<![CDATA[The Gardens Gazette​ - Culture and Society]]>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:52:11 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Black History Month - February 2023]]>Wed, 01 Feb 2023 22:56:59 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/black-history-month-february-2023MOVIES
Check out the movie schedule celebrating Black History Month
Movies are 11am on Wednesdays in B Building
Feb 1 In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Feb 8 Hidden Figures (2016)
Feb 15 Fences (2016)
Feb 22 12 Years a Slave (2013)

Black History Month Archive

Black History Month - February 2018​

Black History Month - February 2019

Introduction to African American Women
The following article is from The EverGrey Newsletter 2-1-2023
The Daily Newsletter for Seattle is Free
Why do we celebrate Black History Month? 

🔹Black History Month got its humble beginning in 1915. 
In 1915, thousands of African Americans traveled to Chicago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of emancipation in the state of Illinois. Among the visitors was Carter G. Woodson, a University of Chicago Alumni. Inspired by the celebration of Black achievement, Woodson created the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Eleven years later, ASNLH established Negro History Week in February 1926. (ASALH.org)

🔹From Black History Week to Black History Month. 
The association's Negro Achievement Week was so successful, the association had to build branches from the east coast to the west to deal with demand. Woodson saw this as a good sign and wanted to move from one week of acknowledging Black History to integrating Black History into year-long learning. Woodson claimed Black History was “too important to be crammed into a limited time frame.” In 1976, Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. government. (ASALH.org)

🔹Why February? 
The reason Woodson chose to commemorate Black achievements in February is that Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were both born in February. The birthdays of these two men were already celebrated by many Black communities thanks to the part Lincoln and Wilson had in Black advancement. Therefore, Woodson wished to keep the celebration of Black achievements within already established traditions within the Black community. (ASALH.org)

The importance of Black History

🔹Black History IS American History. 
157 years before the United States Constitution was signed, the first group of enslaved Africans was brought to Fort Monroe in Virginia. From that point on, enslaved people would be the cornerstone of the American economy and infrastructure. Yes, Black History is given a pedestal in February, but that does not mean it is separate from the history of this nation as a whole. 

🔹Black History is under attack. 
As we are writing this article, Trump announced – as part of his 2024 presidential campaign – that he will withhold federal funding from any school teaching CRT or “any other racial content.” This comes on the coattails of DeSantis’s months-long battle of erasing Black History and Black districts.  
​
🔹 “What happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all.” 
You might be thinking, this all sounds horrible, but we don’t live in Florida, we live in Washington. But as the quote from Mamie Till states above, we are more connected than we’d like to think. Thankfully, we do live in Washington where, just five days ago, Governor Jay Inslee signed Executive Order 22-04. The order commits all executive branch agencies to commit to an anti-racist governing system. The Office of Financial Management stated its commitment towards this equitable governing on its website and is looking for feedback from the community on how to achieve a more equitable future. You can reach out to the OFM here 👉 (info@ofm.wa.gov)
]]><![CDATA[Black History Month - February 2019]]>Mon, 28 Jan 2019 05:58:34 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/black-history-month-february-2019
Black History Music Playlist - Get List
Open the Youtube playlist by clicking the "sandwich" in the upper left corner.

​BLACK HISTORY MONTH February 2019
Celebration at Arrowhead Gardens
DINNER and ENTERTAINMENT - Saturday, February 9
Planning meeting -- Saturday, February 16 - 1 PM
DISPLAYS and VENDORS -- Saturday, February 23 - 10 AM-4 PM
Lessons learned for 2020 -- Sunday March 17 at 3 PM 
Picture
African American Inventions, Innovations, and Discoveries
Life every voice and sing - lyrics
Lift Every Voice and Sing for Black History
 Black National Anthem Genesis


Lift Every Voice and Sing
By James Weldon Johnson

Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand.
True to our God,
True to our native land. 

