Ida B. Wells-Barnett

Ida Barnett Wells was born during the era of slavery and lived during the emancipation of enslaved African-American. However, Wells would witness the birth of Jim Crow laws preventing African-Americans from enjoying true liberation. Abraham Lincoln stated for African-American, they were "free but not equal". But for African-American women, Wells experienced the silence on the intersectional position of being both an African-American and a woman in the United States Constitution. As an educated African-American woman, Wells discovered the new provisions within the document would not protect an African-American woman from being manhandled by raced white men. Who battled for the African-American woman?


Wells was asked to move to another section of the train. Wells, was told to move into a smoking section. Wells must have understood that this demand was not only an insult as a citizen but as a threat against her as a woman. Wells refused to move and was thrown off the train. This light bulb moment would illuminate a different path for the teacher. Wells began a life time crusade against not only discrimination against African-Americans but for legal protection for African-American women.

Wells would have to channel both former crusaders Sojourner Truth and Maria Stewart. It could not be left up to raced whites as Sojourner Truth pointed out, in defining womanhood when she asked "Ain't I A Woman ?" in order to be acknowledged by raced white males. Stewart stated that it was up to the African-American woman to define what it meant to be a woman. Wells would have to fuse the two together to craft her battle plan.

Wells began publishing a newspaper, the Free Speech to tell about the injustices committed against her as an African-American woman. This same newspaper would later chronicle the horrible lynching that were occurring in the south. Wells newspaper documented the number of lynching’s that were occurring under the passive Separate but Equal doctrine. One of her reports an incident of lynching involving her friends and another the torturing of a man accused of raping a raced white young female. The lynching was a public event with witnesses collecting souvenirs.

Wells reports showcased the South total disregard for human life. Wells learned through her travels to other countries, sympathy in her outrages against the south. Wells found a listening ear from the women in Britain. Britain had offer emancipated African-Americans freedom long before President Lincoln. The south was losing many African-Americans fleeing from the south to both Britain and Canada. Well suggested that African-Americans leave Memphis and go elsewhere to live.

Women in other countries were surprised to leave that Wells did not find support for her causes in fighting against injustices from other women in the United States. Wells reported that America's woman movement did not include African-American women. Highlighting the hypocrisy within the pious women movement fight for equality for all women, Wells pointed out the non existence of African-American women membership. In fact, the United States woman movement was a battle about class among raced white women. A class warfare as to which raced white women could enter the sphere of true womanhood and be classed a "lady". These women would be allowed to enter society or sororities to mate and marry America's patriotic and prominent males.

Wells writings about these contradictions in America angered her opponents and her newspaper was destroyed. Wells had to do what she was advocating for others to do. Wells had to flee to the north for her own safety. Wells continued her crusade against racial injustices by helping organize the NAACP. Her voice would replace her newspaper as she ran for political office. This would provide Wells an opportunity to rally others to the bully pulpit to fight for the legal rights of all African-Americans.

Wells life journey reminds us of the outrage years later when mild mannered Rosa Parks, a woman, refused to give her seat to a raced white male and remained in her seat.

Al Sharpton

Al Sharpton

Once again I was going to write about Ida Wells. But. who could not stop and chuckle upon hearing that good old Dixiecrat,Strom Thurmond's ancestors may have or did enslave some of the ancestors of Al Sharpton. What does it mean, asked Black Professor website?

Well the fact that here it is 2007, and folks keep saying slavery happened soooo long ago. And that there is no way African-Americans today can trace their ancestors to any particular living raced white person in 2007! Yet, Sharpton is living and Thurmond recently died. So it is possible. And in that possibility is the possibilities for reparation. Randall Robinson writes about this debt that is owed to descendant of slave owners, not America but those slave owners who enslaved African-Americans and treated them as property.

Many raced whites when they hear about slavery are quick to discount reparation stating their ancestors did not enslave African-Americans. Well if that's the case, that their ancestors did not enslave African-Americans, no one is asking for your contribution. The conversation is about those who did.

