Our Sheroe Sisters from the South
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez
For Women’s History Month, and today on International Women’s Day, I decided to do a brief review of some of the women in our black history — up until today — who were born in the South. This was spurred by my reaction to two themes I have seen repeated quite frequently recently, especially on twitter and facebook. The first is a dismissal of the South, and all those who come from those roots, compounded by a judgement hurled at black Southerners as “low information” folks.
The South has gifted us all with extraordinary women of insight, courage, intellect and creative talents. Join me in celebrating some of them today.
I open with Ida B. Wells, who I featured here in Black Kos, last year. Please give it a read if you missed it. Suffice it to say, she was such a powerful figure in multiple endeavors that it is impossible to do her justice in one short blurb.
Mia Bay, author of To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells, gives us part of her story as an anti-lynching crusader.
Harriet Tubman, (Araminta Ross) b. 1820, Maryland, Abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor was another sheroe from the days of enslavement, who refused to accept that state of being as her future, and escaped, only to become a vehicle for the escape of many others.
Mary McLeod Bethune, was born in South Carolina in 1875. For her full story read A woman of power: Mary McLeod Bethune
A brief synopsis:
Mary Jane McLeod Bethune (born Mary Jane McLeod; July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955) was an American educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, humanitarian and civil rights activist best known for starting a private school for African-American students in Daytona Beach, Florida. She attracted donations of time and money, and developed the academic school as a college. It later continued to develop as Bethune-Cookman University. She also was appointed as a national adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of what was known as his Black Cabinet. She was known as "The First Lady of The Struggle" because of her commitment to gain better lives for African Americans.
Born in Mayesville, South Carolina, to parents who had been slaves, she started working in fields with her family at age five. She took an early interest in becoming educated; with the help of benefactors, Bethune attended college hoping to become a missionary in Africa. She started a school for African-American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. It later merged with a private institute for African-American boys, and was known as the Bethune-Cookman School. Bethune maintained high standards and promoted the school with tourists and donors, to demonstrate what educated African Americans could do. She was president of the college from 1923 to 1942, and 1946 to 1947. She was one of the few women in the world to serve as a college president at that time.
Robinswing wrote about Madame C J Walker here in 2010.
Born in Delta, Louisiana in 1867 as Sarah Breedlove, she recognized a need for hair products for African-American hair types, and parlayed that insight into becoming one of the first self-made millionaire women in this country.
As Walker's wealth and notoriety increased, she became more vocal about her views. In 1912 Walker addressed an annual gathering of the National Negro Business League (NNBL) from the convention floor, where she declared: "I am a woman who came for the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there, I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there, I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations. I have built my own factory on my own ground." The following year she addressed convention-goers from the podium as a keynote speaker.
Walker helped raise funds to establish a branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Indianapolis's black community, pledging $1,000 to the building fund for the Senate Avenue YMCA. Walker also contributed scholarship funds to the Tuskegee Institute. Other beneficiaries included Indianapolis's Flanner House and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church; Mary McLeod Bethune's Daytona Education and Industrial School for Negro Girls (which later became Bethune-Cookman University) in Daytona Beach, Florida; the Palmer Memorial Institute in North Carolina; and the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in Georgia. Walker was also a patron of the arts.
Of course our modern Madam CJ, is Oprah Winfrey, born poor in rural Mississippi in 1954 who became a billionaire.
Going back farther in time, but in the same Louisiana region, Marie Catherine Laveau was born in 1794 in the French Quarter of New Orleans, a free Creole woman of color who we know today as “Queen Marie.”
There is not enough space to cover the list I have compiled in one diary, so I will simply post lists today, with a few links, and promise to cover them all this year.
Our Sisters are writers:
Zora Neale Hurston, anthropologist and author was born 1891 in Alabama and her family moved to Florida, when she was three.
Alice Walker, author, born in 1944 in Georgia.
bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins), feminist author, born in Kentucky in 1952.
Our Sisters are activists, organizers and politicians:
Ella Baker — b. 1903, Virginia. NAACP and SNCC
Rosa Parks — b. 1913, Alabama. Women’s Political Council, NAACP
Septima Clark. b. 1898, South Carolina, activist and educator, NAACP
Dorothy Height. b 1912, Virginia, National Council of Negro Women, Delta Sigma Theta
Barbara Jordan, b. 1936, Texas, Congresswoman, educator
Fannie Lou Hamer, b. 1917, Mississippi. Political activist, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Marian Wright Edelman b. 1939, South Carolina. Children’s Defense Fund
Charlayne Hunter-Gault b. 1942, South Carolina. Activist, Journalist
Angela Davis, 1944, Alabama. Political activist and author
Kathleen Neal Cleaver, b. 1945, Texas (Alabama), SNCC, Black Panther Party, and law professor
Eleanor Holmes Norton, b. 1937, Washington DC, SNCC, ACLU, Congresswoman
Myrlie Evers-Williams b. 1933, Mississippi. NAACP
Monica Roberts Texas, “Trans-Griot,” transgender activist
Some are athletes and others are astronauts:
Wilma Rudolph — b. 1940, Tennessee, Track and Field
Althea Gibson — b 1927, South Carolina. Tennis champion (Migration to Harlem)
Mae Jemison, b. 1956. Alabama. Astronaut, Doctor
Our sisters fill our souls with song:
Bessie Smith b. 1894. Tennessee. “The Empress of the Blues”
Mahalia Jackson, b. 1911, Louisiana. “The Queen of Gospel”
Aretha Franklin b. 1942 Tennessee (migration to Detroit, Michigan) “The Queen of Soul”
Bernice Johnson Reagon b.1942, Georgia. Ethnomusicologist, Civil rights activist
Nina Simone b. 1933, North Carolina. Singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist
Jessye Norman b. 1945, Georgia. Opera singer.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles b. 1981, Texas. Singer, songwriter, record producer.
