107 Jamz Celebrates Black History Month – Today In Black History February 27th [VIDEO]
This Black History month we salute African Americans who made and continue to make, American history.
The years 1735, 1738, and 1807 is believed to be the birthday of Prince Hall, founder of Prince Hall Freemasonry.
1833 Maria W. Steward became the first woman, of any race, to lecture on politics in public.
Maria W. Steward was a domestic servant, turned teacher, journalist, lecturer, abolitionist, and women's rights activist. Steward delivered one of the four speeches on this day, at the African Masonic Hall in Boston.to a mixed crowd of men and woman. Steward's most notable being, On African Rights and Liberty. She would not only be the first woman to do so, but the first African American as well. Her lectures encouraged African Americans to seek education, fight for their political rights, and get public recognition for their achievements.
Below learn more about her story.
In 1869 John Willis Menard became the first Black elected to the U.S. Congress
John Willis was a poet, newspaper publisher and politician of Louisiana Creole heritage. He was born free in Illinois. After moving to his parents native birth place, New Orleans, he took on several jobs to include working as a federal government employee, and newspaper publisher. In 1868 he was the first black man ever elected to the United States House of Representatives.
He was a member of the Republican Party(during this time all blacks were Republicans,) serving as inspector of customs and later commissioner of streets. Menard would be denied a seat in Congress. His opponent contested his election, and opposition to his election prevented him from being seated. Below learn more about his story.
In 1871 Menard moved to Florida, where he was appointed to the Florida House of Representatives. He would later become editor of two publications/newspapers, the Island City News and Southern Leader. Menard ran for re-election to his office, but lost greatly due to white intimidation and voter suppression. However in 1877 he ran for Duval County justice of the peace, and he won. He died on Oct. 8, 1893 at age 55, in Washington, D.C.
In 1902 on this day Marian Anderson, a world-renowned opera singer, became the first African American soloist to perform at the White House.
Marian Anderson, was is born in Philadelphia, PA. Below is a video of her singing in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
In 1964 Anna Julia Cooper, American author, educator, speaker, died at the age of 105.
Anna Julia Cooper was one of the most prominent African-American scholars in United States history. She was also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Her most notable speech was delivered at the World's Congress of Representative Women in Chicago in 1893 (she was one of three black women invited to speak).
At age of sixty-five, she became the fourth black woman in American history to earn a Doctorate of Philosophy degree. On this day in 1964, she died at the ripe old age of 105. Her memorial was held in a chapel on the campus of Saint Augustine's College, where her academic career began. She was buried alongside her husband, at the City Cemetery in Raleigh.
Believe it or not, pages 26 and 27, of every new United States passport, contains her following quotation: "The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class - it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity." Because of her contributions, in 2009, the United States Postal Service, released a commemorative stamp in Cooper's honor.