So Sharpton highlighting slavery is not a thing of the past its legacy still lives and Sharpton has become it's mere poster child.

But, even more telling is the surprise of discovery of Sharpton connection to Thurmond rather than highlighting the fact that Thurmond has an African-American daughter. And Thurmond daughter Essie Washington is an African-American. Washington silence contrast to the vocal Sharpton, has inheritance right to the property of Thurmond but little is mentioned about his daughter.

What does it mean when it is more exciting to learn about owning African-Americans rather than being a family member who is an African-American? My question would be was Thurmond really raced white? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr stated it best, one day he dreamt that his daughter would be judged by her character rather than her skin color. That day is not here, race does matter.

The Black Press-Negro Bulletin

I wanted to write about Ida Wells today, but found this instead, its about the Negro Bulletin. The article The black press: setting the political agenda during World War II - African Americans and World War II is written by Charles G. Spellman with additional information on the black press. I will read it later. To Read more Click hereI wanted to write about Ida Wells today, but found this instead, its about the Negro Bulletin. The article The black press: setting the political agenda during World War II - African Americans and World War II is written by Charles G. Spellman with additional information on the black press. I will read it later.

CREDO FOR THE NEGRO PRESS

I Shall Be A Crusader...

I Shall Be An Advocate...

I Shall Be A Herald...

I Shall Be A Mirror And A Record...

I Shall Have Integrity...

I Shall be a crusader and an advocate, a mirror and a record, a herald and a spotlight, and I Shall not falter.

So help me God.

The Credo, wrtten by Journal and Guide editor P. Bernard Young, Jr. represents a declaration to provide truth, honesty, and service to the black community. When the Credo was written, the black press was the sole "Voice of the Negro." As a crusader, the black press fought vigorously for Negro rights. As an advocate, the black press fought vigorously to ban "Jim Crow" laws which legally sanctioned segregation. As a herald, the black press was the bearer of both good and bad news, always heralding those causes that others would suppress out of bias or perceived lack of interest.

The black press gained its respectful reputation for being the "Voice of the Negro" in the early days of segregation and unconscionable discrimination. African Americans were often negatively depicted in the white media. The negative images were reflective of the perceptions held by many whites, resulting in the development of the advocacy movement by the black press.

In the early years of the black presence in America, access to the white press was denied to the "Negro." As a result, African Americans founded their own newspapers. In 1827, Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm established the first black newpaper, Freedom's Journal writing in an editorial:

"We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations in the things which concern us dearly."

Although Cornish and Russwurm were primarily concerned with negative aspects of the colonization of free African Americans and the gradualism of emancipation as advocated by the white press, they addressed many issues of concern to their readership. From this auspicious beginning, the black press became the primary voice for information and journalistic expression in the black community. That role remained a key one up to and during World War II.

When the war began, the news and information needs of the black community increased. The absence of news about African Americans in the segregated white media inspired additional coverage by the black press. As the only means of constant mass communication information particularly relevant to the African American, the black press assumed the awesome responsibility of relating the activities of the war to its readership. As reporting increased, so did newspaper circulation. Since the primary news of interest to African Americans appeared in the black press, it reached its peak circulation during the war years. The Pittsburgh Courier had a circulation of 350,000; the Chicago Defender, 230,000; the Baltimore Afro-American, 170,000 and the Norfolk Journal and Guide, 100,000.

The black press enhanced the political awareness of its readership during World War II while mobilizing black public opinion. As America went to war to fight against Nazism and Fascism abroad, the black press formulated a political agenda at home. Theoretically, "the [black] press did not tell its readership what to think; it told its readership what to think about."

The black press reported vital information that increased awareness about war activities and black participation in the armed services. As significant political information about the state of black affairs in the Armed Services was gathered and reported in the black press, black opinion leaders emerged. Ministers, politicians and community leaders were responsible conduits for spreading the word about the war. Consequently, government, political, social, and wartime issues were covered with great care. Important issues concerning the acceptance of African Americans in the armed forces, the types of jobs African Americans would have in the armed forces, the treatment of African Americans in the Armed forces, and whether or not African Americans would be allowed the "right to fight" for their country were among the most important issues covered.

