February 28, 2001
Jlo rtla n h (Ohserber
Music
Early African Ameri­
can
m usic
was
grounded in religious af­
filiation. Slaves used re­
ligious music to help
them forget their every­
day struggles, singing
spirituals that told them
o f the promises in the
hereafter. Free­
dom fighters like
During the 1970's, Aretha Franklin
Harriet Tubman 1
reigned as the "Queen o f Soul, " with her
would use lyrics
gift fo r capturing life ’s paradoxes - pain
to w arn slaves
. and failure accompanied by hope, and
she was back and
struggle by affirmation through song. She
ready to “steal
continues to top the charts, singing ft A B
away to Jesus”
♦ and Gospel.
with more slaves.
1854, she toured Canada and some Considered one o f the most
ofher writings appeared in the Pro­ important developments in
vincial Freeman, an anti-slavery African American music was
newspaper. Her keen sense o f hu­ the emergence o f “Rhythm
mor earned her the name “The and Blues.” R&B, as it came
Bronze Muse.” She was considered to be known, set the founda­
one o f the most eloquent women o f tion for rock and roll, soul,
disco, funk, jazz, fusion, rap,
her time.
African Americans have made and more recently, “smooth”
huge gains in literature in the 20th orcontemporaryjazz. Many
century. Nobel Literature Prize win­ R&B lyrics speak o f life in
ner Toni Morrison became the first th e S o uth th ro u g h a
A frican A m erican W om an to nostalgical view or associ­
achieve this honor. The Nobel Com­ ate hardships with the North­
mittee stated that M orrison’s nov­ ern urban life.
During the “ Rock and
els give “life to an essential aspect
ofthe American reality.” Theycon- Roll” era o f the 1950’s and
1960’s, many tal­
e n te d
A frican
A m ericans did a
quantum leap from
poverty to fame and
fortune. One ofthe
early greats, Chuck
B erry , ro ck eted
from R&B to
rock’n ’roll with hits
l i k
e
“ M aybellene”and
“Johnny B Good.”
His style was said
to have influenced
many rock perform­
ers, including the
Beatles and Rolling
Stones. After his
Hazel Scott became the first African
last big hit in 1972,
American to host her own nationally
“My ding-a-ling,”
syndicated musical variety television
his popularity de­
program called "The Hazel Scott Show
clined.
in 1950. She was m arried to Adam
Tina Turner sur­
Clayton Powell Jr., firebrand preacher,
prised the country
congressman and civil rights
with her huge come­
revolutionary
back during the
1980’s. After a violent break­
tinued saying she “delves into the
language itself, a language she up with her husband Ike, who
wants to liberate from the fetters of in 1951 created “ Rocket 88”
race. Ms Morrison won tlie 1988 (the first ever ro c k 'n ’roll
Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her book record), Tina is still belting
Beloved. M orrison’s wide range of out songs and packing in the
tales and styles earned her many crowds at her concerts.
Other African American
other coveted writing awards, show­
m
usic
artists like Jam es
ing the rich literary ability o f the
Brown,
Jim Hendrix, and
African American Woman.
Brown, Jim Hendrix, and many oth­
ers became legends over night
Michael Jackson, child heartthrob
would go on to make more money
than anyone before him, while his
sister Janet followed close behind
An unfortunate brush with child sex
abuse allegations ended his career
overnight.
During the last part o f the twen­
tieth century, there was a consider­
able rise o f A frican American female
singers making number one hits.
Anita Baker, Sade, Tina Turner,
Natalie Cole, and numerous other
black females dominated the music
industry.
Film and Television
Symbolic o f the struggle o f the
African American with discrimina­
Page 5
tion in this country, early films in­
cluded Uncle Tom ’s Cabin, in 1909
andfAt-W/ggerin 1915 During the
1920’s, African Americans worked
hard with independent Him studios
to create more realistic images of
blacks and their culture. Oscar
Micheaux, Noble Johnson, William
“ Bill” Foster, and other early pio­
neers in the industry fought hard to
keep racism at a minimum, publish-
M a d a m e C.J. W alker, first self-made American woman millionaire . H ym an 5. Thomas, invented
the potato chip, originally known as the Saratoga chip , M a tth e w A. Henson, first man to set loot on
the North Pole . Jessie Jarue M a rk , first woman to earn a doctorate in botany . Isaac M urphy, won
the very first Kentucky Derby . Dr. Charles Drew, discovered the method for preserving blood plasma
• Jewel LaFo n tan t M an kariou s, first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court Yvonne
Clark, first woman to earn B. S. in chemical engineering at Harvard .
in "scatting" style . Otis Boykin, invented guided missile device .
Louis Arm strong, first to sing
Jane W right, pioneered several
advances in the field of chemotherapy . Frederick M ckinley Jones, inventor of portable X-ray machine
W illia m A. H inton, developed first test for syphilis . N o rb e rt Rillieux, developed the first system for
refining sugar . 5. Boone, invented the first ironing board . Frank G rant, inventor of the baseball
chinguard , L.D. N ew m an , inventor o f the hairbrush . Shelby J. Davidson, created the first adding
machine . W illiam W arw ick Cardozo, pioneered the study of sickle cell anemia . Kurtis Blow, first
rap artist
You can t talk about Black history without talking about American history.
Let s remember the African Americans who helped build America.
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