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FREE NEWSPAPER - PLEASE TAKE ONE
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
FREE NEWSPAPER - PLEASE TAKE ONE
SPECIAL EDITION
Vol. 17 No. 2
The
411
Keeping The Dream Alive
Feb. 18 - Dr. Robert L. Green,
Emeritus Dean of the College
of Urban Development at
Michigan State University
and nationally recognized
expert on urban education
will be the keynote speaker
at The Black Faculty, Staff
and Administrators
Association's Black History
Month Lecture at the MSU
Kellogg Center, East
Lansing, MI. The reception
is set for 5-00-6:00 p.m. and
the program will start at
6:00 p.m. The lecture is free
to the public. For further
information contact Dr. Matt
Anderson, 355-8377.
Feb. 19 - The Central MI
Heritage Enterprise in
partnership with Willing
Vessels Ministries presents
The Heritage Ball - Theme:
Defining the Pursuit of
Justice - keynote: Dr. John
H. McClendon, III Professor,
Department of Philosophy,
MSU @ The Atrium Event
Center, 2685 Jolly Rd,
Okemos, MI 48864 The
Celebration will commence
at 7:00 pm. Tickets are
$25.00. Call: 517-336-6900
By e-mail:
[email protected]
Feb.22 Charline White/Cora
Brown Luncheon Tribute to
Michigan’s Women of Color
11 AM to 1:30 PM Anderson
House Office Building,
Mackinaw Room, 124
Capitol Ave., Lansing, MI.
The MBLC honors five
Michigan women of color
who have made significant
contribution to the citizens
of Michigan. This year’s
Bibbs
recipients are Hortense
Golden Canady, Honorable
Alma G. Stallworth, Dr.
Violent T.Lewis, Honorable
Erma Henderson, and
Alberta Dixon Wilkerson,
R.N. This event is free and
open to the public.
Feb. 23 - Black History
Month Annual Evening
Celebration 5 PM - 8 PM @
Michigan State Capitol
Building, 1st floor Rotunda.
An evening of fellowship,
Spectacular entertainment,
thought provoking
commentary and great
food. This event is free and
open to the public.
April 16,- The "Les
Meres et Debutantes Club
of Greater Lansing"
Cotillion to be held at
the Lansing Center
April 16 - Springtime
Ballroomer Nightout
featuring “The Smooth
Gentlemen” at the Lansing
Lexington Hotel, 925 S.
Creyts Ave., Lansing, MI
48917. Tickets $50 (advance
sales only) More info
coming
April 29 - 4th Annual Black
Men Inc. of Greater Lansing
(BMIGL) Charitable and
Education Fund
dinner/dance. The event
entitled “Saving a
Generation” to be held at
The MSU Kellogg Center
located at 55 S. Harrison
Rd., East Lansing. Dr. Rev.
Clyde D. Carnegie is the
keynote speaker.
www.mibulletin.org
FEBRU ARY 15, 2011
AFRICAN-AMERICAN
FACTS, INVENTIONS & RECORDS
Nathaniel Alexander was the
first to patent the folding chair.
His invention was designed to be
used in schools, churches and at
large social gatherings.
Andrew
Jackson
Beard
invented the
" J e n n y
Coupler"
in
1897, a device
which allowed
train cars to hook themselves
together when they are bumped
into one another. The device
saved the lives of many railroad
workers, who originally had the
dangerous job of hooking the
moving cars together by hand.
Henry Blair, the second AfricanAmerican to receive a patent,
invented a corn seed planter in
1834 and a cotton planter in
1836. Blair could not read or
write and signed his patent with
an X.
Otis Boykin invented electronic
control devices for guided
missiles, IBM computers, and the
control unit for a pacemaker.
C.B. Brooks invented the street
sweeper in 1896. It was a truck
equipped with brooms.
Henry Brown created what is
now known as a "strongbox",
Sarah E. Goode invented a bed
that folded up into a cabinet in
1885. Contrary to popular belief,
she was not the first AfricanAmerican woman to receive a
patent, but the second.
In 1899, African-American golf
fan Dr. George Franklin Grant
received a patent for the world's
first golf tee. Grant, however,
never marketed his invention,
instead giving the tees away to
friends and fellow golfers.
Thomas L. Jennings was the
first African-American to receive
a patent in 1821. It was for a drycleaning process in 1821. He
used the money earned from the
patent to purchase relatives out
of slavery and support abolitionist
causes.
Lonnie G. Johnson, an
engineer
who
performed
spacecraft system design for
NASA, invented the Super
Soaker water gun—the number
one selling toy in America in
1991.
Frederick Jones held over 60
patents, with most of them
pertaining to refrigeration. His
portable air conditioner was used
in World War II to preserve
medicine and blood serum.
Dr. Maulana Karenga created
the African-American holiday,
Kwanzaa, in 1966.
History has credited Thomas
Edison with the invention of the
light bulb, but fewer people know
about
Lewis
Latimer's
innovations
toward
its
development. Until Latimer's
process
formaking
carbon
filament, Edison's light bulbs
would only burn for a few
minutes.
