Black History Month Facts

1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, AL leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

1957 – Little Rock Nine integrate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas.

1960 – Four Black student stage famous sit-in at a whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, NC.

1961 – Freedom rides begin from Washington, DC.

1962 – James Meredith becomes first Black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi.  Violence prompts President Kennedy to send in 5,000 federal troops.

Image result for little rock nine stamp

Source: DiversityInc

Heritage Highlights – Week of January 20

Week of January 20

1/20/1992 – President Bush declares M. L. King, Jr. birthday national holiday.

1/21/1824 – Osai Tutu Kwamina defeated British at Assamaka, Ashanti.

1/22/1793 – Benjamin Banneker helped plan Washington, DC.

1/23/1977 – First ABC-TV showing of “Roots”.

1/24/1991 – Aids recognized as major health threat to African Americans

1/25/1966 – Constance B. Motley appointed federal judge, first woman.

1/26/1961 – Carl T. Rowan, journalist, given White House job.

Marvin Gaye, Gregory Hines To Be Featured In 2019 Forever Stamps Collection

    The late actor and dancer Gregory Hines and legendary singer Marvin Gaye both left indelible marks on the entertainment and music industry respectively and will be recognized with Forever Stamps. To pay homage to their legacies, the U.S. Postal Service announced that the two would be a part of it’s 2019 Forever stamp collection, the Philadelphia Tribune reported. The Gregory Hines will be released January 28, 2019 and Marvin Gaye later this year.

    Heritage Highlight – Week of January 13, 2019

    Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. His religious upbringing in the King home shaped his destiny and thereby shaped the destiny of Black Americans, now and for evermore.  He graduated from Morehouse College at the age of nineteen and entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.  He graduated at the top of his class and was awarded a Doctoral Degree in 1955, Martin Luther King returned to the South to pastor the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.  King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta in January 10, 1957 to coordinate all civil rights activities.  In 1963, Dr. King organized the March on Washington where he delivered one of his most famous speeches, “I Have a Dream”

    On December 10, 1964 at the age of 35, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.  Martin Luther King was assassinated while protesting the rights of 1,200 sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.

    This stamp was issued in 1979, Scott #1771

     

    Heritage Highlights – Week of January 6, 2019

    Happy New Year and Welcome to 2019! As we celebrate and look forward to the coming year here are some history making events that happened this week.  We will post some more through out this year.  Thanks for visiting.

    1/6/1773 – Massachusetts slaves petition for freedom.

    1/7/1923 – Roland Hayes acclaimed after Boston recital.

    1/8/1811 – Slave revolt in New Orleans.

    1/9/1866 – Fisk University founded, Nashville, TN

    1/10/1866 – Georgia Equal Rights Association organized.

    1/11/1770 – 462,000 slaves in the 13 colonies.

    1/12/1952 – University of Tennessee admitted first Negro student.

     

     

    Source: America’s Black Heritage Calendar

    Hattie McDaniel Breast Cancer Awareness

    We had an opportunity to join the ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Alpha Upsilon Sigma Chapter for their Bagels and Bras event bringing awareness to breast cancer.  We set up a display honoring Hattie McDaniel and gave a presentation. Here are a few pictures and the presentation.

    Hattie McDaniel was born in Wichita, Kansas and she was the youngest of 13 children in a family of performers. She was an actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first Academy Award won by an African-American Entertainer.  All of the film’s black actors, including McDaniel, were barred from attending the film’s premier in 1939 which was aired at the Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, GA.

    When the Los Angeles Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded in July 1939, actress Hattie McDaniel was one of its founding members.

    Breast cancer claimed McDaniel’s life in 1952 at the age of 57.  Sigma Gamma Rho created the Hattie McDaniel Cancer Awareness and Health Program in her honor and memory. The mission of the program is to provide education and support of early detection of breast, prostate, ovarian, colon and other cancers as well as research for prevention of cancers.

    The USPS issued a stamp in her honor on January 25, 2006 (Scott# 3996) and she is part of the Black Heritage Series – which is the longest running Commemorative Series that the post office has. 

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    October 2018 Activities – Movie Viewing

    October is National Stamp Collecting Month and National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As part of our Stamp Out Violence Initiative we are collecting new socks to donate to a local shelter.

    Also, stamps are being collected to be used in a kids stamp art project. If you would like to donate, please send to NMAAS, P. O. Box 303, Edwardsville, IL 62025 

    We are venturing out into more programming and will be hosting a Premiere Movie Viewing to support our goals of encouraging #CommunityConversations and #CommunityCaring. 

    The Hate U Give is based on a children’s best seller and encourages reflections on ones actions and beliefs. (Image is subject to copyright)

    To reserve a ticket by Eventbrite visit: Tickets

    AAAM 2018 – 40th Conference – Hampton, VA – Summary and a few Pictures

    It was such an honor to attend the 40th AAAM conference. To be surrounded by people that are so passionate and committed to keeping the legacies and histories of African Americans alive and well was so inspiring.  As a newbie, I had an opportunity to attend some very informative sessions and just listen to the wealth of knowledge that has been attained over the years.  I found the new developments in digital and virtual museums very interesting. Having a “Pop-up” exhibit where 75 people visit is just as necessary as institutions that have a physical space but have very few visitors all month. Finding ways to reach a broader audience is necessary.

    Visiting Fort Monroe where the first Africans arrived and were enslaved was very moving and our tour guides really made the experience meaningful.  

    The Frederick Douglass plate won in the silent auction will be a nice addition for a tribute to him.  The Hampton University Brass Band gave a rousing welcome to the campus.

    It was a pleasure meeting a sorority sister, Dr Synatra Smith, from Prince George’s African American Museum and Jacqueline Dace who I met when we were both at the Missouri History Museum. She is now with the National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati and on the AAAM Board of Directors.

     

    No automatic alt text available.Image may contain: 1 person, tree, house, plant and outdoorNo automatic alt text available.Image may contain: 1 personImage may contain: one or more people and outdoor

    Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, people sitting

    Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, sunglasses

    1 2 3 4 5 6