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Posts Tagged ‘african american history’

Black History Month: Breaking Football’s Color Barrier

Monday, February 22nd, 2021
Marion Motley Credit: © Bettmann/Getty Images

Marion Motley
Credit: © Bettmann/Getty Images

February is Black History Month, an annual observance of the achievements and culture of Black Americans. This month, Behind the Headlines will feature Black pioneers in a variety of areas. 

Today, many Black football players are in the National Football League (NFL). But, this was not always the case. Black players had played in the early history of professional football, but all had been forced out by 1934. This changed in 1946, when the Cleveland Browns teammates Marion Motley (1920-1999) and Bill Willis (1921-2007) became two of a handful of players who permanently broke football’s color barrier, opening professional football to Black players.

Marion Motley was born June 5, 1920, near Albany, Georgia. He grew up in Canton, Ohio, where he attended Canton McKinley High School. Motley attended South Carolina State College, a historically Black college, in 1939. He then played for the University of Nevada, Reno, from 1940 to 1942. In Reno, Motley played fullback on offense, linebacker on defense, and kick returner. According to local accounts, he was also a skilled kicker and passer.

Motley joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 and was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes near Chicago, Illinois. There, he played football under head coach Paul Brown.

In 1946, the Cleveland Browns began play as part of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), a rival to the NFL. Paul Brown, Motley’s coach at Great Lakes, was named head coach and general manager. Brown recruited Motley to the new team. Motley anchored the powerful offense alongside quarterback Otto Graham. The Browns dominated the AAFC, winning championships all four years of the league’s existence.

Motley played fullback during his professional career. He was agile enough to dodge defenders, but he was also strong enough to break tackles. He did not shy away from hits and often ran defenders over.

In 1950, the Browns and two other teams from the AAFC joined the NFL. That year, Motley led the NFL with 810 rushing yards and was named to the Pro-Bowl team. The Browns went on to win the 1950 NFL championship game.

Motley was plagued by injuries in his later career, likely the result of his aggressive style of play. Motley left the Browns before the 1954 season and was later traded to the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers. He appeared with the Steelers in a few games in 1955 before retiring. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Motley died on June 27, 1999, in Cleveland.

Bill Willis Credit: © Bettmann/Getty Images

Bill Willis
Credit: © Bettmann/Getty Images

William Karnet Willis was born on Oct. 5, 1921, in Columbus, Ohio. He attended East High School. He then enrolled at Ohio State University, where he played under head coach Paul Brown. The Buckeyes won their first national championship in 1942. Willis was named to the All-American team in 1943 and 1944, his senior year.

In 1946, when the Cleveland Browns began play as part of the AAFC, Willis’s college coach Paul Brown recruited Willis to the new team. With Willis anchoring the defense, the Browns won all four AAFC championships.

Willis played middle guard, a position similar to middle linebacker in modern defensive play. He chose to play this position despite being relatively small for a defensive player, at 6 feet 2 inches (1.9 meters) and 213 pounds (96 kilograms). Despite his size, he became one of the most feared defensive players due to his exceptional quickness and strong tackling ability.

When the Browns and two other teams from the AAFC joined the NFL in 1950, Willis’s speed saved the Brown’s season during a playoff game against the New York Giants. On a play in which the Giants running back had broken away from the defense and was heading for the end zone, Willis chased him down and tackled him at the 4 yard-line. The play preserved Cleveland’s victory, and the Browns went on to win the 1950 NFL championship game.

Willis was named to three NFL Pro-Bowl teams. He retired after the 1953 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. Willis died Nov. 27, 2007, in Columbus.

Tags: african american history, bill willis, black history month, color barrier, football, marion motley
Posted in Current Events, History, Holidays/Celebrations, People, Race Relations, Recreation & Sports | Comments Off

African American History: Tuskegee Airmen

Wednesday, February 19th, 2020

February 19, 2020

In honor of Black History Month, today World Book remembers the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African Americans who served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II (1939-1945). The name Tuskegee Airmen is used most often to refer to combat pilots, but the group also included bombardiers, navigators, maintenance crews, and support staff. Members of the Tuskegee Airmen were the first African Americans to qualify as military aviators in any branch of the armed forces. Many became decorated war heroes. In 2007, the United States awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress.

