"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE": James Edward Shepard

“So our people not only have to be reeducated to the importance of supporting Black businesses, but the Black man himself has to be made aware of the importance of going into business! And once you and I go into business, we own and operate at least the businesses in our community. What we will be doing is developing a situation, wherein, we will actually be able to create employment for the people in the community.” ~ Malcolm X James Edward Shepard was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 3, 1875. After graduating from High School , he attended Shaw University( where he received a degree in pharmacy ). In 1896, he opened a pharmacy in Raleigh, North Carolina. Two years later he moved to Washington D.C. to take a position as comparer of deeds in the recorder's office. In 1910, James Edward Shaperd founded “The National Training School and Chautauqua in Durham, North Carolina,”[ he served as the school’s president ]. The school faced many financial challenges and was eventually taken over by the state{ it became the Durham State Normal School in 1923 }. After a fire at the school in 1925, the school became the North Carolina College for Negroes, the first state supported liberal arts college for blacks in the nation. This same school would later become the “HBCU” that is now,” North Carolina Central University.” A list of James Edward Shepherd’s many achievements included being a Grandmaster of the Prince Hall Free Masons of North Carolina, secretary for the Knights of Pythias, President of the North Carolina Colored Teachers Association , and Director of the Mechanics and Farmers Bank. Additionally, he was the only Negro speaker to speak at the World Sunday School Convention held in Rome in 1910. On October 6, 1947, James Edward Shephard died at his home in Durham, North Carolina. In closing, It is so,so sad that most Black Americans born after 1975 have little or no recollection of when Blacks owned and ran just about “ALL” of the Businesses in the Black community[ Note : It has been stated that the “Black Dollar” circulated through the Black community 10-12 times before leaving the Black community ].

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : Frederick McKinley Jones

The next time you open your refrigerator box, you can say thank you to Frederick McKinley Jones. He was born on May 17, 1893 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was Black and his father was White. His family had many financial problems, which led to Frederick being sent to Kentucky to live with a priest for about two years or so. Next,he decided to go back to Cincinnati. Once he got to Cincinnati, he worked odd jobs here and there. One of his jobs was working as janitor at a shop. Although he held the position as a janitor, Frederick knew himself to be much more than a lowly janitor. The owner of the shop saw his value and made him shop Foreman. Frederick was ambitious, so he decided to leave the shop and secure his engineering license in Minnesota. Soon after getting his engineering license, World War l started, and Frederick had to enlist. Instead of fighting on the front lines, he was called upon to repair the vehicles, radios and other machines.When the war ended, he went to work at the Hallock farm. It was on the Hallock farm that he got to hone his skills at fixing and inventing things. When the town he was living in decided to build a radio station, they called on Frederick to build the transmitter. Also, a local businessman by the name of Joseph A Numero hired Frederick to improve the sound machines for his company. In the1930s, Frederick designed and patented a portable air -cooling unit for trucks carrying perishable food. Additionally, he decided to enter a business partnership with Joseph A Numero. They called their company, “The U.S. Thermo Control Company. “ During WWll the U.S. military relied heavily on Frederick’s air-cooling invention and the U.S. Thermo Control Company. Over his career, Frederick McKinley Jones submitted over 60 patents to the U.S. Patent Office. In 1944, he became the first Negro to be elected to the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers. Also, in 1977, he was inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame. Finally, in 1991 President George HW Bush awarded the National Medal of Technology “Posthumously” to Frederick McKinley Jones and Joseph A Numero( their wives received their awards at a ceremony held in the Whitehouse Rose Gardens ). He was the first Negro to have received this award. On February 21, 1961, he died of lung cancer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In closing, I think that we might need to pay greater attention to our Black Youth who are deciding to dropout of school. Who knows, they might become the next Frederick McKinley Jones?

