~Series 3:Black History,American History,Still in the Making......

There are many "First" in terms of African-American achievements in History..some never reached the books from yonder years.I've always found it disturbing for a History of a people so important in building America to be given a month to highlight their achievements. I do understand the necessity.Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance of important people and events in the history of the African diaspora.It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February and the United Kingdom in October.

Black History Month began in 1926 in America,when historian Carter G.Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week". This week was chosen because it marked the birthday of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.Woodson created the holiday with the hope that it eventually be eliminated when black history became fundamental to American history.Negro History Week was met with enthusiastic response; it prompted the creation of black history clubs, an increase in interest among teachers,and interest from progressive whites. Negro History Week grew in popularity throughout the following decades, with mayors across the United States endorsing it as a holiday.

In 1976, the federal government acknowledged the expansion of Black History Week to Black History Month by the leaders of the Black United Students at Kent State University (Feb.1969) and the first celebration was February 1970.Six years later during the bicentennial,the expansion of Negro History Week to Black History Month was recognized by the U.S. government. Gerald Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.

Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1987.In 1995,Canada officially recognized February as Black History Month. In 2008,Senator Donald Oliver moved to have the Senate officially recognize Black History Month, which was unanimously approved.

Further reading: http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/about.html

                                                      Carter G.Woodson  

And we've come a long,long way from...

                                        World War II_Black_"Rosie The Riveter's"

                                    African-Americans "FIRST" Right To Vote 1867

President Barack Obama _"FIRST" African-American President(2009) & Re-Elected for 2nd term in 2013.

I certainly can appreciate the debate each year around this time_Do we really need a special month to highlight African American achievement in History? Isn't Black History after all_American History?  It was a step forward in 1926 and much needed.Black History is still in the making.....

                              Northern Teachers traveled to the South to Educate

...the many institutions that sprung up to educate Blacks all across America_

                            Mary Allen College(c.1886),Crockett,Texas(East Texas)

My Grandmother's home was next to Mary Allen College_so I literally grew up in a college environment that promoted excellence in all walks of Life.And,today Excellence continues in many forms.I was so proud of Leonard Cooper on this week's Teen Jeopardy Tournament 2013_with his win as Champion. I've been a fan of JEOPARDY since 1964_haven't missed many episodes!!!

Check out his story: http://www.jeopardy.com/news/jeop-teenchampion2013.php

And check out his "gutsy"move_AWESOME!!!

And in the same week_in the "College Tournament"_another Southerner attending a dual program (high school & college) at University of North Texas became the youngest to win_a young Asian girl,Monica Thieu.

Story here:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2012/feb/16/unt-student-wins-jeopardy-college-championship/?refscroll=349


So,the point is African-Americans and other minority groups are part of "Mainstream America"in 2013.Only 28 Days to share a history of accomplished Americans of Color_Really? Shouldn't it be just American History 101?


"Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise." 
~Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise," And Still I Rise

~Work,Hope and Dream 2013~

The work goes on,the cause endures,the hope still lives,and the dream shall never die.~1980
The work begins anew.The hope rises again.And the dream lives on.~ 2008
                                        ~ Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy~



Monday January 21,2013_Americans of all backgrounds will join together to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack H.Obama and Vice President Joseph R.Biden,Jr.Here's a view of the invitation_

 

 

Inauguration weekend will begin with a "National Day of Service" on Saturday,January 19,2013.To honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The President,Vice President and their families will participate in service projects in Washington DC,and they will be joined by Americans in communities across the country.Visit the National Day of Service page at www.2013pic.org to learn about how you can sign up to participate.

 

The President will use two "Historical Bibles" for the swearing -in ceremony. There is no written constitutional requirement for the use of a Bible during the swearing-in_it's more of a tradition.

 

The Lincoln Bible will be used again by President Obama as he did in 2009.Prior to that the Lincoln Bible had not be used since 1861 at President Lincoln's(16th President) inauguration.

 

President Obama with First Lady Michelle Obama holding Lincoln Bible 2009 

 

The second Bible to be used will be Rev.Dr.Martin Luther King Jr._MLK Bible.It will be on loan from the family.It's in very rigid condition_if this is the one pictured below for use...shows it's frailty. Rev.Dr.King took the Bible with him always.His most famous speech "I have a Dream" speech reflects the words of  prophet Isaiah: "I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low....His official birthday was January 15th_but we celebrate on January 21st_it is fitting to use his Bible for the swearing-in celebration. 

 

Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the swearing-in at a private ceremony Sunday Jan. 20(Official Inauguration Day which falls on a Sunday), the public inauguration ceremony takes place at the U.S. Capitol on Monday, Jan. 21.  

