Black America Web » Little Known Black History Facts

Little Known Black History Fact: The Red Bank Avenue Cemetery

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:04:50 +0000

The Cemetery on Red Bank Avenue in Woodsbury, New Jersey was founded in 1832. The land was the final resting place for 47 blacks before and after Emancipation. Eleven Civil War veterans and a prominent AME bishop were buried there, which is now a hospital parking garage. In 1962, those buried were transferred to the Presbyterian Cemetery on North Broad Street.

A plaque at the new Broad Street Cemetery honors those blacks who were buried on what was considered sacred ground of the past. Now an effort is underway to put a historical marker at the original cemetery at the parking garage. Gloria Holmes of the Woodbury African-American Oral History Project has been working for nearly a decade to get recognition for the past burial grounds.

Holmes addressed the Woodbury City Council to appeal for a historical marker at the parking garage at the Inspira Medical Center Woodbury.

Little Known Black History Fact: John Blanke, Black Trumpeter

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:43:05 +0000

John Blanke, a Black trumpeter, was a regular musician at the courts of both Henry VII and Henry VIII. His name was found in the Treasurer of the Chamber, the ledger that noted the payments of the court musicians. Several payments were recorded to quote “John Blanke, the black trumpeter.” John Blanke was paid $8 per day, first by Henry VII in November 1507 and then from 1509 by Henry VII.

John Blanke was one of the earliest recorded black people in England after the Roman period. A painting on the Westminster Tournament Roll exists of Blanke performing at Henry VIII Westminster Tournament in 1511. The roll is an illuminated manuscript 60 feet in length that records the royal procession to the event in 1511. The event was held to celebrate the birth of a son, Henry, Duke of Cornwall, to Catherine and Henry VIII.

In the roll’s depiction, John Blanke is the only trumpeter that wears a brown and yellow turban. He is seen twice in the roll. The second time he wears a green and gold head covering.

Little Known Black History Fact: Joyland Park

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:18 +0000

At 33RD street and Wabash Avenue in Chicago lived the first black amusement park called Joyland. Joyland Park was established in 1923 by W.C.S. & S Amusement Company. Joyland was designed to entertain the growing number of African Americans in the Bronzeville neighborhood of south side Chicago.

It was “come one, come all” for free attractions with performances by the Joyland Jazzers and dance halls. The park would showcase a merry-go-round, Venetian swing, whip and ferris wheel. It was called “a better alernative to the city cabarets,” though the owners of those venues would put up a fight against the new family-friendly parks. Some politicians and vaudeville owners lobbied against Joyland’s license renewals because it was taking away their local customers.

Little Known Black History Fact: The Life of Benjamin Holmes

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:59:58 +0000

Benjamin Holmes was a slave and a tailor’s apprentice born around 1846. Throughout his life, he would serve many different owners. The South Carolina native was purchased by a hotel owner and moved to Tennessee. Through illegal curiosity, Holmes would teach himself to read and write by reading the signs and words on the doors until he figured out how to spell.

As his life story goes, Benjamin Holmes’ owner was sent off to fight for the Confederacy and Holmes was left to work in the hotel. He was resold to slave traders and treated like an animal. He was fed cow’s head, boiled grits and rice, and locked in a slave pen. Somehow during his enslavement, he managed to obtain a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, discovering the government stance on slavery and was left to find work elsewhere. He would eventually volunteer as a valet for Union General Jefferson Columbus Davis.

Little Known Black History Fact: Church Bombing Victims Honored

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:11:30 +0000

In the midst of the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham civil rights movement comes an honor for the four little victims that died in 1963. On Thursday, May 9th, the Senate approved to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair. The 420-0 vote is now in the hands of the president for an official sign-off.

The four young girls, ranging from ages 11-14, died when a bomb planted by racists exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham on September 15, 1963. The bomb blew a hole through a wall in the church and injured 22 people.

Little Known Black History Fact: Milwaukee’s Own Claretta Simpson, Community Activist

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Sun, 12 May 2013 22:30:38 +0000

Claretta Simpson was born in 1901 in Smedes, Miss. Her tireless work in civil rights with Dr. TRM Howard (a former professor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) and the SCLC’s Operation Breadbasket, earned her the name “Mother Freedom.”

A deep civil rights activist, Simpson moved to Milwaukee, Wis. to serve the poverty-stricken community and to help underserved children. In 1970, Mother Freedom started Career Youth Development Inc., a social service program for poor families struggling with the worst perils of society. She started the business in her home with her own social security check. Her company slogan was “Love In Action.” After receiving a $28,000 grant from the U.S. government, the program has stayed alive for over 40 years and offers over 40 programs to help families in need. They grew to serve with over a $2 million budget.

In her first years of arriving in Milwaukee, Simpson was active in the integration of Milwaukee schools. She was part of a 30-day sit-in with the Milwaukee school board for school integration issues. The black students were being sent to the white schools to learn, but were not allowed to eat there.

