Black History

What effects the movement changed greatly in the country or the people that have something called a watershed moment. A watershed moment is that one signature event that triggered onslaught of great change and the historic district. In the history of America, now the watershed may be a party of Boston., But the situation in historically black, especially when we consider the center of movement of civilians in the history of black in the country, only the current one watershed fragrant virtually who understand the history of the Assembly.

When you sit back and take in the phenomenal achievements of black history, it is natural to be moved to admiration by some of the great figures of black history including Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver and many more. Dr. King’s legacy of change and his call for the end of racism and segregation in American society is without question the voice that has moved America as no other has done.  For while many have showed tremendous leadership, Dr. King clearly demonstrated a vision for the future of America in which black and white worked, lived, played and worshipped together as one society not two.

The honor and reverence all American’s have for Martin Luther King, Jr. is evident in how honored his name has become since his tragic death at the assassins hand in 1968.  All around this nation, virtually every U.S. city has named a major road after the great civil rights leader.  He singularly has a U.S. holiday named after him, an honor usually reserved for presidents.  He has been honored on the U.S. stamp and no school child gets through his or her elementary education without knowing the key phrases from Dr. King’s famous “I have a dream” speech.

The great thing about the history of black America and the methods African American leadership has used to seek full equality and acceptance in this country is that there have been many roads to that goal.  Yes, the great social, political, legal and even military movements that have been conducted to free African Americans from slavery and achieve full citizenship were crucial.  And the great black leadership of dynamic personalities like Martin Luther King and George Washington Carver have made things possible that would never have been possible otherwise.

But not all of the gains in society have been achieved through tears and anger.  In fact, some great black leadership can be found in a place one never would think to look.  It can be found in the stand up comedy night clubs and on forward thinking television shows as black comedians helped everybody, black and white, laugh together at the differences in the races rather than cry separately.

Some of the most revered figures in comedy in the last thirty years were from the African American community.  There are many notable names that spring immediately to mind that have used the “podium” of a comedy microphone and stage to talk about issues of race, color, discrimination and race relations in a way that all can appreciate their thoughts and achieve a common understanding.  The names of Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and many more stand out as both very funny entertainers and people who have represented the African American community with pride and intelligence that all can admire.

Many an African American child took hope from the idea of rising up out of poverty and difficulty to reach greatness because they saw these black entertainers do it.  Just by using their success to show the youth of black America that they too can be successful and that with hard work, intelligence, and the willingness to try they too can be somebody to their families and to their community.  This is truly the role of a great role model and these men have given much hope to youth to make something of themselves and make a difference.

Sometimes it was hard for these entertainers to achieve equality.  When Sammy Davis Junior first was recruited to make his valuable contribution to Frank Sinatra’s team, many in that society did not think it was appropriate that a black man could perform with equality with his white contemporaries.  We can be grateful too for the openness of others in the entertainment community that they would not stand to see racism keep talent such as Sammy’s down. Stories like this are frequent.  The Hollywood establishment always has been forward thinking in presenting entertainers based on their talent and not on the color of their skin or other artificial divisions.  It has been television as well that has broken barriers and open the discussion of race and color for all of us to engage.  By making it “ok” to talk about race relations, it also makes it ok to see those relations healed and clear the way for reconciliation and healing. 

Many times when a black comedian is making his crowd laugh, he might say “the important thing is we talk about these things and laugh about them together”.  And that is the important thing.  We can be grateful we have had such outstanding leadership in entertainment to bring black and white together in a way that eliminates hatred and hostility.  Because it is hard to hate your brother when you are busy laughing together with him. 

The history of the growth of equality for African Americans in America has been one of great accomplishments followed by many small gains and many set backs as well.  The outlawing of slavery did not instantly make all blacks equal with whites in America.  It took many subsequent legal actions as well as hundreds of social efforts, big and small, to slowly make the progress we have seen today.  But even in this day and age, in a new century, there is an ongoing battle against racism.  It seems we need leadership to guide society to true equality as much now as ever in our history.

The abolition of slavery only began the long hard struggle for African American culture to become a true part of what it means to be an American.  That is because even though the legal definition of slavery had been thrown down, the attitudes and cultural systems in place to keep the races separate and to deny black people rights equal with whites had to be addressed one by one.

Slowly over the decades, we have seen big changes but many came at a great cost.  From the legal granting of the right to vote to African Americans to the civil rights movement to school desegregation, each step forward came with resistance, great difficulty and significant sacrifice from leaders and ordinary citizens alike to make each step toward true equality a fact.

Of all the efforts to “level the playing field”, none has been more controversial than the Affirmative Action program.  In its beginning, it was intended to be a supplement to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Over time it had become clear that despite removal of laws that enforced segregation or discrimination, there seemed to be a natural segregation in the work place that was keeping African Americans from getting a fair chance at jobs because of the prejudices of an employer, even if that prejudice was not officially recognized in the company charter.