Overlooked
These remarkable black men and women never received obituaries in The New York Times — until now
Gloria Hayes Richardson led a movement
23 Black Female Scientists
​Who Changed The Damn World
The Elusive Langston Hughes
Hughes’s genial, generous, and guarded persona was self-protective.
Feb-23-2019

Arts and Crafts and Black History Displays
An amazing woman from Black History
Elizabeth Freeman (1744-1829)
(a.k.a. Mumbet, Bet, Mum Bett)
Download PDF Display
Download PDF Display of 
Martin Luther​ King's Participation
in 12 Major Civil Rights Campaigns
Feb 23rd Arts and Crafts and Black History Display
Feb-9-2019 Dinner and Music

​Cake for Black History Month Celebration 
Picture
Dancing to the Music: 
Shaggy - It Wasn't Me with Lyrics!
Picture
Dinner Menu
  • Chicken
  • Greens
  • Green Beans
  • Potato Salad
  • Corn Bread
  • Hot Rolls
  • Punch
  • Coffee
  • Desserts: Peach Cobbler, Banana Cake, Lemon Round Cake, White Chocolate Cake, Sweet Potato Pie

​See Black History Month - February 2018
]]><![CDATA[Black History Month - February 2018]]>Sat, 10 Feb 2018 06:35:05 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/black-history-month-february-2018
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 On The Gardens Gazette search:  "Black History"
Black History Month - February 2018

Events in Seattle: The Stranger | NAAM | MOHAI
​ 
On the Web: 
National Museum of African American History and Culture 
The History Woman  | Wikipedia 
Black Birthday Monthly  |  Black History Month
 
Saturday, Friday 10, 2018 @ 5PM
Arrowhead Gardens
B Building Community Room
Black History Celebration
Dinner and Program 
Black History Celebration Video Playlist - Youtube 
​Black History Music Playlist - Youtube | List
Black History Month Celebration was Saturday February 10, 2018 in B Building at Arrowhead Gardens. About 20 residents pitched in to make it happen: Menu planning, food purchases, table setups, historical photos on display, movie nights for black history, cooking, food prep, reception, food delivered to tables and of course cleanup; plus sound system, video recording, photos and music playlist. SHAG management subsidized food expenses.

On Youtube Video Playlist:  Black History Celebration Feb-2018
  • Jamilah I. provided leadership for the planning committee and emceed the event. Parts 01,02,08
  • Delores D. read a poem by Maya Angelou - Still I Rise.  Part 01
  • Imam Benjamin Shabazz gave an historical perspective of racial struggles and achievements. Parts 03,04,05,06,07
Black History Music Playlist - Youtube | List
Open the Youtube playlist by clicking the "sandwich" in the upper left corner.
Picture
African American Inventions, Innovations, and discoveries
African American Inventions, Innovations, And Discoveries
As of 2/19/2018 