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American pilots, crew, and support staff that served in the Army Air Corps during World War II (1939-1945). This photograph, taken in Ramitelli, Italy, in 1945, shows airmen at a tactical meeting. Credit: Library of Congress

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African American pilots, crew, and support staff that served in the Army Air Corps during World War II (1939-1945). This photograph, taken in Ramitelli, Italy, in 1945, shows airmen at a tactical meeting. Credit: Library of Congress

Last February, the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., hosted an event called “African American Pioneers in Aviation and Space.” Among the special guests at the event was the Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, who turned 100 years old in December 2019. McGee flew 409 aerial combat missions during World War II, the Korean War (1950-1953), and the Vietnam War (1957-1975). His military honors include the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and two Presidential Unit Citations. McGee was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2011.

Daniel "Chappie" James, one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, stands next to his P-51 fighter plane in Korea. James flew 101 combat mission in the Korean War (1950-1953). Credit: U.S. Air Force

Daniel “Chappie” James, one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen, poses with his P-51 Mustang fighter plane during the Korean War. Credit: U.S. Air Force

At the time of World War II, the U.S. War Department had a policy of racial segregation. Black soldiers were trained separately from white soldiers and served in separate units. They were not allowed into elite military units. In 1941, under pressure from African American organizations and Congress, the Army Air Corps began accepting black men and admitting them into flight training. The men were trained at Tuskegee Army Air Base, near Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), a college for black students in rural Alabama.

black history month, african american history, african american

Credit: © African American History Month

The training program began in 1941. One of the first men to earn the wings of an Army Air Corps pilot was Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., who later became the first black general in the U.S. Air Force. Davis commanded the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the nation’s first all-black squadron, which trained at Tuskegee. The 99th operated in northern Africa. Davis later commanded the 332nd Fighter Group, which also trained at Tuskegee. The 332nd became known for its success escorting bombers on missions over Europe.

Training at Tuskegee ended in 1946. A total of 992 pilots graduated from the program. The success of the Tuskegee aviators helped lead to a decision by the U.S. government calling for an end to racial discrimination in the military. Well-known graduates of the Tuskegee program include Daniel James, Jr., who was the first black four-star general; and Coleman A. Young, who served as mayor of Detroit from 1973 to 1993.

Tags: african american history, african americans, black history month, tuskegee airmen, world war ii
Posted in Current Events, Government & Politics, History, Holidays/Celebrations, Military, Military Conflict, People | Comments Off

African American History: Omar ibn Said

Wednesday, February 13th, 2019

February 13, 2019

Last week, in celebration of African American History Month, the African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress (LOC) in Washington, D.C., hosted an event called “Conversation on the Omar ibn Said Collection.” Omar ibn Said was a western African scholar who was captured and sold into slavery in the United States in the early 1800′s. Noted for his education and intelligence, Said—a Muslim who spoke Arabic—gained notoriety during his lifetime and wrote an autobiography in 1831.

Omar ibn Said (Uncle Marian), a slave of great notoriety, of North Carolina,1850. Credit: Yale University Beinecke Library (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Omar ibn Said in North Carolina in 1850. Credit: Yale University Beinecke Library (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Autobiography of Omar ibn Said, Slave in North Carolina is the only known memoir written in Arabic by a slave in the United States. The LOC’s Omar Ibn Said Collection includes the original manuscript of his autobiography, as well as texts written in Arabic by western African slaves held in countries other than the United States. The conversation on Said’s autobiography included an examination of Muslim communities in Africa and the people who continued to practice Islam after being forced into slavery.

black history month, african american history, african american

Credit: © African American History Month

Omar ibn Said was born around 1770 in what is now Senegal. After years of schooling in Africa, he was enslaved and taken by ship to Charleston, South Carolina. Shortly after Said’s arrival in the United States, he escaped but was captured in North Carolina and briefly imprisoned. During his 16-day detainment, Said wrote in Arabic on the prison walls. His writing caught the attention of wealthy farmer James Owen, who purchased Said and apparently encouraged his literary efforts. Said then wrote his autobiography and many works related to the Qur’ān, the sacred book of the Muslims. Although highly critical of Christians who supported and participated in slavery, Said converted to Christianity during his captivity. He died in North Carolina in 1864. An English-language version of Said’s memoir was first published in 1925.

Tags: african american history, african americans, arabic, black history month, islam, omar ibn said, slavery, united states
Posted in Arts & Entertainment, Current Events, History, Holidays/Celebrations, People, Race Relations, Religion | Comments Off

Happy Kwanzaa!

