November 24th in Black History
1775. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, issued the general order barring the recruitment of Blacks. This order was largely followed, but there were many instances where it was just ignored. The First Rhode Island Regiment is a good example of a unit that retained a large number of Black soldiers, and was recognized for “Deeds of Desperate Valor.”
1783. King Charles III of Spain signs the “Royal Cedula of Population,” designed to attract catholic immigrants to the island of Trinidad. This very liberal policy attempted to add to the very sparse population, and led to a dramatic influx of mostly French-speakers from all over the Western hemisphere. Black and White immigrants were allocated land, but this created the unexpected result of a demand for more slaves to work the land.
1868. Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana, TX. As a child, he had to go with his mother on her job of cleaning homes for rich white people. To fill his time, he experimented with their pianos, uncovering a talent that earned him the undisputed title of “King of Ragtime.”
1914. Bessie Blount was born in Hickory, Virginia. She became a physical therapist, and working with disabled WWII vets led to her creation of several inventions. Even in the mid-20th Century, it was extremely hard to get the United States government to show interest in any inventions from Black woman, so she eventually gave most of her work to a grateful French government. She was able to obtain a U.S. patent for one of her inventions; a device which enabled amputees to feed themselves.
Blount became a forensic scientist, and became the first Black woman to work at Scotland Yard after racist Gay Edgar Hoover refused her application to the F.B.I.
1920. Percy Sutton was born in San Antonio, TX. Sutton put himself through school at Prairie View A & M, Tuskegee Institute, and Hampton Institute. He enlisted with the Tuskegee Airmen and won combat stars as an intelligence officer with the 332nd Fighter Group's Black 99th Pursuit Squadron in the Italian and Mediterranean Theater. Today Sutton is a lawyer and head of a media empire in New York City.
1935. Ronald Vernie “Ron” Dellums was born in Oakland, CA. After a stint in the United States Marine Corps, Dellums became an educator, a politician, and a Human Rights activist. His tireless anti-apartheid campaigning was the subject of a Disney movie called “The color of Friendship.” Dellums is the current Mayor of Oakland, CA.
2009. Barack Hussein Obama becomes the first sitting American president to chair the United Nations Security Council.
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