Romare Bearden

Romare Bearden was an amazing artist who worked with many mediums, making social commentary on the lives of  African-Americans of his time.  He was educated at NYU, and in Paris, and was an Army veteran.  Bearden came by his political involvement rightly, as his mother, Bessye Bearden, was a founder and president of the Colored Women's Democratic League.  
In addition to being an accomplished fine artists, Bearden was a songwriter, cartoonist, and with his wife, created the Bearden Foundation to help support young artists.  

Bearden's art started as American Southern scenes and grew into mirrored feelings and critiques of the world around him.  His art often appears to be moving on it's own, giving a sense of the feelings behind the work.  This piece to the right is called Time for Bass.  It was inspired by the jazz Bearden heard and saw in clubs.

His collage work became his most popular style, and he was often credited as the foremost collagist.  This piece to the left entitled, Morning of Red Bird is a great example of his ability to combine elements of other pieces and make a beautiful collage.

His art can be found in many museums around the globe including, but not limited to, The Met, The Mint,  Saint Louis Art Museum, and The Library of Congress.

Adam Clayton Powell Sr.

An honourary member of the fraternal organization Alpha Phi Alpha, Adam Clayton Powell Sr. was a minister in New York city in the early 1900's. He was the founder of the National Urban League and an early pioneer of the NAACP.

As a wild youth Powell had a pension for gambling.  Around the age of 19 he found religion and converted to Christianity.  He graduated from a theology program in 1892 from Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C.

Powell married Mattie Fletcher and had two children together.  In 1893 he became pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Soon the once small congregation of 25 increased to 600 members.

In 1923, Powell moved Abyssinian Baptist to a new sanctuary at 132 West 138 Street in Harlem, New York.  With its new location, Powell brought many more new members to Abyssinian Baptist.  In the 1930s, the church membership expanded to 14,000, making it the single largest church congregation in the United States. 

Augustus Freeman Hawkins

Augustus Freeman Hawkins was a Democratic Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 21st district. He was the first African American to serve as the Californian representative in the Congress.  Hawkins was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and wrote over 300 state and federal laws in his time.  He was known to care for the well being of education and the poor.  Hawkins was known as the "silent warrior" because he was would rather work behind the scenes to reach his goals.

Hawkins was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and moved to California as a child.  He received a degree in economics from UCLA in 1931.  Originally planning on becoming an engineer, the Great Depression cut into his graduate school funding.  He became interested in politics and unseated the long sitting Republican.

"The leadership belongs not to the loudest, not to those who beat the drums or blow the trumpets, but to those who day in and day out, in all seasons, work for the practical realization of a better world— those who have the stamina to persist and remain dedicated. To those belong the leadership." - Augustus Freeman Hawkins

"White Slaves"

For most Americans it can be extremely uncomfortable to talk about slavery.  It is a period of our history we cannot ignore and we must all be educated fully on, in this author's opinion.  The forgotten history of slavery is that it was not just about dark skinned slaves.  At the time the slaves were freed half of the slave population had a white appearance; they moved out west and started a new life as "white people". Their history was largely lost and it is now estimated that between 10-20% of all white Americans have African-American ancestry.  This a photo from an orphanage in New Orleans in the 1860's showing black slave children who needed handouts to eat.

We are now practically living in the age of the movie "Gattaca".  It is now completely possible to find out your entire genetic background.  With only a $200 test you can finally find out where your grandfather's lineage begins.  I encouraged everyone, especially African-Americans, to get this amazing test!

 NY Daily News
Ancestry.com
23 And Me






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Ina Ray Hutton

Ina Ray Hutton was the band leader of the Melodears, one of the first all-female swing bands ever to be recorded and filmed.  She passed as white for her entire musical career during the 1930s through the 1960s. 

She was recorded as mulatto on her census records as a child, back when her name was Odessa Cowan.  Growing up in Chicago's South side she was first acquainted with music and performing at an early age.  Her mother was a piano player in dance halls and hotel ballrooms.  Odessa studied dance with Hazel Thompson Davis, a very prominent black teacher and choreographer.  Her first taste of fame was when she was published in the Defender at the age of seven.  Around the age of fourteen she made her Broadway debut and at sixteen she was a featured singer and dancer in George White's "Melody".  She began touring with the Melodears around eighteen years old and was known for doing several costume changes, something extremely unusual at that time.  She conducted the band with her whole body, making broad gestures and dancing all over the stage.  In the 1940s she dyed her hair brown and lead an all-male band. 

Her sister known as bot Elaine Merritt and June Hutton, was also a singer and member of the Melodears.