Tuesday, December 29th, 2015

December 29, 2015

Today, Tuesday, December 29, 2015, marks the fourth day in the 49th annual observation of Kwanzaa, a uniquely African American celebration. The celebration begins on December 26 and lasts for seven days. This year, millions of people in the United States will take part in Kwanzaa festivities and observe the seven principles upon which it is founded. As the fourth day of Kwanzaa, today is dedicated to Ujamaa (cooperative economics), and people are asked to support local small businesses in their community.

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that begins on December 26 and lasts for seven days. The holiday centers on seven principles. Each evening, families exchange gifts, light one of the seven candles, and discuss the day's principle. This child is shown lighting one of the seven candles. Credit: © Corbis

Kwanzaa is an African American holiday that begins on December 26 and lasts for seven days. The holiday centers on seven principles. Each evening, families exchange gifts, light one of the seven candles, and discuss the day’s principle. This child is shown lighting one of the seven candles. Credit: © Corbis

Kwanzaa centers on the Nguzo Saba, seven principles of black culture. On each day of the holiday, one of the principles is emphasized. Each evening, families light one of the seven candles in the kinara (a candleholder) and reflect on the day’s principle. The principles of Kwanzaa are Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith).

Kwanzaa festivities usually end with a joyous feast called karamu. Among families, karamu usually involves traditional African American foods, ceremonies honoring ancestors, and reflection on the old year and commitments for the new. Many cities across the United States hold public Kwanzaa observances. These often include performances, music, and dancing. The traditional colors of Kwanzaa are red, black, and green. These three colors have long represented Africa and are found on the flags of many African countries. Green represents the fertile land of Africa. Black represents the people of Africa, and red represents the blood that has been shed in the struggle for freedom for African nations.

Kwanzaa was developed in 1966 in the United States by Maulana Karenga, a black cultural leader and professor of Pan-African studies at California State University in Long Beach. The 1960’s, at the height of the civil rights movement, were a time of social upheaval and change for many African Americans. Karenga wanted to create a celebration that would honor the values of African cultures and inspire African Americans to strive for progress. Karenga based this celebration on harvest festivals common in many African societies at this time of year that had existed for thousands of years. He called the celebration Kwanzaa, sometimes spelled Kwanza, based on the phrase matunda ya kwanza, which means first fruits in Swahili (also called Kiswahili). He chose to use Swahili terms for the celebration because this language is widely used by various peoples in East Africa.

Other World Book articles: 

  • Christmas
  • December

 

Tags: african american history, african americans, african studies, civil rights movement, december, holiday, kwanzaa, maulana karenga
Posted in Current Events, Holidays/Celebrations | Comments Off

Sitting Down to Take a Stand

Tuesday, December 1st, 2015

December 1, 2015

Sixty years ago today, Rosa Parks decided she’d had enough. The African American seamstress, tired after a long day’s work, decided to break the law by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. A city law at the time required blacks to leave their seats in the next rows when all seats in the front rows were taken and other whites still wanted seats. Parks was arrested, triggering a boycott of the Montgomery bus system that lasted over a year. Her action helped bring about the civil rights movement in the United States.

Rosa Parks sits toward the front of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, soon after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that segregation on city buses was unconstitutional. Credit: © Underwood Archives/Getty Images

Rosa Parks sits toward the front of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, soon after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that segregation on city buses was unconstitutional. Credit: © Underwood Archives/Getty Images

“At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this. It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in,” Parks later reflected. Even before Parks’s arrest, Montgomery’s black leaders had been discussing a protest against racial segregation on the city’s buses. Parks allowed the leaders to use her arrest to spark a boycott of the bus system. The leaders formed an organization to run the boycott. Martin Luther King, Jr.—then a Baptist minister in Montgomery—was chosen as president. From Dec. 5, 1955, to Dec. 20, 1956, thousands of blacks refused to ride Montgomery’s buses. Their boycott ended when the Supreme Court of the United States declared segregated seating on the city’s buses unconstitutional. The boycott’s success encouraged other mass protests demanding civil rights for blacks.

Rosa Louise McCauley was born on Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. She attended Alabama State Teachers College. In 1932, she married Raymond Parks, a barber. She held a variety of jobs and, in 1943, became one of the first women to join the Montgomery Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She served as the organization’s secretary from 1943 to 1956.

Parks lost her job as a seamstress as a result of the Montgomery boycott. She moved to Detroit in 1957. From 1967 to 1988, she worked on the Detroit staff of John Conyers, Jr., a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1979, she won the Spingarn Medal for her work in civil rights. In 1996, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1999, she was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. Parks died on Oct. 24, 2005. A statue of Parks was dedicated at Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in 2013.