​3-D Special Effects -- Marc Hannah
3-D Viewing Glasses -- Kenneth J. Dunkley
Air Conditioning Unit -- Frederick McKinley Jones -- 1949
Almanac -- Benjamin Banneker -- 1791 -- https://www.thoughtco.com/benjamin-banneker-profile-1991360
Auto Cut-off Switch -- Granville T. Woods -- ?? -- https://www.thoughtco.com/granville-t-woods-1992675
Auto Fishing Device -- George Cook -- 1899 
Automatic Gear Shift -- Richard Spikes -- 1932  
Automatic Safety Brake System -- Richard Bowie Spikes -- 1962 
Baby Buggy -- Willian H. Richardson -- 1889
Bed Rack Air Freshner for Clothes -- Henrietta Bradberry -- 1943
Bicycle Frame improvement -- Isaac Johnson
Billiard Cue Rack -- Richard Bowie Spikes -- 1910
Biscuit Cutter -- Alexander P. Ashbourne -- 1875
Blood and Plasma Bank -- Charles Drew
Blood Plasma Bag -- Charles Drew -- 1945
Bloodmobiles -- Charles Drew
Brake Testing Machine -- Richard Bowie Spikes -- ??
Burglar-proof cash register -- Otis Boykin 
Call Waiting -- Dr. Shirley Jackson
Caller ID -- Dr. Shirley Jackson
Carbon Filament Light Bulb -- Lewis Latimer -- 1882
Chamber Commode -- Thomas Elkins -- 1897
Chemical air filters -- Otis Boykin 
Closed-circuit television security system -- Marie Van Brittan Brown
Clothes Dryer -- George T. Sampson -- 1971
Curtain Rod -- Samuel R. Scottron -- 1892
Curtain Rod Support -- William S. Grant -- 1896
Door Knob -- Osbourn Dorsey -- 1878
Door Stop -- Osbourn Dorsey -- 1878
Dry Cleaning -- Thomas L. Jennings
Dust Pan -- 
Egg Beater -- Willie Johnson -- 1884
Electret Microphone -- Dr. James E. West
Elevator automatic doors -- Alexander Miles -- 1867
Eye Protector -- Powell Johnson -- 1880
Fiber-optic Cable -- Dr. Shirley Jackson
Fire Escape Ladder -- Joseph W. Winters -- 1878
Fire Extinguisher -- Thomas Marshall -- 1872
Folding Bed -- Leonard C. Bailey -- 1899
Folding Cabinet Bed -- Sarah E. Goode -- 1885 
Folding Chair -- Nathaniel Alexander -- 1911
Fountain Pen -- Walter B. Purvis -- 1890
Fruit Press -- Madeline Turner -- 1916 
Furniture Caster -- David A. Fisher -- 1878
Gas Mask -- Garrett Morgan -- 1914
Golf Tee -- George T. Grant -- 1899
Guitar -- Robert F. Fleming, Jr. -- 1886
Hair Brush, Easy Cleaning -- Lyda A. Newman -- 1898
Hand Stamp -- Walter B. Purvis -- 1883
Heating Furnace Regulator -- Alice H. Parker -- 1919
Horseshoe
Hot Comb -- Walter Sammons 
IBM Computers -- Otis Boykin 
Ice Cream Scooper -- Alfred L. Cralle -- 1897 
Illusion Transmitter -- Valerie Thomas -- 1980 -- LINK 
Insect Destroyer Gun -- Alber C. Richardson -- 1899
Ironing Board -- Sarah Boone -- 1891 -- https://www.thoughtco.com/sarah-boone-inventor-4077332
ISA bus for portable computers -- Mark E. Dean
Key Chain -- Frederick J. Loudin -- 1894
Lantern -- Michael C. Harvey -- 1884
Laserphaco Probe for laser cataract surgery -- Dr. Patricia Bath
Lawn Sprinkler -- John H. Smith -- 1897
Lawnmower
Lemon Squeezer -- John Thomas White -- 1896 --  LINK 
Lingo Programming Language -- John Henry Thompson
Lock -- Washington A. Martin -- 1893
Lubricating Cup for Trains and Machines -- Elijah McCoy -- 1895
Lunch Pail -- James Robinson -- 1887
Mailbox, Protective -- Philip B. Downing -- 1891
Mathematical Models to explain gamma radiation -- Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr.
Modern Toilet -- Thomas Elkins
Mop -- Thomas W. Stewart -- 1893
Multiplex Railway Telegraph -- Granville T. Woods -- 1887 -- LINK 
Nuclear-reactor physics Wilkins Effect -- Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr.
Open Heart Surgery pioneer -- Daniel Hale Williams
Pacemaker circuit improvements -- Otis Boykin 
Pastry Fork -- Anna M. Mangin -- 1892 
Peanut Butter + numerous peanut products -- George Washington Carver -- 1896
Pencil Sharpener -- John L. Love -- 1897
Permanent Wave Machine -- Marjorie Joyner -- 1928  
Portable fax -- Dr. Shirley Jackson
Potato Chips -- George Crum (allegedly)
Record Player Arm -- Joseph H. Dickinson -- 19?? -- https://www.thoughtco.com/joseph-h-dickinson-4074067
Refrigeration System for Trucks -- Frederick McKinley Jones
Rolling Pin -- John W. Reed -- 1864
Sanitary Belt -- Mary and Mildred Davidson -- 1956
Shampoo Headrest -- Charles Orren Bailiff -- 1898 
Shoe Lasting Machine reducing shoe labor costs -- Jan Matzeliger
Spark Plug -- Edmond Berger -- 1839
Steamboat Propeller For Shallow Waters -- Benjamin Montgomery (patent denied  due to slave status)
Stethoscope -- Thomas A. Carrington -- 1876
Straightening Comb -- Madam C.J. Walker -- 1905
Street Sweeper -- Charles B. Brooks -- 1890
Super Computer -- Philip Emeagwali
Super Soaker -- Lonnie G. Johnson
Synthetic Chemistry pioneer -- Percy Julian
Thermoelectric Energy Converter -- Lonnie G. Johnson
Thermostat Control -- Frederick M. Jones -- 1960
Toilet-Tissue Holder -- Mary Davidson
Torpedo Firing Mechanism -- Henrietta Bradberry -- 1945
Touch-tone Telephone -- Dr. Shirley Jackson
Traffic Signal -- Garrett Morgan -- 1923
Tricycle -- Matthew A. Cherry -- 1886
Ultraviolet Camera/Spectograph used by NASA -- George Carruthers
Voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) -- Marian R. Croak
Walker Carrier Attachment -- Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner -- 1959 -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Beatrice_Davidson_Kenner
Walker Hair Care System -- Sarah Breedlove aka Madam C.J. Walker
Wigner-Wilkins spectrum -- Jesse Ernest Wilkins, Jr.

