HAMMOND, LA
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
S O U T H E A S T E R N L O U I S IA NA U N I V E R S I T Y
CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH B o r n in 1818, Frederick Douglass lived as a slave before escaping to the North. Once there, Douglass gave speeches and wrote books about his time as a slave. Douglass used his voice to move abolitionists to fight for the end of slavery. Douglass endured daily whippings and starvation while working on a farm for a “slavebreaker” named Edward Covey. In 1836, Douglass was jailed after his escape plan was discovered. Two years later in Baltimore, Douglass succeeded in an escape and fled to New York City.
Frederick Douglass
“The soul that is within me no man can degrade.”
Douglass sought out education - joining organizations, attending abolitionist meetings and even subscribing to the “Liberato,” which was a weekly journal written by William Lloyd Garrison. After being mentioned in Garrison’s publication, Douglass went on to give a speech at the Massachusetts’ Anti-Slavery Society’s annual convention in Nantucket. The eloquence of this speech moved the hearts of many, launching his career as the notable abolitionist he was. Douglass went on to publish his autobiography in 1845. Douglass conferred with Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and continued to fight for the rights of women and African-Americans after the war ended.
-Frederick Douglass
W.E.B. Du Bois Robert Abbott was born the son of former slaves in 1870. He studied at Claflin University, Hampton Institute and Kent Law School in Chicago. Abbott found it hard to support himself as a lawyer, being considered “too dark” to practice law in America. Believing he would have better luck defending his people in print, Abbott got a job at his stepfather’s newspaper learning the trade of a printer. Setting up his equipment in his landlady’s dining room, Abbott began the Chicago
Robert Abbott Defender in May 1905. The Chicago Defender became a national newspaper in 1929 with his editorials daring to demand full equality for black Americans. Out of 350 black-owned newspapers, the Chicago Defender became one of only two that were published on a daily basis in 1966. As an influential newspaper, the Chicago Defender sought equality and social justice
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois became the first AfricanAmerican to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895. As an educator, journalist and civil rights activist, Du Bois cofounded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, in 1909, supported Pan-Africanism and wrote “The Souls of Black Folk.” The NAACP now has over 2,000 local units nationwide including one on campus. Du Bois also published the first case study of an AfricnAmerican Community titled “The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study” in 1899.
and fought discrimination, segregation and lynching. The newspaper provided information to the South about job openings in the North during World War I. Many black Americans struggled to find employment for many years after the Civil War. Abbott and his publication spoke up about the injustices surrounding him and helped the black community by providing a voice and opportunities.
“With drops of ink, we make millions think.” -Robert Abbott
Famous for sitting down for her rights, Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Feb. 1913. When she was 2-years-old, Parks’ parents split and her mother took her to Alabama where they lived with her grandparents. Both of Parks’ grandparents were former slaves and outspoken advocates for
Aretha Franklin
Maya Angelou
Barack Obama
The first female artist to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin left this world last year. Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1942 . A gifted musician, she went on to sing classics such as “Respect” and “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You.” With her powerful pipes and unique sound, Franklin became a symbol of black pride and soul music. Her songs “Young, Gifted, and Black,” “Think,” and others became anthems for the black community. Franklin was the youngest recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 1994, won 18 Grammy’s and had 20 R&B hits.
With a broad career as a singer, dancer, actress, composer, director and writer, Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson and was most notable for her works as a writer, essayist, poet and playwright. Angelou was also a Civil Rights Activist working for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. In her most famous work, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” Angelou writes about her early life and touches on her experience with rape, murder and subsequently, becoming mute. Angelou’s words provided understanding and a look into the real lives of African-Americans.
On Nov. 4, 2008, America elected its first African-American President - Barack Hussein Obama II. Born to a Kenyan father and white mother in 1961, Obama got his start in politics in 1996 as a senator in Illinois. Before this, Obama worked with a church-based group called The Developing Communities Project. For years, he worked with low-income residents in Chicago crediting the experience as the best education he ever received. Obama continued his career in politics following it all the way to the top. Obama and his family set precedents for African-Americans across the nation during his eight years in office.
racial equality. On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus after work. The buses were divided as “separate but equal” down the middle with white passengers in the front and black ones in the back. As the front filled beyond capacity with white passengers, the bus driver moved the
Rosa Parks segregating sign back a row telling four black passengers to relocate. When Parks refused to give up her seat, she was arrested, provoking local NAACP leader E.D. Nixon to begin organizing the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
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“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek.” -Barack Obama Weather
Tuesday H 66 L 38
Index
Wednesday H 65 L 43
Campus Life ................................2 Opinions ....................................3 A&E ...........................................4
Horoscope, Crossword, Sudoku ...5 Sports & Fitness ..........................6 News .........................................8
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