Happy Birthday Jackie Robinson

“I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being” - Jackie Robinson

(Jackie Robinson)

Jackie Robinson was born as Jack Robinson on January 31st 1919 in Cairo, Georgia, USA. In 1920 Robinson’s father left the family.

(Robinson as a child)

His family then moved to California. As a kid Robinson joined a local gang. In 1935 he graduated from high school and enrolled in Muir Tech. He played several sports such as football, basketball, track, tennis and baseball. In 1936 Robinson won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament. He then attended Pasadena Junior College. He also was an athlete at this school as well.

(Robinson in 1936)

In 1938 he was elected to the All Southland Junior College Team for baseball and selected as the region's Most Valuable Player. Also in 1938 he was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police. Also in 1938 his brother died in an motorcycle accident.

(Robinson in 1938)

In 1939 he enrolled at UCLA. He became the school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. In 1940 he won the NCAA Men’s Track and Field championship.

(Robinson (Center) in 1940)

In 1941 he left college. He then moved to Hawaii. He then returned to California. In 1942 he was drafted into the army.

(Robinson in 1942)

While in the army Robinson became friends with Joe Louis. In 1943 he became 2nd lieutenant. In 1944 Robinson was arrested for not sitting in the back of an unsegregated military bus. He was court martialed and acquitted. In 1945 he joined the Kansas City Monarchs Negro League Team. He also appeared in the 1945 Negro League All Star Game. Robinson and a few other Black players tried out for the Boston Red Sox MLB team. No one made it onto the Red Sox team due to racial prejudice.

(Robinson in 1945)

He was then signed to the Montreal Royals minor league team. In 1946 he was married to Rachel Isum.

(Robinson (Left) with his wife Rachel Isum (Right))

In the same year he was named the minor league’s MVP. In 1947 he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers MLB team. Since 1880 he became the 1st player to break the color line in baseball.

(Robinson in 1947)

A lot of Dodgers players refused to play with Robinson. Other teams also did not want to play against Robinson. Some Dodgers players gave Robinson support. At the end of the season Robinson had a batting average of .297, an on-base percentage of .383, and a .427 slugging percentage. He also had 125 scoring runs. He won the MLB rookie of the year award. In 1948 the Dodgers finished 3rd in the season. Also in 1948 a book about his was released.

(Robinson in 1948)

In 1949 Robinson won the MVP award and participated in the 1949 All Star game. In 1950 led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman with 133. Also in 1950 a movie was released about him called The Jackie Robinson Story and he starred himself.

(Robinson (Center) in the movie The Jackie Robinson Story (1950))

In 1951 Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman for the second year in a row with 137. He finished the season with 106 runs. In 1952 he finished the season with 104 runs. The Dodgers won the 1952 national league pennant.

(Robinson in 1952)

In 1953 Robinson finished the season with 109 runs. The Dodgers won the 1953 national league pennant. In 1954 he finished the season with 62 runs.

(Robinson in 1954)

In 1955 the Dodgers won the World Series.

(Robinson in 1955)

In 1956 he finished the season with 61 runs. In 1957 Robinson retired from baseball. He was also diagnosed with diabetes the same year.

(Robinson in 1957)

Also in 1957 he was the vice president of the “Chock full o’Nuts” corporation. He also served on the NAACP’s board. In 1962 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

(Robinson in 1962)

In 1965 he was an analyst for ABC’s  Major League Baseball Game of the Week telecasts. In 1966 Robinson was hired as general manager for the short lived Brooklyn Dodgers of the Continental Football League.

(Robinson in 1966)

In 1970 he established the Jackie Robinson Construction Company. In 1972 he served as a part time commentator on Montreal Expos telecasts. Also in 1972 the Dodgers retired his uniform number “42”. Also in 1972 he made his final public appearance throwing the ceremonial pitch at the world series.

(Robinson in 1972)

On October 24th 1972 Jackie Robinson died of a heart attack in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. He was 53 years old.

(Robinson’s funeral)

Today is his 98th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace Jackie Robinson.

