"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON

Today, in Monroe, Louisiana,it seems that many Black students at the schools in our Black Communities do not remember that Howard University was actually the “chosen facility” for training Negro Civil Rights Lawyers. As a matter of fact, noted Civil Rights Attorneys Thurgood Marshall and Oliver Hill both attended Howard University. Also, they both worked on the historic Brown vs The Board of Education case. So why should we teach our Black children in our Black Communities about Howard University being the chosen facility to train Negro lawyers? Well, more frequently than ever, more and more of our Black youth are getting caught up in the legal system. A system that is ready & able to put them back in the “role of slaves.”Therefore, I hope that by teaching our Black youth about how Black People had used Howard University to train Black Civil Rights lawyers in the past, they will want to learn more about “The Black Lawyer in History.” Now, let’s get to this week’s Black Pioneer! Charles Hamilton Houston was born on September 3, 1895 in Washington D.C. to William Le Pré and Mary Houston. At the age of 15, Charles graduated from the famous “M Street High School.” Next, he enrolled at Amherst College. In 1915, he graduated from Amherst and took a teaching position at Howard University where he taught English. However, when World War l began, Charles joined the U.S. Army. In the U.S.Army, he experienced firsthand many of the injustices that Negroes had to bear. Therefore, once discharged from his duties, he enrolled into Harvard Law School. At the end of 1923, Charles had earned his Bachelors of Law degree and a DJS degree. In 1924, Charles was admitted to the Washington, D.C. Bar and joined his father's Law practice in Washington! Charles accomplished many marvellous things in his lifetime. Some of them included serving as the first special counsel for the NAACP, co-founding The National Bar Association in Washington, and serving as Dean of the Howard University School of Law where he took the law program from part-time to full-time. Furthermore, because of his leadership, Howard University became the “chosen facility” for training Negro Civil Rights Lawyers. Two of his most noted Protégés were Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Civil Rights Attorney Oliver Hill. On April 22, 1950, Charles Hamilton Houston died from a heart attack, at the age of 54.

“ OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE “ ANDREW F HILYER

In a speech given by Malcolm X on January 24, 1964, he said,”When you deal with the past, you’re dealing with history, you’re dealing actually with the origin of a thing. When you know the origin, you know the cause. If you don’t know the origin, you don’t know the cause. And if you don’t know the cause, you don’t know the reason, you’re just cut off, you’re left standing in mid-air.” Well, I’m suggesting that this is where Our “Black Communities” in Monroe, Louisiana are Today! You see, most Black people born after 1950 in Monroe have a vague recollection of the past things that went on in Monroe during the early and mid 1900s. Many of them are so clueless that they don’t even know that the 165 Crossover Bridge near Carroll High School, the one that was recently painted and has the face of a Carroll Bulldog on it, is actually named for a White family that lived in Monroe who had the last name of “Renwick.” Also, they don’t seem to know that in the past that a White man name Robert Fuller shot and killed some of his Black employees along Tichelli Road in Monroe. Additionally, they don’t know that the Black guy that survived Robert Fuller’s attack was arrested after he was taken to the hospital, and had to serve jail time! Recently, it came to me that by looking at the past, we can better understand some of the events happening in Monroe today. We need to understand that Black men going to jail for unjust causes and the White man not being charged didn’t just start happening in 2022. It has happened thousands of times in the past. Furthermore, I agree with Malcolm X when he said that the thing that has kept most Black People “almost crippled” in American Society is our complete lack of knowledge concerning the past. Finally, I feel that it is imperative for more Black People to begin taking advantage of the many books, articles, reports, and other sources of information about the past that is available at the local public libraries as well as on the Internet. Well, now let’s get to this week’s Black Pioneer! Andrew Franklin Hilyer was born Hilyer on August 14, 1858 in Georgia. It is believed that his father was also his slavemaster. After the American Civil war he and his mother moved to Nebraska. Soon after the death of his mother, he relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became friends with a few of the wealthy White elite families. Andrew graduated from Minneapolis High in 1878. Next, he graduated front the University of Minnesota in 1882. Following his desires to become a lawyer, Andrew decided to enroll at Howard University.He ended up earning 2 Law degrees from Howard! One of his highest accomplishments was becoming one of the founders and the first president of the Union League of the District of Columbia which was organized in 1892, "to advance the moral, material and financial interests of the colored people” in Washington. Andrew also attended and represented the U.S. Commission at the Paris Exposition of 1900 held in London, where he organised the “Collective Exhibit of Negroes in Merchandise, Factories and Allied Occupations.” Lastly, he founded The Negro Correspondence Club which was designed to influence public opinion, media representation and public policy as they affected the black community. The membership of this club was limited to only twelve people and “its existence was never publicized.” On January 13, 1925, Andrew F Hilyer died at his home. It is wonderful that his home is still part of the Howard University campus today,and is used for administrative offices.

