9WIK

12/14/2024

"William Lewis Moore fought for the rights of African Americans."He would often organise demonstrations for civil rights in Binghampton and became a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) which was very crucial and influential at the time.Dusk was fast approaching on the 23rd of April. 1963; Ellis Elrod was driving along a lonely two-lane stretch of U.S. Highway 11 in rural north eastern Alabama when he spotted a glimpse of something at the side of the road.
Elrod decided to turn his car around to get a better look at what he had seen. As his flashlights illuminated the area, he was met by a grisly scene. Lying at the side of the road, just underneath a walnut tree, was the body of Moore.
Alongside his bloody, lifeless, body was the two signs he had been proudly carrying just hours earlier. An autopsy concluded that Moore had been killed by two bullets; one entered above his left eyebrow and the other entered his throat. It was determined that the fatal shots had come from a .22-caliber automatic rifle.
"Moore purchased a bus ticket to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is where he wanted to begin his walk to Jackson, Mississippi – of almost 400 miles."
He planned on walking 40 miles for 10 days. Tragically, Moore never got a chance to deliver the letter he planned to hand-deliver a letter to Gov. Ross (born in New York & grew up in Mississippi, he was horrified to witness Gov.
Ross Barnett giving pro segregation speeches as Confederate flags waved behind him in the wind) Barnett when he reached his destination; unfortunately he was shot dead while walking to his destination he was roughly 300 miles away from Jackson, Mississippi.
The man suspected of shooting him — twice in the head at close range — was Floyd Simpson, a Ku Klux Klan member but he wasn’t charged even though the police quickly identified him.
The murder sent shock-waves through the civil rights movement; the white supporters saw a Northern white man consumed by the violence that was mostly perpetrated against African Americans.
African Americans saw just how far segregationists would go. 🙏🏾🙏🏾

12/14/2024

Charles Baker was American inventor, who patented the friction heater. Baker was born into slavery on August 3, 1859, in Savannah, Missouri. His mother, Betsy Mackay, died when he was three months old, leaving him to be brought up by the wife of his owner, Sallie Mackay, and his father, Abraham Baker. He was the youngest of five children, Susie, Peter, Annie, and Ellen, all of whom were freed after the Civil War. Baker later received an education at Franklin College. His father was employed as an express agent, and once Baker turned fifteen, he became his assistant. Baker worked with wagons and linchpins, which sparked an interest in mechanical sciences. friction heater friction heaterBaker worked over the span of decades on his product, attempting several different forms of friction, including rubbing two bricks together mechanically, as well as using various types of metals. After twenty-three years, the invention was perfected in the form of two metal cylinders, one inside of the other, with a spinning core in the center made of wood, that produced the friction. Baker started a business with several other men to manufacture the heater. The Friction Heat & Boiler Company was established in 1904, in St. Joseph, with Baker on the board of directors. The company worked up to 136,000 dollars in capital, equal to nearly 6 million dollars in 2022.During his patent application, Baker stated that the friction heat could be produced with any mode of power like wind, water and gasoline.
His device, according to him, was set to be the cheapest source of heat production at the time which made him win accolades such as ‘King of Clean Energy and ‘St. Joseph Negro Inventor.’ friction heater
“Mr. Baker claims that the particular mode of power used in creating the friction is not essential. It may be wind, water, gasoline, or any other source of energy.
“The most difficult part of the inventor’s assertions to prove is that his system will light or heat a house at about half the cost of methods now in use,” The Draftsman 1908.
After years of trials, his device was near-perfect at the time it was invented. Baker’s device was made up of two metal cylinders, with one inserted into the other. A wooden spinning core was put in the center to produce the friction.
Any notable newsreels hailed his invention. “On March 27, 1904, the New York Times’ edition identified Baker’s invention as a “Clever Negro Invention”. Other newspapers such as Daily Gazette and News-Press also published his story in 1904 indicating that his invention would “revolutionize the then heating systems.”
Baker then created a factory called The Friction Heat and Boiler Company in 1904 in St. Joseph with him as the head of board of directors.
His company employed 50 skilled and unskilled labour to produce more radiators and had about $136,000 in capital stocks.
At the time, Baker’s capital stock was a lot of money which made him an affluent and honorable man in his hometown. His loyalty to his employees made his business thrive albeit racial prejudice which sometimes posed as a threat to his finances, his business flourished.
Baker was the youngest of five children and got married in 1880 at age 21 to Carrie Carriger and they had a daughter, Lulu Belle Baker. On May 5, 1926, he died in his daughter’s home in St. Joseph.
Baker died of pneumonia on May 5, 1926, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

