ARCDC Celebrates Black History Month 2011
Note: Click the link on the date to view the corresponding video presentation. To save the file, right-click on the link and choose Save Target As (Windows) or Download Linked File As (Mac).
February 1
The celebration of Black History Month in February began in 1926 as Negro History Week. It has been celebrated annually since 1976. It is designated as a time to remember the important people and events that shaped the proud history of our African American culture. This month we will be celebrating noteworthy African Americans and their accomplishments.
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February 2
Today we celebrate Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, the director of neurosurgery at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1987 he became the first surgeon in the world to successfully separate twins that had been joined at the back of the head. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in 2008, and continues to operate on over 300 children per year. Today we honor the contributions to humanity by the hands of this skillful African American surgeon, Dr. Benjamin S. Carson.
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February 3
Today we celebrate Major General Charles Bolden, the current director of NASA. Bolden was a naval pilot, flying combat missions during the Vietnam war, and logged nearly 700 hours in space during four shuttle missions as a pilot and commander. He was appointed by President Barak Obama to the position of administrator of NASA in 2009, and under his leadership NASA continues to follow his motto of turning science fiction into science fact. Today we honor African American astronaut Charles Bolden for his impacts on technology and history.
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February 7
Today we celebrate Mrs. Fanny Jackson Coppin, the first African American female principal and superintendent of a school. Born into slavery in 1837, she was freed at age 12, and earned her bachelor's degree in 1865. She served at the Institute of Colored Youth in Philadelphia for the next 37 years first as a teacher, then principal, and eventually superintendent. She went to South Africa as a missionary with her husband in 1902 and started educational programs in that country as well. Today we honor this educational trailblazer for her pursuit of education for all… Mrs. Fanny Jackson Coppin.
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February 8
William Edward Burghardt DuBois was an intellectual pioneer of the civil rights movement in America. He was the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard, served as a professor of history and economics at a number of universities, and was a vocal founder and leader of the NAACP. He wrote many books and researched a variety of solutions to the problem of racism in the United States urging active involvement in society and government. Today we honor a great thinker and builder of the civil rights we enjoy today… WEB DuBois. |
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February 10
Booker Taliaferro Washington was the most well known African-American leader in the United States between the Civil War and World War I. Born a slave in Virginia in 1856, he worked as a janitor while getting his degree as a teacher. In 1881 he was selected to direct the Tuskegee Institute, a school for blacks that focused on morals, religion, and academics. He focused on helping people gain economic security first, which he felt would lead to civil rights and political power later. He also wrote twelve books and gave a number of famous speeches. Today we honor a man who has affected the lives of millions who have followed him… Booker T. Washington.
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February 11
Sarah Breedlove was born in 1867 in Delta, Louisiana. Her parents died while she was a child, and at age 16 her first husband was murdered. Stresses such as these caused her to lose her hair so she invented a hair growth remedy and other hair care and beauty products. In 1906 she founded the Madam CJ Walker Manufacturing Company. In 1908 she founded Lelia College to train women to sell her products, and by 1914 her company was worth more than one million dollars, making her the first African American millionaire. Today we celebrate inspirational female role model and entrepreneur, Madem CJ Walker.
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February 14
Mary McLeod Bethune was the daughter of former slaves and began working in cotton fields at age 5, but soon realized that she wanted to get her education and get out of the cotton fields. She attended college with hopes of becoming a missionary to Africa, but eventually founded a school for girls that would soon become Bethune-Cookman College. She was an advocate of the women's rights movement in her early years, and later helped to advance ideas of the civil rights movement, serving on a special cabinet to make President Franklin Roosevelt aware of issues faced by black Americans. Today we celebrate this political and educational trailblazer, Mary McLeod Bethune.
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February 15
Eugene Jacques Bullard was born in Georgia in 1894. After witnessing lynchings and other harassment, he stowed away on a ship to Scotland to escape racial discrimination. He became the first African American combat pilot when he moved to France and joined the French Foreign Legion in 1914 to fight in World War I. He flew missions for the French Flying Corps and also fought in the infantry. He became one of France's most decorated war heroes, also serving as a spy on Germans in Paris in World War II. He was made a knight in the French Legion of Honor in 1959, but returned to the United States in his later years where he was severely beaten during and anti-civil rights riot. He died of stomach cancer in 1961. Today we honor a brave man who stood for justice all of his life… Eugene Jacques Bullard.
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February 16
Bill Cosby is a famous comedian and television personality. In 1965, Cosby became the first African American to have a starring role in a television drama series, playing a secret agent in the show "I Spy." He also created the comedy cartoon series "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" and starred in "The Cosby Show" which is said to be one of the defining television series of the 1980s. He holds a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 for his work in television and education. Cosby continues to be a vocal spokesman against such problems as illegal drug use, teenage pregnancy, and high school drop outs. Today we celebrate a great entertainer and person, Mr. Bill Cosby.