Latimer'sfilament
burned for several hours.
Joseph Lee invented a breadmaking machine that mixed the
ingredients and kneaded the
dough in 1895.
John Love invented the pencil
sharpener in 1897.
Thomas J. Martin patented a fire
extinguisher in 1872.
Bridget
"Biddy"
Mason
founded the First African
Methodist Episcopalian church in
Los Angeles.
Jan Ernst Matzeliger invented
the Shoe Lasting machine, which
connected the upper part of the
shoe to the sole, a painstaking
process that was usually done by
hand.
This
invention
revolutionized the shoe making
industry.
Elijah McCoy invented an
automatic lubricator for oiling
steam engines in 1872. The term
"the real McCoy" is believed to
be a reference about the
reliability of Elijah McCoy's
invention.
Alexander Miles of Duluth,
Minnesota patented an electric
elevator in 1887 with automatic
doors that would close off the
shaft way, thus making elevators
safer.
African-American
inventor
Garrett Augustus Morgan
created the gas mask—then
became renowned for using his
mask to save workers trapped in
a toxic fume-filled tunnel.
Garrett
Augustus
Morgan
invented,
among many other
things, a three-way
automatic stop sign,
which he sold to
General Electric. It was used in
the U.S. until the three-light traffic
sign was developed.
L.P. Ray invented the dustpan in
1897.
George T. Sampson invented a
clothes dryer that used heat from
a stove in 1892.
Radio personalities Hal Jackson
and Percy Sutton co-founded
the Inner City Broadcasting
Corporation (ICBC). They also
acquired WLIB, which became
the first African-American owned
and operated station in New
York.
Lewis Temple (1800 - 1854)
revolutionized
the
whaling
industry with his invention of the
toggle harpoon in 1848.
James West's research in sound
technology
led
to
the
development of foil-electret
transducers used in 90 percent of
all microphones built today and in
most new telephones being
manufactured. West holds 47
U.S. and more than 200 foreign
patents on microphones and
techniques for making polymer
foil-electrets. He was inducted
into the National Inventor's Hall
of Fame in 1999.
Joseph Winters invented a fire
escape ladder in 1878.
Granville Woods (1856 - 1910)
invented numerous devices
relating to the railroad including a
system of overhead electric
conducting lines, air brakes and
a telegraph system that allowed
communication between moving
trains.
Henry ("Hank") Aaron broke
Babe Ruth's home run record
when he hit his 715th home run
in 1974. He set a Major League
record with 755 home runs in his
career.
When Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
reitred from the NBA in 1989, he
had scored the most points,
blocked the most shots, won the
most MVP awards, and played in
more All-Star Games than any
other player in the sport.
In 1995, writer Maya Angelou
was recognized for
remaining on The New
York Times Paperback
Nonfiction Bestseller
List for two years—the
longest running record
in history.
Olympic track champion Evelyn
Ashford became the first athlete
to run the Women's 100-meter in
under 11 seconds, a record she
would hold for five years.
In 1992, 35-year-old athlete
Evelyn Ashford became the
oldest woman to win an Olympic
gold medal in track-and-field.
In 2008, Jamaican sprinter Usain
Bolt became the first man in
history to set three world records
in a single Olympic games.
Wilt Chamberlain was the first
basketball player to score 100
points in a single game during
the 1961 season and the first
player in the NBA to score 30,000
points.
Athlete Alice Coachman leapt to
a height of 5-feet 6 1/8-inches in
the 1948 high jump finals at the
Summer Olympics. Her record
stood for eight years afterward.
Jazz drummer William "Cozy"
Cole broke Billboard records in
1958 with the single "Topsy,"
when it became the only drum
solo to sell more than one million
records.
In 2002, Maritza Correia
became the first black female
swimmer to break an American
record, beating out Jenny
Thompson, the most decorated
American swimmer in Olympic
history. She is also the first
female black swimmer to make it
onto the U.S. Olympic team.
Comedian Bill Cosby's 1984
sitcom, The Cosby Show,
became the highest ranking
sitcom for 5 years in a row. The
program aired for eight years.
African-American speed skater
Shani Davis is the only U.S.
skater to ever make both the
short and long track Junior World
teams three years in a row.
Poet Rita Dove is the second
African-American to receive the
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, an
award she received in 1987.
In 1974, collegiate track star
Denis Fikes ran the mile in a
time of 3:55.0, the fastest time by
an African-American, the second
fastest in the U.S. that year, and
the 15th-fastest in the world. The
record stood for more than a
decade.
Music legend Aretha
Franklin is one of the
most honored artists in
Grammy Award history,
with 20 wins to date.
Athlete Edward Gourdin was
the first man in history to break
the long jump record, with a jump
of 25-feet 3-inches. He later
became the first AfricanAmerican Superior Court judge in
New England.
Florence "Flo Jo" GriffithJoyner a runner known for her
stylish flair on the track, set the
world record for the 100 and 200
meter dash at the 1988 Olympics
in Seoul, Korea.