Additional World Book articles:

  • Colvin, Claudette
  • Desmond, Viola
  • Emmett Till case
  • Million Man March
  • Detroit (1994) - A Back in Time article

Tags: african american history, african americans, alabama, boycott, civil rights movement, martin luther king jr, montgomery, montgomery bus boycott, racial segregation, rosa parks, segregation
Posted in Current Events, Government & Politics, History, People, Race Relations | Comments Off

African American Golfer Who Broke the PGA’s Color Barrier Dies

Thursday, February 5th, 2015

February 5, 2015

Credit: AP Photo

Charlie Sifford, the African American who broke professional golf’s color barrier in 1961, playing a tournament in 1963. (Credit: AP Photo)

Charlie Sifford, the African American golfer who broke the color barrier in the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) died on February 3 at age 92. Sifford, who was denied the opportunity to play in high-level tournaments while was in his prime as an athlete, became the first black American to play in the PGA in 1961, when he was 38 years old. He was often referred to as “the Jackie Robinson of golf.”

Sifford caddied at a whites-only golf course in his home town of Charlotte, North Carolina, where he learned to play the game. When Sifford returned from his army service in Okinawa during World War II (1939-1945), he played on the golf tour for African Americans (the United Golf Association tour), but the prizes awarded for winning those tournaments were much lower than those awarded on the PGA tour.

In 1947, Sifford met Jackie Robinson, who in that year had become the first African American to play baseball in the modern major leagues. Robinson strongly encouraged Sifford to pursue his dream of becoming a professional golfer, cautioning him, however, that he would face anger and hostility both on and off the golf course. In fact, Sifford did face hateful speech and acts—he received death threats, was barred from staying at hotels, and was sometimes barred from eating in the restaurant of the golf club hosting the tournament he was playing in. Nevertheless, Sifford won several PGA tournaments and joined the Senior Tour (now the Champions Tour), for golfers age 50 and older, in 1980.

In 2004, Sifford was the first African American to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 2014, when U.S. President Barack Obama awarded Sifford with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he stated “We give thanks to the trailblazers who built the arc of freedom towards justice.”

 

Other World Book articles:

  •  Civil rights
  • Golf
  • Golf (1974-a Back in time article)
  • Jackie Robinson

 

Tags: african american history, Charlie Sifford, golf
Posted in Current Events, History, Recreation & Sports | Comments Off

Ground Broken for New African American Museum on National Mall

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Feb. 27, 2012

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and former First Lady Laura Bush attended a February 22 groundbreaking ceremony for a national museum that will focus on African American history and culture. The museum, scheduled for completion in 2015, will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum’s staff has been planning exhibits for nine years, scouring the nation for historical artifacts. Their goal is to provide the visitor with a sweeping history that confronts racial oppression while highlighting the achievements of the black community in America. “This day has been a long time coming,” stated the president. “The time will come when few people will remember drinking from a colored water fountain or boarding a segregated bus . . . it will be a monument for all time, it will do more than simply keep those memories alive.” Laura Bush, a member of the advisory council, noted that the museum “will pay tribute to the many lives known and unknown that so immeasurably enriched our nation.”

The historical trove assembled by the staff includes a slave cabin, shackles worn by slaves brought from Africa, and personal items that belonged to abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Another treasure is an airplane used during World War II (1939-1945) to train the famed African American fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Other holdings include shards of stained glass from a Birmingham, Alabama, church that was bombed in 1963, killing four girls. A turning point in the civil rights movement, the bombing helped convince members of Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

About 250,000 people, including both blacks and whites, took part in the March on Washington in 1963 on the National Mall. The new National Museum of African American History and Culture will join other museums on the Mall. Wide World

The groundbreaking ceremony, attended by some 600 guests, was planned to coincide with Black History Month. The National Museum of African American History and Culture will be part of the famed Smithsonian Institution, which includes a number of museums on the National Mall.

Additional World Book articles

  • Association for the Study of African American Life and History
  • Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
  • Uncovering African Americans’ Buried Past (a special report)
  • Civil rights 1963 (Back in Time article)
  • Civil rights 1964 (Back in Time article)

 

Tags: african american history, african americans, black history month, civil rights, harriet tubman, national museum, smithsonian institution, tuskegee airman
Posted in Current Events, Education, Government & Politics, History, People | Comments Off

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