“If you can control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one.”
-Carter Godwin Woodson, The Mis-Education of the Negro
The Iota Iota Chapter Presents
Black History Facts!
Roberta Cleopatra Flack is an American singer known for her #1 singles-The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Killing Me Softly with His Song and Feel Like Makin’ Love. Flack was the first, and remains the only, solo artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year on two consecutive years: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face won at the 1973 Grammys as did Killing Me Softly with His Song at the 1974 Grammys. #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory
Hill Harper is an American film, television and stage actor, and author. He is best known for his nine-season role as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on the CBS police procedural television series “CSI: NY”.
Although Harper earned three Ivy League degrees, he decided to pursue acting and moved to Los Angeles.
Harper won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for three consecutive years (2008–2010) for his portrayal of Dr. Sheldon Hawkes. In 2014 his book, Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
Located on St. Augustine’s College campus, St. Agnes Hospital first opened its doors in October 1896 and served as a hospital and nurse training center for African Americans. By the 1920s, St. Agnes hospital was the largest hospital for blacks between Atlanta and Washington. In 1961 the hospital closed when the Wake County Medical Center opened. St. Agnes Hospital was declared a Raleigh Historic Landmark in 1979.
The first African American Miss America was Vanessa Williams in 1984. When controversial photos surfaced and Williams resigned, Suzette Charles, the runner-up and also an African American, assumed the title
Minnie Riperton (1947-1979), was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single “”Lovin’ You””. She is perhaps best remembered for having an incredible five octave vocal range, and the rare ability to sing in very high registers. She is the mother of well known actress and comedienne, Maya Rudolph.”
The Bud Billiken Day parade is the oldest and largest African American parade in the United States. It began in 1929 with the purpose of providing “underprivileged youth with the chance to be in the limelight.” It is held the second Saturday of every August in Chicago, Illinois.
In 2013 at age nine, Quvenzhané Wallis became the Academy Awards’ youngest nominee for Best Actress. In 2014, she played the title character in a remake of the musical Annie. #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory
Richard Potter (1783-1835) was the first professional American-born magician and is also credited with being our first successful ventriloquist. His fame was such that the town of Potter Place, New Hampshire, still carries his name. His tricks included dipping his hands into molten lead, crawling through solid logs, and causing men’s hats to speak. Perhaps one of his most famous feats was dancing on a pile of eggs without cracking a single shell.
Mamie “Peanut” Johnson (1935 – 2017) was an American professional baseball player who was one of three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro Leagues #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory
The Nat King Cole Show ran for 64 weeks in 1956 and 1957 on NBC, making him the first African-American entertainer to star in his own television series
Rita Frances Dove (born 1952) is an American poet and author. From 1993 to 1995 she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Dove is the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1987, and she served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006.
The Negro Motorist Green Book was an annual guidebook for African-American roadtrippers, commonly referred to simply as the Green Book. It was originated and published by New York City mailman Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1966, when open discrimination against non-whites was widespread, and African Americans faced a variety of dangers and inconveniences along the road, from refusal of food and lodging to arbitrary arrest.
Noble Johnson (1881-1978) was one of the first black actors to attain the status of “star”. In 1914 he landed his first role in the successful Universal Pictures film “The Eagles Nest”. He launched the Lincoln Motion Picture Company in 1915 which produced successful films in which he played the leading role.
Robert Louis Johnson (born 1946) is an American entrepreneur, media magnate, executive, philanthropist, investor, and the first black American billionaire. He is the co-founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television). He also founded RLJ Companies, a holding company that invests in various business sectors. Johnson is the former majority owner of NBA team the Charlotte Bobcats.
In 2017 Donald Glover, writer and director of the FX series “Atlanta,” became the first ever African-American to win the Emmy for outstanding director for a comedy series. #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory
Countee Cullen (1903-1946) was a writer and poet active during the Harlem Renaissance. Though he wrote on universal themes, he believed in the richness and importance of his African American heritage; deftly applying traditional forms of verse (poetry), using melodic meter and rhyme with African American themes.
Howard University graduate and jazz drummer Warren Shadd, is owner of SHADD Pianos and Keyboards, and is the first African-American piano manufacturer. That makes him the first large-scale commercial African-American instrument manufacturer.
Antron Brown (born March 1, 1976) is an American drag racer. He is known for winning the 2012, 2015 and 2016 Top Fuel championships. Antron is the sport’s first Black American champion. #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory
