Portland observer., February 23, 2005, Page 10, Image 10

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_____ % B lack H istory M onth
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Black H istory M onth
Chemist Increased Food Supply
continued
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George Washington Carver helped revolutionize the southern agricultural economy,
making it less dependent on cotton. He showed that 300 products could be made from
peanuts and by 1938, peanuts became a $200 million industry. Carver also went on to
demonstrate that 100 different products could also be made from the sweet potato. He
always enjoyed flowers and wore one on the lapel of his jacket every day.
from A9
He struggled to gain an education,
eventually enrolling at Iowa State College
where he received a degree in agricultural
chemistry.
At Tuskegee Institute in Alabama,
Carver demonstrated that agricultural pro­
ductivity could be increased by crop rota­
tion and by planting soil-enriching crops
such as cowpeas, sweet potatoes, pea­
nuts and soybeans.
The next step for Carver as an agricul­
tural chemist was to find alternative uses
for these crops. From sweet potatoes, for
example, came a raft of new products:
flours, starches, sugar, a faux coconut,
vinegar, synthetic ginger, chocolate,
stains, dyes, paints, writing ink, etc.
But it was the lowly peanut that made
C arver most fam ous. From the peanut.
C arver developed a host o f new prod­
ucts, most notably milk, but also butter,
m eal, W orcestershire sauce, various
punches, cooking oils, salad oil and
m edicines, as w ell as cosm etics such as
hand lotions, face cream s and powder.
All together, he discovered more than
300 food, industrial and com m ercial
products from the peanut.
Not only was C arver a scientist, he
also was a teacher and interpreter of
scientific inform ation who w anted to
guarantee that the fruits o f his research
reached poor southern farm ers. This he
did by issuing 44 agricultural bulletins
intended to serve as m anuals supplying
simple cultivation inform ation for farm ­
ers.
W hen C arver died in 1943, the N a­
tional Park Service made his M issouri
birthplace a national monument, the first
such honor bestow ed on an A frican-
American.
Quotation to Provoke Interest, Learning:
grew on me, black men especially, were expected to be
subservient even in groups where ostensibly everyone was equal. ’
- Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005), first African American woman elected to Congress.
FINALLY RELEASED!!!
Frederick Douglass helped lead slaves to freedom on the
Underground Railroad.
American Hero Freed
Himself, Others
Rose up from dire conditions
Frederick Douglass spent 25 of
his most influential years as an
abolitionist and orator in Roches­
ter, N. Y„ and later wrote that it was
where “I shall always feel more at
h o m e... than anywhere else in the
country.”
Bom around 1817, Douglass
was separated from his mother as
an infant and raised by his grand­
mother, Betsey Bailey, in a log
c a b in on a p la n ta tio n on
M aryland’s Eastern Shore.
T h re e c ru c ia l d e c isio n s
changed the course of his life: He
learned to read, defied a profes­
sional “slave breaker” hired to
discipline uncooperative slaves,
and freed him self by fleeing on a
train in 1838 to New York and then
M assachusetts, where slavery
was prohibited.
His fame spread by way o f his
autobiography. First published in
1845, “The N arrati ve of the Life of
Frederick Douglass: An Ameri­
can Slave” recounts the dire con­
ditions under which he lived as a
slave from age 6.
During a subsequent 18-month
tour in Britain and Ireland, Douglass
earned $4,(XX) in contributions to
launch his anti-slavery newspaper
herein 1847. The 13th Amendment
outlawed slavery in 1865.
Douglass helped lead slaves to
freedom on the Underground Rail­
road, a string o f safe houses and
hiding places from the South to the
North.
An eyew itness described his
home in Rochester as “a labyrinth
o f secret panels and closets, where
he se c re te d the p o o r hum an
wretches from the man hunters and
the bloodhounds, who were usu­
ally not far behind.”
An exhibit scheduled through
2006 at the Rochester Museum and
Science Center explores Douglass’
life and ties with the city, where he
was later buried and a public statue
of him, the first in the nation to
honor a black A m erican, was
erected.
The exhibit features 300 photo­
graphs, maps, handwritten letters
and other artifacts.
BLACK H I STORY M ONTH
T W IL L C O N T IN U E F IG H T IN G
PepperBird Books is pleased to finally release “AKEE TREE,
A Descendant’s Search for his Ancestors on the Eskridge
Plantations,” by Portland writer Stephen Hanks.
It began as mere curiosity when the funeral letter from
Kansas arrived. It ended with discovering his African roots
and preserving the saga of four matriarchs who kept the
family bloodline alive during 140 years under American
Slavery.
FOR FREEDOM U N T IL THE
END OF MY DAYS.”
Four women: Akey, Jenny, Rose, and Eliza, labored to
keep different generations of the family together while
under slavery until it was finally abolished and the family
left Mississippi for Kansas after changing their last name.
NLLSON M A N D tL A
Author Stephen Hanks’ painstaking 10-year research takes
him back In time through four plantations, ending up at
the early 18th century plantation of a Virginia attorney
whom George Washington was named after. AKEE TREE
delivers to readers a fresh, raw, and revealing account
that will have them turning each page until reaching the last leg of the journey: to Africa! AKEE TREE
Is not only a dramatic family biography, but also a compelling Investigative search for Identity.
Paperback. 420 Pages. $28.00 ISBN: 0-976-58660-6. Order at your local bookstore or send mall
order to: PepperBird Books, 4515 N. Interstate, Suite 4, Portland, OR 97217, 503-282-6696.
Stephen Hanks reads from his book and signs copies, 3 p.m., Sunday March 6, Genealogical Forum
of Oregon, 1505 SE Gideon St., Portland (North of Powell Blvd and SE 13th Place) 503-963-1932.
If you haven't had
the flu yet, celebrate.
A n d th e n g o g e t a flu s h o t.
You can catch influenza right through April.
We have vaccine available for adults and children older than 6 months.
We’ll offer flu shots to the public as long as our supply lasts.
Shots are free to members; nonmembers pay $20 to cover costs.
Go to the Nurse Treatment Room at:
Kaiser Permanente Interstate Medical Office East
3550 N. Interstate Ave., Portland
N elso n M a n d e l a - A t r ij f t r a il
BLAZER IN T H E B LA C K C O M M O N IT Y
AND A TRUE INSPIRATION
FOR ALL COMMUNITIES.
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
kaiserpermanente.org
M
l
KAISER PERMANENTE. th riv e
JOIN US IN CELEBRATING
BLACK HISTORY M O N TH
at THE
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