r Ib rM -ihffw m - P age B4 --------- • ■■ v n u . i M ix iu n n i/ Black History Has Buns Of Steel And Abs Of Iron SYP . M c K inley na/ Dam« B y P l*D rof B urt m W h ile we r e g re t th a t n o t all o f th e g l o r io u s c o n t r i b u t i o n s to w o rld c u ltu re and te c h n o lo g y w as w ritte n in sto n e , e n o u g h h a s s u r ­ v iv e d th e ra s c a lity o f frig h te n e d a c a d e m ic ia n s a n d r a c is ts to c h a rt th e p a th to a tru e h is to ric a l p e r ­ s p e c tiv e o f m a n k in d ’s d e v e lo p ­ m e n t. A case in point is the account (revelations) I introduced last week; a descrip tio n o f a m ille n n iu m s - lo n g in v o lv e m e n t o f th e b la ck ra c e s w ith the w o rk in g o f iro n a n d s te e l. I s u p p o s e th a t as a te e n a g e r, w o rk in g a f te r sc h o o l in fo u n d rie s like the “St. Louis Car and Foundry Com pany,” I thought the in­ volvement o f h u n d re d s o f th o u ­ sa n d s o f s k ille d black w orkers in the iron and steel w orks o f A m erica Vancouver Eyes Traffic Troubles T he L in c o ln N e ig h b o rh o o d A ss o c ia tio n is w o rk in g w ith V a n c o u v e r ’s T r a n s p o r ta tio n D iv isio n to d e v e lo p a tra ffic p lan w h ich a d d re s s e s p e d e s ­ tria n an d tra ffic s a fe ty , s p e e d ­ ing an d c u ,- tro u g h tra ffic on n e ig h b o rh o o d stre e ts . The neighborhood association will circulate a petition to verify that a m ajority o f the residents are fam iliar with the plan. People who *-■ was either a m atter o f cultural prefer­ ence -- or genetic (sm iles). By 1948, 1 had gained som e d e­ gree o f enlightenm ent, a tim e which found me w orking at “chipping out m olds” at N orth P o rtlan d ’s “A m eri­ can B rakeshoe F oundry" w hile at­ tending N orthw estern Law School three nights a week. But 1 had not yet gained access to that level o f d o cu ­ m entation w hich, last week, perm it­ ted m e to shock som e readers by docum enting that there w ere many “Iron plantations” as well as the co t­ ton ftefdom s o f A m erican Slavery. A nd w hat a difference several d e­ cades have made. Now, we may see in both academ ic jo u rn als o f science or a rc h a e o lo g y -o r in popular sc i­ en c e m a g a z in e s like “ S cie n tific A m erican”-p h o to g ra p h s and illus­ trations o f m odern researchers in sign the petition will get a post­ card to send com m ents on the plan to the transportation d iv i­ sion. A fter residents have signed the petition, a m eeting will be set to discuss the com m ents and refine the plan. City sta ff will meet with residents to select a preferred al­ ternative. A fter choosing an al­ ternative, the plan goes to city council for approval. In te re s te d re s id e n ts can re a c h th e L in c o ln N e ig h b o r h o o d ’s c o n ta c t p e r ­ son c o - c h a ir P a tty M e sse n g e r at 6 9 5 -3 1 5 7 , o r city tr a ffic e n g in e e r Jo h n M a n ix at 6 9 6 - 8290. N igeria, sitting around replica o f ancient forges they have excavated. In the fashion o f the ancient A frican technicians who built them, we find scientists from Yale and other uni­ versities sitting around conical ch ar­ coal forges in circles o f eight to tw elve-pum pingeighl-foot long bel­ lows that raised forge tem peratures high enough to work steel. So it is no hashish dream that prom pted European explorers as early as the I Ith and 12th centuries to return from A frica with exciting sto­ ries and illustrations o f black w ar­ riors in supple arm or who rode fiery steeds w ho were sim ilarly protected. O f course, when centuries later these dusk warriors (Shakespeare’s M oors) invaded Europe, charged through Spain and were only stopped half­ way through France, it became obvi­ ous even to a fool that these people were neither dum b nor inferior. W hile European historians will m ention that there were no “dark haired” peoples found in Europe prior to the invasions o f the A frican M oors (M assey, W ells, et al), A m erican his­ torians have no desire to lose aca­ dem ic tenure or to fall out o f good graces o f m ajor publishers. T hose o f us who are not restricted by the racist protocols o f many schools and m edia are free to read and study the texts and photographs o f such dedicated re se a rc h e rs as th e ren o w n J.A . Rogers; perhaps the greatest o f early A frican A m erican historians who traveled all the world to docum ent black history (including the Vatican Library and m ajor museums and li­ braries in Europe, A sia and Africa: See “Sex And Race, V ols I&H” & "W o rld ’s G reat M en o f Color, Vols I& II”, and many others). . Here you will find photographs o f the works o f the w orld’s most re­ nown E uropean artists; true depic­ tions o f the real role o f blacks in world history: A fricans in all the family trees o f the royal houses o f Europe, je t black, w ooly-headed St. Maurice, patron Saint o f France (who turned back the A frican M oors be­ fore all o f France becam e ‘cullud folks’—or did they?), Many repro­ ductions o f the ‘C oat o f A rm s’ of today's prestigious families o f E n­ gland, Norw ay, Sweden, G erm any or France, and take a good look al e a rly , u n re to u c h e d p o r tra its o f Beethoven and o f A udubon who was born in Santo D om ingo (The “D o­ minican R epublic” where all those great black baseball players com e from). A udubon is the spitting image o f D avid Ju stic e o f the A tlan ta B ra v e s-o r is it the other way around? Speaking o f “Iron and Steel” be sure to get a copy o f this m o n th 's “N atural History M agazine", Feb. 1996, Vol. 105, no 2. A lthough the article I w ant you to read is titled "K ingdom o f G old" and centers upon much ofthe cultural history o f Ghana, A frica (e a rly slavery and the 'G olden S tool’) there is a simply fabulous account o f A frican technical ability in w orking with m achinery. A ban­ doned autos, trucks, farm equipm ent, etc. is recycled into many sophisti­ cated “new ” vehicles, industrial m a­ chinery, farm equipm ent, food pro­ cessors and the like. No engineers or European S u p erv iso rs-are they try­ ing to tell us som ething? My “ Black Inventors” show ed sam e ability. Vessels, Steens Host Cookbook Writers L< x.al cookbi xik authors are featured at events jointly sponsored by Vessels and Sleen.sCoffeeHou.se during BlackHistoiy Month. Saturday, Maxine Jackson Blacknall, author o f‘The Heart & Soul of Maxine’s Cuisine," will he on hand for a btxik signing, as well as have samples of her recipes to taste. A first-time author, Blacknall published her ctxikbtxak last summer as a result of a cooking class and contest She entered the contest after participating in a special class offered by the American Cancer Society and the National Black Leadership Initia­ tive on Cancer. Blacknall has modified and created new soul food recipes low in fat and cholesterol Blacknall Ls determined to help change the way we cook and eat for a healthier heart. Blacknall will be available Satunlay, from ntxrn to 2 pm . at Steen’s, 2603 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Vessels, New & used books on Business, Music, & African-American Studies i M c r d ? Tableware With Meaning, 2605 N E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Feb. 24, from 11:30 am . to 1:30 p.m. Grace Kutn will talk about her book, ‘ Haram bee! 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