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101 Facts: 69-38
"Little Known"
Fact #69
Harriet Ann Jacobs (1813 – 1897) was a slave who published “Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl” in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent. The book chronicles the hardships and sexual abuse she experienced as a female growing up in slavery. Jacobs fled slavery in 1835 by hiding in a crawlspace in her grandmother’s attic for nearly seven years before traveling to Philadelphia by boat, and eventually to New York. Jacobs was active in feminist anti-slavery movements.
Fact #68
Josiah Henson (1789 – 1883 ) fled slavery in Maryland in 1830 and founded a settlement in Ontario, Canada for fugitive slaves. His autobiography “The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself” (1849) is believed to have been Harriet Beecher Stowe’s inspiration for the main character in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Henson’s cabin in Maryland still stands today and is a national landmark. Josiah Henson’s grandson, Mathew Henson, was part of the first successful U.S. expedition to the North Pole in 1909.
Fact #67
Cathay Williams (1842 –?? ) was the first and only known female Buffalo Soldier. She was born into slavery and worked for the Union army during the Civil War. She posed as a man and enlisted as Williams Cathay in the 38th infantry in 1866. She was given a medical discharge in 1868.
Fact #66
Walker Smith Jr. (1921 – 1989) became known as Sugar Ray Robinson he borrowed his friend Ray Robinson’s Amateur Athletic Union card and became the Golden Glove Lightweight champion in 1940 under the borrowed name. Smith’s boxing style was described as “sweet as sugar” and the name Sugar Ray Robinson stuck. Considered the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951 and was middleweight champion five times between 1951 and 1960 –the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times.
Fact #65
Ray Charles Robinson (1930 – 2004) a musical genius and pioneer in blending gospel and the blues shortened his name to just Ray Charles to prevent confusion with the great boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. Ray Charles began going blind at an early age and was completely blind by the time he was 7 years old, but has never relied upon a cane, or a guide dog. He was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in 1986.
Fact #64
Buffalo Soldiers is a name respectfully given to the African–American cavalries during the 1800s by the Native American Kiowa tribe. These soldiers received second class treatment and were often given the worst military assignments, but had the lowest desertion rate compared to their white counterparts. The Buffalo Soldiers served in the Spanish American war, various Indian wars and helped to settle the west by installing telegraph lines, and protecting wagon trains and new settlements. More than 20 Buffalo Soldiers have received the highest military award, the medal of Honor –the most any military unit has ever received.
Fact #63
Nancy Green (1834 – 1923) a former slave, was employed in 1893 to promote the Aunt Jemima brand by demonstrating the pancake mix at expositions and fairs. She was a popular attraction because of her friendly personality, great story-telling, and warmth. Green signed a lifetime contract with the pancake company and her image was used for packaging and billboards. In 1923 she was struck by a car in downtown Chicago.
Fact #62
George Monroe and William Robinson are thought to be the first black Pony Express riders. At one point Monroe was also a stagecoach driver for President Ulysses S. Grant and would navigate through the curving Wanona Trail in the Yosemite Valley. Monroe Meadows in Yosemite National Park is named for George Monroe.
Fact #61
Wally Amos “Famous Amos” (1936 – ) creator of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies, was a talent agent at the William Morris Agency where he worked with the likes of The Supremes, Simon & Garfunkel, and various child stars. He founded his cookie company in 1975 with a recipe from his aunt.
Fact #60
In the mid 1800s Philadelphia was known as “The Black Capital of Anti–Slavery,” because of the strong abolitionist presence there and such groups as The Philadelphia Female Anti–Slavery Society, The Philadelphia Young Men’s Anti–Slavery Society and The Philadelphia Anti–Slavery Society.
Fact #59
The “306 Group” was a guild–like club that provided support and apprenticeship for African–American artists during the 1940s. It was founded by the artist Charles Alston at 306 West 141st street in Harlem and served as a studio and meeting place for some of the 20th century’s most prominent African–American artists such as the poet Langston Hughes, the sculptor Augusta Savage, the painter Jacob Lawrence, and the collage artist Romare Bearden.
Fact #58
Jazz, an African–American musical form born out of the Blues, Ragtime, and marching bands originated in Louisiana during the turn of the 19th century. The word Jazz is a slang term that at one point referred to a sexual act.
