Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, 19th Century Cardiologist

The first man to successfully perform open heart surgery… was AFRICAN AMERICAN! Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1858-1931) was the first licensed African American cardiologist, and in 1891 became the first physician to successfully perform a procedure on the heart where the patient actually survived. In 1893, he went on to found the Provident Hospital in Chicago, IL. He also served as surgeon-in-chief of Freedman’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. (predecessor of Howard University Hospital).

Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom's Cabin

In the early 1850’s, one event hastened the coming of the Civil War and emancipation (unlike any other), and that was the publication of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe writes and publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel that, for the first time, exposed the harshness and cruelty of slavery. This book immediately became a best seller, selling over 300,000 copies in the first year. Queen Victoria is said to have wept when she read it. It was the most popular novel of the nineteenth century, and the second best selling book overall (second only to the Bible). This book helped to fuel the abolitionist movement during its final stages---- leading up to the Civil War. Incidentally, the character Uncle Tom (who has come down in history to be regarded as a “racially spineless” character) was, in fact, a very heroic character in the actual novel. 

 

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896)

 

 

African American and Professional Football

In 1902, Charles W. Follis aka “The Black Cyclone” (1879-1910) (below, right) became the first African-American to play professional football (non- NFL), playing for the Shelby Blues. Fritz Pollard (1894-1986) (below, left), an All-American halfback (Brown), led Brown to the Rose Bowl in 1915, turned pro (along with Bobby Marshall—also African American) in 1919, playing for the Akron (OH) Pros, and leading them to a world championship in 1920. The Pros later joined the newly formed American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League). In 1921, Pollard became the first African-American to be an NFL head coach when the Pros named him co-coach of the team. George Taliaferro (born January 8, 1927) (below, center), halfback (Indiana) was the first African-American drafted into the NFL, being picked by the Chicago Bears in the thirteenth round of the 1949 draft. The NFL did not practice the same racial exclusionary practices in its early days as did major league baseball---- “America’s pastime”. 

 

Charles W. Follis aka “The Black Cyclone” (1879-1910)

 

Fritz Pollard (1894-1986)

 

George Taliaferro (born January 8, 1927)

Britain's Policy Shift Re: International Slave Trade

In 1772, an important court case was decided in Britain that would ultimately lead to the end of the international slave trade. In 1769, James Somersett, a slave from the Virginia colony, was taken to Britain with his master Charles Stewart. While in Britain, Somersett escapes, but is re-captured by his master. In an action to determine the legality of Somersett’s re-capture by Stewart, Chief Justice Lord Mansfield ruled, in essence, British common law respecting individual rights outweighed the laws permitting slavery in the American colonies. Somersett (and thousands of other slaves then in Britain) were free. This seminal case signaled a shift in British policy away from the promotion of the slave trade toward one of prohibition. It should be noted, the Somersett case was decided some 85 years prior to the Dred Scott decision (to be discussed later) in which the U.S. Supreme Court on similar facts reached a different conclusion. 

 

Chief Justice Lord Mansfield (1705-1793)

 

 

The Life of a Slave on a Plantation in the South (cont'd)

Slave cabins were one-room shacks---- freezing in the winter and sweltering in the summer. These dust-filled wooden structures were excellent breeding grounds for pneumonia, typhus, cholera, malaria, lockjaw and tuberculosis. If a young child survived to go to the fields, he/she usually went to those fields with rotten teeth and worms. Fewer than 4 out of 100 slaves lived to age 60.

 

 

Bessie Coleman, Aviator

The first African-American aviator… was a WOMAN! Bessie Coleman (1892-1926) was the daughter of two sharecroppers in Atlanta, GA. She first became interested in flight after hearing stories of World War I aviators. Since she was not able to gain admission to American flight schools, she moved to France where on June 15, 1921, Coleman obtained her pilot license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (almost 2 years prior to Amelia Earhart), becoming the first African American (male or female) to hold such. On April 30, 1926, she was killed when her plane malfunctioned while she was performing an aerial maneuver at an air show--- the only way she was able to earn money at the time as a civil aviator. Coleman paved the way for all of the African American aviators and astronauts currently in the sky.

 

Photo of Bessie Coleman (cir. 1921)

 

Copy of Coleman's pilot license issued on June 15, 1921. Amelia Earhart was issued this same license almost two years later.

 

Photo of Bessie Coleman (cir. 1925)

Slavery and the Admission of States in the U.S.

One interesting fact about the formation and admission of states in the U.S. is the “unwritten” policy to admit states generally to preserve the balance between free and slave states. For example, the first thirteen states were split seven free states and six slave states. The fourteenth state KY was a slave state. When Ohio (a free state) was admitted in 1803, it was followed in 1812 by Louisiana (a slave state). Thereafter, states were admitted two at a time---- one slave and one free state--- in order to preserve the delicate balance between the two systems. This practice continued uninterrupted until the Civil War.

Map showing the balance of power between free and slave states (cir. 1830)

John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and The Civil Rights Acts

This week marked the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. This is significant for African Americans as President Kennedy was the first 20th century president to propose legislation aimed at extending civil rights to African Americans. Although President Kennedy would be assassinated before seeing the passage of this legislation, his bold pronouncements on Civil Rights set the stage for President Lyndon B. Johnson, who would subsequently become a champion for the cause and “strong-arm” the Civil Rights Acts through Congress in the mid-1960’s. 

 

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), the 35th President of the U.S.