Videos of Jackie Robinson

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXvp8q0FTFI  “Jackie Robinson at Wrigley Field 1947”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOgkGVsi944  “Baseball Spring Training 1948 Jackie Robinson (History's Playlist)-Sports”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XY-XshGhMU  “Jackie Robinson Steals Home”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biLJvoQp0C4  “The Jackie Robinson Story trailer - Legend Films”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaJIqhgGoIM  “World Series 1952”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4EUXTbbsAg  “1955 World Series Dodgers/Yankees Highlights Jackie Steals Home”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b5acoQ1EVA  “Jackie Robinson, one of the best to play the game, steals home during the 1955 World Series”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHrwLJqaCHs  “Jackie Robinson addresses at the 1962 Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP - Archival Footage”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3lEep4F744  “Jackie Robinson World Series”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP3G4E2ael8  “'42' Official Trailer [HD]: The Real Life Story Of Jackie Robinson, Baseball Legend”

Anniversary of Granville T. Woods' Death

“I believe I can do anything if i just try” - Granville T. Woods

(Granville T. Woods)

Granville T. Woods was born on April 23rd, 1856 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Woods went to school up until 10 years old due to his family needing him to work due to poverty. He served an apprenticeship in a machine shop and learned the trades of machinist and blacksmith. In 1872 Woods obtained a job as a fireman in Missouri. In 1876 he moved to Springfield, IL. He studied mechanical and electrical engineering in college from 1876-1878. In 1878 Woods worked on a steam ship and became engineer of the ship in 1880. He then moved to Cincinnati, OH in 1880. He established his business, Woods Electric Co., as an electrical engineer and an inventor.

(Woods in the 1880’s)

He patented the multiplex telegraph. In 1885 Woods patented an apparatus which was a combination of a telephone and a telegraph. In 1887 Woods patented the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. Thomas Edison tried to take claim to Woods’ patent. In 1888 Woods manufactured a system of overhead electric conducting lines for railroads. In 1889 Woods filed a patent for an improvement to the steam boiler furnace. In 1892 he moved the business to New York City,NY.

(A drawing of Woods)

His brother Lyates Woods joined his business. Woods developed several improvements to the railroad system in the US. Thomas Edison offered Woods a position in his company after several failed attempts to claim Woods’ patents. Woods rejected the offer. In 1901 Woods patented a third rail system. In total Woods held patents for over 50 inventions. On January 30th, 1910 Granville T. Woods died in New York City, New York, USA. He was 53 years old.

(Woods’ Gravestone)

Today is the 107th anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great inventor today.

Happy Birthday Angela Davis

“We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society” - Angela Davis

(Angela Davis)

Angela Davis was born on January 26th, 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. As a child she visited NYC with family.

(Davis as a child)

In 1959 she participated in the Girl Scouts national roundup. She went to Brandeis university. She traveled to France, Switzerland, and Finland. In 1963 she returned to the U.S. and was interviewed by the FBI about possible communist ties. She then majored in French and did a few years as a student in France. She graduated in 1965. She then worked at the university of California, San Diego. She then joined the Che-Lumumba Club. She earned her master’s degree from UC-San Diego and her doctorate from Humboldt university. In 1969 she became an acting assistant professor in the philosophy department at the University of California, Los Angeles.

(Davis in 1969)

She also became a member of the Black Panther party. In 1970 she was fired from her position at UCLA due to her speech on police brutality. A warrant for Davis’ arrest was issued due to her purchasing weapons that were involved in the Marin county courthouse incident. She was then placed on the FBI’s most wanted list. She was then captured in NYC. She was sent to prison in solitary confinement.

(Davis in 1970)

In 1971 more than 200 local committees in the United States, and 67 in foreign countries including John Lennon, worked to free Davis from prison. In 1972 she was released. She then visited Cuba.

(Davis in 1972)

In 1979 she visited the USSR and was awarded with the Lenin peace prize. In 1980 she became a professor at San Francisco State University.

(Davis in 1980)

In 1991 she became a professor at University of California, Santa Cruz and Rutgers University. In 1992 she became a visiting professor at Syracuse university.

(Davis (Left) with Ice Cube (Right))

In 1995 she opposed the Million Man March. In 1997 she admitted to being a homo sexual. In 2001 she spoke out against the war on terror.

(Davis in 2001)

In 2003 she lectured at Agnes Scott college. In 2005 she declared that the aftermath of hurricane katrina was due to the structures of racism, capitalism, and imperialism.