 

 

 

Vice President Joe Biden will use his Family Bible dated 1893_that has been used for all his swearing-in ceremonies from his days as a Senator from 1973 to 2009 when he became Vice President.It is five(5) inches thick an bears a Celtic Cross Cover.Justice Sotomayor will administer the oath of office to Biden at a private ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 20, and at a public ceremony the following day on the west front of the U.S. Capitol.

 

http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/about/

 

 

 

 

Inaugural Trivia

Ceremony

First outdoor ceremony: George Washington, 1789, balcony, Federal Hall, New York City. George Washington is the only U.S. President to have been inaugurated in two different cities, New York City in April 1789, and his second took place in Philadelphia in March 1793.

 First president to take oath on January 20th: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1937, his second inaugural         

Presidents who used two Bibles at their inauguration: Harry Truman, 1949, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, George Bush, 1989.

Someone forgot the Bible for FDR's first inauguration in 1933. A policeman offered his.

36 of the 53 U.S. Inaugurations were held on the East Portico of the Capitol. In 1981, Ronald Reagan was the first to hold an inauguration on the West Front.

First Ladies 

First First lady to be called a "First Lady": Lucy Webb Hayes, 1877. [Also the first college educated]

First First Lady to attend an inauguration: Dolley Madison, 1809.

First First Lady to ride with her husband to the ceremony: Helen Taft, 1909.

First First Lady to participate in the swearing-in ceremony: Lady Bird Johnson, 1965, held the family Bible.

First First Lady to go to an inaugural ball alone: Eleanor Roosevelt, 1933.

Wives not present: Martha Washington (George), Abigail Adams (John), Louisa Adams (John Quincy), Anna Harrison (William Henry), and Jane Pierce (Franklin). 

Addresses 

Longest address: William Henry Harrison, 1841, 8,445 words. The new President insisted on delivering his lengthy address without an overcoat or hat. He consequently caught pneumonia and died a month later. (First Lady Abigail Fillmore caught pneumonia and died after attending Franklin Pierce's inauguration in the bitter cold.)

Shortest address: George Washington, 1793, 135 words.

Only president to interrupt his inaugural address: William Henry Harrison, 1841, stopped to take the oath of office in the midst of delivering his address.

Only President to use "affirm" rather than "swear" in the oath: Franklin Pierce, 1853.

Variation in oath: Chief Justice William Howard Taft replaced the phrase "preserve, protect
and defend" with "preserve, maintain and protect" at Herbert Hoover's 1929 inauguration
 

Miscellaneous 

Oldest president at inauguration: Ronald Reagan, 69 in 1981; second oldest is William Henry Harrison, 68.

Youngest president at inauguration: Theodore Roosevelt was 42 when he was sworn in on September 13, 1901 after the death of William McKinley. At 43, John F. Kennedy was the youngest President to be formally inaugurated on January 20, 1961. Bill Clinton became the third youngest President in history, at age 46 when he was sworn in January 20, 1993.

In 1841, William Henry Harrison had an inauguration that literally killed him. Harrison caught pneumonia after braving the elements with no coat or hat and delivering an especially long (8,445 words) inaugural address, and died exactly one month later.

First president inaugurated in Washington, DC: Thomas Jefferson, 1801.

First time Washington, DC city officials participated in an inauguration: Andrew Jackson, 1833.

First President to ride to his ceremony in a car: Warren Harding, 1921.

First to ride in a bullet-proof car: Lyndon Johnson, 1965.

The carriage built to transport Martin Van Buren to his inauguration on March 4, 1837, was constructed of timber from the dismantled U.S.S. Constitution.

First president to escort a president-elect to the ceremony: James Monroe escorted John Quincy Adams, 1825, rode in separate carriages. Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, 1837, rode in the same carriage.

All but four presidents attended the swearing in of their successor: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon.

First mother to witness her son's inauguration: Eliza Ballou Garfield, 1881.

Only President to be elected and inaugurated four times: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945.

SOURCE:   http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/politics/inauguration/history.pdf

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President Lincoln delivered an eloquent inaugural address (its concluding passage, "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds...", is carved on the Lincoln Memorial), which commemorated the close of the Civil War. 

 

 

Two companies of Black troops and a lodge of Black Odd Fellows participated in the

official inaugural parade. Despite the new spirit of Emancipation, blacks were denied tickets to

the inaugural balls (held on March 6.) On the afternoon of the inauguration, several thousand

people attended the Lincoln's reception at the White House, including former slave and

freedom fighter, Frederick Douglass.I feel honored to have received my invitation.

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~"My fellow Americans,ask not what your country can do for you:ask what you can do for your country.My fellow Citizens of the world,ask not what America will do for you,but what,together,we can do for the freedom of man."~John F Kennedy,1961~