Black History Month Facts
 

You start! :)

CT4 is the one to go to.

Okay, I have one. LadyGreek's daughter was born on Sunday, February 14. :D

Black history is a 365 day thing to me. Even worthy of a daily thread. :)

Other than that, it is often the case that the facts related to the same people are repeated over and over again. At many middle and high schools, kids still don't read about the contributions of blacks until the chapter on slavery. If there even is such a chapter. Then when black history month comes around, the teachers either ignore it or give the students something to read on Dr. King or someone just as (important but) typical.

But here goes a site where well known and supposedly little known facts can be found. A lot of them are related to athletes/entertainers rather than intellectuals and so forth. During this shortest month of the year.
http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/

IMO, Black History Month has done nothing but provide institutions with a way to gloss over their usual discriminatory practices by providing them with a vehicle for false advertising.

In other words when you see those corporations with their "celebration" ads, take them with a grain of salt. Those who really believe in diversity don't need BHN to convince anyone.

And as Chaos said, Black History should be celebrated and taught for 365 days.

The United States and Canada celebrate it in February while the United Kingdom celebrates in October.

^^^ Didn't know that!

Auto Racing
 

I'll start with Lewis Hamiton. He's the 1st black British driver to finish 2nd in points in F1 racing. He almost won the championship, but he made a few rookie mistakes which caused him to finish 2nd. He races for McLaren/Mercedes Benz

I've got some black history I want to share about Wendell Scott also. I gotta run, now though. But he was the 1st black NASCAR driver do win a NASCAR event.

Damn, PrettyBoy. You really DO love racing. +_+

I thought you were yanking our chains.

Wendell Scott
 

I'm going to try and give out as much historical info about Wendell Scott as I can.

Wendell Scott was the 1st successful black NASCAR driver in NASCAR history. Wendell Scott started his rookie year in 1961. NASCAR started it's rookie of the year program in 1957 which was given to Ken Rush, the 1st driver to receive the rookie of the year award. Wendell Scott should have received this award in 1961 with five top 10 finishes. I believe he had 23 starts in his 1st season. Well back then, racism was at a high, so the rookie award was given to Woodie Wilson who only had five starts and one top 10 that season. Wendell Scott finished 32nd in points and Woodie finished 41st.

Wendell Scott won his 1st and only race on Dec 1st 1963. He beat the runner up by two laps. The race took place in 1963, but it goes in the record books as the 1964 season. Buck Baker was originally declared the winner of the event, because NASCAR didn't want Wendell Scott in victory lane "Kissing a white woman." Back then, the winner was supposed to get a kiss from Ms NASCAR. NASCAR feared that if Wendell was kissing a white woman, it would cause some issues with the fans. (Wendell could care less.:rolleyes: He just wanted his winning money, he was married with children) Though Wendell won the event he was never given the real trophy. Instead, NASCAR awarded him the money and sent him a wooden trophy.:mad::rolleyes:

Today NASCAR has what is known as the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 10 best drivers with the most points are put in the Chase to contend for the Championship. If Wendell Scott was racing today, with the stats he had back in his day, he would have made it into the Chase four times. Wendell crashed at Talledega in 1973. The wreck was so bad that 21 cars were taken out that day, and that was half the racing field. Wendell suffered too many injuries to return to NASCAR. He passed away in December of 1990. He's also been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Last but not least, during his racing career, he had 147 top ten finishes, 20 top five finishes, and one win. He did all this with used parts that the other drivers threw away. He would go through the garbage and take these parts and used them in his own cars. He also did all this without an actual crew, or crew chief. During pit stops, he would get out of his own car, change his own tires, fill up his own tank and make his own repairs.

Junior Johnson (the 2nd man to win the Daytona 500), a very well known stock car driver said that if he had to endure what Wendell did, he wouldn't have lasted 3 races. His words not mine.

A little NASCAR history that very few know about.:D

Well I personally am a fan of Manual-Transmission 4WD cars.

Right now, all I have is an Automatic 98 Integra LX (laaaaame :( ), but I'm trying to get either an Evo or an Impreza, because I LOOOOVE Drifting.

Ditto. My Volvo is a 6-speed with AWD. Great for Minnesota in the winter and fun in the summer.

I want a used Porsche 911. I want one from an 82'-85'. Back then Porsches came with Fuchs and I love those. Old classic VW beetles look good with Fuchs too. Used 911s run at reasonable prices, and I'm glad, because I can't afford a new Porsche, and I doubt I'll ever be able too.:( Plus, I like older Porsche designs better anyway, plus they had air cooled engines back then. Now they're all water cooled. 97' was the last year for air cooled Porsches. One of the major things I need to watch for when I do get one is the rust. 85s' rusted a lot around the B-Pillars and underneath some of the plastic parts that didn't drain very well. Nothing sounds like a 911 either. The sound of that air cooled flat six engine is music to my ears. Below is an 85' with white Fuchs. Fuchs look better in chrome to me. I think the 80s had the best looking cars. I love newer cars but I'm a bigger fan of the 80s styling (in European cars only).

http://sp1.yt-thm-a01.yimg.com/image/25/m2/2326906183

Well I'm not into "Vintage," even though I highly respect the origins and the high-point of design.