 

Photo of the signing of one of the Civil Rights Acts, with Martin Luther King, Jr. in attendance.

 

 Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), the 36th President of the U.S.

Slavery and Missouri Compromise

The vast land acquired by the U.S. as a result of the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican War made the issue of slavery progressively come to a head in the mid-1800’s. As new states were formed---- would these states be slave states or free states? In 1820, the Missouri Compromise established the latitudinal line 36 degrees by 30 degrees as the line dividing the north and the south (for purposes of extending slavery)--- every state below that line was permitted to have slavery, and every state above that line, with the exception of Missouri, did not. 

 

Map shows the line 36 degrees by 30. The red states (below the line) permitted slavery, the yellow (above the line) were states that had slavery prior to 1820, the dark blue states (above the line) had already outlawed slavery, and the light blue states would also be free states. Missouri (shown in gray) is the only "new" state above the line to permit slavery.

A copy of the actual document

 

House Speaker Henry Clay (1777-1852) was the chief architect of the bills.

The African American Founding Father

Wentworth Cheswell (1746-1817), the grandson of an emancipated slave, became the first African-American to own property in the U.S, and was the first to hold public office. Cheswell had risen to such prominence that he was chosen to be on the N.H. Committee of Safety (a civilian authority). In 1776, he (like Paul Revere) made an all-night ride from Boston to Newmarket, N.H. to warn of the impending British invasion. A veteran of the Revolutionary War, he fought in the Battle of Saratoga. While there are no artist renditions of Cheswell, there is evidence that he was very light-complected--- enough to “pass” for white. 

 

Street marker in Newmarket, N.H.

 

A copy of the first deed of real property in the U.S. issued to an African American--- in what would become New Hampshire.

 

Wentworth Cheswell grave marker

The Life of a Slave on a Plantation in the South

The diet of the slave largely depended upon whether he/she was a field hand or “house” Negro. Field hands ate twice a day a rough diet generally consisting of corn meal (at 11 am and after work). He/she rarely ate meat. In fact, some states (i.e. North Carolina and Louisiana) regulated what food may be furnished to the slave and expressly prohibited meat as a matter of law. "House" Negroes usually ate their master's leftovers. 

 

 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), minister, activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was the preeminent leader of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Born Michael King, Jr., his name (along with that of his father) was changed at age 5 to Martin Luther King after his family made a trip to Germany. The name change was meant as a way of giving honor to the German Protestant leader Martin Luther. Some sources report that this was done due to a mistake on his birth certificate, but this is false.

 

 

Slavery and the Northern Texile Industry

At the time of the birth of this country, slavery had largely died out in the north, and was dying in the south. However, with the invention of Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin in 1793, slaves became in high demand as cotton production skyrocketed in the south. This enabled the burgeoning American textile industry to start competing with the European manufacturers (most notably those in Britain). Thereafter, an uneasy alliance arose between the industrialists in the north and the slaveholders of the south that did not end until the Civil War.

 

Famous depiction of slave in bondage.

 

The Cotton Gin

 

A slave market in Atlanta GA (cir. 1850)

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was one of the most influential and well-known African American authors, novelists and playwrights of the twentieth century, pioneering a new literary art form known as “jazz poetry”. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. His poem, I, Too, was featured in the movie The Great Debaters (recited by Denzel Washington). 

 

Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

 

 

Slave Rebellions

Abolitionism as practiced by the slave might properly be called slave rebellion. There were approximately 250 slave rebellions in the U.S., the first of which was in New York City in 1712. The most well-known was led by Nat Turner (depicted, below) in Southampton County, VA. In August 1831 (around the time the abolitionist movement began), Turner led slaves on a revolt that resulted in the death of about 60 whites. Following the suppression of the revolt, Turner and approximately 100 (possibly as high as 200) other Blacks were brutally tortured and murdered in retribution.

Nathaniel "Nat" Turner (1800-1831)

 

Groundbreaking Male Performers In Television

In television lore, three performers clearly stand out. Nat King Cole (left) was the first African American to host a network variety show, but it was cancelled for lack of sponsorship. Redd Foxx (center), in the seventies, was the first African American to star in a top rated network sitcom. This set the stage for Bill Cosby (right) who, in the eighties, was the star of the Cosby Show, which was the number one television show for five consecutive seasons (a feat duplicated only by All in the Family and American Idol).

 

Nat King Cole (1919-1965)

 

Redd Foxx (1922-1991)

 

Bill Cosby (born July 12, 1937)

The Early Abolitionist Movement in America

The early abolitionist movement began to coalesce in the 1830’s, most notably in Boston. William Lloyd Garrison (pictured below) was one of the most prominent abolitionists. Garrison was the editor of the Liberator, a weekly publication that spearheaded the movement. Massachusetts (and the New England area in general) was essentially the cradle of the American abolitionist movement as many of the most prominent figures in the movement all lived in that area of the U.S.

 William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879)

The Liberator Newspaper

One pivotal event that effectively galvanized the abolitionist movement during the late 1830’s was the death of Elijah P. Lovejoy (pictured, left) in Alton, IL. Lovejoy was a minister and prominent abolitionist who published the Alton Observer. Lovejoy is believed to be the first white man killed over the issue of slavery, and may be considered to be the first “true” casualty of the Civil War (which was to come 24 years later). 

 

Elijah P. Lovejoy (1802-1837)

 

 A Depiction of the Alton Riot on November 7, 1837

The Alton Observer