12/14/2024

Black Twin Brothers Make History as First Officer Pilots For Alaska Airlines

12/14/2024

🤎A 1965 photo of 17-Year-old Minnie Riperton in the Hyde Park High School Senior A Capella Choir (She was accepted her Junior year).Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer best known for her 1975 single "Lovin'' You" and her four octave D3 to F♯7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use of the whistle register and has been referred to by the media as the "Queen of the Whistle Register".Riperton was born in Chicago, Illinois. Riperton grew up in Chicago''s Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. As a child The youngest of eight children in a musical family, she embraced the arts early. Although she began with ballet and modern dance, her parents recognized her vocal and musical abilities and encouraged her to pursue music and voice.
At Chicago''s Abraham Lincoln Center, she received operatic vocal training from Marion Jeffery. She practiced breathing and phrasing, with particular emphasis on diction. Jeffery also trained Riperton to use her full range. While studying under Jeffery, she sang operettas and show tunes, in preparation for a career in opera. Jeffery was so convinced of her pupil''s abilities that she strongly pushed her to further study the classics at Chicago''s Junior Lyric Opera.
The young Riperton was, however, becoming interested in soul, rhythm and blues, and rock. After graduating from Hyde Park High School (now Hyde Park Academy High School), she enrolled at Loop College, now named Harold Washington College, and became a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority. She dropped out of college to pursue her music career.
In her teen years, she sang lead vocals for the Chicago-based girl group the Gems. Riperton''s first professional singing engagement was with The Gems. Raynard Miner, a blind pianist, heard her singing during her stint with Hyde Park''s A Ca****la Choir and became her musical patron. The Gems had relatively limited commercial success, but proved to be a good outlet for Riperton''s talent. Eventually the group became a session group known as Studio Three and it was during this period that they provided the backing vocals on the classic 1965 Fontella Bass hit "Rescue Me". In 1964, The Gems released a local hit, I Can''t Help Myself, and their last single, He Makes Me Feel So Good, was released in 1965. The Gems later released records under numerous names—most notably 1966''s Baby I Want You by the Girls Three and 1967''s My Baby''s Real by the Starlets. The latter has achieved cult status with northern soul fans and remains a favorite. It was a Motown-style song reminiscent of Tammi Terrell.
In 1966, Riperton joined Rotary Connection, a funky rock-soul group creation of Marshall Chess, the son of Chess Records founder Leonard Chess. Her early affiliation with the Chicago-based Chess Records afforded her the opportunity to sing backing vocals for various established artists such as Etta James, Fontella Bass, Ramsey Lewis, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters. While at Chess, Riperton also sang lead for the psychedelic soul band Rotary Connection, from 1967 to 1971.
In 1973, a college intern for Epic Records found Riperton in semi-retirement. She had become a homemaker and a mother of two in Gainesville, Florida. After he heard a demo of the song "Seeing You This Way", the rep took the tape to Don Ellis, VP of A&R for Epic. Riperton signed with Epic Records, and the family moved to Los Angeles, California. The subsequent record, Perfect Angel, turned out to be one of Riperton''s best-selling albums. Included were the rock-soul anthem "Reasons"; the second single, "Take a Little Trip" (written by Stevie Wonder, who also coproduced the album); and the third single, "Seeing You This Way". Sales of the album started out slow.
Epic was ready to move on to the next record, but Rudolph convinced them to release another single. With the fourth single, "Lovin'' You", the album caught on, and in April 1975, the song went to the top of the charts in the U.S. and 24 other countries. The song reached no. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and number three on the U.S. R&B charts. It sold more than one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in April 1975. Perfect Angel went gold and Riperton was finally revered as the "lady with the high voice and flowers in her hair." The album also featured the song "Every Time He Comes Around", with Deniece Williams singing the background vocals.
After Perfect Angel, Riperton and her husband, songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph started on Riperton''s third album, Adventures in Paradise (1975). Despite the R&B hit "Inside My Love" (a no. 5 U.S. R&B hit, the album did not match the success of Perfect Angel. Some radio stations refused to play "Inside My Love" due to the lyrics: "Will you come inside me?"
Her fourth album for Epic Records, titled Stay in Love (1977), featured another collaboration with Stevie Wonder in the funky disco tune "Stick Together".
In 1978, Richard Rudolph and Riperton''s attorney Mike Rosenfeld orchestrated a move to Capitol Records for Riperton and her CBS Records catalog. In April 1979, Riperton released her fifth and final album, Minnie. "Memory Lane" was a hit from the album.
COLLABORATION
Riperton provided backing vocals on Stevie Wonder''s songs "Creepin''" and "It Ain''t No Use" from 1974''s Fulfillingness'' First Finale and "Ordinary Pain" from 1976''s Songs in the Key of Life.
In 1977, she lent her vocal abilities to a track named "Yesterday and Karma", on Osamu Kitajima''s album, Osamu.
In January 1976, Riperton was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in April, she underwent a radical mastectomy. By the time of diagnosis, the cancer had metastasized and she was given about six months to live. Despite the prognosis, she continued recording and touring. She was one of the first celebrities to go public with a breast cancer diagnosis, but she did not disclose that she was terminally ill. In 1977, she became a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. In 1978, she received the American Cancer Society''s Courage Award, which was presented to her at the White House by President Jimmy Carter. Riperton died of breast cancer on July 12, 1979, at the age of 31.
GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS
▪1979 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Minnie
▪1980 Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Love Lives Forever

