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Black History Month: Let Your Curiosity Guide You

arati_mejdal

black history month.png Black History Month is a celebration of the history, contributions and achievements of Black Americans. This year, I let my curiosity and interests guide me in learning more about Black history. I encourage you to try it.

I was interested in the origins of Black History Month, so I explored that. As someone who has lived a long time in the American South, I wanted to know about Black soldiers fighting in the US Civil War. I was curious about some firsts, like the first Black man and woman to win the Nobel Prize, and the first Black person to be elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.

With the news that the next US Supreme Court justice might be a Black woman, I looked for data on US presidents’ appointments of Black judges. As a tennis fan who watched the movie “King Richard” about Serena and Venus Williams’ father, I wanted to learn more about the Williams sisters’ careers. Because the Oscars are taking place next month, I wondered how many Black Americans had won Academy Awards for acting over the years.

I’ve learned a lot, including on topics I wasn’t searching for. And I’ve found a new favorite source, BlackPast.org, which provides “reference information on people of African ancestry in the United States and around the world” with the help of volunteer historians. Here’s some of what I learned:

Black History Month is also celebrated in Canada and the UK. (History)
Historian and educator Carter G. Woodson created a weeklong celebration of Black history in 1926. It took place the second week of February because the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln fell on that week. (Smithsonian)
The celebration of Black history became a monthlong observance in 1976. (Smithsonian)
By the end of the Civil War, about 179,000 Black men –

or about 10% of the Union Army – had served in the US Army and about 19,000 had served in the Navy. (National Archives)

By 1860, about 4,000 Black people had gone to California for the Gold Rush. (BlackPast)
The first Black American man to win a Nobel Prize was Ralph Bunche, who won the Peace prize in 1950 for his mediation in Israel. The first Black American woman to win a Nobel Prize was Toni Morrison, who won for Literature in 1993. The Nobel Prizes have been awarded since 1901. (AfricanAmericanRegistry.org)
In 1965, David Harold Blackwell, mathematician and statistician, was the first Black American to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1941, he was the seventh Black man ever to earn a PhD in mathematics. He is known for his work in game theory, probability, information theory and Bayesian statistics. It’s his name in the Rao-Blackwell Theorem. He wrote the first textbook on Bayesian statistics. (BlackPast) (Brittanica)
In 1966, James Meredith, the first Black student at the University of Mississippi, aimed to protest racial violence by marching 270 miles solo from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. He called it the March Against Fear. On the second day of his march, he was shot by a sniper and couldn’t keep marching. Other civil rights leaders and organizations continued his march while he recovered, and Meredith was able to rejoin near the end of the march. (BlackPast)
Serena and Venus Williams have played each other nine times in Grand Slam tournament finals, and younger sister Serena has won seven of those times. Serena has 23 Grand Slam championship titles; Venus has seven. (Tennis X)
Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are tied for appointing the most Black judges to the federal judiciary. Each appointed 61. (Minority Corporate Counsel Association)
As for the Academy Awards for acting: Since the first Oscars in 1929, Black men have won in the Lead Actor category four times, starting with Sidney Poitier in 1963. Black women have won in the Lead Actress category only once: Halle Berry in 2001. In the Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress categories, there have been seven Black men and eight Black women winners. (Wikipedia) (Utica Public Library)

What are your favorite sources for learning about Black history? What’s a fact about Black history that you can share? Please comment below.

Also, be on the lookout for my graphs on some of these topics at JMP Public. Here’s the one about Venus and Serena Williams.

Comments

Diana_Levey

My favorite source for learning about Black history -- and Black present -- is the SAS Black Initiatives Group. The BIG Fridays have been educational and insightful. I highly recommend them. Here's BIG if you're not familiar with the group: https://sasoffice365.sharepoint.com/sites/bigblackinitiativesgroup

arati_mejdal

I second that, @Diana_Levey. I look forward to it every Friday.

nina_chan

Hi Arati,

thanks for these interesting insights.

Awareness is growing in Germany and I saw Black History Month discussed on Social Media here for the first time. I learned about the first black professor at a German university in the 18th century: Anton Wilhelm Amo. He was also the very first student of African heritage who attended a European university: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Wilhelm_Amo

arati_mejdal

Thanks for sharing, @nina_chan. The story of Amo's life is both amazing and shocking.

Larry_LaRusso

Great article @arati_mejdal.

As a hockey and lifelong fan of the Buffalo Sabres, I've found the story of Val James encouraging. We've heard of Jackie Robinson and his amazing journey; James has a similarly inspiring story. He was the first Black American hockey player in a sport that wasn't particularly welcoming to African-Americans. I learned about James during a celebration last November. A frequent victim of racial prejudice from fans and players alike, he endured a lot to earn the distinction. Though maybe not the most talented player, he was fearless on the ice and the "enforcer" for his those who wanted to mess with more talented teammates on the Sabres and Rochester Americans (AHL). I'd highly recommend his book.

For the record, Willie O'Ree was the first Black hockey player in the NHL, but he was Canadian. He made his debut in 1958, played two games and then 43 in 1961, all for the Bruins. It would be nearly 20 years before a 2nd black player hit the ice in the NHL.

carla_paquet1

This is very intersting. Thank you for sharing!

France has had a big responsability on the triangular trade. And when you go through the streets of Bordeaux, you can see the houses of slaves marchants, with scultures of blacks faces on their facades.

During the revolution, pople have started to ask for the abolition of slavery, but we have had to wait until 1848 for the law to be fully applied, not only in our mainland but also in our colonies.

We had a black mayor in Paris on 1879, Severiano de Heredia. Then he became representative and minister.

Our African colonies were on the forefront during the 1st and 2d world wars and have heavily contributed to free our country. Around 29 000 riflemen died during this episode.

Our black French fellows that may be the most famous abroad are:

Alexandre Dumas, a famous writer, poet and representative
Léopold Sédar Sangor, poet, politician and first president of Sénégal
Tony Parker (basket-ball player)
Yannick Noah (tennisman) and his son Joakim Noah (basket-ball player)

Diana_Levey

Thanks for that insight into France, Carla.

arati_mejdal

Yes! Thanks for sharing @carla_paquet1! I didn't know that Alexandre Dumas (who wrote The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo) was Black. I was a Yannick Noah fan back when he was playing; I had no idea his son plays basketball.

IdaRahim

Wow, this is an amazing sharing. Thanks @arati_mejdal , @carla_paquet1 , @Larry_LaRusso, @nina_chan & @Diana_Levey