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : VALENA C. M. JONES

While researching this week’s Black Pioneer, it came to my attention that there use to be “a rule” in Louisiana, and other states that actually “prohibited married women” from teaching in public schools. It didn’t matter how popular or how professional the teacher may have been. According to the rule, once a women married, she couldn’t teach at a public school anymore! Surprisingly, as late as 1911, the rule remained in effect. With that said, let’s get to this week’s Black Pioneer! Her name is Valena C. M. Jones. Valena was born in in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1872. Not much was recorded about her early schooling in Mississippi. However, it was reported that she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to attend Straight University in 1892. After graduating Straight University, Valena moved back to Hancock County, Mississippi to become the “principal of the Bay St. Louis Negro School.” Her tenure as principal lasted approximately 4 years. In 1897, Valena decided to return to New Orleans to teach in the public school system. One of the highlights of her teaching career in New Orleans was when she was voted as the “Most Popular Colored Teacher!” Along with being recognised, Valena was awarded a nice bicycle! In 1901, she got married to Reverend Robert R. Jones. However, she had to leave the teaching profession, because of a standing rule that prohibited married women from teaching in public schools in Louisiana. Among the things Valena enjoyed as a wife was helping her husband in his duties as editor of the religious newspaper, the Southwestern Christian Advocate. The newspaper was published by the Methodist Episcopal Church in New Orleans. It was widely read by Negroes as well as White people throughout the southern region of the the United States. It was strongly suggested that the success of the Southwestern Christian Advocate newspaper was mainly due to her tireless dedication and efforts! If she would have lived a few years longer, she would have got to experience the joy of teaching in public schools again as well as the passage of women’s suffrage in America. However, her life was cut short. On January 13, 1917, Valena C.M. Jones passed away quietly and peacefully. Her husband, Robert R Jones had her buried in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. After her death, a school in New Orleans Louisiana was named after her in 1917. Also, in 1947 , the city where she began her teaching career, Bay St. Louis also honored her by naming a school after her!

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : JOHN STEWART ROCK

             Not too long ago I read a quote that said,”Pass The Truth To The Next Generation ; We Must Teach Them Early What We Learn Late!” The quote was talking about teaching our Black children the truth about things that happened before they were born. However, there’s a funny thing about the “TRUTH.” You see, you can have three different people witness an incident, and still  get three different scenarios about what actually happened. A good example is the incident that occurred last year at a Carroll High School football game. The Carroll football coaches gave their version of the Truth, the Sheriff gave his version of the Truth, and a bystander even video-recorded the incident. By Sadly, the Truth in many cases is that the Truth simply gets lost in the police report that’s submitted to the police department and the court. Nevertheless, let’s turn our attention to this week’s Black Pioneer, John Stewart Rock.       John was born on  October 13, 1825 in Salem, New Jersey to free negroes, John and Maria (Willett) Rock. John did so well in school that by the age of 19, he had qualified to become a school teacher. In 1844, he began teaching at a one-room school in Salem. After four or five years of teaching, and studying medicine on the side,John decided to try his hand at dentistry. Back then, there was a thing called an “Apprenticeship.” John chose to take an apprenticeship with a White  doctor by the name of Dr. Harbert. Next, he applied to attend medical school. In 1852, John graduated from American Medical College in Philadelphia!  He became one of the first Negroes in America to gain a medical degree. Before the age of 28, he had 

 become a successful teacher, dentist, and a noted physician.Wow,              quite an accomplishment for a Negro in that period of history! Later on, John became an abolitionists and civil rights leader. Also, on September 14, 1861, T. K. Lothrop, a White lawyer, persuaded a local Judge to allow John the opportunity to take the law examination. John passed the exam with flying colors and gained admittance to the Massachusetts Bar.  He was thrilled that he had finally achieved one of  the last items on his bucket list!                One of the highest honors he ever received, occurred on February 1, 1865, the day after the approval of the 13th Amendment. A White man named Charles Sumner introduced a motion that made John Stewart Rock the first Negro attorney to be admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court!Furthermore, he became the first Negro to be received on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Sadly,on December 3, 1866, John S. Rock died from tuberculosis. He was only 41 years old.

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : FANNIE C WILLIAMS

 “OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : FANNIE C WILLIAMS                  It will come as a big surprise to some, but maybe not much of a surprise to others. The surprise is what a few states are starting to go back to, in order to deal with the teacher shortage situation. You see, there was a time in New Orleans, Louisiana that a person did not have to have a four-year college degree in order to teach in Louisiana public schools. Before 1940,  a person could graduate high school, receive their diploma, and attend what was called a “Normal School” for about 2 years.Normal School were developed and built primarily to train elementary-level teachers for the public schools systems. Once they had received their certificate, they could teach in a Louisiana public school. Which happens to bring us to this week’s  Black Pioneer,” Fannie C Williams!          Fannie was born on March 23, 1882 in Biloxi, Mississippi. She attended high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1904,  Fannie graduated from Straight College in New Orleans, which later became Dillard University. The bulk of her career as an educator was in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1921, Fannie was appointed principal of Valena C. Jones Elementary School. In addition to acting as the principal of the elementary school ; in 1931 she also became head principal of the Valena C Jones Normal & Practical School, which certified Negro teachers for the New Orleans Public Schools. A few of her accomplishments included starting a health day at the elementary school, where children were treated by local Black medical professionals for free of charge, starting the first Negro Troop of Girl Scouts ; Troop 99, in the city of New Orleans, and she personally trained & certified thousands of Negro public school teachers during her 30 plus years as an educator. Fannie C Williams died in 1980 at the golden age of 98. Note : thanks to funds from FEMA and other contributors, there is now a New Fannie C Williams Charter School located in New Orleans 7th Ward!