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February 17
Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer and judge. He was appointed as the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court when nominated by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. He graduated first in his class from Howard University School of Law in 1933. He was a successful attorney and served as the chief counsel for the NAACP in many civil rights cases including Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, which served to begin the desegregation of the public education system. He was appointed as a federal judge in 1961 and to the Supreme Court in 1967, where he paid special attention to civil rights, workers' rights, and women's rights. He retired from the court in 1991 and died in 1993. Today we honor Thurgood Marshall, who fought for many of the rights we hold today.
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February 18
Langston Hughes was an African American novelist and playwright. He began writing in school and was named the class poet of his eighth grade class. His first published poems appeared in a magazine while he was in high school. He wrote one of his most famous poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" while traveling to spend the summer with his father following his high school graduation. His poetry used free verse and rhythms of jazz and blues which was considered to be very experimental. Hughes was proud of his race and celebrated it in poems such as "My People."
The night is beautiful,
so the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful,
so the eyes of my people.
Beautiful also is the sun,
beautiful also are the souls of my people.
Today we honor an expressive voice of African American culture… Langston Hughes.
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February 22
Wendell Oliver Scott broke the color barrier in NASCAR in 1952 in his hometown of Danville, Virginia. He had a love for speed from a young age, racing through the town on roller skates or winning bicycle races as the only black child in the town with a bike. After fighting in World War 2 he returned home to run an auto-repair shop. Not all tracks would allow a black driver to race, but slowly his growing reputation as a racer opened doors. In 1961 he started racing in the Grand National division that is now known as the Sprint Cup, even racing at the Talladega Super Speedway in Alabama during the height of the civil rights movement. In 1963 he won the race in Jacksonville, Florida, although race officials initially gave the win to a white driver because of a scoring error. Throughout the 60's he consistently finished in the top ten in any race he entered and was forced to retire in 1973 from injuries sustained in a racing accident. Today we celebrate a brave pioneer in auto racing, Wendell Scott.
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February 23
Garrett Augustus Morgan was an African American inventor who was born in Kentucky in 1877 and moved to Cleveland in 1891. His first job was as a sewing machine and shoe repair man, but he soon started inventing things to make people's lives easier. His first invention was a liquid that polished sewing needles, but he found that it also straightened fabric and hair. After hearing about a factory fire he invented a basic gas mask to be used to breathe safely in emergencies. He received awards from many fire departments, and he was awarded a Medal of Bravery by the citizens of Cleveland for using the invention to rescue two men in a tunnel explosion under Lake Erie. He also invented the Morgan traffic signal, a mechanical device that functioned to signal pedestrians as well as street traffic from a safe distance away from the road. Today we honor a great African-American thinker… Garrett Morgan.
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February 24
Bass Reeves was born into slavery in 1838 in Arkansas, and moved from Texas into the Indian Territory of Oklahoma when he escaped during the Civil War. Following the war, he moved back to Arkansas with his wife and family. There he became an expert marksman with both rifle and pistol in addition to running his family farm. He was appointed as the first black Deputy US Marshall west of the MIssissippi in 1875 because of his knowledge of Indian languages and his skill with a gun. Legend says he had his hat and belt shot off in gunfights, but was never hit with a bullet. Over his thirty-two years in law enforcement, Reeves became an expert detective. He arrested over 3,000 felons and killed 14 outlaws. Today we celebrate the life of a decorated law officer, Bass Reeves.
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February 25
William Christopher Smith Jr. was born in Philadelphia in 1968. He was a good student with a charming personality and a quick wit that helped him begin rapping at age 12 and earned him the nickname "Prince." By keeping a clean, curse-free style, Smith and DJ Jeff Townes rolled out safe and entertaining singles for ten years. In 1990 Smith expanded his career into acting with the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and his first movie appearance in Where the Day Takes You in 1992. By 1995 Smith was a Hollywood leading man, starring in such films as Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black, Hitch, where he began producing as well as acting, and The Pursuit of Happyness, where he co-starred with his son Jaden. In 2010 he produced The Karate Kid and has a number of projects in production for 2011 and 2012. Today we celebrate entertainer and role model Will Smith.
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February 28
This is Michael Raymond Hicks, counselor at the Academic Recovery and Career Discovery Center. On behalf of the faculty, and more importantly the students of our great school, we would like to take a moment to say thank you for viewing our multimedia presentations of men and women who are indeed pioneers of black history. If we've learned anything this month, we've learned that these great men and women are not only pioneers in black history, but indeed pioneers in American history. Their stories have taught us, have challenged us, and have helped us grow this entire month. Another thing we have learned is that black history and American history is within us, for in every student at this school lies potential for greatness. Our school's motto is "The school where second chances come first." We are preparing ourselves each and every day for our futures that we know are going to be better than our present. Again we thank you for viewing our multimedia presentations. We ask that you continue to support us in our endeavors to be on the cutting edge of technology at the school where second chances come first. Thank you again on behalf of all students and Mr. Chris Long, who helped make this project possible. Academic Recovery and Career Discovery Center, where second chances come first. Margaret A. Brown, Principal. |
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