Happy Birthday Madam C.J. Walker

“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground” - Madam C.J. Walker

(Madam C.J. Walker)

Madam C.J. Walker was born as Sarah Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana, USA on December 23rd, 1867. In 1872 her mother died. In 1874 her father died. At 10 years old she moved to Vicksburg, MI and worked as a domestic. She lived with her older sister and brother in law. In 1882 Breedlove married Moses Mcwilliams. In 1887 Mcwilliams died. In 1888 she moved to St. Louis, MO. She sang at the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church and started to yearn for an educated life as she watched the community of women at her church. She learned about hair care from her brothers who were barbers. In 1894 she remarried. In 1903 she left her husband. In 1904 she became a commission agent selling products for Annie Turnbo Malone. In 1905 she moved to Denver, CO. In 1906 she married again and she became known as Madam C.J. Walker. She then marketed herself as an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetic creams.

(Walker in 1906)

She sold her products door to door, teaching other black women how to groom and style their hair. In 1908 she moved to Pittsburgh, PA.

(Walker in 1908)

She opened a beauty parlor there. In 1910 she established the headquarters for the Madame C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company in Indianapolis, IN. In 1913 she opened another parlor in Harlem, NY. Walker later built a factory, hair salon, and beauty school to train her sales agents, and added a laboratory to help with research. In 1916 she moved to Harlem, NY. She delivered lectures on political, economic, and social issues at conventions sponsored by powerful black institutions.

(Walker (Driving) in 1916)

Her friends and associates included Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, and W. E. B. Du Bois, among others. By 1917 the company claimed to have trained nearly 20,000 women. Also Walker began organizing her sales agents into state and local clubs.

(Walker in 1917)

Also in 1917 the first annual conference of the National Beauty Culturists and Benevolent Association of Madam C. J. Walker Agents convened in Philadelphia, PA with 200 attendees. Walker also joined the executive committee of New York chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1918 the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) honored Walker for making the largest individual contribution to help preserve Frederick Douglass’ Anacostia house. In 1919 Walker pledged $5,000 to the NAACP's anti lynching fund. On May 25th, 1919 Madam C.J. Walker died from kidney failure and complications of hypertension in Irvington, New York, USA. She was 51 years old.

(Walker’s grave)

Today is her 149th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Madam C.J. Walker.

(P.S. sorry for the late post)

Happy Birthday Thomas Sankara

“Let there be an end to the arrogance of the big powers who miss no opportunity to put the rights of the people in question. Africa's absence from the club of those who have the right to veto is unjust and should be ended” - Thomas Sankara

(Thomas Sankara)

Thomas Sankara was born on December 21st, 1949 in Yako, French West Africa. In 1966 he began his military career. In 1970 Sankara went to the military academy of Antsirabe in Madagascar. In 1972 he read the works of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin which had a big impact on him. He graduated in 1973. In 1974 he fought in the border war between the Upper Volta and Mali. In 1976 he became commander of the Commando Training Centre in Po. The same year he joined “The Communist Officers’ Group”. In 1981 Sankara was appointed Secretary of State for Information in the military government. In 1982 he resigned. In 1983 he became prime minister.

(Sankara in 1983)

He was later placed under house arrest. An uprising occurred due to Sankara being under house arrest. A coup d'etat made Sankara the President of French West Africa. He was inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in his leading style.

(Sankara (Left) and Fidel Castro (Right))

He was an anti imperialist. In 1984 he changed the name of the country to “Burkina Faso”. Production of crops increased during his presidency.

(Sankara in 1984)

Sankara put emphasis in feeding and housing the people of Burkina Faso. He also launched education programs in the country. He also banned  female genital mutilation, forced marriages, and polygamy. In 1985 a war broke out with Mali where 100 people were killed.

(Sankara in 1985)

In 1986 Burkina Faso was producing 3500 Lb of wheat per acre. In 1987 he gave a speech to thousands of women about better conditions for females all over the country. Sankara was the 1st African leader to appoint women to major cabinet positions and to recruit them actively for the military.

(Sankara in 1987)

Also in 1987 Sankara was accused of human rights violations by Great Britain. European countries viewed Burkina Faso as not free in terms of civil liberties and political rights. On October 15th, 1987 Thomas Sankara was killed in a coup d'etat. He was 37 years old.

(Sankara’s grave)

Today is his 67th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Thomas Sankara.

Videos of Thomas Sankara

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA92O8VQdDc  “Invité _ Thomas Sankara, Président du Burkina Faso - une vidéo”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BTDRLcPsPo  “Thomas Sankara speech”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VudwOi45LQ8  “Thomas Sankara”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzz4V83QjZE  “capitaine Thomas sankara.”