12/14/2024

Thomas Fuller, an African sold into slavery in 1724 at the age of 14, was sometimes known as the “Virginia Calculator” for his extraordinary ability to solve complex math problems in his head. Rumors circulated that he was a savant, since he could not read or write, but that was not uncommon among slaves at the time. Some believed that he may have gained his skills with math in his homeland in Africa.His case was often cited by abolitionists of the time as proof that Blacks were in no way męntally inferior to whiťes. Born in Africa somewhere between present-day Liberia and Benin, Fuller was enslaved and shipped to America in 1724 at the age of 14. His masters owned 16 slaves, and appeared to value Fuller the most; he expressed gratitude for not being sold.Stories of his abilities abounded. His skill was even used as proof that enslaved Blacks were equal to whitęs in intelligence, which fueled some pro-abolitionist discussion. Having heard of Fuller''s powers, some men sent for him. They asked him two questions which satisfied their curiosity.
First, when they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in about two minutes, 47,304,000. Second, when they asked how many seconds a man has lived who is 70 years, 17 days and 12 hours old, he answered in a minute and a half 2,210,500,800.
One of the men was working out the problems on paper, and informed Fuller that he was wrong, because the answer was much smaller. Fuller hastily replied, "''Top, massa, you forget de leap year." When the leap year was added in, the sums matched.
Despite Fuller''s perfect answers, it appeared that his mental abilities must have once been greater. They wrote:
He was gray-headed, and exhibited several other marks of the weakness of old age. He had worked hard upon a farm during the whole of life but had never been intemperate in the use of spirituous liquors. He spoke with great respect of his mistress, and mentioned in a particular manner his obligations to her for refusing to śell him, which she had been tempted to by offers of large sums of money from several persons. One of the gentlemen, Mr. Coates, having remarked in his presence that it was a pity he had not an education equal to his genius, he said, "No, Massa, it is best I had no learning, for many learned men be great foọls."

12/14/2024

“To be African American is to be African without any memory and American without any privilege.” —James Baldwin

12/13/2024

12 years old James Harden left this note for his mom predicting that he''d be an NBA star ❤️

12/13/2024

Muhammad Ali in New York. (1963)

12/13/2024

Age gaps in dating often spark intriguing conversations.

12/13/2024

Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III (April 6, 1931 – March 16, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom Hogan''s Heroes, and for his starring roles in the 1964 independent drama Nothing But a Man and the 1967 television film The Final War of Olly Winter. In addition, he directed many episodes of television series.Active in the civil rights movement from 1961, Dixon served as a president of Negro Actors for Action.Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III was born in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, the son of a grocery store owner and his wife, who together later owned a bakery. His parents separated when he was young, and he lived at his mother''s apartment while working in his father''s grocery store. His father, also named Ivan, fought with distinction in World War I and read Yiddish. When he was young, the family lived in a brownstone at 518 West 150th Street in Harlem, on the same block with Josh White, writer Ralph Ellison, and the tap dancing Hines brothers, Gregory and Maurice.
He graduated from Lincoln Academy, a private black boarding school in Gaston County, North Carolina. He subsequently earned a drama degree in 1954 from North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a historically black college. Its theater troupe is now known as the Ivan Dixon Players in his honor. While at NCCU, he joined the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Dixon also later studied drama at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, followed by the American Theatre Wing after returning to New York City.

12/13/2024

12/11/2024

Laila Ali and her husband have been married for 19 years.💜❤️🥂💍

12/11/2024

-Black Cowgirls.

12/11/2024

Bessie Smith (1894–1937), the Empress of the Blues, left an indelible mark on the world of music during the vibrant era of the 1920s and 30s.Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Smith began singing at a young age on the streets and in local shows. Her talent quickly gained recognition. Her recording career took off in the 1920s when she signed with Columbia Records. Her powerful voice and emotional delivery set her apart, making her a prominent figure in the Blues genre.

