Susie King Taylor

 Susie Baker King Taylor  was a slave, teacher, nurse and author from Georgia during the Civil War.  She is a testament to black strength in the face of overwhelming odds.  As a young child she was taught how to read and write in an underground secret school even though it was illegal.  In 1862 she fled to Union-occupied St. Solomon Island.  When the Union Army discovered she could read, she was charged with the responsibility of educating other escape slaves, making her the first black teacher to work in an operating Freedmen School.  After teaching freedmen for a year she was sent by Union forces to assist the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops during their Civil War campaign.  For four years she served with the 33rd as a cook, assistant and nurse. Taylor  served four years in the Civil War and never received a penny for her services. After the war she continued her work, briefly opening up a school that taught children and adults.  This week Savannah decided to rename a downtown square after her.

Mamie Johnson

 Mamie Johnson played baseball for the Indianapolis Clowns in the Negro Leagues.   In 1953, at the age of 18, she was scouted by the Clowns.  She was one of only three women to play professional men's baseball. The integration of the Negro Leagues and the Major leagues shortened her career to three years.  Her inspirational story is written in a novel entitled A Strong Right Arm by Michelle Y. Green.  In 2008, Major League Baseball arranged a Negro League Draft in which all surviving Negro Leagues players were drafted by Major league teams.  Johnson was drafted to the Washington Nationals.  

Abolitionist: David Ruggles

David Ruggles was born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1810.  He believed that abolitionists should not just philosophize about the day slavery would end, but strive to help all the victims of human bondage. At the age of eighteen he opened a grocery shop in New York in order to further the anti-slavery movement growing in the Northeast.   The grocery shop circulated books and Anti-slavery publications for African-Americans who were denied access to the New York public libraries.  In addition to his anti-slavery book store, he served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.  He helped to bring at least six hundred enslaved people to freedom.  His support for abolition made him one of the most hated abolitionists in New York.  

Rose Robinson

CNN recently published an article on Eroseana “Rose” Robinson.  Her story is rarely discussed in classrooms and has been overlooked for years.  She was a great athlete and a track and field star.  In 1958, Robinson was invited to compete against the Soviet Union, when the Cold War was in full swing.  She didn’t want her athletic skills to represent the government that supported segregation and the war against Communism.  As a result, she declined the offer.  A half a year later she was brought up on tax evasion charges.  Rather than paying the $380 fine and leaving prison, she decided to stay in jail and begin a hunger strike. When newspapers began reporting on her hunger strike she was immediately released. Long before Colin Kaepernick there was Rose Robinson. She never returned to sports following the hunger strike in jail from which she never fully recovered.

1st Rhode Island Regiment

 Discussing segregated military units in the United States armed forces is an important component of American history.  The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was one of the earliest segregated units mobilized. Slaves were offered freedom and wages if they fought in the Continental Army.  Within a four-month period hundreds of formerly enslaved African Americans enlisted to support the fight for personal and national independence.  In December 1776, the British army seized control of Newport and was gaining momentum.  In response, the 1st Rhode Island was assigned to turn back the British and Hessian forces while maintaining strategic positions. After fighting in Rhode Island the regiment many continued to fight in New York and New Jersey.      

Anti-Segregation Pioneers

In the summer of 1854 Elizabeth Jennings challenged the segregation laws in New York City. She was a teacher and a religious person. On  July 16th, on her way to a church she was asked to board a different street car because of the segregation laws. She refused to leave the all white car and had to be physically removed from a car. She was injured when she resisted arrest.  Her arrest led to a successful civil suit against the City of New York.  

Claudette Colvin, is another unsung hero.  She refused to give up her seat on the bus a few months before Rosa Parks.  She was one of 5 people who challenged segregation laws in 1955. Read the article and listen to Claudette Colvin in a recently published article on CNN called Black women's roles in the civil rights movement have been understated -- but that's changing.

Alexander Augusta

The life of  Alexander Augusta was recently featured on the Brian Lehrer Show.  He is an Unsung Black Hero of Public Health.  He was an African American  Virginia native who had to learn to read and write under the cover of night. He had to travel to Canada for a more extensive education because American universities rejected him. His pursuit of education and social justice garnered Abraham Lincoln's attention.  As a result, Lincoln recruited him as a surgeon of the 7th U.S. Colored Regiment.  His burial at in Arlington Cemetery is a testament to his courage and bravery.  

 

Six Triple Eight

 During World War II (1945), a unit of the Women's Army Corps delivered for the troops.  The Army battalion of African American women played an important role to boost the troops' morale.  After the Normandy invasion logistical problems were common.  Processing mail for soldiers whose locations changed daily was an arduous task.  This battalion began with 855 members and grew to the thousands.  The women worked round the clock in eight hour shifts.  They managed and processed approximately 65,000 pieces of mail per session. They cleared a massive back log of mail stored in airplane hangers.  The women of the 6888th slept in separate barracks and ate in separate mess halls from the rest of the troops.  They came home to no parades, no speeches, and no recognition.  (Funny Note: There were 7,500 Robert Smiths to identify).  Interview with Lena King, WWII Vet, 6888th Mail Battalion.

Octavius Catto

The battle for equal rights in America is an ongoing struggle.    From the Civil War to today.  Over the years some protesters have received more attention then others.  Octavius Catto was a Civil Rights leader that is often left out of Civil Rights discussions.   He was born in South Carolina.   His family moved north when he was a child.  He enrolled in school and educated himself at the Institute for Colored Youth and in Washington D.C.  He studied Latin and Greek and went on to become a teacher.  In the summer of 1863,  he successfully helped the Union recruit black regiments.  Although he did not fight in the Civil War, he was awarded the rank of Major for his efforts.  After the Civil War he organized protests against segregation laws in the public transit system of Philadelphia.  He also worked to register black people to vote in the election of 1871.  While working for political equality he was targeted by local party bosses and shot in cold blood.  His work was inspired and courageous.   I found this in an article referencing the book Tasting Freedom: Catto and the Battle for Equality in the Civil War America.

Roosevelt Franklin

Roosevelt Franklin was designed and voiced by Matt Robinson to represent Black youth on Sesame Street.  He appeared on the show in the 1970s.  People still remember him today.  I believe we should communicate with children in whatever ways they understand.  Including unsung heroes achieves that goal.  Children need to see themselves in history lessons.

Determined Doctor

The life of  Alexander Augusta is inspiring and valuable to remember.  He was an African American in the late 1800's.  Augusta was a doctor, teacher, leader and hero.  He was a Virginia native who served as a surgeon of the 7th U.S. Colored Regiment.  His pursuit of education and social justice was sparked by his own personal convictions.  His burial at in Arlington Cemetery is a testament to his courage and bravery.

                                                     

Thar He

The story of Emmett Till is known and well documented.   Emmett was a African American boy from the North who traveled south to Money, Mississippi.  He was brutally murdered by 2 ignorant racists for no rational reason.   When his assailants were acquitted, justice was clearly not served.

However, did you know about Moses Wright?

Moses Wright

During the trial of Emmett Till something historic occurred.   For the 1st time in American history an African American accused a white man of a crime in open court.  Moses Wright was a very brave man.  He knew his actions could have consequences, but he testified anyway.  In the face of some of the most vicious racists Moses Wright pointed and accused 2 white males of murder.  He said "Thar He"  Before there were sit-in's, marches, and Freedom Riders there was Moses Wright.