What emerges from the analysis of news coverage is a composite picture of a black press that generally supported the involvement and participation of African Americans in the war effort. For example, the Afro-American Newspaper, based in Baltimore, Maryland, led the way. In an editorial entitled 'We Are For War," September 16, 1939, the editors provided the following reasons for supporting the war:

1. The War would stimulate black migration to the Northern industrial states, a benefit to the race,

2. The War would mean eventual freedom for African Americans, and

3. African Americans were against Hitler because of his race hatred of Jews.

In a strategic move, the press began to look carefully at the Nazi situation, comparing Nazism to racism. It was concluded that there was little difference between the two. Although Hitler had not been guilty of oppressing African Americans, his hatred of Jews sent a clear message that Nazism and racism were based upon similar principles. One black newspaper, The Pittsburgh Courier provided a detailed analysis of Nazism and racism by comparing Germany and Georgia. It suggested that the only difference between the two was that Germany was planning to do what the South had already done. This vivid comparison caught the attention of the black press readership, mainly because "Negroes" had been so negatively affected by racism.

As the black press continued to address issues of concern to the black community, its role and function began to crystalize. It becomes clear, through editorial analysis, that the black press was a "team player." While some editorials justly questioned the segregationist and discriminatory policies of the military, a sampling of messages disseminated through the black press about the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor reveals substantial support by the black press for the nation's war effort.

For example, the December 11, 1941 edition of the Savannah Tribune declared "The Black Tenth is ready," referring to the 10% black population, but wondered whether the country would let African Americans fight. The December 13, 1941 edition of The Afro-American headlined 'Mr. President, Count on Us;' "Strongly proclaims an allegiance to America" appeared as a headline in the December 18, 1941 edition of the Chicago Bee. One of the strongest statements appeared in the California Eagle. The editorial vowed that the newspaper would "Continue to fight against segregation and discrimination but indicated that it would also emphasize citizenship duties since quasi-democracy in America was superior to Fascism and therefore Nazism." As the war progressed, so did the vigilant news gathering and reporting efforts of the black press. Issue oriented messages were regularly sent to a large, disenchanted black audience anxious for information about their friends, relatives and loved ones.

A primary concern to the audience of the black press was the unequal treatment of African Americans in the military. Although abhorrent social conditions related to inequality at home garnered much of the national news, the black press was also instrumental in seeking military justice for soldiers. As wartime casualties increased, so did the numbers of black men and women soldiers. As the number of soldiers increased so did the number of complaints about social injustices. Many were stationed in southern towns where race relations were at best poor. Many of the young men and women were from the North and had not experienced the "Jim Crow" laws they were subjected to upon their arrival. Soon, the black newspapers published stories detailing the complaints of soldiers. Selected opinion leaders were motivated to action after reading the complaints, focusing on the segregationist policies of the military and seeking social justice for the troops. Titles of selected articles appearing in the black press clearly document some of the concerns and issues:

"The Army's policy of racial segregation," Chicago Defender, April 18, 1942

"Military justice," Pittsburgh Courier, December 11, 1943

"Will They try to Discredit Our G.I.s?" New York Amsterdam News, December 2, 1944

"Wacs who staged a strike to protest discriminatory treatment and hostility directed at them," The Afro-American, March 31, 1945; Pittsburgh Courier, March 24, 1945.

Rather than suppress these politically oriented issues about the conditions affecting the lives of black soldiers at home and abroad, the black press chose to aggressively pursue and report all the news, whether good or bad.