(P.S. sorry for the late post)

Happy Birthday Josh Gibson

“A homer a day will boost my pay” - Josh Gibson

(Josh Gibson)

Josh Gibson was born as Joshua Gibson on December 21st, 1911 in Buena Vista, Georgia, USA. In 1923 he moved to PA. He attended Allegheny Pre Vocational School and Conroy Pre Vocational School. At 16 years old he started to play baseball. In 1928 he joined the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

(Gibson in 1928)

In 1929 he married Helen Mason. In 1930 Gibson joined the Homestead Grays. Also in 1930 his wife died during child labour with twins.

(Gibson in 1930)

In 1933 he hit .467 with 55 home runs in 137 games. In 1934 Gibson hit a home run in a Negro league game at Yankee Stadium that struck two feet from the top of the wall circling the center field bleachers, about 580 ft from home plate. It is very hard to find all the statistics of Gibson along with other Negro League players. Gibson hit between 150 and 200 home runs in official Negro league games.

(Gibson in 1934)

In 1943 Gibson fell into a coma and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In 1944 he was hospitalized for mental observation. On January 20th, 1947 Josh Gibson died of a stroke in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was 35 years old.

(Gibson’s grave)

Today is his 105th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Josh Gibson.

(P.S. sorry for the late post)   

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 1st Reaction

“I'm one with the Force, and the Force is with me” - Chirrut Imwe

*SPOILERS*

This was one of the best Star Wars movies since the original trilogy and even rivals Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope. This movie had the best CGI I have ever seen in my life. The CGI Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and CGI Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) were so life like and if you did not know of these actors and this was the first Star Wars movie you have seen you would believe that those were actual actors and not CGI. My favorite part of the whole movie was towards the end where Darth Vader (James Earl Jones (Voice)) boarded the Rebel ship and took out everyone in his way. A very close 2nd favorite scene was when the whole Rebel fleet came to the planet to fight off the Empire. One of the only flaws I have seen with the movie was the exclusion of the opening credit crawl. I know that would be kind of redundant to have that in this movie but this is Star Wars tradition to include and opening credit crawl, but 1 Star Wars tradition that they did keep was the inclusion of C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Jimmy Vee) in every Star Wars film. I would give this film a 9.9/10. I would recommend this movie to every Star Wars fan and fan of science fiction.

Trailer for the film

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frdj1zb9sMY  “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer (Official)”

Happy Birthday Carter G. Woodson

“Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history” - Carter G. Woodson

(Carter G. Woodson)

Carter G. Woodson was born on December 19th, 1875 in Buckingham County, Virginia, USA. His family moved to West Virginia when Woodson was a child. At age 17 Woodson went to earn a living as a coal miner. At age 20 Woodson went back to high school and earned a diploma in less than 2 years.

(Woodson as a young man)

From 1897 to 1900 Woodson taught in Fayette County. In 1903 he earned a Bachelor degree in Literature from Berea College in Kentucky. From 1903 to 1907 Woodson was a school supervisor in the Philippines. In 1908 he was awarded an A.B. and A.M. from the University of Chicago. He was a member of the first black professional fraternity Sigma Pi Phi and a member of Omega Psi Phi. In 1912 he completed his PhD at Harvard University where he was the second African American to do so. He then became a professor at Howard University. In 1915 Woodson published The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861.

(Woodson in 1915)

Woodson became affiliated with the Washington, D.C. branch of the NAACP, and its chairman Archibald Grimké. In 1924, he published the first survey of free black slaveowners in the United States. In 1926 Woodson promoted the first Negro History Week in Washington, D.C., designated for the second week in February, to coincide with marking the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1933 Woodson wrote the book The Mis-Education of the Negro. Woodson has corresponded with W. E. B. Du Bois, John E. Bruce, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, Hubert H. Harrison, and T. Thomas Fortune among others from the 1920’s to the 1940’s.

(Woodson in the 1940’s)

On April 3rd, 1950 Woodson died of a heart attack in Washington D.C. He was 74 years old.

(A statue of Woodson)

Today is his 141st birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Carter G. Woodson.

Books by Carter G. Woodson

• A Century of Negro Migration (1918)
• The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 (1919)
• The History of the Negro Church (1921)
• The Negro in Our History (1922)
• Free Negro Owners of Slaves in the United States in 1830, Together With Absentee Ownership of Slaves in the United States in 1830(1924)
• Free Negro Heads of Families in the United States in 1830, Together With a Brief Treatment of the Free Negro (1925)
• Negro Orators and Their Orations (1925)
• The Mind of the Negro as Reflected in Letters Written During the Crisis, 1800–1860 (1927)
• Negro Makers of History (1928)
• African Myths, Together With Proverbs (1928)
• The Rural Negro (1930)
• The Negro Wage Earner (1930)
• The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933)
• The Negro Professional Man and the Community, With Special Emphasis on the Physician and the Lawyer (1934)
• The Story of the Negro Retold (1935)
• The African Background Outlined: Or, Handbook for the Study of the Negro (1936)
• African Heroes and Heroines (1939)
• The Works of Francis J. Grimké (1942)
• Carter G. Woodson's Appeal: The Lost Manuscript Edition (2008)

(P.S. sorry for the late post)

Happy Birthday Steve Biko

“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed” - Steve Biko

(Steve Biko)

Steve Biko was born as Stephen Biko on December 18th, 1946 in Ginsberg Township, South Africa. In 1950 his father died. In 1964 he attended a prestigious boarding school in Alice, Eastern Cape. Biko was expelled from the school due to his political views.

