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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2017)
February 22, 2017 The Skanner BLACK HISTORY EDITION Page 3 Black History By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor I n her book, “Hidden Figures,” author Margot Lee Shetterly pays homage to the African American women who worked as human computers in the space program. It’s a book that’s spawned an Acade- my Award-nominated movie and has brought to the fore the accomplish- ments of Katherine Johnson, Doro- thy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, the brilliant Black women who worked at NASA serving as the brains behind America’s nascent space program starting in the 1950s. Inside the book, Shetterly also pays homage to where she first got the no- tion to write such a historical master- piece. “In the first week of May 1942, the ‘Norfolk Journal and Guide’ published an article that would…be like a signpost for the road not taken,” Shetterly said. She even recalled the headline that “ Laboratory, graduates of Engineering for Women, a war training class. “‘The Journal and Guide’ and the ‘Pittsburgh Courier,’ two of the grand- daddies of the Black Press, are men- tioned prominently inside the hard cover copies of the book with a picture that dates back to the 1940s,” said Bren- da Andrews, president, publisher and owner of “The New Journal and Guide.” The Journal and Guide published its first issues in 1900 and, during the World War II, by many accounts, was the largest Black employer in the South, according to Andrews. Its circulation topped 100,000 and Andrews said the newspaper joined others like the “Chicago Defender,” the “Baltimore Afro-American” and the “Pittsburgh Courier” in taking the lead in writing about Black interests and re- cording African American history. “We were hidden figures ourselves until about the 1960s,” Andrews said of the Black Press in America, which this year celebrates 190 years in operation. ERNEST LOWERY/NEW JOURNAL AND GUIDE The Black Press Played Vital Role in ‘Hidden Figures’ “Hidden Figures” author Margot Lee Shetterly (left) poses for a photo with New Journal and Guide publisher Brenda Andrews ows in our community, doing the work, recording information.” Andrews said the Black Press wasn’t formerly recognized for its great journalism, seen mostly as underground activists. “Even today, we’re not proper- ly recognized for recording that history. We were hidden in Black areas among Black people,” she said. “It came about that World War II was significant, because it was our activism that stories of segregated troops were told.” During World War II, the Black Press led the call for a “Double V” victory against fascism abroad and against Jim This story and how the author researched ‘Hid- den Figures’ is an example of what the Black Press has been doing, which is recording Black history accompanied the piece in one of the na- tion’s oldest African American-owned newspapers. “Paving the Way for Women Engi- neers,” the headline blared. An accompanying photo revealed 11 immaculately dressed Black women in front of Hampton Institute’s Bemis “This story and how the author re- searched ‘Hidden Figures’ is an exam- ple of what the Black Press has been do- ing, which is recording Black history.” Andrews continued: “When I speak with people, even today in the 21st century, people are curious about the Black Press’ role. We were in the shad- Crow in the United States. Reportedly, with such a slogan, many historians regarded this campaign as the groundwork for the Black activ- ism that characterized the Civil Rights Movement. Black newspapers, led by the “Nor- folk Journal and Guide,” the “Chicago Defender,” the “Pittsburgh Courier” and the “AFRO,” took a conservative ef- fort and channeled Black militancy into nationalistic ends. They sought gov- ernment concessions and they looked to create a homogenous American identity that included Black citizens to resolve struggles for full citizenship, freedom, and racial justice.