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• 1 2019-03-12T23:56:45+00:00 May - Archived Posts 9 plain published 2019-09-12T20:25:54+00:00
  Click on date to view post:
  May 1, 1954: Montgomery hires first African-American police officers, reported in Chicago Defender. Guest post by Caitlin Sullivan, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 1, 1954: NAACP criticizes federal housing plans, reported in Baltimore Afro-American. Guest post by Matthew Lee, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 2, 1957: Court rules Philadelphia’s Girard College must open to black students, reported in the California Eagle. Guest post by Blake Miller, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 3, 1919: WWI passport dispute reported in St. Paul Appeal. Guest post by Andrew Mullinnix, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 3, 1958: New York Amsterdam News reports on socialites canceling wedding. Guest post by Kelly Monfredini, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 4, 1957: Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at rally in New York City, reported in New York Amsterdam News. Guest post by Charles Zazzera, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 4, 1963: Martin Luther King Jr. and protesters sentenced to ten days in Birmingham jail, reported in Baltimore Afro-American. Guest post by Aaron Nostwich, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 5, 1945: Baltimore Afro-American reports on 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion (the “Triple Nickels”). Guest post by Daniel Obren, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 6, 1943: California Eagle on discrimination in war industries. Guest post by Niccolo Peterson, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 6, 1922: Dallas Express calls for more roles for African-American actors. Guest post by Ariel Sumendap, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 7, 1963: Washington Afro-American reports on black family fighting to keep land from developers. Guest post by Bryce Rooney, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 8, 1958: California Eagle reports on police brutality. Guest post by Paige Ross, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 8, 1929: Harlem teenager wins New York City oratory competition, reported in New York Amsterdam News. Guest post by Ellie Siwicki, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 9, 1970: Mother claims squatter’s rights in vacant apartment building owned by Columbia University. Guest post by Paige Champman, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 9, 1964: Black debutantes in the Indianapolis Recorder. Guest post by Lauren Sendlebach, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 10, 1947: Baltimore Afro-American profiles Darwin Turner, who was Phi Beta Kappa at fifteen and became a professor at the University of Iowa. Guest post by Andrew Spargo, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 10, 1919: Broad Ax reviews Eighth Regiment military band. Guest post by Katherine Garnett, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 11, 1912: Chicago Defender reports on dispute in Georgia over black chauffeur using employer’s car. Guest post by Denver Studebaker, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 12, 1926: New York Amsterdam News on prohibition movement. Guest post by Filomena Matoshi, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 12, 1899: Iowa State Bystander on lynching of Sam Hose. Guest post by Nathan Volkert, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 13, 1961: Cleveland Call and Post on deejay Eddie O’Jay and music in the city.

  May 13, 1921: Baltimore Afro-American on racial disparities in teachers’ pay. Guest post by Jordan Washington, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 14, 1904: Booker T. Washington on African-American education in The Appeal (Minneapolis & St. Paul). Guest post by Shelby Worth, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.

  May 15, 1993: New York Amsterdam News celebrates Malcolm X’s birthday. Guest post by Bridget McEvoy, undergraduate student at Manhattan College.

  May 16, 1935: Poet Arna Bontemps speaks at Vernon Library Book Club, noted in Los Angeles Sentinel.

  May 17, 1932: Teacher and Fisk University graduate Chrystal Tulli direct play, “Ballet Beautiful,” featured in Atlanta Daily World.

  May 18, 1954: Atlanta Daily World on the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision.

  May 19, 1962: Advertisement for electric clothes dryers in Philadelphia Tribune.

  May 20, 1948: Los Angeles Sentinel on lawsuit involving former boxing champion Henry Armstrong.

  May 21, 1936: Federal Negro Theater Project production of “Macbeth” at New Lafayette Theatre in Harlem.

  May 22, 1970: Atlanta Daily World reports on Essence, a new monthly magazine for black women.

  May 23, 1953: Pittsburgh Courier reports that city newspapers adopted a code of classified advertising which eliminates reference to race, religious creed, color, national origin, or ancestry.