On the home front, one of the most significant issues was "the fight for the right to fight." This struggle evolved because of the armed services practice that clearly restricted the use of Negroes in combat missions. Justifications for the practice were the Negroes perceived inability to fight, the impression that Negroes were afraid to fight based on their performance in World War I, and the fear that Negroes could not be trusted with weapons. As a result, the armed services developed a practice to only employ African Americans in menial service jobs behind the lines. The practice relegated black soldiers to a degraded status and further perpetuated their status as second class citizens.

The "right to fight" campaign was supremely important to the cause of equality. To be successful, the fight for the "right to fight" campaign needed wide coverage. The editors of blakc newspapers concluded that a positive record of combat service would significantly further the cause of the African American's civil rights. The editors also wisely concluded that "full equality" could not be achieved for African Americans without a combat record that showed black contributions to the war effort. With this goal, the editors of the black press began to write stories reflecting the right to fight campaign strategy.

To further emphasize the necessity for the success of the "right to fight," the November 27, 1943 edition of the Journal and Guide highlighted the importance of black soldiers being allowed to fight in combat units. "If Negroes didn't fight on the front lines and stayed behind the lines, it could be reasoned that they were not fully entitled to their full share of the fruits of society."
The idea of African Americans actually fighting in combat situations was not received well nor fully accepted. However, the task of the black press was to convince its readership that full participation in the war effort, including combat, would eventually pave the road to freedom, justice and equality. The black press also had to show its readership that World War II was not just a "white man's war." Without black participation in the war effort, losing the war abroad could mean absolute defeat at home. What emerged from this strategic thinking was a struggle for victory on two fronts: victory at home and victory overseas. The double "V" victory struggle became a cause celebrated by the black press. The official campaign was named "The Double V Campaign." For readers of the black press this campaign slogan meant there could be no victory at home without a victory against the Axis powers abroad.

None of the accomplishments of the black press would have been possible without the help of black correspondents who were information gatheres and writers. Most messages and articles were processed through a government censor to make certain vital classified information was not revealed. Even so, the right and need to know about the war effort was significantly enhanced by the presence of black war correspondents. The Pittsburgh Courier, The Afro-American, Chicago Defender, and the Norfolk Journal and Guide had foreign correspondents. The National Negro Publishers Association and the Associated Negro Press filed sotries with several newspapers during the war.
Vincent Tubbs of the Baltimore Afro-American, one of the most notable foreign correspondents, was the first black journalist in the Pacific, arriving in March 1943. He filed numerous stories about conditions affecting the black troops. He later became a movie publicist in Hollywood.

The black press during World War II was the single most important information source for African Americans. The black press set the political agenda for African Americans and was a crusader for human and civil rights. When soldiers were treated badly, the black press investigated and printed the facts.

The primary function of the black press during World War II was to impart vital military, political, social and cultural information to its readership and to ultimately have a significant impact on military and political awareness and participation.

Key objectives were to impact the opinion formation process of the black reader and to move its readership to active participation in the affairs of state and country. The desired result was full citizenship rights. Based on a theory of social responsibility and the Credo for the Black Press, one can only conclude that the black public was well served by the black press during World War II.

African American Newspapers

Long before Fredrick Douglass started his newspaper the North Star,there were African-American newspapers. Many were short lived. Some Africcan-American newspapers shelf live was limited by finances, death and some were seized and destroyed.

James Williams writes about the "Freedom Journal". The "Freedom Journal" editor was John Russwurm, America's first African-American college graduate. Russwurm words, " We wish to plead our own causes.. Too long have others spoken for us. Too Long has the public been deceived by misrepresentations in things which concern us dearly, through in the estimation of some mere trifles; for though there are many in society who exercise toward us benevolent feelings; still (with sorrow we confess it) there are others who make it their business to enlarge upon the least trifle, which tens to the discredit of any person of colour; and pronounce anathemas and denounce our whole body for the misconduct of the guilty one,", quoted by Williams.

That quote sound like 2007 rather than back in 1827.

To plead the cause of the African-American meant to send these thoughts out into other places, communities of African-Americans. David Walker felt that for change in communities a plan was needed to be shared amongst the group. David Walker wrote the famous "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World" after working to deliver the "Freedom Journal" in other places.