Fact #57
Nat Love “Deadwood Dick” (1854 – 1921 ) a renowned and skilled cowboy, was the only African–American cowboy to write his autobiography, “The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as Deadwood Dick”, published in 1907.
Fact #56
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) was stabbed by an African–American woman in 1958 while attending his book signing at Blumstein’s department store in Harlem. The next year Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King visited India to study Ghandi’s nonviolence philosophy.
Fact #55
Paul Cuffee (1759 – 1817) an African–American, philanthropist, ship captain, and devout Quaker transported 38 free African–Americans to Sierra Leone, Africa in 1815 in the hopes of establishing Western Africa. He also founded the first integrated school in Massachusetts in 1797.
Fact #54
Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1899 – 1993) was considered the “Father of Gospel Music” for combining sacred words with secular rhythms. His most famous composition, “Take My Hand Precious Lord” was recorded by the likes of Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson and many others.
Fact #53
McKinley Morganfield “Muddy Waters” (1913 – 1983) is considered the “Father of Chicago Blues” with his infusion of the electric guitar into the Delta country blues. Muddy Waters was influential to some of the most popular rock bands, such as the Rolling Stones, who named themselves after his popular 1950 song “Rollin’ Stone.”
Fact #52
Chester Arthur Burnett "Howlin' Wolf" (1910 -1976) was one of the most important blues singer, songwriter and musician, influencing some of the most popular rock groups like The Beatles. Unlike many blues artists, Howlin’ Wolf maintained his financial success throughout his life and lived a modest married life, avoiding drugs and alcohol.
Fact #51
According to the American Community Survey, in 2005 there were 2.4 million black military veterans in the United States -the highest of any minority group.
Fact #50
Bill Pickett (1871 - 1932) a renowned cowboy and rodeo performer was named to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1971 and honored by the U.S. Postal service in a series of stamps as one of the twenty "Legends of the West"
Fact #49
Mayme Clayton (1923 – 2006), a Los Angeles librarian and historian, amassed an extensive and valuable collection of Black Americana, including a signed copy of the first book published by an African–American, a collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley. The Mayme A. Clayton Library and Cultural Center in Los Angeles houses the rare books, photographs, films and memorabilia.
Fact #48
“Strange Fruit” the song about black lynching in the south made famous by blues singer Billie Holiday was originally a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx.
Fact #47
Buffalo Soldiers is the name given to the all-black regiments of the U.S. Army started in 1866. More than 20 Buffalo Soldiers received the highest Medal of Honor for their service –the highest number of any U.S. military unit. The oldest living Buffalo Soldier, Mark Matthews, died at the age of 111 in 2005.
Fact #46
Isaac Murphy (1861 – 1896), a great thoroughbred jockey, was the first to win three Derbies and the only jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Oaks, and the Clark Handicap within the same year.
Fact #45
Lewis and Clark were accompanied by York, a black slave, when they made their 1804 expedition from Missouri to Oregon. York’s presence aided in their interactions with the Native Americans they encountered.
Fact #44
Jack Johnson (1878 – 1946), the first African–American heavyweight champion, patented a wrench in 1922.
Fact #43
Jesse Jackson (1941 - ) successfully negotiated the release of Lieutenant Robert O. Goodman, Jr., an African-American pilot who had been shot down over Syria and taken hostage in 1983.
Fact #42
The banjo originated in Africa and up until the 1800s was considered an instrument only played by blacks.
Fact #41
Lewis Howard Latimer (1848 – 1928) drafted patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, while working at a patent law firm. He also patented an improved way to produce carbon filaments for light bulbs.
Fact #40
Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr. (1923 – ), a physicist, mathematician and an engineer, earned a PhD. in mathematics at age 19 from the University of Chicago in 1942.
Fact #39
Muhammad Ali (1942 – ) the self–proclaimed “greatest [boxer] of all time” was originally named after his father, who was named after the 19th century abolitionist and politician Cassius Marcellus Clay.
Fact #38
Black History Month originated in 1926 by Carter Godwin Woodson as Negro History Week. The month of February was chosen in honor of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, who were both born in that month.
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