At age 23, Great Britain's Lewis
Hamilton became both the
youngest Formula One World
Champion in history, as well as
the first black one.
In 2006 Whitney Houston, a
celebrated singer, songwriter and
actress, was named the most
awarded female artist of all time
by the Guinness World Records.
In 1980, singer and performer
Michael Jackson secured the
highest royalty rate in the music
industry—37 percent of the
album's profit.
Pop icon Michael Jackson has
earned several Guiness World
Records,
including
Most
Successful Entertainer of All
Time for his 13 Grammy Awards,
13 No.1 singles, and the sale of
over
750
million
albums
worldwide.
The video for Michael and Janet
Jackson's duet, "Scream", cost
$7 million to produce, making it
the most expensive music video
ever made.
Michael
Jackson,
singer, songwriter, and
e n t e r t a i n e r
extraordinaire,
was
nominated
for
12
Grammy awards and
won a record-breaking
eight in 1984. He has
received 13 Grammy
awards in his career, and
is a double inductee into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
(as part of the Jackson 5 and as
a solo artist). He holds the title of
Most Top 10 Singles from an
album for Thriller (1982) and the
Most No. 1 Singles from an
album for Bad (1987).
African-American entrepreneur
Reginald Lewis' 1992 gift to
Harvard Law School was the
largest single donation the school
ever received from an individual
at that time.
Track and Field star, Jesse
Owens (1913 - 1980) broke
many records at the 1936
Olympic games in Berlin,
including becoming the first
athlete to win four gold medals in
one Olympiad.
Baseball star Satchel Paige was
more than 40 years old the entire
time he pitched for the major
leagues, making him the oldest
rookie in baseball history.
Deval Patrick is the first AfricanAmerican to be governor of
Massachusetts and the second
man in U.S. history to be elected
African-American governor.
Susan Rice is America's third
woman ambassador to the UN,
and the first black woman to hold
the position.
In
1960,
Olympian
Irvin
Roberson broke Jesse Owens'
25-year-old world indoor record
in the broad jump with a 25-foot
9-inch leap. After breaking the
record, Roberson began a sixyear professional football career
in which he landed an MVP title.
After retiring from the game,
Roberson earned a Ph.D. in
psychology.
Frank Robinson is the only
baseball player to win MVP
honors in both the National and
American Leagues.
Michael Johnson, a sprinter
often billed as "the fastest man in
the world", has won five Olympic
gold medals; broken numerous
world records including his own;
and placed first in both the 200meter and 400-meter races
within the same Olympic game in
1996.
Wilma Rudolph (1940 -1994) a
record breaking track star was
born the 20th of 22 children, and
stricken with polio as a child. She
not only overcame polio but
broke world records in three
Olympic track events and was
the first American woman to win
three gold medals at the
Olympics (1960).
During the 2008 Olympic trials,
Cullen Jones became the first
African-American swimmer to
hold a world record when he
completed the 50-meter freestyle
in 21.59 seconds.
African-American
business
pioneer Madame C.J. Walker,
supplied the largest amount of
money toward the preservation of
former abolitionist Frederick
Douglass' home.
Music composer and producer,
Quincy Jones is the most
Grammy-nominated artist in the
history of the awards with 76
nominations and 26 awards.
The Buffalo Soldiers served in
the Spanish American war,
various Indian wars and helped
to settle the west by installing
telegraph lines, protecting wagon
trains and defending new
settlements. More than 20
Buffalo Soldiers have received
the highest military award, the
Medal of Honor—the most any
military unit has ever received.
At the 2010 Grammy Awards,
Beyonce
Knowles
singer
walked away from the ceremony
with six awards—the most wins
in a single night by a female artist
in the history of the event.
Singer
Beyonce
Knowles
became the second best-selling
female artist of the 21st century
with record sales of over $37
million.
Beyonce Knowles, an awardwinning singer, songwriter and
actress, holds the record for the
longest run on the Billboard Hot
100's No. 1 spot in 2003 with the
songs "Crazy in Love" (8 weeks)
and "Baby Boy" (9 weeks).
African-American Tiger Woods
is the highest-paid professional
athlete, earning an estimated
$122 million from winnings and
endorsements.
Golfer, Tiger Woods (1975 - ) is
the youngest person
and the first AfricanAmerican to win the
M a s t e r s
Tournament in 1997
and by a record
breaking lead of 12
strokes. He was
also the highest paid athlete in
2005, earning an estimated $87
million dollars.
According to the offical record
185,000 Black soldiers served in
the Union army. These soldiers
were identified as the United
States Colored Troops. They
were organized into 166
regiments (145 infantry, 12 heavy
artillery, 7 cavalry, 1 light artillery
and 1 engineer). Black soldiers
participated in 410 military
engagements and 39 major
battles. Sixteen Black soldiers
received Congressional Medals
of Honor for gallantry in action.
Black sailors. Twenty-nine
thousand Blacks served on
Union ships as coal heavers,
stewards, boatswains, firemen
and gunners. Four Black sailors
received Medals of Honor.
INSIDE THE MICHIGAN BULLETIN
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