This list is not complete. Let me know if you have suggestions for additions.
Don’t let me catch anyone talkin’ bad about our sistah’s from the South. I’ll throw down this whole list at their feet, and walk away with a smile, knowing that if they read it, they will perhaps no longer be “low information” in my eyes. ;)
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News Round Up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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Issues ranging from disproportionate incarceration rates to high unemployment are why Black men must stand up and vote in November. Ebony: Why Casting a Ballot Is More Crucial Than Ever for Black Men.
According to Rep. Bobby Scott, the ranking member on the Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce: “Nationally, we are facing serious, consequential challenges, from criminal justice reform, to environmental justice, to closing the achievement and wealth gaps that persist among African Americans and other communities.
“The reality is simple - if you aren't at the table, you are on the menu. Your vote gets you a seat at the table - and our communities are hungry.”
The results from the 2012 election support Congressman Scott’s comment; Blacks voted at a higher rate than Whites for the first time in United States history. We know that Black men can play an important role choosing the next President but we have to keep pace with Black women.
According to the U.S. Census, during the 2012 election Black women outpaced Black men by nine percent. More importantly, Black women voted at a higher rate than any other ethnic or racial group in 2012. Recently, their political strength heavily influenced the South Carolina Democratic primary. Based on exit polls they represented more than 30 percent of voters. Closing the gender-voting gap will increase our ability to shape policy and improve conditions within low and moderate-income neighborhoods.
While it appears that Black men aren’t actively engaged in the political process Black Greek Lettered Organizations (BGLOs) including Kappa Alpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi are challenging the myth. A few years ago they created the 1911 United Super PAC, which raised funds for President Obama. The effort is consistent with the history of BGLOs including Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma, and Iota Phi Theta, who are committed to registering voters, raising money and awareness within the Black community.
Protecting the voting rights of disenfranchised groups including Black men and women are important. Some states including North Carolina have implemented restrictive voter ID laws that are being challenged in court by the NAACP and the U.S. Department of Justice. The fight over voter ID highlights the importance of local and state elections.
Congressman Scott suggests, “we know that elections have consequences, but we’ve had some stark reminders over the last few years of what exactly is at stake. Look at communities like Ferguson, Mo., where only 12 percent of Black residents had been turning out to vote in local municipal elections prior to 2015 that yielded a mayor, police chief, prosecutor and other officials who did not reflect the community they are supposed to serve.” Scott continues, “And in Flint, Mich., state officials took away the power of locally elected officials and made disastrous decisions to save money, resulting in thousands of men, women, and children exposed to unsafe levels of lead in their drinking water.”
Ethiopian-born Gerima cemented his importance to generations of Black filmmakers as a Howard University instructor and L.A. Rebellion member. He is best known for creating the films "Teza" and "Sankofa." The underrated and lesser-known "Ashes and Embers" focuses on the struggles of a Black Vietnam War veteran who is simultaneously dealing with his troubled past and politically chaotic present.
Array picked up the film last year and screened it before sold-out audiences in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. in February. There will be more screenings in cities across North America throughout the spring. Check Array's website to see if it's coming to your city, or watch it now on Netflix.
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At least 21 people have died at Haiti’s General Hospital after ordering up the country’s popular spirit.Miami Herald: Moonshine deaths escalating in Haiti.
Annouis Neristil and his brothers were toasting dead relatives last November in their rural mountain Haiti community when he picked up the $1.50 bottle of Haitian moonshine, took a swig and immediately put it down.
“It was stinging,” Neristil said, thinking that the merchant had added the bitter, cure-all-medicinal herb Asorosi or cerasee to the concoction, ruining its usually rustic, high-proof, aromatic flavor and knocking him out.
Hours later, as one of his brothers lay dead and another dying, Neristil awoke in the middle of the night in agonizing pain. His abdomen hurt. His vision was fading. And he was slipping in and out of consciousness. Scared relatives sat him in a chair and rushed him down the mountaintop on foot.
“I spent a week in the hospital — blind,” said Neristil, 29, who later learned that eight others in his Fermathe neighborhood also died after drinking the distilled sugar cane liquor clairin or kleren in Creole.
Four months after the incident, Neristil is still struggling to regain vision in his left eye, as Haiti grapples with an escalating death toll from bad alcohol.
