Living Well Etc.

  Defender of the Race Most grade school children can state what Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall accomplished during their lifetimes.  Yet, we tend to forget about other heroes.  Throughout this month, let us consider all who sacrificed to end segregation and tried to put an end to racial inequalities.  One of these heroes was Robert S. Abbott. Enjoy trivia?  Here's one for you: In what American newspaper would you find the first comic strip?  The answer might surprise you, as it is the first African American newspaper, the  Chicago Defender  owned and run by an attorney unable to practice due to his race, Robert S. Abbot.  His paper was the first for publishing many things including a health column and circulation of over 100,000.  Much more important than that was his focus.   He began his venture in 1905 and quickly built up quite a following, mostly in the Chicago area.  By 1910, with the assistance ...

  The Effects of the MLK Speech on Me It began as a typical sweltering summer day filled with regulars buying their Nehi sodas and Camel cigarettes while a steady hum of soft music played from the store's radio.  My entire world spun around when the music stopped.  It was August 28, 1963, and as Martin Luther King's booming voice shouted from the radio, " I have a dream ", his passion and choice of words confused me.  Since I worked eight+ hours each day when not in school, I knew little of the daily struggles our browner brothers and sisters faced. Raised in a culturally rich neighborhood, I never noticed color.  In fact, at age five I befriended a local black man.  I had no father, wanted one, so I asked him if he wanted the job .  Good-naturedly, he replied that we should ask my mother first.  I didn't understand the quirky smiles emanating from the two of them that day.  After MLK's eye-opening speech, I realized that I lived...

  First African American Pilot “The sky is the only place there is no prejudice. Up there, everyone is equal, everyone is free.” Elizabeth Coleman Born to African American and Native American sharecropper parents in 1892 Texas, Elizabeth, Bessie, fought for her chance to become an aviator. ( video ) In her twenties, she became interested in flying thanks to WW1 returning soldiers' heroic stories.    In a deeply segregated U.S., she could find no pilot to train her, even those who were black.   Her brother, newly returned from war, entertained her with stories of the many opportunities for women in France, one of which was pilot training.   As this seemed to be her only hope, she set her sights on France. Bessie began her journey by learning French.   Along with her savings and financial backing from the African-American community, she left for France in 1920.   By 1921, she accomplished her goal and became the first American woman who earned a...

Entrepreneur, Freer of Slaves,   and Voodoo Queen of San Francisco Much of this amazing woman's history has been blemished due to an organized smear campaign in the late 1800s. Some say she practiced voodoo, stole babies, and killed those who were in her way.  None of these accusations can be confirmed.  After many years of digging, researchers found that the following facts could not be erased so easily.  Vital to the Underground Railroad Whether or not Mary Ellen Pleasant was born a slave – whose father was a plantation owner – or if she was born free, doesn't really matter.  Historical records do confirm, however, that she was vital to the Underground Railroad.  She also became a successful businessperson in a time when women didn't have many rights if any.  Early in her life, Mary Ellen married James W. Smith, an abolitionist who introduced her to saving slaves by smuggling them to Canada.  She and her husband...