Sports fans are in the midst of March Madness, the time of year when the NCAA crowns its men’s basketball champion with a tournament filled with emotion, euphoric victories, and heart-wrenching defeats. It certainly is a mad time. Please excuse me while I discuss another particularly mad aspect of March Madness. March Madness is big … [Read more…]
Fifty years ago, the Kerner Commission, President Lyndon Johnson’s blue-ribbon committee, diagnosed the racial problem of America and offered a carefully considered prescription. But the patient (the United States) did not take the medicine. After precisely answering President Johnson’s first two questions about the riots of the mid-1960’s—What happened? Why did it happen?—the Commission considered … [Read more…]
Last week, the local Roanoke Times published the following long editorial about one of my favorite heroes, Barbara Johns. Please read. Editorial: America’s most successful teen activist was a Virginian Mar 1, 2018 Douglas High School in Florida kicked off the predictable cycle of responses — liberal calls for action, conservatives call for thoughts and prayers, … [Read more…]
Previously I wrote about the mathematics and physics genius, J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr., who worked on the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project, one of the most important scientific projects of the 20th century, led to the development of the atomic bomb, which ended World War II. There were 14 other African Americans involved in this … [Read more…]
As we join the chorus of people trying to push more African Americans into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study let us not assume that African Americans have not pursued these fields in the past. More than a few have done so, and some have performed with significant distinction. One such person … [Read more…]
Septima Clark took her project on the road throughout the south, conducting workshops and training teachers. The late Guy Carawan, the white Highlander singer who did more than anyone to make “We Shall Overcome” the anthem of the movement, often said the most important thing he ever did in life was to be Septima Clark’s … [Read more…]
Septima Clark played one of the most essential, but little-recognized, roles in the Civil Rights Movement. Known as the “queen mother” of the Movement, she was literally “freedom’s teacher.” Clark developed citizenship training programs that enabled thousands of African Americans to register to vote and to link the power of the ballot to concrete strategies … [Read more…]
In this Black History Month, let us remember some of our heroes. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was certainly a major hero in African American History. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was one of the most important figures in African American life in the twentieth century, yet he is not well-known to many black or white Americans … [Read more…]
Today we are celebrating the birth of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Last fall we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, which was initiated by his namesake, Martin Luther. Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, could not adjust to the corruption in church practices during his day, so in 1517 he nailed his … [Read more…]
Although Trump and his racist white nationalist kind probably do not know it, Haitians helped the United States to win its independence from England. There were three black units in the Continental Army, with one coming from Haiti with the French to fight in the battle of Savannah, where the Americans were battling the British. … [Read more…]