"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : EDWARD C BERRY

Once Upon A Time, on the Southside of Monroe, Louisiana. There was a School for Blacks named “Mt Nebo High School.” { The School was located on the corner of Jackson St and Thomas St }. Also, It was where the famous “ Mae Parade”( a Parade where Black People marched from Mt Nebo High School in Monroe to Boley Elementary School in West Monroe ) started. The “Mae Parade” is part of the “Forgotten Black History” of Monroe, Louisiana. Now, let me tell you about the Negro Businessman that opened a hotel that served White People and Black People,m. His name was “Edward C Berry.” He was born in Oberlin Ohio, in 1854. When his father died in 1870, young Edward had to quit school in order to help provide for his family[ his mother, his 8 siblings, as well as himself ]. He ended up walking 10 miles to Athens ,Ohio to find work. After finding work, Edward would send money back home to his mother. In addition to working odd jobs, he used part of his savings to run his own refreshment stand. Edward C Berry was often called the "Black Horatio Algier" of Athens, Ohio. After getting married, Edward decided to go into the restaurant business with his brother. However, since business was so slow,he bought his brother out, and went it alone. Business eventually picked up, and Edward continued saving his money! Between 1880 and 1882, Edward decided that he would go into the hotel business. Athens. In 1907, the hotel had 50 rooms, baths and all modern conveniences, and an elevator[ Berry’s hotel was the first hotel in the country to have closet hangers, sewing kits, and Gideon Bibles in each room ]. The hotel was so popular that men came from considerable distances just to spend Sunday there! His hotel was so successful that it was reported that “50% - 60% of the hotel’s customers were Whites( Note : he never turned away Negro customers }. The Berry Hotel even survived the “Financial Panic” of 1893. Edward C Berry died in 1931.

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : REBECCA LEE CRUMPLER

During my resent research into Black History, I came across some interesting information about a Black female doctor by the name “Rebecca Lee Crumpler.” She was born on February 8, 1831 in Christiana, Delaware. Not much was written about her parents, but it was reported that she was raised by her Aunt in Pennsylvania. It was while tagging along with and watching her Aunt( who often served as the town physician ) that Rebecca got a notion to attend medical school. After getting experience from helping her Aunt, Rebecca moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1852[ she worked as a nurse before applying and becoming accepted into the New England Female Medical College in 1860]. Thanks to a letter of recommendation from the physician who supervised her during her medical apprenticeship and her tuition being paid{ she won a scholarship award from the Wade Scholarship Fund } , Rebecca was able to attend medical school. Since back in 1860 it was very rare for Black men or Black women to be admitted to medical schools, it was no surprise that she was the “first and only”Black in her class! In February 1864, she graduated from New England Female Medical School, then on March 1, 1864 the Board of Trustees named “Rebecca Lee”( her married name at the time ) A Doctor of Medicine[ which gave her status as being “The First Negro Woman” in America to become a formally-trained physician ]. Also, Rebecca was the one of first Black physicians to have a medical book published in the United States. In 1883, she published A Book of Medical Discourses. Furthermore , Rebecca worked for the Freedmen’s Bureau to provide medical care to freed slaves who were denied care by white physicians. Additionally, Rebecca lived at 67 Joy Street in Boston, a predominantly African-American community in Beacon Hill. { her Joy Street house is a stop on the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail }. On March 9, 1895, Rebecca Lee Crumpler died in Boston Massachusetts. The Rebecca Lee Pre-Health Society at Syracuse University and the Rebecca Lee Society, one of the first medical societies for African-American women, were named after her , and are part of the Legacy that she left behind for future generations of Blacks. In closing, we as Blacks must make greater efforts to teach our Black youth about the people like Rebecca who endured being mistreated, scorned, and abused, so that future generations would not have it as bad!

OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : PHILIP ANTHONY PAYTON JR

“A Community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess” - A Philip Randolph It has been reported that back in 1920, Harlem, New York was a pleasant haven, a place of self-discovery, cultural awareness, and political activism for Negroes. With all that said, I would like to provide you with some information about a Black Man who is known as “The Father of Harlem”( due to his work in renting properties in Harlem ). I would like to introduce everyone to Mr Philip Anthony Payton Jr. He was born on February 27, 1876 in Westfield, Massachusetts. His father was a Barber, and he insisted that his son learn how to be a Barber as well. When it was time for young Philip to attend college, his father arranged for him to attend Livingston College[ his father was a personal friend of Dr Joseph Charles Price, who was the school’s founder ].In April of 1899{ against his parents wishes },Philip decided to leave his hometown and the family Barbershop. Somehow he developed a taste for the “Big Apple”( New York City ). When it came to working, Philip was no slouch. He worked part-time at a department store, worked part-time as a Barber, and part-time as a porter in a real-estate office. It was while working at the real-estate office that he got the idea of going into the real-estate business on his own!. In 1900, Philip and a partner opened the Brown and Payton real estate firm[ in June 1901, Philip got married ]. Due to financial troubles, his partner decided to leave the business in the spring of 1901. Instead of quitting, Philip decided to continue the business{ with his wife providing financial assistance }. The couple experienced hard times, and at one point, they were evicted from their apartment for not being able to pay their rent. Not long thereafter, things took a turn for the better! On June 15, 1904, with the help of other affluent Blacks, Payton chartered the Afro-American Realty Company, issuing 50,000 shares at $10 each( his business partner was a mortician named James C. Thomas ). Furthermore , the event that is said to have augmented Philip’s reputation in the Negro Community, and helped bring in more investors to his business was the famous “Real-Estate Race War” between his company and a White-Owned Company named The Hudson Company. The Hudson Company bought three neighboring tenement buildings from Afro-American Realty, evicted their Black tenants, and replaced them with White tenants. Now here’s the kicker, Hudson's builders agreed to only rent their properties to “Whites!” Philip’s company countered the Hudson Company’s move by purchasing two adjacent apartment houses, evicted their White tenants, and moved in the “Black” families evicted by the Hudson Company! Philip Anthony Payton Jr died on August 29,1917{ he was only 41 years old }. In closing, I would like to share an excerpt from an essay written by Booker T Washington “in 1896” entitled, “The Awakening of The Negro.” In his essay, he mentions the “crux” as to why Negroes suffered financially( even though they worked so hard physically ). Booker T Washington Said,”The Negro got the habit of “HARD WORK” from slavery. The rank and file of the race, especially those on the Southern plantations, work hard, but the trouble is, what they earn gets away from them in high rents, crop mortgages, whiskey, snuff, cheap jewelry, and the like.” Regretfully, the disheartening conditions that he described back then are still prevalent today in 2023! In his essay, he goes on to give a “REMEDY” to improve the financial conditions of the Negro. He suggested that the Negroes should “ORGANIZE” the older people into a club, or conference, and hold meetings “EVERY WEEK.” In these meetings the people were to be taught in a plain, simple manner how to save their money, how to farm in a better way, how to sacrifice, to live on bread and potatoes[if need be ] till they could get out of debt,begin the buying of lands, and become self-sufficient as a “RACE!” { Booker T Washington left us a clear and precise plan as to how Blacks can improve and transform our “Black Communities!” }

