among the passengers ever mentioned."      The story of this interracial family was not known until 2000, three years after the movie's release, when the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry and the Titanic Historical Society revealed the information as part of a Titanic exhibit.  Joseph Laroche was born into a powerful family. His uncle, Dessalines M. Cincinnatus Leconte, was the president of Haiti . When Joseph Phillippe Lemercier was fifteen, he left Haiti to study engineering in Beauvais, France. Several years later, he met Juliette Lafargue, the 22-year-old daughter of a local wine seller. The two eventually married.      Despite having an engineering degree, Joseph's skin color left him unable to find employment in France. The Laroches decided to return to Haiti and booked second-class reservations on the Titanic. After the ship struck an iceberg, Joseph loaded his wife and children onto a lifeboat and he went down with the ship. His body was never recovered.  Shortly before Christmas of that year, Juliette Laroche gave birth to their son, Joseph Laroche, Jr.  Juliette never remarried. Read More . . .         The First Black Military School / Black Private Girls Boarding School       St. Francis / St. Emma Military Academy - Part I     St. Francis / St. Emma Military Academy - Part II           National Black Theatre                             First All Black, All Female Flight Crew in U.S. History.               1968 Olympics Black Power Salute             Henry Vinton Plummer     First Black Army Chaplain           First Black Paratroopers             EUGENE JACQUES BULLARD   First African American Pilot   Click the Images                       World War II African American Veterans                     African Americans and World War II       All African American United States Naval Crew During WWII   African American United States Marines During WWII       African American and the United States Army     African American and the United States Air Force       Benjamin O Davis             Tuskegee Airmen

"Tuskegee Airmen Were Not Just Pilots"                Tuskegee Top Gun       The Black Revolutionary Seamen   African Americans in the Revolutionary War         Rosenwald School Building Program               Milestones in African American Education   Iron Hill School - One Room School             Honors and Awards     George Washington Carver was bestowed an honorary doctorate from Simpson College in 1928. He was an honorary member of the Royal Society of Arts in London, England. In 1923, he received the Spingarn Medal given every year by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1939, he received the Roosevelt Medal for restoring southern agriculture. On July 14, 1943, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt honored Carver with a national monument dedicated to his accomplishments. The area of Carver's childhood near Diamond Grove, Missouri preserved as a park, this park was the first designated national monument to an African American in the United States. How many African Americans won the Roosevelt Medal? George Washington Carver - 1939 Martha Berry - 1929                   African American First . . .   More African American First . . .           Katie Washington - Biology Major       First Black Valedictorian at Notre Dame         Albert W. Johnson:  GM's First Black Franchise Owner     Albert Johnson began his career selling cars door to door (out of a briefcase) and then to become General Motors' first African-American franchise owner.           Harlem Globetrotters                             The UniverSoul Circus                            The Amos 'N Andy Show   k                                                                                          Get an Overview                                           Watch Videos of the Show     The Amos and Andy TV Show was the first all-Black cast TV show.  The show aired on CBS TV network from 1951 to 1953.  The show was the only place on TV where you could see "Black" people in roles other than maids or porters.         Hip Hop Music                       The Black Tennis Foundation       World's Longest Marriage -- 86  Years   Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of North Carolina   Guinness World Record     Zelmyra is 101 years old and Herbert is 104 (2010)     Questions From Marriage Wisdom . . .   What made you realize that you could spend the rest of your lives together? Were you scared at all? H & Z:  With each day that passed, our relationship was more solid and secure.  Divorce was NEVER an option or even a thought. How did you know your spouse was the right one for you? We grew up together & were best friends before we married.  A friend is for life--our marriage has lasted a lifetime Is there anything you would do differently after more than 80 years of marriage? We wouldn’t change a thing. There’s no secret to our marriage, we just did what was needed for each other & our family. What is your advice to someone who is trying to keep the faith that Mr. Right is really out there? Zelmyra:  Mine was just around the corner! He is never too far away, so keep the faith - when you meet him, you’ll know. What was the best piece of marriage advice you ever received? Respect, support & communicate with each other; Be faithful, honest and true; and Love each other with ALL of your heart. What are the most important attributes of a good spouse? Zelmyra:  A hard worker and good provider.  The 1920s were hard, but Herbert wanted to and provided the best for us.  I married a good man! What is your best Valentine’s Day memory? Zelmyra:  I cook dinner EVERY day.  Herbert left work early and surprised me--he cooked dinner for me!  He is a VERY good cook! Herbert:  I said that I was going to cook dinner for her and she could relax.  The look on her face and clean plate made my day! You got married very young--how did you both manage to grow as individuals yet not grow apart as a couple? “Everyone who plants a seed and harvests the crop celebrates together.”  We are individuals, but accomplish more together. What is your fondest memory of your 85-year marriage? Our legacy: 5 children, 10 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. Does communicating get easier with time?  How do you keep your patience? The children are grown, so we talk more now.  We can enjoy our time on the porch or our rocking chairs--together. How did you cope when you had to be physically separated for long periods of time? Herbert:  We were apart for 2 months when "Z" was hospitalized with our 5th child . It was the most difficult time of my life. Zelmyra’s mother helped me with the house and the other children; otherwise, I would have lost my mind. At the end of bad relationship day, what is the most important thing to remind yourselves? Remember marriage is not a contest--never keep a score.  God has put the two of you together on the same team to win! Is fighting important? NEVER physically! Agree that it’s okay to disagree, and fight for what really matters.  Learn to bend--not break! What’s the one thing you have in common that transcends everything else? We are both Christians and believe in God.  Marriage is a commitment to the Lord.  We pray with and for each other every day.           71 Year Old Diva - Ernestine Shepherd! Photos:  Ericka Blount Danois | Special to The Sun                 African American Greek Organizations   FEMALE     MALE               BLACKamerica.com             Tom Joyner Morning Show     The Association for the Study of African American Life and History     Tavis Smiley Talks         African American News             The Steve Harvey Morning Show                        Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA)   The Conference is in Birmingham, Alabama - 2010       Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) has continued to be an integral part of the library literature during the thirty-five year history of the organization. As the organization has grown, so too has the amount of literature. The heading “Black caucus” was first indexed in Library Literature in 1970. Listed under that heading were six articles: two on segregation, three on the caucus, and an article about the concern for Black librarians. Today, about one hundred articles can be found within electronic databases and references. The following bibliography is a brief historical overview of what has been written about BCALA since 1970.       Black Shopping Channel     National Association of Black Journalists           African American Students News         African American Magazines - Ebony and Jet - Present Magazines         and     Past Magazines:  Johnson Publishing  Company has partnered with Google to digitize its magazine archives. If you're a "Jet " and "Ebony" fan from back in the day, just click on  a  desired decade, choose a magazine:   Ebony - Google Book Search Jet - Google Book Search Black World/Negro Digest - Google Book Search