“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” - SAMUEL B FULLER

The Accomplishments of our Black ancestors should be and are very important to the older generation of Blacks living today( and to the younger generation as well). Back in 1905, when Samuel B Fuller was born in Monroe, Louisiana ( Ouachita Parish ), Black citizens were experiencing much prejudice and poverty. By the age of 10, S.B. Fuller had dropped out of school and had begun selling products door-to-door.Around 1920, his mother decided to move her family to Memphis Tennessee{ the same town where Martin Luther King was killed }.Two years later, his mother died and he and his six siblings had to fend for themselves.Samuel B Fuller didn’t mind working.By the age of 18, he was well on his way to becoming a very successful Entrepreneur. Before making friends with Lestine Thornton (who later became his wife), He worked several odd jobs.However, S.B. Fuller knew in his heart that he could never attain the financial success he desired working for someone else( you can’t either ).Therefore, he decided to enter a partnership with Lestine Thornton. In 1929, at the age of 24, he incorporated Fuller Products. While starting his own business, S.B. Fuller continued working at Commonwealth Burial Association.Due to the success of his own business, he was able to leave Commonwealth, open a factory for his business, and expand his line of products.Samuel B Fuller went on to purchase several newspapers including the New York Age and the Pittsburg Courier. Additionally, he owned the South Center Department Store and the Regal Theater in Chicago.In closing, I would like mention that the children of Black parents who lived here in Monroe between 1900 -1929 produced several of our strong,prominent “BLACK LEADERS.” Leaders like Dr. John Reddix Sr, Dr. Raymond Pierce, B.D. Robinson, Morris Henry Carroll, Abraham Bowie Sr, Ibra January Sr., and Joseph Miller Sr !!!” Furthermore, They did so with meager earnings , very little support from White people or Government Assistant programs such as W.I.C. or S.N.A.P.[ someway,somehow, someday soon, Black People in Monroe must find a way to repeat what Our Black ancestors have already done, done! ].

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” - Mary Ellen Pleasant

There’s an old saying that I learned from my Personal Development Studies. It says,”Change your plan, but not your goal.” Whenever I think about The Underground Railroad, my mind almost instantly thinks of Harriet Tubman. Well, by way of my research of Black History, I have learned about another courageous black female who was actively involved in The Underground Railroad. Although some people say that Mary Ellen Pleasant was born in 1812, she adamantly stated that she was born on August 19, 1814 . Furthermore, because of her light skin complexion[ and white associates /friends ], Mary Ellen Pleasant was able to “PASS” as being “WHITE!” She ended up marrying a man named James Smith, a wealthy flour contractor and plantation owner who had freed his slaves and was also able to “PASS as WHITE!” She and her husband worked together on the Underground Railroad until his death. Also to my surprise, I learned that Mary Pleasant & Harriet Tubman were reportedly good friends of John Brown( the White Abolitionist who unsuccessfully led the raid on Harper’s Ferry. It was said that if Harriet Tubman wasn’t ill at the time,she would have died or been captured at Harper’s Ferry). Beginning in the 1860s, Mary Ellen Pleasant was called the "Mother of Civil Rights in California" for her work as an abolitionist. In addition to being an Abolitionist, Mary Pleasant was also an entrepreneur, financier, and real-estate magnate[ She was arguably the first self-made millionaire of African-American heritage, preceding Madam C. J. Walker ]. In closing, I think BLACK PEOPLE would do well to go back and study( and see ) how Mary Ellen Pleasant repeatedly had to change her “PLANS,”but she NEVER changed her “GOAL” of helping Negroes escape to freedom!

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” - Anthony Overton ll

Even today, it still perplexes me that there was very little mention of successful Negro Businessmen when I attended school. Nevertheless, with in the past 5-10 years, I have discovered that there were several. One of the most successful, of the many successful Negro businessmen that I learned about was actually born in Monroe, Louisiana on March 21, 1865. His name is Anthony Overton ll{ there is actually a picture of him located at The Monroe African American museum, here in Monroe }. By the way, his father, Anthony Overton Sr. was instrumental in starting one of the 1st schools for Negroes in Monroe( after the American Civil War ). During the era of Reconstruction He attended public school in Monroe before the family moved to Kansas in the 1870s. After several successful businesses and not so successful, Anthony Overton relocated his business to Chicago in 1911. Within two years the company manufactured 62 products and had a sales staff of 32 full time employees as well as over 400 door-to-door sales people. Anthony Overton was a great banker, manufacturer, and the first Negro in America to lead a major business conglomerate. Additionally, He later went on to start a newspaper( The Chicago Bee ), an advertising magazine[ the Half-Century Magazine ]. He also ran a Insurance Company{ The Victory Life Insurance Company }. Plus,Anthony Overton oSo What’s amazing about all that Anthony Overton ll achieved? Well for one, since there was no Internet or cellphones in his day that allowed people to communicate and conduct business all across the world and back ; He and his salesmen had to go door-to-door( repeatedly having doors shut in their face ). Two, he got hundreds of black people to “NOT ONLY” buy his company’s many products and read his newspaper, but he also was able to succeed in getting thousands of black people to purchase life insurance from his insurance company and put their hard earned dollars in his bank! Which stands out even more so when we you look at the deteriorating & debilitating conditions presently going on in our black communities( all over America ).Needless to say, the present generation of black people had better unite,organize,make plans, and execute those plan meticulously & methodically !

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” ~ Ella Jo Baker

When we examine the problems of today, it’s good to go back and take a look at the problems of the past ,which just happen to also be problems of today! During the early 1900s,”Mrs Ella Baker,”a Negro civil rights activist, human rights activist , and community organizer, helped unite & organize black people for black economic development. For more than 5 decades, Ella Baker worked tirelessly to get Negroes to support themselves economically, so that they wouldn’t have to depend on outside assistance.Also, she often worked with other well-known black figures worked alongside some of the most noted civil rights leaders of the 20th century, including W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip Randolph, and Martin Luther King Jr. She also mentored many emerging activists, such as Diane Nash, Stokely Carmichael, and Bob Moses, as leaders in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to help establish black economic networks, and develop cooperative economic societies throughout the United States for black economic development and causes.In short, Ella Baker took a proactive approach in solving the economic problems of the Negro In America.Furthermore, I would like to say that I believe as Mrs Baker believed. She believed that the bedrock of any social change organization is not its leaders' eloquence or credentials, but the commitment and hard work of the rank and file membership and their willingness and ability to engage in discussion, debate, and decision-making. Additionally, She especially stressed the importance of young people and women in the organization as well as the strong leadership of black men.Today, we are still fighting some of the same economic problems that existed back in the early 1900s. We all know what some of them are, but few of us are uniting and organizing the black people collectively to solve these economic problems!