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : : HARRIET ROBINSON SCOTT

“A People without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture are like a tree without it’s roots” ~ Marcus M Garvey Every year during Black History Month, much is said about Harriet Tubman and how she helped slaves escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Well, while researching, I came across another “Harriet” who many Black People have hardly ever heard of. Interesting enough, this Harriet is actually connected to the landmark Missouri Supreme Court decision that held that The “U.S. Constitution” wasn’t meant to include American citizenship for Negroes( regardless of whether they were free or enslaved ). Therefore, Negroes should not be allotted any of the rights and privileges conferred to in the U.S.Constitution. Although through the years, many Black People have heard about the famous court case{ Dred Scott vs Sandford }, few can tell you that the case not only included Mr. Dred Scott, but also included his wife and their children as well! So what does this Harriet have to do with the case? You guessed it, this Harriet was Dred Scott’s wife. Harriet Robinson Scott was born into slavery in the state of Virginia[ around 1815 ]. She was a house Negro for a White man by the name of Major Lawrence Taliaferro. When he received his orders to go and stay at Ft. Snelling( Ft Snelling was Freedom territory, even though many Blacks lived there as slaves ), she went along with him. Around 1936, Dred Scott and his White slave-owner[ a military surgeon named Dr. John Emerson ], arrived at Ft. Snelling. After Dred met Harriet, he started to develop feelings for her. Harriet’s owner decided to sell her to Dred’s owner, so that Dred & Harriet could marry and be together. The couple was not always required to go with their White Masta’ when he received orders to be stationed at other places. Sometimes, they stayed for months in other places without their White Masta’ even being around. When Dr John Emerson died in 1843, ownership of Dred, Harriet, and their two children was passed down to his White wife, Irene Emerson. The Scott family ended up being hired out to different people in St. Louis, Missouri. While in St. Louis the couple came into contact with a group of people who were working to abolish slavery in St. Louis. They were advised by the group to petition for their freedom. On April 6,1836, they filed separate petitions with the St. Louis circuit court, on the grounds that they had lived much of their lives in Freedom territory. After the court dismissed their first petitions, the couple resubmitted petitions for their freedom. However, this time the court decided to combine their petitions together under the heading,”Dred Scott.” On January 12, 1850, the St. Louis circuit court ruled in favor of their Freedom petition. Soon after the ruling, their owner{ Irene Emerson } got with her brother, John Sandford and appealed the ruling to the Missouri Supreme Court. The Missouri Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the circuit court on the grounds that Negroes had no rights to sue Whites in court, because they were not considered citizens of the United States of America! Irene Emerson ended up selling The Scott family to a White family who supported Freedom for Negro slaves. At last, the family who bought the Scott family went on to set the entire Scott family free on May 26, 1857. 1857. In closing, it was reported that because the “circuit court” in St Louis had actually “ruled in favor” of the Scott’s petition for Freedom, White People in southern{ and some northern } states feared that more courts would grant more Negro slaves their Freedom. Therefore, it can be said that the historic “Scott vs Sandford” court case was one of “the sparks” that helped start the American Civil War!

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : LAWYER JAMES SHARP JR

This week’s article is about a local Black man from the town of Richwood, Louisiana. Not only did he graduate from Richwood High School rand Southern University, but he was also a U.S. Veteran of WWll. After returning home to Monroe, Louisiana from Law School and the war, he opened up his Law Practice in April of 1952[ making him the first Black lawyer to open up a practice in Monroe ]. Three years later he married a local teacher by the name of Barbara L Wilson. Who knew that this union would later produce 2 lawyers( Carl Sharp & Alvin Sharp ; who both would serve as Ouachita Parish Judges ) and an actor{ George”Monti” Sharp }. This man was Lawyer James Sharp Jr. Being that Lawyer Sharp was one of the few Black lawyers in Monroe at the time[ and because people knew they could count on him to do his best to defend them ], he was often called on to help defend numerous Blacks in Ouachita Parish. One of his most memorable cases was “The Sharp vs Lucky court case”( James Sharp Jr. vs Mrs. Mae LUCKY, Registrar of Voters, Ouachita Parish United States District Court ) that took place in 1958. In addition to being connected to attempts by Whites to keep Blacks from registering to vote, the case was also connected to the “GREAT VOTER PURGE” which started around that time in Ouachita Parish. Originally, Lawyer Sharp’s lawsuit was only on behalf of himself{ stating that his rights as a lawyer had been violated }, but the case was dismissed due to causes of jurisdiction[ Lawyer Sharp countered by appealing the ruling ]. However, in his appeal, Lawyer Sharp was Sharp! He amended his lawsuit to read that this time he wasn’t filing his suit as a lawyer, but as a Negro citizen whose civil rights had been violated. By doing so, two of the judges not only allowed his suit to go forward, they advised Lawyer Sharp that if he wanted to, he could amend the lawsuit even further( so as to include other Negroes with similar lawsuits ) as a “CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT.” On the surface , the judges made it seem like they were trying to be impartial. Sadly, they had no intentions of being fair or ruling in favor of a Negro citizen against a White citizen{ again they dismissed his lawsuit on the grounds that Mrs Lucky and her White assistant wouldn’t lie in court }. Although both of his lawsuits were dismissed, Lawyer Sharp helped bring “National Attention” to how Black People in Monroe were being discriminated against in regards to voting. Before he died, the Louisiana Bar Association thanked Lawyer Sharp for dedicating his life to serving the public[ over 50 long years ]. Also, along with having The Monroe City Court Building named in his honor, a commissioned portrait of James Sharp Jr hangs inside of the Monroe City Courthouse Building. In closing, I would like to share this information with the Black citizens of Monroe. In case y’all didn’t know, I found out earlier this year that a new “VOTER PURGE” has begun in Ouachita Parish. If you didn’t vote in the last three elections, please contact the Registrar of Voter office and inquire if your name is on the list of “INACTIVE VOTERS.”