There were two significant executive orders that made affirmative action a reality.  The first was Executive Order 10925 signed by President Kennedy on March 6, 1965 which was the first law to make mention of the phrase.  This was followed by much more sweeping Civil Rights Act which was signed into law by President Johnson.  Together these laws attempted to correct by legal means the disparity of opportunity that existed in the workplace for people of color by instituting a system of quotas that employers had to meet to satisfy federal affirmative action minority employment levels.

But as is often the case when the government attempts to impose right attitudes via legislation, these laws often created as many problems for minorities as they cured.  Nevertheless as the application of the quota systems began to become widespread, it did open many doors for African Americans that would not have opened due to racial prejudice and silent segregation that was keeping the African American community from reaching its economic potential.

In truth, nobody really liked this kind of imposed fairness system.  For whites, they felt the sting of an artificial system of judgment that was sometimes called “reverse discrimination”.  While there was some justice that the white community got a taste for what it felt like to loose out on opportunity due to the color of your skin, it did not help the country in our goal of growing together to become one “color blind” community.

 Affirmative action was a mixed blessing for the African American community.  While it did its job in the short term to opening doors that were closed due to racism, it is not the ideal solution.  That is because it did not fulfill Dr. King’s vision of a world where a man is judged not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character.  We can hope that we will grow to that point as a culture and look back on affirmative action as an unfortunate but necessary provision to help us grow and mature as a truly integrated culture.

From 1955 to 1965 there was a war right in the middle of America.  No, it wasn’t a war like World War II or the Revolutionary War.  It was a war for the heart and soul of this country to determine once and for all if America was really going to be a land of equal opportunity for all.   It is a war that eventually took on the name of “The Civil Rights Movement.”

We must make no mistake, this was not just a shouting match.  Some of the events that we even remember today became quite brutal and deadly.  Those who fought in this war on both sides were deadly serious about the causes they represented and willing to fight and even die to see their cause succeed.  The war waged for years and steady progress was made but not without tremendous sacrifice by the leaders of the movement who were committed to a giving a new meaning to the phrase “set my people free.”

In all of black history, there may be no more significant a time since the Civil War when the rights of African Americans were so deeply fought and won.  The tensions in the country had been building.  When the Supreme Court mandated desegregation in the schools in the historic case Brown versus the Board of Education, the stage was set.  But it was on December 1, 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white man that the movement finally took shape and became a titanic struggle for the rights of African Americans in America.  That first battle brought to the front line one of the most important figures to fight for Civil Rights of that era, the Reverend Martin Luther King.

This tremendous struggle for freedom was never easy and was often marked with violence.  Over the next ten years some of the most important milestone in black history took place including…

*    1957 – President Eisenhower had to send federal troops to Arkansas to secure admission to Central High School by nine black students.

*    1960 – The sit-in at Woolworths lunch counter in Greensboro North Carolina set the stage for nonviolent protest that was used with great success for the rest of the struggle.  Nonviolent protest and civil disobedience became a staple of the civil rights movement because of the influence of Martin Luther King.

*    1963 – The historic March on Washington in which over 200,000 people gathered to hear Dr. Kings famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

*    1964 – President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill that was the most significant event of his presidency and one he believed deeply in, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

*    1965 – The assignation of Malcolm X and the Watts race rights.

*    1965 – President Johnson takes another bold step to accelerate the civil rights movement implementing Affirmative Action when he issues Executive Order 11246.

This short list is just a few of the highlights of this troubled time in which the rights of all citizens of American, black and white and of all colors were being redefined both on the streets, in the courts and in the different branches of government.  In the years to come there would be great steps forward.  One by one, every area of American life would see breakthroughs by African Americans in the areas of sports, entertainment, education and politics.  There were many proud moments and there were moments of tremendous shame and heinous acts committed by both white and black people.  But through all that struggle, the society continued to grow and adapt to the will of the people as has always been the tradition in American culture.

The struggle is far from over.  Discrimination and hate speech continue to be a problem to this day.  And while it is easy to reflect on those days of struggle with regret, we can also look at them with pride.  We can be proud of the great leaders who demonstrated tremendous courage and wisdom to lead this nation to a better way of life.  And we can be proud of America because it is here where such a struggle can result in equality and freedom for all citizens, not just a few.

In the history of African Americans in this country, there have been some tremendous movements and images that seem to capture the mood of the country and the black community at that time.  And this one phrase “black power” is without a doubt one of the most simple and elegant statements of pride and unity in the black community.  But it was also a phrase that came to represent the more violent and objectionable side of the struggle for equality in the black community.  And that makes it a controversial phrase then and now.

Probably the greatest image of black power is the strong hand of a black man, clenched in a black glove and raised in the air in defiance and pride.  Never has that salute been used so perfectly as it was at the 1968 Olympics when Tommy Smith and John Carlos raised the black power fist complete with black glove as they received their medals for their performances at those Olympic Games.

