Tag Archives: Black History Month

Black History Month–Day 24

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In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Gen. Colin L. Powell

First Black Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Gen. Colin L. Powell: He served 35 years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of four-star general and becoming the first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989 to 1993). National security adviser to President Ronald Reagan, he was appointed secretary of state in 2001 in George W. Bush’s administration. He received numerous awards, including two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters), a Purple Heart and numerous decorations from other countries.

Pfc. Milton Olive III

Service in Vietnam

Pfc. Milton Olive III: He was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor for saving the lives of four other U.S. Army soldiers during a battle early in the Vietnam War. Milton used his body to cover a grenade to save his fellow soldiers. “It was the most incredible display of selfless bravery I ever witnessed,” the platoon commander later told a journalist.

Thanks to Tanisha and Bryan Jones and their daughter Sinai for compiling these profiles from the following sources:

1) The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage, by Susan Altman
2) The Roots website, theroots.com
3) Famous Black Inventors website, black-inventor.com

Black History Month Day 23

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In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Gen. Roscoe Robinson Jr.

U.S. Army’s First Black Four-Star General

Gen. Roscoe Robinson Jr.: Before Gen. Colin Powell, there was Robinson, who became the first African-American four-star general in the U.S. Army. The West Point graduate’s career spanned two wars and four stars. In 1993 West Point recognized him as a distinguished graduate.

South Carolina Military Museum

Cpl. Freddie Stowers

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty (Medal of Honor)

Cpl. Freddie Stowers: On Sept. 28, 1918, while serving as squad leader of Company C, 371st Infantry Regiment, 93rd Division, Stowers went above and beyond the call of duty when his company led the attack at Hill 188, Champagne Marne Sector, France, according to his Medal of Honor citation. (The medal was presented to Stowers’ surviving sisters during ceremonies at the White House on April 24, 1991.)
Thanks to Tanisha and Bryan Jones and their daughter Sinai for compiling these profiles from the following sources:

1) The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage, by Susan Altman
2) The Roots website, theroots.com
3) Famous Black Inventors website, black-inventor.com

Black History Month–Day 22

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In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Lemuel Haynes

First Black Minuteman

Lemuel Haynes: He served as a minuteman during the American Revolutionary War, fighting at the April 1775 Battle of Lexington. He was an indentured servant who enlisted in the war after earning his freedom. He later became an ordained Protestant minister.

Crispus Attucks

First Casualty of the American Revolution

Crispus Attucks: The former slave was the first casualty of the American Revolutionary War when he was killed during the Boston Massacre. In 1888 the Crispus Attucks monument was unveiled in the Boston Common.

Thanks to Tanisha and Bryan Jones and their daughter Sinai for compiling these profiles from the following sources:

1) The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage, by Susan Altman
2) The Roots website, theroots.com
3) Famous Black Inventors website, black-inventor.com

Black History Month–Day 21

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In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Eric Williams

Eric Williams didn’t invent the cardiac stent, but his design for it has helped change the lives of millions who suffer from heart disease. With the use of stent technology, patients can avoid the arduous process of open-heart surgery, which can be particularly detrimental to older patients. Stent surgery is less invasive, and patients can usually go home the next day.

 

 

 

Thomas Jennings

Thomas Jennings was the first African American to receive a patent, on March 3, 1821 (U.S. patent3306x). Thomas Jennings’ patent was for a dry-cleaning process called “dry scouring”. The first money Thomas Jennings earned from his patent was spent on the legal fees (my polite way of saying enough money to purchase) necessary to liberate his family out of slavery and support the abolitionist cause.

Thanks to Tanisha and Bryan Jones and their daughter Sinai for compiling these profiles from the following sources:

1) The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage, by Susan Altman
2) The Roots website, theroots.com
3) Famous Black Inventors website, black-inventor.com

Black History Month–Day 20

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In honor of Black History Month, here are few profiles of contributors to history of African descent:

Judge Damon J. Keith

The Honorable Damon J. Keith

Damon J. Keith was born in Detroit, Michigan, and has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit since 1977. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Keith served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Keith is a graduate of West Virginia State College (B.A. 1943), Howard University Law School (J.D. 1949), where he was elected Chief Justice of the Court of Peers, and Wayne State University Law School (LL.M. 1956).

As a member of the federal judiciary, Judge Keith has consistently stood as a courageous defender of the constitutional and civil rights of all people. In United States v. Sinclair, commonly referred to as the Keith Decision, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed Judge Keith’s landmark ruling prohibiting President Nixon and the federal government from engaging in warrantless wiretapping in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Judge Keith was heralded for that decision in Joseph Goulden’s book, The Benchwarmers, as “a prime example of an independent federal judge” who “had the courage to say ‘no'” in the face of “a presidency which likened itself to a ‘sovereign.'” “The strength of the judiciary,” Goulden wrote, “is rooted in just such independence as that displayed by Keith.”
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