(Davis in 2005)

In 2008 Davis participated as a keynote speaker at Vanderbilt University's conference, "Who Speaks for the Negro?". In 2009 she was the keynote speaker at the University of Virginia Carter G. Woodson Institute.

(Davis in 2009)

In 2011 Davis spoke at the Philadelphia and Washington Square Occupy Wall Street assemblies. In 2012 she was awarded with the Blue Planet Award.

(Davis in 2012)

In 2014 she returned to UCLA. In 2016 she was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters in Healing and Social Justice.

(Davis in 2016)

Today is her 73rd birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday Angela Davis.

Books by Angela Davis

• If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance (1971)
• Angela Davis: An Autobiography (1974)
• Joan Little: The Dialectics of Rape (1975)
• Women, Race, & Class (1983)
• Women, Culture & Politics (1990)
• The Angela Y. Davis Reader (1998)
• Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday (1999)
• Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003)
• Abolition Democracy: Beyond Prisons, Torture, and Empire (2005)
• The Meaning of Freedom: And Other Difficult Dialogues (2012)
• Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement (2015)

Videos of Angela Davis

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z3ja80g6sc  “Angela Davis Speech”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sLIDscuc-M  “Barry Callaghan Interviews Angela Davis in California Prison, 1970”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcQMLlZzvYU  “THIS WILL BLOW YOU AWAY: In 1971 Angela Davis If Violence Was Needed For A Revolution”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axWwUz2U3UY  “Angela Davis (1979)”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Jguy22Q4k  “Angela Davis in 1991”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V734W91Fe0  “Ice Cube Interviewed by Angela Davis (1992, Rap City)”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqBsPAc9Zus  “Angela Davis”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSaa-S2vqCM  “Dr. Angela Davis speaks at Bryn Mawr College (2008)”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94W1JjvWOSk  “Angela Davis 2011”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3MsrvUDkVI  “Speech Angela Davis ManiFIesta 2014”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByHTFWVdl18  “Angela Davis Thoughts on The 2016 U.S. Elections”

Anniversary of Thurgood Marshall's Death

“Sometimes history takes things into its own hands” - Thurgood Marshall

(Thurgood Marshall)

Thurgood Marshall was born as Thoroughgood Marshall on July 2nd, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Marshall changed his 1st name to “Thurgood” while in the 2nd grade because he didn't like the spelling of his original name.

(Marshall as a child)

Marshall attended Frederick Douglass High School. He graduated a year early in 1925. He placed in the top third of the class.

(Marshall as a young man)

He attended Lincoln University. His classmates were poet Langston Hughes and musician Cab Calloway. Marshall was a star on the debate team. In his 2nd year in college he got involved in a sit-in protest against segregation at a local movie theatre. He also was initiated as a member of the first black fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha.

(Marshall (Middle Row 2nd from the right) as a part of Alpha Phi Alpha)

In 1929 he married Vivien Burey.

(Marshall with his family)

He graduated from Lincoln with honors. He then attended Howard University School of Law. In 1933 he graduated first in his class at Howard. Marshall then started a private law practice in Baltimore, MD. In 1934 he joined the NAACP.

(Marshall in 1934)

In 1954 Marshall took on the case of “Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka”. The case which the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" public education, as established by “Plessy v. Ferguson”, was not applicable to public education because it could never be truly equal. In total, Marshall won 29 out of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court.

(Marshall in 1954)

In 1967 President Johnson nominated Marshall to the Supreme Court. He became the 1st Black person on the US Supreme Court.

(Marshall in 1967)

His most frequent ally on the Court was Justice William Brennan, who consistently joined him in supporting abortion rights and opposing the death penalty. In 1991 Marshall retired from the Supreme Court.

(Marshall in 1991)

On January 24th, 1993 Thurgood Marshall died of heart failure in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. He was 84 years old.

(Marshall’s funeral)

Today is the 24th anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great supreme court judge today.

Videos of Thurgood Marshall

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoPLitU6jVg  “LOST THURGOOD MARSHALL INTERVIEW with MIKE WALLACE”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBelqJzuWEo  “Thurgood Marshall Interview”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnOB5PpXHu0  “Thurgood Trailer (HBO)”