(Biko as a teenager)

He then attended St. Francis college in Mariannhill, Natal. He studied in the medical field to be a doctor. In the 1960’s Biko was apart of the National Union of South African Students. He later founded the South African Students' Organization (SASO). In 1968 Biko was elected its president. SASO then evolved into the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM).

(Biko on 1968)

In 1970 he married Ntsiki Mashalaba. In 1972 he was expelled from St. Francis for his political views.

(Biko in 1972)

In 1973 the Apartheid government banned him from speaking to more than 1 person at a time in public. In 1976 he organized protests in Soweto.

(Biko in 1976)

In 1977 Biko was arrested under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967. When he was interrogated he was beaten and tortured. They then put him in the back of a police wagon naked and drove him 680 miles to a prison with hospital facilities. On September 12th, 1977 Steve Biko died of his injuries from the police officers in Pretoria, South Africa. He was 30 years old.

(Biko’s Funeral)

Today is his 70th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Steve Biko.

Videos of Steve Biko

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNmAcgdO2Ck  “Steve Biko - rare TV interview”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoNGCSgWQEQ  “The Life and Death of Steven Biko”

(P.S. sorry for the late post)

Anniversary of Queen Anna Nzinga's Death

“The real journey of discovery begins in old age” - Angolan proverb

(Queen Anna Nzinga)

Queen Anna Nzinga was born on an unknown date in 1583 in an unknown part of Angola. She was greatly favored by her father over her other sisters. As she was growing up the Atlantic slave trade was growing in Angola by the Portuguese.

(a drawing of Nzinga)

In 1622 Nzinga met with the Portuguese to make a treaty which the Portuguese never followed. In 1622 Nzinga converted to Christianity. In 1624 she became queen.

(A drawing of Nzinga)

In 1625 her forces were defeated by the Portuguese. In 1629 she strengthened her forces. In 1641 she made an alliance with the Dutch to fight the Portuguese. In 1644 she defeated the Portuguese. In 1646 her forces were defeated by the Portuguese. In 1647 with help from the Dutch she defeated the Portuguese again.

(A drawing of Nzinga)

In 1648 she had a translator to negotiate with the Portuguese. She also adapted a court system in Angola. Also in 1648 she ordered a cease fire between her forces and the Portuguese.

(A painting of Nzinga)

In 1657 she ordered a new peace treaty with the Portuguese. On December 17th, 1663 Queen Anna Nzinga died of natural causes in Matamba, Angola. She was about 80 years old.

(A statue of Nzinga)

Today is the 353rd anniversary of her death. Take time to remember this great queen today.

(P.S. sorry for the late post)

Happy Birthday Ella Baker

“Until the killing of black men, black mothers' sons, becomes as important to the rest of the country as the killing of a white mother's son, we who believe in freedom cannot rest until this happens.” - Ella Baker

(Ella Baker)

Ella Baker was born on December 13th, 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

(Baker as a child)

In 1927 Baker graduated from Shaw University. She then moved to New York City, NY. In 1931 she joined the Young Negroes’ Cooperative League. She also worked for the Worker's Education Project of the Works Progress Administration. She also protested Italy's invasion of Ethiopia and supported the campaign to free the Scottsboro defendants in Alabama. She also founded the Negro History Club at the Harlem Library.She befriended John Henrik Clarke during this time. In 1938 she joined the NAACP. In 1940 she was a secretary for the NAACP.

(Baker in 1940)

In 1943 she was director of branches. In 1946 she left the NAACP and returned to New York City, NY to care for her niece. In 1952 she became president of the New York City branch of the NAACP.

(Baker in 1952)

In 1953 she ran for New York City council and lost. In 1957 she joined the SCLC. In 1960 she joined SNCC. In 1961 she convinced SNCC to make 2 branches. She also helped organize freedom rides. While apart of SNCC she mentored Stokely Carmichael.

(Baker in 1961)

In 1962 Baker worked on the staff of the Southern Conference Education Fund. In 1964 she helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

(Baker (Right) with Fannie Lou Hamer (Left))

In 1967 she left the Southern Conference Education Fund. In 1972 she traveled the country in support of the "Free Angela" campaign.

(Baker in 1972)

On December 13th, 1986 Ella Baker died of natural causes in New York City, New York, USA. She was 83 years old.

(Baker in 1986)

Today is her 113th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Ella Baker.

Videos of Ella Baker

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjCibLwkOaw  “Celebrating 15 Years of People-Powered Change”

(P.S. sorry for the late post)