Today's Little Known Black History Fact

The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of American (Hungarian-born) publisher Joseph Pulitzer. There are 21 categories in which entries are submitted for consideration; the nominees are then selected from these entrants.

The first African American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Literature also holds the distinction of being the first African American woman.  Gwendolyn Brooks was awarded the prize in Poetry in 1950 for her work  Annie Allen.

Since 1950 Gwendolyn Brooks has been joined by other illustrious names, such as Scott Joplin in 1976 for Music, Alex Haley in 1977 for his book Roots, and Alice Walker in 1983 in the Fiction category for The Color Purple. In the history of the Pulitzer Prize, the list of African Americans who have been awarded one is quite long; unfortunately, there is a stain on that history. In 1981 Janet Leslie Cooke wrote a story entitled Jimmy's World which was supposedly the story of an 8 year old heroin addict; the story was false, and the Pulitzer Prize which Cooke had won for it had to be returned by the Washington Post.

While there were some who claimed that her actions led to black journalists not being as credible as before, it didn't stop Pulitzer Prizes from going to other black writers. As a matter fact, today's little known black history fact is about one of those writers.

On this day, March 31, 1988, Novelist Toni Morrison was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her book, Beloved.



For more information on:
Pulitzer Prize
Gwendolyn Brooks
Janet Cooke
Toni Morrison

LEATHER SHOES MADE FROM BLACK PEOPLE'S SKIN

Originally printed: [Philadelphia News.]
Printed in The Mercury, Saturday March 17, 1888

I remember that two or three years ago I incidentally referred to a prominent physician of this city wearing shoes made from the skin of negroes. He still adhered to that custom, insisting that the tanned hide of an African makes the most enduring and the most pliable leather known to man.

Shoes made from Big Nose George Parrott

Only last week I met him upon the street with a brand new pair of shoes. I looked at his foot wear, as I always do - his pedal coverings have an irresistible fascination for me - and said, with a smile:
"Is the down trodden African still beneath your feet?" In the most matter of fact way, and without the shadow of a smile, he answered: " I suppose you mean to inquire if I still wear shoes made of the skin of a negro. I certainly do, and I don't propose changing in that respect until I find a leather that is softer and will last longer and present a better appearance. I have no sentiment about this matter. Were I a Southerner - in the American sense of the word - I might be accused of being actuated by a race prejudice. But I am a foreigner by birth, although now an American citizen by naturalization. I fought in the rebellion that the blacks might be freed. I would use a white man's skin for the same purpose if it were sufficiently thick, and if any' one has a desire to wear my epidermis upon his feet after I have drawn my last breath he has my ante mortem permission."

The doctor's shoes always exhibit a peculiarly rich lustrousness in their blackness. He assures me that they never hurt his feet. The new pair he was using when I last saw him emitted no creaking sound and appeared as comfortable as though they had been worn a month. Their predecessors, he told me, had been in constant use for eight months. He obtains the skins from the bodies of negroes which have been dissected in one of our big medical colleges. The best leather is obtained from the thighs. The soles are formed by placing several layers of leather together. The skin is prepared by a tanner at Womseldorf, 16 miles from Reading. The shoes are fashioned by a French shoemaker of this city, who knows nothing of the true character of the leather, but who often wonders at its exquisite smoothness, and says that it excels the finest French calf-skin.

Do not for a moment think that this doctor presents an exceptional case of one who puts the human skin to a practical use. Medical students frequently display a great variety of articles in which in the skin or bones of some dissected mortal has been gruesomely utilized, and in bursts of generosity they sometimes present these to their friends, who prize them highly. One of the dudest dudes in town carries a match-safe covered with a portion of the skin of a beautiful young woman who was found drowned in the Delaware river. It still retains its natural colour. Another young man with whom I am acquainted carries a cigar case made of negro skin, a ghastly skull and crossbones appearing on one side in relief. One of the best known surgeons in this country, who resides in this city, has a beautiful instrument case, entirely covered with leather made from an African's skin. A young society lady of this city wears a beautiful pair of dark slippers, the remarkable lustrousuess of whose leather invariably excites the admiration of her friends when they see them. The young doctor who presented them to her recently returned from an extended foreign tour, and he told her that he had purchased them from a Turk in Alexandria, and that he did not know what sort of leather they were made of, but he supposed it was the skin of some wild animal. As a matter of fact, the skin came from a negro cadaver, which was once prone on a Jefferson College dissecting table, and the leather was prepared in Womseldorf. The rosettes on the slippers were deftly fashioned from the negro's kinky hair.

The Mercury, Saturday March 17 1888

For more information on this subject:
http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/question/apr13/index.htm
http://knowledgefullcircle.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/is-black-skin-being-used-and-sold-and-made-into-leather-products-today/

Retrieved from Facebook page Black Thought

Little Known Black History Facts

Who was the first magician to tour in the United States?

In 1783 in Hopkinton, Massachusetts Richard Potter was born. He was to become the first American-born magician to tour the United States, and yes, he was black. He was also the first American-born ventriloquist.