Little Known Black History Fact: Blind Boone, Musical Wonder

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:05 +0000

John William Boone was born on a federal camp in Miami, Missouri to Rachel Boone Hendricks, a runaway slave, who was owned by descendants of Daniel Boone. Once his mother moved to Warrensburg, Missouri, John was diagnosed with “brain fever” (which was later called cerebral meningitis). The only way his mother could save his life was to have his eyes removed. Baby John lost his sight, but not his intelligence.

His mother would provide him with musical instruments as a toddler, and he began making music at age 3. He imitated birds with a tin whistle and learned music tunes. It was only a matter of time before John Boone would start his own band. Recognizing his talent, the fathers of Warrensburg, Missouri got together and purchased a train ticket for John so he could study at the Missouri School for the Blind in St. Louis.

A gifted student, Boone wanted desperately to play music on the school’s piano, but they forced him to make brooms. He was taken on as a secret student by one of the older students and would play back music after only hearing it one time. One year, after returning from break, Boone found that the new superintendent banned blacks at the Missouri School for the Blind from playing the piano. So John Boone sought other ways to feed his love of music.

Little Known Black History Fact: Richie Havens, Legendary Folk Singer

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Thu, 09 May 2013 03:16:14 +0000

On August 15,1969 black folk music singer Richie Havens opened the legendary Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York. Woodstock Music & Arts Festival was considered by many as the most pivotal point in mainstream music history. Havens was supposed to be the fifth act of the show, but due to a technical issue, he kicked off the festival for over 500,000 people. After his first song, Havens was asked to perform four more songs, including an impromptu version of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” which later became a cover song for the Woodstock movie. (Watch video of performance below.)

Raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn with eight siblings, Havens learned music from his father, a factory worker and nighttime piano player. The young musician was raised on the sounds of doo wop, but as he got older, he wanted to sing about social change. He began listening to artists like Fred Neil, Dino Valenti and Tom Paxton. Havens stood six and a half feet tall and recorded with a soft voice for a predominately white folk music audience.

It wasn’t an easy road for Havens. He and other musicians would play at local coffee houses, featuring 14-20 minute sets per night. The pay was by donation for many performances. Havens performed under those conditions for seven years. He was soon discovered by Bob Dylan’s manager, Albert Grossman. In 1968, he released his debut album entitled “Mixed Bag” under the Verve/Folkways label.

Then came his Woodstock performance.

It was only a year later that Havens recorded a successful cover of the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun,” in 1970. He soon launched a successful music and acting career. He starred as Othello in the 1974 rock musical “Catch My Soul” and appeared in “Greased Lightning” (1977) opposite Richard Pryor.

Havens took to the road, touring for nearly 40 years, only retiring in his late sixties. Havens co-wrote one of his more famous songs,”Handsome Johnny”, with actor Lou Gossett Jr. He released 21 albums throughout his career and presented his final album “Nobody Left to Crown” in 2008.

In 2009, Richie Havens returned to Woodstock for the 40th anniversary celebration, the place where he gained half a million fans in a three-hour set.

On April 22, 2013, Richie Havens died of a heart attack at his home in New Jersey. He was 72 years old. His ashes will be scattered at the scene of his first big performance at Woodstock, which is now Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

(Photo: AP)

Little Known Black History Fact: Cecile Kyenge

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Wed, 08 May 2013 02:25:17 +0000

On April 17th, Cecile Kyenge was named Italy’s first black government Minister. Kyenge is Italy’s new Minister for Integration. She was born in the Congo and moved to Rome in the 1980’s to study medicine. While working at a hospital in Modena, Kyenge met her Italian husband who was a surgery patient in the hospital.

Kyenge was elected to Parliament in February. She is most recently noted for introducing a child citizenship law that would make immigrant kids born on Italian soil, citizens. Currently, the law states that children must have bloodlines of past Italian citizens in order to become citizens of Italy.

Kyenge hopes to change the immigration policies that effect a large population of the country. For every five children born in the country, one is born to a foreign parent. These generations of children have been forced into lower-paying jobs that were rejected by citizens. The political argument of Italian citizenship by the new Minister has been fueled by growing racism in the streets of Italy.

Little Known Black History Fact: Assata Shakur

Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show — Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:17 +0000

Joanne Chesimard, also known as Assata Shakur, is the first woman on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List. She is also the aunt of slain rapper Tupac Shakur. In 1973, the Black Liberation Party member killed a New Jersey state trooper during a shootout. Already wanted for bank robbery, Assata Shakur escaped from prison and fled to Cuba. As of May 2nd, there is a $2 million bounty associated with her capture.

It’s been 40 years since Shakur shot the state trooper, so the FBI has decided to add her name to the list as an American threat. In addition to the announcement, her bounty was raised by $1 million.

Assata Shakur, James Coston and Clark Squire were pulled over by state troopers, Werner Foerster and James Harper on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. Shakur was already on watch for her involvement with the Black Panther Party and was a wanted felon in New York. Shakur allegedly fired her semi-automatic pistol first, sparking a shootout, which resulted in the death of passenger James Coston and Trooper Werner Foerster, who was said to be killed by Shakur’s gun, execution style. Shakur and accomplice Clark Squire fled the scene. The two were arrested and denied any wrongdoing.