I'm a Tech Major, and I'm really into sleek curves and subtle design implementations..

That said, when I saw the commercial for the new R8, I fell in love for a bit.

I'm sure that car is out of my price range for the next 10 years, wherein there will most definitely be a new model, but I generally like the way Audi cars look anyway.

Wow, talk about Off-topic..

Did You Know:
Carter G. Woodson, the man credited with spearheading the Black History Month movement, was a member of Omega Psi Phi.

:-D

I can add 10 Top Web Sites for African American Genealogy:

1. Afrigeneas (probably the best place to start)

2. The USF Africana Heritage Project

3. Freedmen's Bureau Online

4. American Memory Collection

5. Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System

6. Slaveholders and African Americans, 1860-1870

7. Free African Americans of Virginia, N Carolina, S Carolina, Maryland & Delaware

8. American Slave Narratives - An Online Anthology

9. African American Cemeteries Online

10. The African-American Migration Experience

Hope that helps!

Hey thanks a lot.:D

Btw: I'm mad at you for telling me that "The last house on the left" was good. That movie is older than me. It was horrible.:mad::)

Oh I'm got this! But, as somebody already said, Black History Month should be celebrated all year.

Anyway, here goes...

In February 1941, Dr. Charles R. Drew set up and administered the first American Red Cross Blood Bank, which produced dried plasma that could be preserved longer than the liquid version. The innovative medical research of Dr. Drew saved the lives of thousands of wounded servicemen during World War II. Later that year, Drew resigned his position of Director of the AMRC blood bank after the War Department sent out a directive stating that blood taken from White donors should not be mixed with blood taken from Black donors. He left his position there to accept the Chair of Surgery at Howard University. In 1943, Drew became the first African-American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery.

Wow. He even stole your signature. LoL.

:eek: I know. LMAO! It's got everything except the post count.

Now try increasing them.

Without posting.

He was also a member of Omega Psi Phi.

ASCII isn't code unless you're a Programmer.

The argument that increasing post count has something to do with the color of text is a very good example of red herring. My ex-gf majored in that, so you'll have to try something else.

Okay, fakepb isn't tuxi unless he's playing dumb.

So PrettyBoy has an evil twin. Interesting........

Why would someone.........

nevermind. I dont care anymore.

^^ruining the flow of black history facts:rolleyes:

No, Captain Observant, I stated that she majored in Red Herring.

Back to the regularly scheduled program...

I found the following information interesting, especially the facts about Mississippi.

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/...ns/010969.html

Idlewild is an actual town in Michigan where many prominent members of the African American community vacationed, due to not being allowed at white resorts. Also known as the Black Eden.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idlewild,_Michigan


http://www.historicidlewild.com/

I wasn't talking about writing skills. Tuxi has mad technology skills and the little stuff you are doing is way beneath him.

American History
 

Ralph Bunche, PhD has been discussed on GC over the years. :)

Among his many scholastic, civil rights, and diplomat achievements, he was the first person of color anywhere in the world to receive a Nobel Peace Prize (in 1950).


http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/p...unche-bio.html
http://www.ralphbunche.com/

ETA: The book "Ralph Bunche: Model Negro or American Other" can be found on Google books. It includes an interesting tidbit about how Bunche turned in his Kappa pledge pin, once he enrolled at UCLA, because he saw no need for separate fraternal orgs at integrated schools.

Black History Month NEVER ends......
 

I'm watching the History Channel's "A Distant Shore: African Americans of D-Day" and it made me feel some kinda way and my heart is heavy. It's the story of the 761st battallion, the first African American battallion.

Some of the African American soldiers from DDay are on the History Channel talking about the racism that they experienced in the military AND when they got back to America. They didn't get the hero's welcome at home and they were treated like crap in the military.

The former soldiers on the show talked about how they don't feel bitter but they've forgiven, although they don't forget what they experienced. When asked why they fought for their country despite how the country treated them, the men said that back then they knew that this IS their country and they are glad they fought for it. At the end, they read the names of the 761st battallion men.

Background on how the 761st battalion came to be:

Woodrow Wilson had wanted blacks excluded from combat because of their supposed intellectual and moral inferiority. He received a lot of support from Congress and the military that was run by many proud members of the Segregated South.

Fast forward: FDR's wife was a champion of human/civil rights and felt that "colored people" can't feel the nation is worth defending if this nation mistreats "colored people" and doesn't let them fight in combat. So she, the NAACP, and the black press were pushing for the desegregation of the military. FDR allowed the Tuskegee Airmen and other black soldiers to fight, known as the 761st. They were unfortunately called "Eleanor Roosevelt's N******" because it was felt that they were a political move from FDR to appease his wife.
For more info on this piece of American history:
http://www.761st.com/
http://www.history.army.mil/topics/afam/761TkBn-2.htm