​Recipe Name: Alice Berner's Cornbread
Servings: 10
Source: Farmhouse Cookbook - page 367
Source Link:  Amazon

Ingredients:
1-1/2 Cups yellow cornmeal
2 Cups whole-wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
4 large eggs, separated
3/4 Cup honey
1/4 Cup mild vegetable oil, such as Safflower
1-1/3 Cups milk

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425 deg F
2. Oil a 9x13 inch baking pan
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the egg yolks, honey, oil, and milk until thoroughly combined.
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Into it , gradually stir the liquid ingredients working quickly and gently into a batter.
6. Add a pinch of salt to egg whites, and beat them until they hold  stiff peaks.
7. Gently fold egg whites into the batter.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
9. Bake until the cornbread is golden and springs back when lightly touched, about 20 – 30 minutes. Check at the 15 minute mark to see how it is progressing. It will cook from the outside in, so watch the middle to see when it is finished baking.

Submitted by Marty D.  (on a card 2-10-2018) 
Recipe Name:  Buttermilk Cornbread
Servings: 6
Source: Junior League Centennial Cookbook - p.296 + Albany Cookbook
Source Link:  Amazon

Ingredients:
1 Cup yellow cornmeal, coarse grind
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1 Cup buttermilk
1 egg, slightly beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 deg F.
2. Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Place the shortening in an 8-inch cast-iron skillet and heat.
4. Add the buttermilk and egg to the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour batter into the hot skillet.
6. Bake for 25 minutes

Notes:
a) Cornbread may be frozen when baking is completed. This is good to do for making cornbread dressing.
b) Nothing takes the place of real iron skillets in real Southern cooking.

Submitted by Marty D. (on a card 2-10-2018)

Black History Resources
The History Makers
Women of Colour
Black in Time
African American History Month
​The Black Past
​
Saturday, February 3, 2018
10 AM to 2 PM - B Building
Black History Month 
Bazaar and Exhibits
To see an image full sized: 1) right click 2) open image in new tab or view image 3) left click image 4) return to this page with browser tab or by using browser return arrow. Browsers handle this process differently.

Spotlights on
Shirley Chisholm, Eartha Kitt, Julia de Burgos, 
Al Smith, ​and Arturo Alfonso Schomburg

Black History: ​Shirley Chisholm 
​November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was the first African American woman in Congress (1968) and the first woman and African American to seek the nomination for president of the United States from one of the two major political parties (1972). Her motto and title of her autobiography--Unbossed and Unbought—illustrated her outspoken advocacy for women and minorities during her seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. 
Continue reading ...

Wikipedia: Shirley Chisholm

Trailer: Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed
Black History: Eartha Kitt
Jessica Amanda Salmonson

Conceived by rape, born on a cotton plantation, never certain who her father was, abandoned by her mother, abused as a child because she was "yaller" and was forced to live in the crawl space under the house with the cats.

She rose to become an internationally beloved singer, dancer, actor, and comedienne. She was an anti-war activist and member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, who gained the wrath of President Johnson and was harassed for years by the FBI. A vocal advocate of LGBT rights.

Asked about her following from and affinity for the gay community, she said, "We're all rejected people, we know what it is to be refused, we know what it is to be oppressed, depressed, and then, accused, and I am very much cognizant of that feeling. Nothing in the world is more painful than rejection."

Eartha Kitt. SHE PERSISTED.

