In honor of Black History month

[BDBoop]

You ruined my surprise!

Sorry...

I shall go with Plan B. Whenever I am on the board, I'll sing that "Black Betty, bam-a-lam" song.

 

[TemplarKormac]

In honor of Black history month next month, I'm asking each member of USMB wear the portrait of an influential African American figure from America's history as an avatar for the 28 days of February. I've chosen Frederick Douglass as mine.

Gracie beat you to it.

This isn't a freaking race is it? And no, I don't believe she did. The childishness ends here.

 

[007]

There's this guy...

OUTSTANDING guy right there - - - ^

And let's not forget this great American either. He'd actually make a great president...

 

[Wolfsister77]

I'll see what I can do. Mine are usually wolf themed so I might have to go with that kind of a theme instead but I'll think about it.

 

[Mudflap]

My initial thought......

 

[Ernie S.]

There's this guy...

OUTSTANDING guy right there - - - ^

And let's not forget this great American either. He'd actually make a great president...

He would!

 

[Michelle420]

[ame=http://youtu.be/mDHmhBjl70o]Donny Hathaway - Someday We'll All Be Free - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Pop23]

That is stunning!

 

[Pheonixops]

William Wells Brown, here's some of his works:

William Wells Brown, 1814?-1884 The Black Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements.

William Wells Brown, 1814?-1884 My Southern Home: or, The South and Its People.

William Wells Brown, 1814?-1884 Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave. Written by Himself.

William Wells Brown, 1814?-1884 Narrative of William W. Brown, an American Slave. Written by Himself.

I wish there were more like him today

There are plenty more like him today.

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Flopper]

I was gonna go with Grace Jones, but I can't find one of her looking normal and smiling, lol. But did she rock that bod? Oh yes.

Then I was going to go with an african shaman woman...and I still might. She is awesome. (Don't know who the artist is, though. Found it on the net years and years ago). Then I stumbled on this one...and it fits me, on my couch. Just lazin' around after a hard day of lazin' in the garden.

The story of your avatar makes for interesting reading.

Bessie Coleman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Michelle420]

Alessandro ‘il Moro’ de Medici | Famous Europeans With African Ancestry

Alessandro de’ Medici (1510 – 1537), Duke of Florence (Italy), was often called “il Moro” (“the Moor”). Believed to have been born to a mulatto servant who was working in the Medici household, he was considered one of the richest and most powerful political figures in Europe at the time

 

[Statistikhengst]

[MENTION=23424]syrenn[/MENTION] [MENTION=31178]MeBelle60[/MENTION] [MENTION=1322]007[/MENTION] [MENTION=26011]Ernie S.[/MENTION] [MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION] [MENTION=43625]Mertex[/MENTION] [MENTION=38281]Wolfsister77[/MENTION] [MENTION=26153]High_Gravity[/MENTION] [MENTION=20545]Mr. H.[/MENTION] [MENTION=22590]AquaAthena[/MENTION] [MENTION=19448]CrusaderFrank[/MENTION]

I have chosen two somewhat lesser known ones, but for obvious reasons. These are some really neat individuals:

David H. Blackwell

David Blackwell fought racism; became world-famous statistician : News

David H. Blackwell, the son of a railroad worker from Southern Illinois, grew up to become a renowned statistician, world-famous in the field of mathematics.

In 1965, he became the first African-American elected to the National Academy of Sciences, whose members advise the president and Congress.

Professor Blackwell died Thursday (July 8, 2010) at a hospital in Berkeley, Calif. He was 91 and had suffered a series of strokes, his family said.

"He stands among the pre-eminent statisticians of all time," said Edward Spitznagel, professor of mathematics at Washington University.

He taught himself to read in his hometown of Centralia while looking at the words and pictures on seed packages.

----------------------------------------------------------------

And in the middle of the month, I am switching to:

John Wesley Work III

Excellent composer, John Wesley Work III | African American Registry

Biography of John Wesley Work III

John Wesley Work III... was an African American composer, historian, and educator.

He was born into a family of professional musicians in Tullahoma, Tennessee. He taught at Fisk University in Nashville where he directed the Fisk Jubilee Singers from 1947 to 1956. He also served as chairman of the university's music department from 1950 to 1957. He did his fieldwork and collecting of songs throughout the south and lectured widely while publishing articles on Black American music in journals and music dictionaries. He was highly respected as an authority on Black American music. His grandfather, John W. Work, Sr., wrote The Gold and Blue, the Fisk University Alma Mater.

As a composer, John W. work III is famous for compositions "My Lord What A Morning," "Go Tell It On The Mountain," and "There’s A Meetin’ Here Tonight." His major contributions include "American Negro Songs and Spirituals" (1940) and "Jubilee" (1962). John Wesley Work III died on May 17, 1967.

Probably the most moving funeral song I have ever encountered is from Work, it is called "Soliloquy".

I will be posting a recording of it soon.

 

[Tank]

 

[Two Thumbs]

In honor of Black history month next month, I'm asking each member of USMB wear the portrait of an influential African American figure from America's history as an avatar for the 28 days of February. I've chosen Frederick Douglass as mine.

no

I dislike separating Americans by color and I find Black History month to be offensive and insulting.

Like blacks need a specific month to learn American history

 

[Statistikhengst]

There's this guy...

OUTSTANDING guy right there - - - ^

And let's not forget this great American either. He'd actually make a great president...

He's a smart guy, I have listened to some of his stuff.

 

[Two Thumbs]

they pulled themselves up out of the ghetto and never went back.

What you are supposed to try and do