Since last month, the country’s largest public hospital has registered 21 deaths out of 32 patients who were admitted with suspected alcohol poisoning after drinking the popular locally made spirit, said the chief of internal medicine at the Hospital of the State University of Haiti.
“These are just the patients who have come to the hospital,” Dr. Elsie Metellus Chalumeau said, “but we suspect there are many more.”
Chalumeau said the hospital has ordered autopsies, which have yet to be performed, and is investigating. Health officials, however, suspect that the deadly culprit isn’t the popular moonshine that’s often sold out of unlabeled containers, but the toxic industrial alcohol, methanol.
Nigeria Produces only about as much eletricity as edinburgh, scotland The Economist: Electricity in Nigeria, Powerless
Out in the farthest reaches of Lagos, a bumpy boat ride across the city’s dividing lagoon, Egbin power plant is trying to light up one of the world’s darkest nations. Six turbines growl in its huge belly, watched over by mechanics in a futuristic control room. They say the place is barely recognisable since privatisation in 2013. Output has rocketed since Sahara Group, a Nigerian energy conglomerate, took over. When running at full steam, Egbin generates almost a quarter of the whole country’s electricity.
That is not a particularly stretching target. Of Nigeria’s many daily headaches, power is perhaps the worst. After years in which state-owned power plants decayed, the government changed course by selling power stations and the distribution grids that carry power to homes and businesses. This bold stroke was meant to turn the lights on, and indeed it has encouraged investors to put millions of dollars into upgrading the battered system. Yet the supply of power has failed to respond as hoped in the two years since privatisation. At the moment the country’s big stations produce a pitiful 2,800MW, which is about as much as is used by Edinburgh. Only just over half of Nigerians have access to electricity, and it is still harder for businesses to hook up to the grid than almost anywhere else.
One reason why privatisation has failed to improve Nigeria’s power supply is that the process itself was flawed from the start. Even as companies were bidding to buy power stations or distribution companies, striking staff prevented them from looking at what they were buying. Once the deals were done they found they had bought rundown equipment and companies whose books had been systematically cooked. More important, though, was that many could not get the gas they needed to power their plants. Government meddling held down gas prices, which meant that many producers would simply flare it off (while extracting oil) instead of bothering to sell it at a deep loss. Moreover, the pipes meant to carry the flammable stuff are rusting and regularly vandalised by thugs demanding money to protect them.
The privatisation process was also incomplete and left the transmission grid (which carries electricity from power stations to the local distribution grids) in the hands of the state. It has not invested much, so huge amounts of power fizzle out on its dilapidated lines. Even if power plants could generate more electricity, the grid would not be able to handle it. At Egbin a handful of people employed by the state-owned transmission network sit watching YouTube clips as their private-sector colleagues beaver away.
Power plants are also owed colossal sums by the agencies that act as middlemen between generation companies and the distributors. Egbin alone is some $225m out of pocket. The intermediaries, in turn, blame distributors, saying they have not been collecting cash from their customers. As for the distributors, they say that the tariffs they are allowed to charge are too low to cover their costs and that, in any case, Nigerians do not pay their bills. Depressingly, the biggest offender is the government, whose various departments and agencies owe almost $300m. “It’s difficult for anyone to go to a military barracks and order them to pay—except if you’ve written your will,” says one insider.
Voices and Soul
by Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
When someone purports that Women hold up half the Sky, I tell them they are wrong. From my keen observations, Women hold up all the Sky and if they didn’t, the heavens would crash, the birds would fall and the stars would glimmer ever so lightly in a colorless void.
The seas would cease and the rivers would gasp a last whisper and the lakes would reveal lost cities only slightly older than the recently lost.
If Women didn’t hold up all the Sky, a Man might capture it in a jar and starve it. A Man might charge a dollar a minute to watch the last flutter of the Sky’s Angel Wings. A Man might laugh at all He has done, just as He has done before.
You used to say, “June? Honey when you come down here you
supposed to stay with me. Where
else?”
Meanin home
against the beer the shotguns and the
point of view of whitemen don’
never see Black anybodies without
some violent itch start up.
The ones who
said, “No Nigga’s Votin in This Town . . .
lessen it be feet first to the booth”
Then jailed you
beat you brutal
bloody/battered/beat
you blue beyond the feeling of the terrible
And failed to stop you. Only God could but He
wouldn’t stop
you
fortress from self- pity
Humble as a woman anywhere I remember finding you inside the laundromat
in Ruleville
lion spine relaxed/hell
what’s the point to courage when you washin clothes?
But that took courage
just to sit there/target to the killers lookin
for your singin face
perspirey through the rinse and spin
and later you stood mighty in the door on James Street loud callin:
“BULLETS OR NO BULLETS!
THE FOOD IS COOKED AN’ GETTIN COLD!”
We ate A family tremulous but fortified
by turnips/okra/handpicked like the lilies
filled to the very living full
one solid gospel (sanctified)
one gospel (peace)
one full Black lily luminescent in a homemade field
of love
-- June Jordan
"1977: Poem for Mrs Fannie Lou Hammer"
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WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY’S PORCH