Okay, stop laughing; yes, there really are black ventriloquists! The most well-known of recent times  has been Willie Tyler and Lester. Willie Tyler was born in 1940, and got his first big break on the show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

Broadbill for Mr. Potter

As good as Willie Tyler and Lester are though, in my opinion they don't hold a candle to Mr. Richard Potter. This is a playbill (also called a "broadbill") for one of Potter's performances. Notice the phrase “to give an Evening’s Brush to Sweep away care.” ( Now that sounds like a date!!! ) Besides ventriloquism, Richard Potter performed many different tricks; as this playbill describes it "100 curious but mysterious experiments with cards, eggs, money, etc." The book "Conjure Times: The History of Black Magicians in America" written by James Haskins and Kathleen Benson in 2001 details some of the tricks performed by Richard Potter:

"Mr. Potter will perform the part of the anti-combustible Man Salamander [a mythical combination of human and reptile] and will pass a red hot bar of iron over his tongue, draw it through his hands repeatedly, and afterwards bend it into various shapes with his naked feet, as a smith would on an anvil. He will also immerse his hands and feet in molten lead, and pass his naked feet and arms over a large body of fire. He will also perform a variety of pleasing magical deceptions; which, to give a minute detail of, would fill a volume. The performer, not being willing to anticipate the pleasure the audience may receive from his performance, flatters himself that he is so well known in different parts of this country, as not to require the aid of a pompous advertisement. In addition to his magical and ventriloquist talents, he will introduce a number of songs and recitations."

Also from the book: 

"Other examples of Potter’s tricks, included: frying eggs in a beaver hat; thrusting a sword down his throat and drawing out yards of multicolored ribbons, then spitting out sparks and flames; appearing to swallow molten lead, using a special mixture of lead, bismuth, and block tin.”

To me he sounds more like David Copperfield than Willie Tyler!! He was a great magician for the times though, and a great ventriloquist. 

Richard Potter died at age 52 on Sept. 20, 1835.

For more information:

From The Root: 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro

Written By: Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Posted: March 24 2014 2:00 AM

                                      

Today In Black History

If you were to ask the average Joe walking down the street who the first black woman to win an Academy Award was, a lot of them could tell you; it was in 1939, and the actress was Hattie McDaniels who played in Gone With the Wind as the O'Hara's cook/nanny. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Now, who was the first black woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress? That's just a little tougher, isn't it? Today in Black History in 2001, the movie was Monster's Ball, and the winner was (drum-roll please) Halle Berry for Best Actress! Yes, in 2001 Halle Berry won the Oscar for playing  the role of Leticia Musgrove.

There was also another first that year for blacks in the Academy Awards. 2001 would be the first time that two black performers had won not just nominations, but Oscars for their leading rolls in their movies. Halle Berry won for Monster's Ball, and Denzel Washington won for Training Day!

There have been many triumphs over the years when it came to the Academy Awards, but in my opinion not nearly enough. Between 1958 and 2012 there were 4 black men who won an Oscar for Best Actor; Sidney Poitier - Lilies of the Field, Denzel Washington - Training Day, Jamie Foxx - Ray, and Forest Whitaker - Last King of Scotland. In the same period, 1958 - 2012, only one black woman won an Academy Award for Best Actress, and that was Halle Berry in Monster's Ball.

There have been 4 black producers whose films were nominated for Best Picture. They were Quincy Jones for the Color Purple, Lee Daniels - Precious, Broderick Johnson - The Blind Side, and Reginald Hudlin - Django Unchained. None of the films won.

And to add a little known black history fact:

In 1967, there were two black actresses nominated for Best Supporting Actress; one was for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? and the actress was Beah Richards. The other was for the film Thoroughly Modern Millie, and the actress was Carol Channing! (For more information, visit this Wikipedia page.)

List of African American Academy Awards Winners and Nominees

Little Known Black History Fact Of the Day

This is one that I know a LOT of people never knew, including myself! 

If asked what the first black newspaper was in America, what would you answer? It might be any one of several well-known papers; the Los Angeles Sentinel (1935-2005), the Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001), the Baltimore AfroAmerican (1893-1988), the Chicago Defender (1910-1975),  or the Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002). All of these newspapers hold various claims to fame, but the first black newspaper published in America was (drum roll please!) The Freedom Journal.

The Freedom Journal was the first black owned and operated newspaper in the United States. Its first edition came out on March 16th, 1827 in New York City, and was issued weekly until its demise in 1829. Samuel Cornish and John B. Russwurm were the co-editors until September 14th, 1827 when Cornish resigned. From 1829-1830 Cornish published The Rights of All.

Freedom's Journal provided international, national, and regional information on current events and contained editorials declaiming slavery, lynching, and other injustices. The Journal also published biographies of prominent African-Americans and listings of births, deaths, and marriages in the African-American New York community. Freedom's Journal circulated in 11 states, the District of Columbia, Haiti, Europe, and Canada.

For more information on Freedom's Journal, and other black owned and operated newspapers:

ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Freedom's Journal, the first African American newspaper

A Little Known Black History Fact

On this day in black history in 1959, the first play written by a woman of color premiered on Broadway. A Raisin in the Sun was the story of a black family living in a time of racial segregation in a large American city, in this case Chicago.  Lorraine Hansberry, the author, knew what it was like to grow up in an atmosphere of racism and segregation, as her family, in an attempt to move into a ‘better’ neighborhood, came up against a ‘racially restrictive covenant’ which stated that  people of color could not purchase or lease land in that community. The Hansberrys had challenged the restrictive covenant which led to the Supreme Court case of Hansberry v Lee. 

The name of the play came from a poem by author Langston Hughes in which he wrote: "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" (Wikipedia)

On March 11, 1959, A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway.

 

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Lorraine Hansberry. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_Hansberry