Mary McLeod Buthane

 Educator, Author, and African-American Civil Rights leader, Mary McLeod Buthane was best known for starting a school for Black students in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Buthane-Cookman University.  Ms. Buthane was the fifteenth out of seventeen children whose parents were previously slaves.  Mary McLeod Buthane's first teaching position was at her former elementary school in Sumter County.  Ms. Buthane was deeply influenced by Ms. Lucy Craft Laney, a former slave, who founded and ran Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, in Augusta, Georgia.  Ms. Laney ran her institute as a Christian missionary, emphasizing character and practical education for girls.  Mary McLeod Buthane soon adopted Ms. Laney's educational philosophies and began seeking to improve the conditions of Black people by educating primarily women.

In October 1904, Mary McLeod Buthane, rented a small house for $11.00 a month and used $1.50 to start the Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in Daytona.  Within two years the schools enrollment increased from six to 250 students.  The school received donations of money, equipment and labor from local Black churches.  In 1920 the school's value was estimated to be $100,000 with an enrollment of 351 students.  In 1923 the school merged with Cookman Institute for Men, from Jacksonville, Florida and became co-educational.

Mary McLeod Buthane was quoted saying, in 1938, "If our people are to fight their way up out of bondage we must arm them with the sword and the shield and buckler of pride-belief in themselves and their possibilities, based upon a sure knowledge of the achievements of the past."  "Not only the Negro child but children of all races should read and know of the achievements, accomplishments and deeds of the Negro.  World peace and brotherhood are based on a common understanding of the contributions and cultures of all races and creeds."

In 1973, Mary McLeod Buthane was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. 

Mahogany

One of the genre's that has derived out of African-American literature is oral and written poetry.  Oral poetry may often appear in Christian sermons, gospel music and spirituals.  James Weldon Johnson, an African-American author and journalist, was best known for his novels and poems, as well as his leadership in the N.A.A.C.P.  By the age of 30, James Weldon Johnson had written, Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing, The Book of American Negro Spirituals, and Black Manhattan.  James Weldon Johnson was also a promoter of the Harlem Renaissance and helped promote young upcoming African-American authors.

In regards to my title Mahogany, I would like to share a poem that describes African-American women as well as a link to a gospel song by Fred Hammond that describes this poem and also describes how African-Americans feel about spiritual guidance through Jesus.

These are our mothers and sisters, grandmothers, teachers, and friends..  These are the roots we go back to, where our foundation begins.  How many times they've inspired us, pointing our dreams to the sky! These are the women who gave us wings, and the courage to fly!
Wonderful women of color, daughters of warriors and kings.. What a rich birthright they bring us!  Oh, how their legacy sings!  Sharing the pride of our people, teaching what's right and what's wrong, rising to meet every challenge, keeping our character strong......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBLYdxVe7Gg

Warriors Don't Cry

An innocent teenager.  An unexpected hero.

These are the words that describe Melba Pattillo Beals.  Melba is a member of the Little Rock Nine, which was a group of nine Black students who were the first to integrate Central High, in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.  The group of nine Black students faced mobs, daily hostility and persecution.  President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent for the 101st Airborne Division to protect the students.  Melba describes a White student throwing acid in her eyes that almost blinded her.  At age 17 Melba began to write for major newspapers and magazines.  She graduated from San Francisco State University with her bachelor's degree.  Melba later received her master's degree in journalism from Columbian University.  In May 2009, Melba received her Doctoral degree in Education, she now teaches journalism at Dominican University of California.

Melba's book Warrior's Don't Cry was written from the diaries she kept while attending Central High.  Her follow-up book was titled White is a State of Mind.  In 1999, Melba and the other students of Little Rock Nine were awarded the most highest civilian award, Congressional Gold Medal by President Clinton.  Earnest Green from Little Rock Nine, was the first Black student to graduate from Central State in 1958.  Earnest later graduated with a bachelor and master's degree of the Arts.  Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the attendees of Earnest's graduation.  His career span has been significant throughout the years including being the Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Affairs under President Jimmy Carter.

                       

Here is a picture of the Little Rock Nine being escorted by the 101st Airborne Division.  The nine students were Earnest Green, Elizabeth Echford, Jefferson Thomas, Terrence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed, and Melba Pattillo Beals.
                                                                                                 

Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance, also know as the "New Negro Movement," was during the years of 1920 - 1940.  The movement was based in New York City between 135th Street and Fifth Avenue.  The span from 1920-1940 is best known for the literature that came out of the Renaissance and there was also an enormous amount of Black artist and musicians during this time period.  One influential writer during this time period was Langston Hughes, "The Book of American Negro Poetry."  Hughes published a total of nine volumes of poetry, eight books of short stories, two novels, as well as, a variety of plays and chlildren's books.

Prior to the Harlem Renaissance, books written by African-Americans were generally read by other African-Americans only.  The Harlem Renaissance was the turning point for African-American literature; eventually Black literature and Black fine art were mainstreamed into the American culture.