The phrase “black power” was not coined in a march or riot as might be implied.  It was actually created by Robert Williams, the head of the NAACP in the early sixties.  But it really started becoming a “street term” when it was adopted by Makasa Dada and Stokely Carmichael, founders of The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which was the precursor to the famous Black Panther Party.

Sadly the black power movement became characterized by radical elements that went much further than seeking the goals of Martin Luther King and the rest of the civil rights movement’s leadership.  These radical elements sought black separation and social change by violent means.  And so in a time when there was tremendous turmoil in the country because of the violence in Vietnam and on the streets of America because of that social strife, The Black Panthers and other fringe groups sewed fear and hatred in response to racism which at times made it more difficult to achieve long lasting change.

But there is good to be seen even in some of the darker elements of black history and the leadership who looked to find the best way forward for African Americans.  Sometimes it is necessary for the radical elements to make themselves known so reasonable members of a community can know the outer limits and find compromise.  This was a value to the black power movement because it did charge the discussion, albeit with violence and made the importance of reasonable Americans to come together to seek peaceful change all the more important.

But there is another good that came from the black power movement.  Those images of the raised fist were images of a pride and a willingness to stand up for the rights of black Americans.  They inspired a generation of young people to become more politically active, to stand up in their own world and make that statement made famous by James Brown “Say it Loud.  I’m Black and I’m Proud.”  That pride is an important thing and for young people to find.  They have to find it in their communities and in their heroes.  So if black youth took pride and courage to face their own circumstances from the bold stance of leaders who, albeit radically, said loud that black America was now going to be a force to be reckoned with, the resultant call to action to the black community produced many more positive effects than negative ones.  The fringe voice does speak what is in people’s hearts and by getting that anger and frustration out, it became part of the movement.  That energy could be captured and used for good instead of evil.  And the end result was a movement that was energized for change and to make life better for all of black America.  And that was what everybody wanted.

As you travel this great nation, it is no accident you will see a lot of schools given the name of Booker T. Washington.  That is because this great black educator and leader set the standard and carved out a new path in the years right after the fall of slavery to lead his people to a better way.  He showed his people a way of education, accomplishment, achievement and the prosperity that naturally comes with those goals.

In 1901, the biography of Booker T. Washington was published with the fitting title Up From Slavery.  Washington’s struggle to rise up from the limitations of a slave’s life to be come one of the most respected black leaders in America is one of the reasons he is revered in black history as one of the greats who really made a difference for his people.

When Booker T. Washington’s family was freed from slavery in Virginia, young Booker immediately began pursuing the path where he would make his mark, in education.  Achieving success at Hampton University and then at Wayland Seminary, he was soon to pioneer new achievements for African Americans in higher education, becoming one of the first leaders of the Tuskegee University in Alabama. 

But it was more than just academic success that marked Washington’s career.  He became prominent in many areas of leadership becoming a spokesperson for post slavery black America to the powerful and influential in this country.  Book T. Washington lived the concept that the pen was mightier than the sword and was an early voice for moderation and learning to excel within the institutions and customs of America rather than deal in violence.

One of Washington’s great strengths was finding partnership and coalitions between leaders of many communities to improve the opportunities for education and excellence for the African American community of the time.  One of the most influential speeches of black history was given by Washington and became known as the Atlanta Address of 1895 in which Washington, speaking to a largely white audience instigated a profound change in way economic opportunity and hiring was done in America at its time.  In that one speech he…

*    Called up on the black community to become part of the economy and industry of America thus beginning the healing process that was so necessary at the time.

*    Stated without reservation that the south was the region of the country where there were the greatest opportunities for black employment.  By bringing together the strong black labor force with an economy in the midst of recovery from the civil war, Washington may have been one of the chief architects for the recovery of the south from the ravages of that war.

*    Introduced to the economic institutions predominantly run by the white citizens of the country that it made more sense to take advantage of the large resident black population for reliable workers than to look to immigrants.  The outcome was a boom in employment for the black community that was a huge leap forward in the struggle to rise up out of slavery.

The Atlanta Address of 1895 propelled Booker T. Washington into national prominence becoming a healing voice and a powerful catalyst for change in this country.  Using his sophisticated network of supporters from every arena of leadership including political, academic and business leaders, Washington worked tirelessly to provide hope and new opportunities for black families trying to make their way in America.

His work ethic was profound and produced change at a rate that was phenomenal by any standard.  But it took a toll on Washington who died relatively young, at the age of 59 from exhaustion and overwork.  But this too points out the tremendous drive and devotion this important black leader had to use all of his talents, his intellect and his contacts to better the lives of black people and speed the road to acceptance and integration across America.  We all owe a Booker T. Washington a great deal of gratitude for being “the man of the hour” to lead all people forward, black and white, to find ways to work together in partnership rather than with distrust or violence to achieve a better America for everyone.