Wikipedia: Eartha Kitt
Black History: Julia de Burgos 

Julia de Burgos was a daughter of Puerto Rico; she was also a daughter of El Barrio. Along with the wave of Puerto Rican immigrants who came to New York in the 1940s and ’50s, she found a home in East Harlem. A mural, a cultural center, and a street with her name, among other signs of her presence in that part of the city, honor her legacy.
A teacher and writer, de Burgos made important declarations through her poetry. She was a feminist and an advocate for Puerto Rican independence. And at a time when the most brutal racial discrimination was the norm, she celebrated her blackness: Ay, ay, ay, I am black, pure black; kinky hair and Kaffir lips; and flat Mozambican nose.
Continue reading ...

"Río Grande de Loíza!... Great river. Great flood of tears... save those greater that come from the eyes of my soul for my enslaved people" Julia de Burgos, "El Rio Grande de Loiza"

​"Farewell in Welfare Island"
By: Julia de Burgos
It has to be from here,
right this instance,
my cry into the world.
My cry that is no more mine,
but hers and his forever,
the comrades of my silence,
the phantoms of my grave.[10]

​Ebony Exposure: Al Smith’s documentary photography of Black life in Seattle on display at MOHAI 
Walking into “Seattle on the Spot: The photographs of Al Smith,” one is transported into Smith’s world. The sound of Fats Waller singing “The Joint is Jumpin’” fills the space along with hundreds of photographs showcasing the vibrant social scene and everyday life of the Black community in the Central District (CD). The images include a couple dancing the jitterbug for a watchful crowd, a newly married couple beaming, and a child sitting on the shoulders of his father with the majestic Mount Rainier in the background.
MOHAI: Seattle on the Spot thru June 17, 2018
Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, historian, writer, and activist was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1874. “The Father of Black History,” whose collections formed the core of what is now known as The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a division of the New York Public Library. 
Black History Resources
The History Makers
]]><![CDATA[Thanksgiving Proclamation 1863]]>Fri, 17 Nov 2017 21:51:49 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/thanksgiving-proclamation-1863Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. 

In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. 

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. 

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. 

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State
Sources:
​
  1. http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm
  2. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=69998
  3. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/american-civil-war/resources/thanksgiving-proclamation-1863
  4. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/01733.05p658.pdf
  5. https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/lincoln-and-thanksgiving.htm
  6. http://www.history.com/news/abraham-lincoln-and-the-mother-of-thanksgiving
Cognitive Benefits of Gratitude and
three techniques to cultivate gratitude.
1. Exercise
2. Meditation
3. Writing
]]><![CDATA[Zora Neale Huston]]>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 18:12:12 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/zora-neale-huston
​African American Women in US History
Zora Neale Hurston
​
Zora Neale Hurston, born in Alabama 1891, produced four novels, several plays, numerous short stories and essays.  Her most famous novel, Their Eyes were Watching God, turns 80 this year. 

She was educated at Morgan State University and Columbia, spoke several languages, and obtained a degree in anthropology.  Much of her writing is a result of her studies, since she explored the folklore of the Caribbean and the American South. She wrote articles for newspapers, which helped to free an African American woman who had killed a white doctor because of continued sexual abuse.
​She was not a fan of Roosevelt and the New Deal, and she called Truman the “Butcher of Asia” because of his decision to release the Atom Bomb on Japan.
  
Alice Walker re-discovered Hurston in the 70’s, and her work was revived as she became more and more well-known.  Her most famous novel, Their Eyes were Watching God, is a story of a woman who sought love at four different times in her life.

Zora Neale Hurston’s life was rich and complicated.  A literary giant, her religious and political beliefs were uniquely her own.
by Mieke Tazelaar
Read more at Wikipedia 
​and the Official Website
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society: Zora Neale Hurston 
Revised March-14-2017 
]]><![CDATA[Introduction to African American Women]]>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 08:34:23 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/introduction-to-african-american-women
Introduction
African American Women in US History
​
​This document is a continuation of the article in the March issue of Straight Arrow News, which featured Claudette Colvin and Wilma Rudolph, whose picture was not included:
​
The articles of these twelve amazing African-American women touch on the highlights, a mere introduction into the lives of these amazing people. There is so much more to know, as well as the stories of many other Black women who also shaped the history of this country.
 
The March issue of the Straight Arrow News is also in thegardensgazette.org, under: NEWS > AGRC Newsletter.