  May 24, 1961: Chicago Defender reports that the Freedom Riders will continue their campaign against segregated interstate buses in the South.

  May 25, 1933: Philadelphia Tribune reports on murder of evangelist G. Wilson Becton.

  May 26, 1934: Torch singer Ivy Anderson in Norfolk Journal and Guide.

  May 27, 1944: Recruiting black workers to war industries in Cleveland Call and Post.

  May 28, 1955: Rebecca Stiles Dodson calls for release of Claudia Jones in Chicago Defender.

  May 29, 1926: Pittsburgh Courier reports that U.S. Supreme Court dismisses Corrigan v. Buckley and upholds legality of racially restrictive covenants.

  May 30, 1963: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. leads Freedom Rally in Los Angeles. Guest post by Mark Speltz.

  May 31, 1940: Burt’s Shoes advertisement in Atlanta Daily World.
• 1 2019-03-12T23:57:51+00:00 May 3, 1919 3 plain published 2019-08-21T12:53:27+00:00 Guest post by Andrew Mullinnix, undergraduate student at Iowa State University.
  
  On May 3, 1919, St. Paul’s African-American newspaper, The Appeal, published a lively editorial, originally published in the Cincinnati Herald, making a powerful comparison. “Bruce Grit Files Strong Demurrer against Moton’s Methods” discusses the handling of European racial issues post–World War I compared to domestic issues at home. In particular, the chief complaint being expressed is the inability of African Americans to get passports. Many African Americans blamed Woodrow Wilson who reigned as president over this period of time.
  
  Wilson’s presidency has commonly been critiqued for his racial policies. Even prior, during his tenure as president of the prestigious Princeton University, he made a statement proclaiming his pride in the lack of African Americans at his institute during his stay. These Jim Crow policies, which had been slowly fought against since Lincoln's “Emancipation Proclamation,”  found their way onto the federal stage during his presidency. This particular piece uses well-crafted subtitles: “An Absolute Monarchy!” and “No, An Absolute Democracy! But Wilson Reigns!” These effectively demonstrate how blacks felt within the country about Wilson’s policies. Keeping in mind that World War I had ended the year previously, a large amount of the sentiment found during the war remains evident in this piece.
  
  World War I was a heightened period of change for African Americans; some eventually found their way into the trenches where they were unfortunately unable to escape Jim Crow. However, some had interactions with more pleasant folk; African-American soldiers occasionally found themselves amongst North and West African troops who made up large portions of the French military. During these times the African Americans often felt a greater sense of belonging while aligned with the French, as not only were Africans in better standing but even the civilians gave a warm welcome. These interactions, along with the preconceived notion of France’s equality, left a bitter taste in the mouths of many GIs returning home. This quite clearly is present in the mind of the author, as the direct comparison between American and French treatment is pushed to the forefront.
  
  Back home, a significant portion of African Americans remained throughout the Great War. This, in combination with the lack of migrants now coming from the traditional European theatre, left an unprecedented demand for relatively higher paying jobs. The American war machine increased the demand for labor in northern factories. This resulted in the Great Migration, with nearly half a million black southerners packing up their bags and heading north. Seemingly overnight, entire cities like Detroit possessed large black populations.
  
  This period of increased stress shows true within this particular opinion piece, the tone of which is clearly disdainful. The author uses France as a prime example of the superior treatment of its citizens. Additionally, this piece uses powerful imagery in the form of quotations, one of which is “’Tis another case of the ostrich sticking it’s head in the sand and feeling it’s body is hid.” This one in particular ridicules the United States government in a creative fashion, passing the author’s message along brilliantly, that despite currently trying to democratize the post–world war stage, it was unable to uphold its own constitution.
  
  Personally, I have to applaud the brave individual for posting such an aggressive editorial piece; this is certainly what drew me to it. The tone is sharp, painting a picture of man who simply is through with the country he calls home. This anger adds an often mute personal touch to the piece. This sensationalism really permits the reader to get a feel for the distrust for the American government by many African Americans at this time.