Williams writes about other writers. Writers who would create newspapers to appeal to the people about their role or place in America as African-Americans. There was a dispute between Samuel Cornish and Russwurm over the issue on whether or not African-American should emigrated back to Africa. After Russwurm death, Cornish changed the name of the "Freedom Journal" to "Rights for All". Cornish did not believe in the back to Africa movement. Cornish would later edit another paper called "The Weekly Advocate" in 1837 that lasted until 1842. A long time for an African-American newspaper expressing the views of African-Americans.

Other radical writers came forward like Fredrick Douglass, such as Ida B. Wells. Wells newspaper was investigative reporting. Wells was documenting the number of lynchings that were occurring among the African-Americans males. Wells was also accusing raced whites males of killing African-American businessmen. If it was not true when Wells wrote it, it became truth, when Wells own newpapers printing company was burned to the ground, which she published under the name of the "Memphis Free Speech" in 1892.

The cost to be outspoken was a high price for those African-Americans who voiced an oppositional view point than the raced white establishment. The price was even higher for those voices that opposed African-Americans who believed in complacency with the raced white establishment. William Monroe Trotter, a Harvard graduate had lots to say about the willingness of African-Americans to just settle by compromising and not arguing for a voice in their America.

Williams writes that Trotter attacked the great Compromiser, who was loved by both raced whites and African-Americans, Booker T. Washington. Trotter began "The Guardian" in 1901, in Boston. "The Guardian" would attack Washington compromising position as not good enough for all African-Americans. To attack Washington the model Negro for raced white, Trotter would end up fined and jail during the Boston Riot.

Trotter used his newspaper to attack the belief that one voice speaks for the whole race best interest. Trotter set the pace for these other voices to emerge from the diverse community of the African-American community. Williams writes, Robert Abbott of the Chicago Defender in 1905 created a new type of African-American newspaper. A sensationalizing type newspaper that was going to pay for itself by getting the word out about segregation and discrimination. Marketing to the people taste for seedy side of the community would generate revenue to substain the longevity of the African-American newspaper.

Abbott's newspaper encouraged African-American migration to the North, with information about jobs and the need to leave the hell hole of the South. The dream of a better place than the oppressive south helped grow the circulation of the Defender. By 1917, "Pittsburgh Courier", "The Baltimore Afro-American" and hundreds of other African-Americans newspapers were expressing a view from prominent African-Americans living in the city about a live that was so different than the south.

In closing Williams writes about The Crisis. W.E.B. Dubois was the editor of a publication belonging to an organization that fought for the betterment of life for African-Americans. The N.A.A.C.P. was the organization that funded the Crisis Magazine, the most powerful voice of the African-American community.

Thousands of African-Americans newspaper exist today, because of the diverse voices that is throughout the world. Not only are African-American and raced white churches the most segregated during Sunday services, so are our African-Americans and raced white newspaper readership on a daily basis.

The First Admendment-Expressing an Oppositional Point of View

Fredrick Douglass is well known for being an abolitionist. Douglass escaped slavery and was outspoken about the institution of slavery. Douglass wrote a book called The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, An American Slave. Douglass started the most prominent newspaper for African-American, to voice his opposition to the institution of slavery. Douglas published an African-American newspaper in 1847 in Rochester New York, called the North Star. The credo expressed by the newspaper: " The object of the North Star will be to attack slavery in all its forms and aspects advocate universal emancipation exact the standard of the colored people; and to hasten the day of freedom to our three million enslaved fellow countryman." according to the Black Press and The First Amendment by James D. Williams.

Douglass would change the name of his paper from the "North Star" to "Frederick Douglass Paper" in 1851. Douglass later would start a magazine called the "Douglass Magazine" during the Civil War. Douglass used the Magazine to encourage African-American males to join the union Army in order to gain their freedom from slavery. Douglass believed that if African-Americans volunteered to fight in the country battle the country could not refuse to give the African-Americans their freedom. So the same sentiment was written and drafted in the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in need of African-Americans to win the war against the confederate soldiers.