Her success in the music industry was groundbreaking. She became one of the highest-paid Black performers of her time, achieving a level of commercial success that was rare for Black artists during the Jim Crow era.

Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her enduring influence on American music. Black people are wonderfully Historical in all sectors.

12/11/2024

Mabel Fairbanks, an African American figure skater, in 1916.She was born in New York City. As a young girl in the 1930s, Fairbanks discovered her lifetime passion watching a Sonia Henie movie. She then saw a pair of black skates in a pawnshop window and talked the guy down to $1.50. They were two sizes too big, but that didn''t stop Fairbanks. She stuffed them with cotton, found her balance on blades by going up and down the stairs in her building, and took to the nearby frozen lake. It wasn''t long before Fairbanks was sailing across the ice. When a passerby suggested she try out the rink in Central Park, she was soon skating and attaining solid 6.0 judging, but the pro clubs wouldn''t have her because of her race."I remember they said to me, ''we don''t have Negroes in ice shows.'' "But I didn''t let that get in my way, because I loved to skate."Fairbanks continued to refine her skill and returned to the rink again and again. Then one day, the manager noted her persistence and the shiny pair of new skates her uncle bought her from the Macy''s basement, and he let her inside. From then on, Fairbanks'' ability and sparkle shattered the race barrier at that pivotal rink, and professional skaters started giving her free lessons. In the 1940s, Fairbanks came to Los Angeles and performed in nightclubs like Cyro''s.
When Fairbanks was invited to skate on the road with the Rhapsody On Ice show, she jumped at the chance, even though they said they needed her as "someone to skate in the dark countries." She wowed international audiences, returning to Los Angeles only to find it still blind to her talent but not to her color. "They had a sign at the Pasadena Winter Gardens that read "Colored Trade Not Solicited," she remembers. "But it was a public place, so my uncle had newspaper articles written about it and passed them out everywhere until they finally let me in."
She landed a role on KTLA television''s Frosty Follies show and continued to perform at local showrooms, yet Fairbanks still wasn''t allowed to join professional skating clubs. She got herself and other Blacks in by sending for individual memberships from the United States Professional Skating Association (USPSA), without letting them know they were Black.
Fairbanks opened the door for other young Blacks to compete in skating, but her pro years had passed, so she became a teacher and coach in Culver City and the Hollywood Polar Palace. Famed Olympic medalist Scott Hamilton learned from Fairbanks when he was just a young beginner, and she gave free lessons to those too poor to pay.
While at the Polar Palace, her students included many celebrities and their children, like Natalie Cole, Ricky Nelson, Danny Kaye, and Jimmy Durante. It was Fairbanks who paired the Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner while watching them skate. Many of her Black skating students went on to be Olympic gold medallists because she skated over, around and through walls of racism. Fairbanks'' ability to do and teach has helped cultivate some of the finest skaters of the century. "If I had been allowed to go in to the Olympics or Ice Capades like I wanted to then, I may not have helped other Blacks like I did, and coached such wonderful skaters, and I think all that has been just as important and meaningful."
You could find Fairbanks rink side, coaching pro skaters at Iceland in Van Nuys. While the "official" skating world denied Fairbanks’ contributions, world-renowned skaters sought her out as a coach. Her students include the United States and World Champions Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Kristi Yamaguchi, Rudy Galindo, and Tiffany Chin. In 1998, Fairbanks was honored with the Silver Achievement Award, Sports Category, at the YWCA''s Leader Luncheon at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.
She taught and coached on the ice until she was 79 years old and was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, a disease that weakens the muscles. Mabel Fairbanks died at 85 in September 2001 in Los Angeles

12/11/2024

December 29, 1790 marks the death of the famous mathematician Thomas Fuller, known as the "Mental Calculator".Died on December 29, 1790, the late Thomas Fuller was an African slave known for his skills in mathematics. He was captured in Africa by white slaves and shipped to the USA in 1724 when he was only 14.

He was so good at math, he could do unimaginable calculations. One day when they asked him how many seconds there were in a year and a half, he answered in approximately two minutes, 47304000. Pro-abolitionists and white philanthropists used his talent as proof that Black slaves were equal to Whites in intelligence.
Thomas Fuller, was a very great Mathematician, but unfortunately forgotten about history.

12/10/2024

James Mercer Langston Hugheswas an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri.
He was one of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry.

Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.

Mother to Son
A 1922 poem by Langston Hughes

Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.