​Mieke Tazelaar
Culture and Society series includes these ​African American Women blogs so far:
  1. Introduction  
  2. Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
  3. Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)
  4. Ida B. Wells (1862–1931)
  5. Hattie McDaniel (1895–1952)
  6. Esther Jones (d. 1934)
  7. Bessie Coleman (1892–1926)
  8. Bessie Smith (1894–1937)
  9. Josephine Baker (1906–1975)
  10. Madame CJ Walker (1867–1919)
  11. Rebecca Crumpler (1831–1895)
Additional Resources:
BlackPast.org ​
NW African American Museum (Seattle)
Black Heritage Society of Washington State
African American Women in Arts
PBS: Black Women in History
African-American Firsts: Women
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society: 
Introduction to African American Women
Revised March-14-2017 
]]><![CDATA[Sojourner Truth]]>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 07:53:09 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/sojourner-truth
African American Women in US History
Sojourner Truth

​Born in 1797, Sojourner lived a long, amazing life. She was born into slavery, but escaped with her infant daughter in 1826. She went to court two years later and recovered her son, the first African-American woman to win such a case against a white man. 

She gave herself her famous name after she became convinced that she was following God’s calling. During the Civil War, she gave a speech entitled “Ain’t I a Woman?” The speech was written down by a different person with a Southern accent that Sojourner did not speak, since she was brought up by a Dutch family in New York. During the war, she helped recruit Black soldiers to fight for the Union Army. After the war, she tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants for former slaves.
 
She fell in love with a slave from a neighboring farm, but they were caught by her owner, who savagely beat the young man, whom she never saw again.  She later married an older man, a slave named Thomas. They had five children.

A converted Methodist, she started traveling and preaching about the abolition of slavery. Once, someone interrupted a speech and accused her of being a man. Truth opened her blouse and proved that she was a woman. 

She preached for women’s right to vote. She dictated her memoirs which were published under the name, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Northern Slave.  She became famous for her speeches against abolition and as a suffragist. Whenever there was dissent during one of her speeches, Truth would break into a religious song, and it usually quieted the crowd.

Sojourner Truth is best remembered for her great oratory for the causes she believed in. 
by Mieke Tazelaar
Read more at Wikipedia 
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society: Sojourner Truth 
Revised March-14-2017 
]]><![CDATA[Ida B. Wells]]>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 06:57:36 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/ida-b-wells
​African American Women in US History
Ida B. Wells
​
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, an African-American journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist, sociologist, feminist, and early leader in the Civil Rights movement, was one of the founders of the NAACP.
 
After her parents died, she kept her family of younger siblings intact by becoming a teacher, while her grandmother watched the younger children during the day. 

Her major activist role was documenting lynching in the United States, the often-used way to control or punish Blacks who competed with whites. Her first active role as a protester was when, in 1884, she refused to give up her seat on a train. She was dragged out off the train and hired an African-American lawyer to sue the railroad. After the lawyer was paid off by the Railway, she hired a white attorney and won her case with a $500 award. But the railway company appealed to the Tennessee Court, which overturned the lower court’s decision. 

The murder of friends drove Wells to document lynchings, and she learned that Blacks were lynched for failing to pay debts, not giving way to whites, competing with whites economically, and being drunk in public. She found no evidence to back up the claim that Black men were being punished for abusing white women. 

Wells continued to investigate lynching, despite threats on her life. Her book on the subject contributed to making the public more aware of the horrors of lynching. 
by Mieke Tazelaar
Read more at Wikipedia 
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society: Ida B. Wells 
Revised March-14-2017 
]]><![CDATA[Hattie McDaniel]]>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 06:04:20 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/hattie-mcdaniel
African American Women in US History
Hattie McDaniel

Born in 1895, Hattie McDaniel was an actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first ever given to an African American. She was also the first Black woman to sing on US radio. She appeared in over 300 films and received screen credits for 80. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for radio and one for motion pictures. In 1975, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, and in 2006, became the first Black Oscar winner on a US postage stamp.
 
When she joined the Screen Actors Guild in 1934, she landed more frequent film roles – at first, in cameo performances like  “Bojangles” and “The Little Colonel.” By 1935, she was playing prominent roles in “China Seas” and “Show Boat,” singing a verse in “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.”

She was friends with many of Hollywood’s most famous stars.  The role she is best known for was as “Mammy” in “Gone with the Wind.”

She began being criticized by the Black community for the roles she accepted to stay in favor of the Hollywood elites. When she was chosen for “Gone with the Wind,” the NAACP fought to have certain racial epithets removed and some of the historical accuracies corrected. They believed that the film celebrated the slave system. 