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : MRS. PEARLEE TOLIVER

“Check It Out and Lock It Down” ~ Pearlee Toliver It has been just over 20 years ago since The Lady known affectionately as “The Jewel of The Dail” passed away at her home in Monroe, Louisiana{ it was her stated wish that her age never be revealed in print }. For more than 30 years, she carried on The Jordan Singers Radio Show & The Pearlee Gospel Radio Show. Most listeners of her show probably still remember her catchphrase,”Check It Out and Lock It Down!” Pearlee Toliver was born in Drew Mississippi to the parents of sharecroppers. It was reported that when she was a young teenager, Pearlee dreamed of being on the radio. After serving 3 years in the Women’s Army Corps during WWll, she managed the gospel group,”The Jordan Singers,” which recorded for Checkers ( part of the legendary Chicago blues label Chess ). Later the group started their own radio program on KLIC-AM in Monroe. When the Jordan show ended, the Pearlee Gospel Show began. The station manager told her that in order for her to keep the show on air, she would have to collect her own radio ads and sponsors for the show. Some sponsors, like H.P. Gipson Sr. , who owned the Twin City Record Shop[ reportedly a former member of the Jordan Singers ] remained with Pearlee Toliver from her first shows to the last ones! Before her death, Pearlee appeared in the Robert Mugge documentary, ''Rhythm 'n Bayous.'' { She recorded her last show on station KZRZ-AM in Monroe }. In closing, I would like to say that Pearlee Toliver was a great example of what a Black person can achieve when they believe in their “God Given” talents & abilities!

OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : ANNIE M. T. MALONE

Annie was born on August 9, 1869 on a farm near Metropolis, Illinois in Massac County, Illinois( two years after Madam C.J. Walker ). After her father left the family to fight for the Union Army in the American Civil War, her mother moved the family to Metropolis, Illinois. Sadly, her father never returned home from the war, and her mother also died, leaving Annie to go and live with her older sister[ Ana Moody ] in Peoria, Illinois. Annie’s interest in hair and chemistry got her to experimenting with hair products. In 1900, Annie and her siblings moved to Brooklyn, Illinois. There she developed her own line of hair care products for Black females. She named her new product “Wonderful Hair Grower”. Annie recruited other Black women to help sell her products door-to-door. In 1902, she moved her business to St. Louis, Missouri. Many Black People are surprised to find out that before “Madam C.J. Walker” struck out on her on and became a millionaire, she worked as a hair care selling agent for Annie Turnbo Malone. In 1918, Annie founded Poro College, a cosmetology school and center. The building included a manufacturing plant, a retail store where Poro products were sold, business offices, a 500-seat auditorium, dining and meeting rooms, a roof garden, dormitory, gymnasium, bakery, and chapel( it also served the Black community as a center for religious and social functions). Poro College employed “NEARLY 200” people in St. Louis. Through its school and franchise businesses, the college created jobs for almost 75,000 women in North and South America, Africa and the Philippines. She later moved her business to Chicago, Illinois. Additionally, Annie is noted as being one of the wealthiest Black females of her day. Annie M.T. Malone died on May 10, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. In closing, I would like to mention that even during slavery in America, Black People have had their own “BLACK-OWNED” businesses{ they also created jobs for other Blacks }. Booker T Washington and the organisation he founded( The National Negro Business League ) even had yearly conventions where Black Business-Owners met and collaborated with one another. Also, between 1901 and his death in 1915, Booker T Washington took several tours of different towns, cities, and states documenting the progress of Negroes in business[ he wrote a “419 page” book called “The Negro in Business” ; the book was published in 1907 by Hertel, Jenkins & Company, and a copy is held by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture as well as the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture ]. His book included details,pictures, and names of many successful Black Business-Owners such as Junius G Groves [ The Potato King ] of Edwardsville, Kansas, E.C. Berry{ owner of the famous Berry Hotel }, and many other Black Business-Owners of that day & time! During Booker T Washington’s tour of Louisiana & New Orleans in April of 1915, few people would have ever believed that it would be his last visit { just seven months before his death } to Louisiana.