This is Nat Turner. He was an educated preacher, most likely taught to read by his Master Turner’s son. Sold by the Turner family to a less prosperous farmer and sold again to a Southampton craftsman named Joseph Travis. Nat Turner was exposed to his new slave masters and overseers that really tortured and punished their slaves. He was then conflicted about being brought to preach to the slaves about God’s love and what his previous owners held him in high regard for. Subsequently Nat saw himself as the catalyst for change for his people. Following an eclipse he saw as a sign from the lord he led a team of slaves in Virginia in August 1831 and killed between 55 and 65 White people including women and children, making it the deadliest slave revolt in US History. Once captured he was obviously tortured, hung, and killed. His corpse was given to doctors for dissection and his body parts were distributed among White families. His skin was made into souvenirs such as purses and lampshades. His flesh was made into grease and his bones were divided into “trophies” to be handed down as heirlooms. It is even said his flesh was eaten as well 😳. There was widespread fear in the aftermath of the rebellion. Militia and mobs killed as many as 120 enslaved people and free so-called Black people in retaliation. Because Turner was educated and was a preacher, Southern state legislatures subsequently passed new laws prohibiting the education of enslaved people, restricting rights of assembly and other civil liberties for freed slaves. Requiring White ministers to be present at all worship services. It is known as one of the most significant rebellions in US history.
Black History 365 | # 104 Fred Hampton
Did you know when Fred Hampton was 19 years old he became the president of his NAACP Youth Council? A year after that he was recruited by Bobby Rush, a founder of the Chicago Illinois chapter of The Black Panther Party. He had so much charisma when he spoke that he quickly rose through the ranks and at age 21 he began to build and lead the chapters members. In 1969 he aligned himself with a coalition of activists within the same economic class but different racial background. Their name was The Rainbow Coalition (The Black Panthers, The Young Lords, and The Young Patriots). Then the FBI, under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover deemed The Black Panther Party the number one threat to the internal security of the United States of America. Their tactics to destroy the Panthers were straight up unlawful. Several of the party’s leaders were killed or imprisoned under false pretense. On December 4th Fred Hampton was met with ninety bullets in his bed laying next to his 9-month pregnant wife. History has shown us time and time again when people are effective in creating change within their local communities they are killed. And the darker they are the more brutal the punishment. Across cultures. This was 55 years ago. This is our recent history.
Black History 365 | # 103 Hattie McDaniel
This is Hattie McDaniel, she is the first black actress to win an Oscar. It was for her role as Mammy in Gone With The Wind. She was not allowed to attend the ceremony. Yikes. When she died she requested to be buried in Hollywood Cemetery she was denied due to the graveyard restrictions of being whites-only at the time. Yikes-Yikes.
Black History 365 | # 102 George Washington's Teeth (Fact or Fiction)
Did you know George Washington’s teeth started to rot and fall out before he was 30 years old? We were taught that he had wooden teeth. That is incorrect and we were misinformed. George Washington had the teeth of slaves in his mouth. Sources now conclude that George Washington’s wooden teeth was a myth, and that he PROBABLY had animal teeth and maybe some human teeth in there. What do you think is true?
Black History 365 | #74 Raymond Lee Washington
This is Raymond Lee Washington, best known as the founder of The Crips. Washington was born August 14, 1953 in Los Angeles to Violet Samuel and Reginald Washington. He had three older brothers from his mother’s first marriage and one younger half-brother from his mother’s second marriage. Growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950s Washington came to be known for getting into fights. His penchant for fighting led to his being routinely expelled from school for fighting and later being sent to Juvenile Detention Camps. In the late 1960s, Washington, now a teenager, admired the Black Panthers and their attempt to bring social change through their militant positions. Washington sought to emulate these tactics, eventually joining the Avenues street gang led by Craig Munson. However, Washington got in a fight with Munson’s brother, and afterwards decided to leave the gang to start his own group known as the Baby Avenues. The youthful aspect of the gang’s membership then led to their adopting the name the Avenue Cribs, which finally became the Crips. On August 9, 1979 Washington was shot by an unknown assailant in a drive-by shooting in LA. Though he was taken to a nearby hospital, the gunshot proved fatal. He died five days before his 26th birthday. Washington’ death marked the end of the unification of the Crips as the various branches began fighting one another and also the end of hand to hand combat, disputes began to be held with guns.