Readings for African-American History

One day I will make a list of all the books I have throughout the house, but not today on history, especially African-American history and policies. African-American history can be found in lots of writing. It depends on what you are searching for that will guide your reading. Here is a just a few books I found in thrift shops of authors, stories, history and jokes involving the African American community:

Bibles

World's Great Men of Color J.A. Roger Volume II

Three Negro Classics: Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington; The Souls of Black Folk, William E.B. Dubois; and The AutoBiography of an Ex-Colored Man, James Weldon Johnson

Go Tell it on the Mountain, James Baldwin

A History of the Atlantic Slave Trade Black Cargoes, Daniel P. Mannix

Why Should White Guys have all the Fun, Reginald F. Lewis & Blair S. Walker

The United States Constitution

Indiana Constitutions

The Official Black Folks Joke Book Larry Wilde

African-American History narrative is not just for African-American History Month, African-American History Month, is the restrictive time period in which discourse can occur to say that America citizens are more inclusive.

It is suggested that to discuss the achievement of African-Americans or to point out prominent African-Americans in America is to ghettoize America's History. When it fact the tracing of history will lead some families into learning their cousins or other relatives may not just be one shade of color As I teach tracing your family tree many family are surprised that folks with their same names maybe long lost relatives.

Migration patterns of African-Americans create Black History Sites

"SoulOfAmerica.com's 12 Top Travel Destination Guides for Black History" (listed in alphabetical order and including links to their Black cultural sites):

1 Atlanta - In addition to the birthplace, church and tombs of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Atlanta is home to Auburn Avenue Research Library and APEX Museum. Atlanta Cultural Sites

2 Baltimore - The first wax museum of African-American history, "The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum," the remarkable Reginald Lewis Museum and the new Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Museum are located in Baltimore. Baltimore Cultural Sites

3 Birmingham - A major backdrop to the civil rights struggle, this city boasts the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and is also home to the Eddie Kendricks & Temptations Memorial. Birmingham Cultural Sites

4 Chicago - First settled by Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, a black man, Chicago is home to a museum named in his honor, the Du Sable Museum of African-American History. In addition, the A. Philip Randolph / Pullman Porter Museum, which pays tribute to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, is in this city. Chicago Cultural Sites:

5 Cincinnati - Located on the north bank of the Ohio River, Cincinnati boasts this country's most comprehensive museum chronicling U.S. slavery, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Cincinnati Cultural Sites

6 Detroit - The motor city has several notable museums, including the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Motown Historical Museum. Detroit Cultural Sites

7 Memphis - Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed at Memphis' Lorraine Hotel, now the site of a memorial in his honor. The memorial is connected to the National Civil Rights Museum. Soulsville Museum is a must visit for music devotees. Memphis Cultural Sites

8 New Orleans - The birthplace of jazz, New Orleans is the location of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and the New Orleans African-American Museum of Art, Culture & History. New Orleans Cultural Sites

9 New York City - The world-renown Apollo Theater, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Malcolm X Museum are must visits. The Dance Theater of Harlem is where some of the world's greatest dancers got their start. New York City Cultural Sites

10 Philadelphia - In the first American city to ban slavery, you should explore the African-American Museum of Philadelphia and see where Philadelphia International Records shaped so much of the music we love today. Philadelphia Cultural Sites

11 San Francisco & Oakland - In this metropolis, which was the western terminus of the Underground Railroad, you'll find the Museum of the African Diaspora and the Black Panthers Legacy Walking Tour. San Francisco & Oakland Cultural Sites

12 Washington, DC - The Benjamin Banneker Memorial & Fountain honors the black man who completed the landscape design for the District of Columbia. Howard University and the headquarters of Black Entertainment Television are also in D.C. Washington, D.C. Cultural Sites