When she received her Academy Award, she gave one of the best acceptance speeches in the Academy’s history.
​by Mieke Tazelaar
Read more at Wikipedia
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society: Hattie McDaniel
Revised March-14-2017
]]><![CDATA[Esther Jones]]>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 04:57:14 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/esther-jones
African American Women in US History
Esther Jones



Esther Jones, more commonly known as “Baby Esther,” was known for her “baby” singing style. She performed in the 20’s at the Cotton Club in Harlem.  Helen Kane adopted her style of singing, with the famous “boop-boop-boop” in a recording of “I Wanna Be Loved by You”  Jones’ style went on to become the inspiration for the voice of the cartoon character, Betty Boop. 

However, it is generally known that the face of the cartoon character was that of Helen Kane, who tried to claim that the voice was also hers.  

In truth, it was Kane who adopted Jones’ voice after she heard her sing at the Cotton Club. 

Kane tried to sue the company, saying that hers was the voice of the Betty Boop cartoon, but it was proved to be Esther’s voice.

As for the face, well, you be the judge.
by Mieke Tazelaar
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society: Esther Jones
Revised March-13-2017  
]]><![CDATA[Bessie Coleman]]>Fri, 10 Mar 2017 05:58:09 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/bessie-coleman
African American Women in US History
Bessie Coleman
​
​Born to a sharecropper family in 1892, Bessie Coleman, one of 13 children, was the first woman of African American and Native American descent to earn an international pilot’s license.  She attended a small segregated school and spent one year at Langston University, then went to work in Chicago, where she became fascinated with stories of pilots returning from World War I.  

Neither women nor blacks were being accepted in US flight schools, so she received financial backing to go to France.  She learned to fly in a Nieuport bi-plane.  She found out that she could fly in air shows in the US, because there was no prejudice at those events, and she became a daring barnstorming stunt flier.  She went back to Europe, and met with Anthony Fokker, a distinguished Dutch  aircraft designer, and received additional training. 

In the US, she became known as “Queen Bess, the world’s greatest woman flier.”

Sadly, she was killed in a plane crash while testing a new aircraft in 1926 so her dream of establishing a school for African American fliers was never realized.
​by Mieke Tazelaar
Image source: Wikipedia
Further reading: Wikipedia
TheGardensGazette.org
Blogs > Culture and Society
Bessie Coleman
Revised March-9-2017
]]><![CDATA[Women Nobel Prize Winners]]>Thu, 09 Mar 2017 09:11:33 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/women-nobel-prize-winnersAmazing Nobel Prize awarded women
​who changed the world: 2015->1903
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]]><![CDATA[Bessie Smith]]>Thu, 09 Mar 2017 06:36:17 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/bessie-smith
African American Women in US History
Bessie Smith

​Bessie Smith, called Empress of the Blues, was the most popular female blues singer of the 1020’s and 1930’s.  Born in 1892 , though the 1910 Census has her official date as 1894. 

Her father was a part-time preacher, but died early in her life.  By the time Bessie was nine, her mother and brother had also died, and her older sister Viola became caregiver to Bessie and her other siblings.  In order to earn money for the household, Bessie and her brother Andrew began busking on the streets of Chattanooga.

She became a dancer, and performed on the Black-owned Theater Owners Booking Association, which, in 1923, landed her a recording contract with Columbia Records. She became the highest-paid Black entertainer, touring in her own custom-built railroad car with as many as 40 troupers.

Her first record was “Downhearted Blues.”  In 1923, she was to Columbia Records by Frank Walker, a talent agent. She made 160 recordings, often accompanied by notable artists, like Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins.  Billie Holiday credits Bessie as being a major influence on her career.  
by Mieke Tazelaar
Image source: Van Vechten Collection
Further reading: Wikipedia
TheGardensGazette.org
Blogs > Culture and Society
Bessie Smith
Revisions
March-14-2017 Added Youtube 
]]><![CDATA[Josephine Baker]]>Wed, 08 Mar 2017 03:38:18 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/josephine-baker
African American Women in US History​
Josephine Baker
​
​Josephine Baker was an African-American expatriate who renounced her US citizenship to become a French national. Her early career as an erotic dancer at the Folies Bergere in Paris earned her fame all over Europe, as she performed in a costume consisting of only a girdle of bananas.  In later performances she sometimes appeared with Chiquita, her pet cheetah.  She became a favorite of famous Americans living in Europe, namely Ernest Hemingway, who called her “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw.”

