Mary’s “Did You Know?”: Dick Gregory

Posted on Feb 10, 2015 in Black History Month, Blog | Tags: , , , ,

marys-photoRICHARD CLAXTON GREGORY, was born October 12, 1932 in St. Louis, MO. We know him as DICK GREGORY, the comedian, activist, and now he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
 
Dick Gregory has at last been recognized for his sacrifices, hunger strikes, activism, and his comedic talents. He has used his celebrity status to advance social causes in which he so strongly believes. He’s always a willing listener, is generous in sharing his knowledge, and is an overall a great guy.
 
I have met Mr. Gregory on several occasions, and he’s always been open and friendly. He even shared some of his vegetarian lunch with me on a flight from Chicago once.
 
The first Black comedian to earn more than $1 million a year, in the early 1970’s Dick Gregory left that lucrative career to focus his efforts on such social justice issues as race relations, world hunger, drug abuse, health care, and more. He uniquely used his comedic background to convey his messages on the issues for which he continues to fight today.
 
 
(Contributing Writer: Mary Bates-Washington)

Mary’s “Did You Know?”: Mary Church Terrell

Posted on Feb 6, 2015 in Black History Month, Blog | Tags: , , , ,

marys-photoMy husband attended Terrell Junior High on First & K Streets, NW, not far from the Capitol, and I’ve often wondered for whom it was named. Well, now I know: an educator named MARY CHURCH TERRELL, who said:
 
“I cannot help wondering sometimes what I might have become and might have done if I had lived in a country which had not circumscribed and handicapped me on account of my race, that had allowed me to reach any height I was able to attain.”
 
Born Mary Eliza Church on September 23, 1863, in Memphis, Tennessee, she was the daughter of small-business owners Robert Reed Church and his wife, Louisa Ayers, former slaves who taught her the value of a good education. They sent her to Antioch College Model School in Yellow Springs, OH, for early and secondary education. She became one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, with a bachelor’s degree in 1884 and in 1888, a master’s degree in education, both at Oberlin College. She studied in Europe for two years, where she became fluent in French, German, and Italian.
 
Shortly after receiving her second degree, in Washington, she met Robert Heberton Terrell, a talented attorney, and they were married in Tennessee in 1891. They lived in Washington, where she became an influential educator, and he eventually became Washington’s first black municipal judge. In 1949, she was the first African American to be admitted to the Washington chapter of the American Association of University Women.
 
At DC’s M Street High School, she was teacher and later principal of this top academic high school. She taught also at historically black Wilberforce College in Ohio. Founded by Methodists, it was eventually owned and operated by the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
 
In addition to her outstanding career in education, Terrell was an activist and suffragist. In 1896, she founded the National Association of Colored Women and became its first president. At W.E.B. DuBois’ suggestion, she was also a charter member of the NAACP.
 
In 1950, at age 86, Mrs. Terrell was refused service by a whites-only restaurant. She and other activists filed a lawsuit which eventually led to a ruling that all segregation in restaurants in the city were unconstitutional. Her activism also earned her a place on a committee that investigated alleged police mistreatment of African Americans.
 
On July 24, 1954, in Annapolis, MD, Mrs. Terrell died after witnessing and being a part of some life major civil rights changes, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling on May 17, 1954, which ended segregation in schools.
 
Today, Mary Church Terrell’s home located at 326 T Street in LeDroit Park, has been named a National Historic Landmark.
 
And now you know: Mary Church Terrell — outstanding educator/activist/suffragist.
 
Sources: SPARTACUS-EDUCATIONAL.COM; Wikipedia
 
(Contributing Writer: Mary Bates-Washington)

Mary’s “Did You Know?”: Rosa Parks

Posted on Feb 5, 2015 in Black History Month, Blog | Tags: , , , ,

marys-photoYesterday was the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Rosa Louise McCauley, born February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, AL. We know her as famed civil rights activist, ROSA PARKS, whose refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a public bus in Montgomery, AL spurred a citywide boycott, and helped launch nationwide efforts to end the segregation of public facilities.
 
Mrs. Parks was a delightful, quiet-spoken, well groomed lady who insisted that she was not trying to be an activist, she was simply tired after a long day’s work. On a number of occasions, I was blessed to sit with [Mrs. Parks] and hear stories of significant events in her life.
 
In her memory, Metro DC [WMATA] dedicated a bus which is reminiscent of the one on which she was arrested (The Rosa Parks Metrobus). I have had the privilege to portray Mrs. Parks seated on that bus. For me, it was a surreal event as people boarded and thanked my character for the determination that led to a major change in the transportation industry in Montgomery, AL and around the country.
 
Speaking about that day in 1955, President Barack Obama said: “In a single moment, with the simplest of gestures, she helped change America and change the world.”
 
Rosa Parks was a woman whose character led her to take a stand, to sit down, so that we may walk in pride with our heads held high. We thank you, God, for placing Rosa McCauley Parks in our midst.
 
SOURCES: Academy of Achievement; Organizing for Action, barackobama.com; goodreads.com (For more information on Rosa Parks, check out CBN.com)
 
(Contributing Writer: Mary Bates-Washington)

Mary’s “Did You Know?”: Carter G Woodson

Posted on Feb 3, 2015 in Black History Month, Blog | Tags: , , ,

marys-photoDo you remember celebrating Negro History Week in school? Thanks to DR. CARTER GODWIN WOODSON I did just that until I graduated from high school in 1958. In 1926, he announced that it would be celebrated the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Fifty years later – 1976 — it became Black History Month.

DR. CARTER G. WOODSON is considered the “father of black history”. The son of former slaves, he was born in New Canton, Virginia on December 19, 1875 and grew up working on the family’s small farm. He had a special interest in the history of African-Americans, but was able to attend school only four months a year. He had a great appetite for learning, but wasn’t able to begin formal education until he was 20.

He completed high school in just two years, and enrolled in Berea College where he earned a bachelor’s degree. At the University of Chicago, he was awarded a second undergraduate degree and a master’s degree. He later studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1912, he became the second African-American ever to earn a PhD at Harvard University. Supporting himself as a school teacher and principal, he taught in the Philippines for a short time. He also taught in DC’s segregated public school system, while doing research for his dissertation at the Library of Congress.

The consummate historian, author, and journalist, Woodson was the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and Journal of Negro History. His home in the Nation’s Capital is being preserved as a National Historic Site by the National Park Service. Carter G. Woodson’s residence is on Ninth Street, NW, just a few doors north of the historic Shiloh Baptist Church, where his funeral was held following his death on April 3, 1950.
 
(Contributor: Mary Bates-Washington)

Mary’s “Did You Know?”: Bo Diddley

Posted on Feb 2, 2015 in Black History Month, Blog | Tags: , , ,

marys-photoDid you know: Bo Diddley lived in three different places in DC from 1957 or 1958 until somewhere around 1966? He had a recording studio in two of them: 2614 Rhode Island Ave., NE, and 812 Rittenhouse St., NW. He also had an apartment in Mount Pleasant at 1724 Newton St., NW. He was born Ellas Bates in Mississippi and raised in Chicago.

 
Check out Washington Post columnist John Kelly’s January 31st writing “Remembering innovative guitarist Bo Diddley’s time in Washington”, on which this summary was based.
 
(Contributor: Mary Bates-Washington)