She refused to perform for segregated audience in the United States, but contributed greatly to the Civil Rights Movement.
​
She became renown for her role in the French Resistance during World War II. Using her charm, she gathered information about German troop locations from people she met at parties.  Josephine received the French military honor, the Croix de Guerre, and was given an official honor by General Charles De Gaulle.

She did not attain the popularity in the United States that she so enjoyed in Europe, and, heartbroken, she returned to Paris.

Later, she was received well here for a while, but, ever an activist for people’s rights, she fell out of favor again with certain people, and was revered by others. 

In 1963, she spoke at the March on Washington at the side of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.  After King’s assassination, Coretta Scott King went to the Netherlands, where Baker now lived, and asked her to lead the Civil Rights Movement. She declined for the sake of her children. 
by Mieke Tazelaar
Image source: Wikipedia
Further reading: Wikipedia
 TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society 
Josephine Baker
Revised March-07-2017 
]]><![CDATA[Madame CJ Walker]]>Tue, 07 Mar 2017 05:33:15 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/madame-cj-walker
African American Women in US History​
​Sarah Breedlove, AKA Madame C.J. Walker

​Born in 1867, Sarah Breedlove, later knows as Madame C.J. Walker, developed a business that made her the first female American millionaire. She became not only the wealthiest American woman in the country, but the world’s most successful female entrepreneur of her time. 

Her parents and older siblings were slaves, but she was the first child born free after the Emancipation Proclamation. She was orphaned at the age of seven, and found work as a domestic, while living with her sister.

​Sarah married Charles Joseph Walker in 1906, but they divorced six years later. She kept the last name, becoming Madame C.J.Walker.
​
She took on several jobs to make a living, but soon became interested in hair care that would be good for the scalp. She developed and marketed a line of beauty and hair products for Black women through Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.

She started selling cosmetic creams as well, going door to door, teaching Black women to groom and style their hair. One might say she was the first Avon Lady! Her business grew through her expert marketing techniques, and she built a beauty school to train sales agents. By 1917, she had trained nearly 20,000 women.

​Madame C.J. Walker was known for her philanthropy and activism, making donations to numerous organizations, and she became a patron of the arts. Her lavish estate in Irvington-on-Hudson New York became a social gathering place for the African American community.

This is only part of her story. Her philanthropy is legendary.
by Mieke Tazelaar
Image source: Wikipedia
Further reading: Wikipedia
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society 
Madame CJ Walker
Revised March-06-2017 
]]><![CDATA[​Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler]]>Wed, 01 Mar 2017 03:47:53 GMThttps://www.thegardensgazette.org/culture-and-society/rebecca-davis-lee-crumpler
African American Women in US History​
Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler

​Our country’s first African-American woman physician, Rebecca Davis, was born in 1831 and lived with an aunt who cared for ailing neighbors.

Care for poor Blacks was almost non-existent in Delaware, but when she married Wyatt Lee, she moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, where she became employed as a nurse until she was accepted into the New England Female Medical College in 1860, which was very rare for Black women. She received a degree of “Doctress of Medicine.”
​
Rebecca Davis Lee became the first African-American woman in the US to earn a Doctorate in Medicine.  Her practical experience in medicine, and her studies, led her to write A Book of Medical Discourses, a guide for women for dealing with their families’ medical challenges.  She sought every opportunity to, in her words, to “relieve the suffering of others.”

After the Civil War, she moved to Richmond, Virginia, with her second husband, Arthur Crumpler, so  her name now became Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler.  In Richmond, she served a community of over 30,000 Blacks.  She worked for the Freedmen’s Bureau to provide care for freed slaves.  Here, she met with racism and misogyny, since doctors and pharmacists snubbed her.

But when she moved back to Boston, to a predominantly African-American community, she was able to continue her practice with renewed enthusiasm. 

She died in 1895.  The Rebecca Lee Society was named in her honor. 
by Mieke Tazelaar
Image source: Kate Bogert's Rampage
Further reading: Wikipedia.
TheGardensGazette.org 
Blogs > Culture and Society 
Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler 
Revised Feb-28-2017 
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