"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : Scipio Africanus Jones

Today in America, with the exception of the Blacks who are locked up as a result of being caught up in the American Prison System, most Black People are deemed to be “Free Black” Americans. Which draws our attention to the “13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. You see, on January 31, 1865, the U.S. Congress passed the 13th Amendment which was ratified on December 6, 1865. Henceforth, abolishing slavery in the United States. However, within the Amendment, there’s a special clause in “Section One” that reads,”Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Surprisingly, that single clause provides a “LOOPHOLE” for the continuance of slavery in America! Last year, in Louisiana, a Black State Representative proposed an amendment to the “Louisiana Constitution” to ban slavery and involuntary servitude. Sadly, after the amendment had been reworded & watered down, even the representative who proposed the amendment ended up opposing it! Well, this week’s Black Pioneer is Scipio Africanus Jones. He was born on August 3, 1863 in Dallas County, in south Arkansas to a 15 girl by the name of Jemmina Jones. His father was an unknown White man. As a youngster, Scipio attended Negro schools near his hometown. When he turned 21, he moved to Little Rock, Arkansas to attend Philander Smith College. In 1885, Scipio earned his bachelor’s degree from Shorter College, a Negro college in North Little Rock. After graduating, he took a teaching position in Big Rock District. Some of his main accomplishments included him being initiated into the Prince Hall Freemasonry, his passing the Arkansas Bar in 1889, his becoming the founder and owner of People's Ice & Fuel Company, which was the only black-owned and black-operated ice manufacturing company, and the only black-owned and black-operated fuel company in America. However, the accomplishment that gained him National fame and notoriety was when he represented “Over 90 Negro” defendants, including the “ELAINE 12,” who were connected to the famous “Elaine Arkansas Riot of 1919!” On March 2, 1943, Scipio Africanus Jones died and was buried at Haven of Rest Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. In closing, I would like remind everyone that election time is very near! Therefore, make sure you are a registered voter and that your name is not on the list of people to be removed from the active voter roll in Monroe, Louisiana/ Ouachita Parish.

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : MISS McCREE HARRIS

Today, many Black High School Students in Monroe , Louisiana are shocked to hear about a court case involving a Black person where the person decides to “serve jail time,” rather than “pay the fine!” Well, during the Civil Rights Movement, there were plenty of Negroes who decided to do so. As a matter of fact, there were several times when students and civil rights leaders deliberately went to jail as a means of protest. Somehow, it seems like this new generation has only a vague idea of just what the Civil Rights era was about! Furthermore, I sure wished that teachers could have taught about this in school this year, but the Louisiana Superintendent of Education said no! Maybe he said no because some people feel that the topic is a part of Critical Race Theory, I don’t know. However, I do know that Black parents need to be reminding their Black children about the Civil Right Movement! Now, let’s read about this week’s Black Pioneer! Miss McCree Harris was born in 1934 in Albany, Georgia. Her parents, Reverend Isaiah A. Harris and Katie B. Harris, dedicated their lives working for racial equality & economic empowerment for Negroes. Miss McCree graduated from Columbia University, and was hired as a teacher at a Negro school. At Monroe High School, she taught French,Latin, Social Studies, and Negro History. Miss McCree wasn’t your average type of teacher. After teaching her students at school, once school let out,she would often take her students downtown to test the desegregation rulings at local stores and movie theaters. Also, Miss McCree encouraged all of her students to get involved in the Civil Rights efforts. Her parents and siblings were already actively working on different Civil Rights projects. When Blacks got together to form The Albany Movement, a desegregation and voters' rights coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, in November 1961, Miss McCree and her family participated. Shockingly, most Black People do not know that The Albany Movement was a precursor to the March on Washington in 1963. During the Albany Movement, is was said that over 1,000 Black People were arrested, including Rev Martin Luther King Jr. ! Additionally, Miss McCree and her family did many things behind the scenes to help the Albany Movement. You see, she strongly believed in educating Black youth to build a larger movement for years to come. On July 21, 2000, Miss McCree Harris died at the Palmyra Medical Center in Albany, Georgia.

“OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE” : SHERIFF PETER CROSBY

It was reported that General Ulysses S Grant wrote in his Personal Memoirs, “The fate of the Confederacy was sealed when Vicksburg fell, and the Confederate military forces surrendered in Vicksburg,Mississippi on July 4, 1863.” Peter Crosby was born in 1844, and lived twenty years in Clark County, Mississippi. In 1864, he moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi and enlisted in the U.S.Army. At the age of 20, he became a member of the US Colored Troops in Company C, 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery. From 1864 - 1873, Young Crosby accumulated over $5,000 worth of land and was noted as being a prosperous member of the city of Vicksburg, not bad for an ex-slave! Additionally,Peter was part of a Negro political group called the “Vicksburg Ring” that regulated the city politics of Vicksburg. In 1873, he was elected Sheriff of Warren County, which included Vicksburg, and that didn’t sit well with many of the White citizens in town. Yet,the White citizens waited until December of 1874 to officially get Peter to resign his position as Sheriff. At gun point they had him sign a letter of resignation. He did so, but he also sent for help from the federal government. However, several Black men weren’t for waiting on the federal government to send help. Armed with guns, they went down to the city courthouse to make Peter Sheriff again! Sadly, that would be the day of the “Wild Vicksburg Massacre,” where 50 - 300 Black People ended up being killed. Eventually, federal troops arrived to restore the peace and reinstate Peter to his rightful position as Sheriff of Vicksburg. Unfortunately, this didn’t sit well with the White citizens either. So, the White People of Vicksburg hired a White deputy and forced Peter to work with him. The deputy’s name was J.P. Gilmer. Lastly, in 1875, the local White League, a White supremacist organization, falsely accused Vicksburg’s Black leaders of corruption. They vowed to “Make America Great Again” by removing Negro officeholders from their positions of power. The White League was smart enough to know that as long as local Black citizens “VOTED” and “CONTINUED TO OWN” LARGE AMOUNTS OF LAND, they posed a “THREAT” to White political and economic supremacy! Also, along with having to put up with a Negro as Sheriff, the White citizens were not happy seeing Negroes acquiring large amounts of property in Vicksburg and gaining “economic control” of the city. Therefore, on June 7, 1875, Peter’s White deputy, J.P. Gilmer shot him in the head. Gilmer was arrested for attempted murder but never brought to trial. Although Peter survived the murder attempt on his life, he never made a full recovery from it.. Nevertheless, he was allowed to finish out his term as Sheriff, but a White citizen was appointed to assist him. Peter lost his bid for re-election, and wasn’t able to do much after then. On March 15, 1884 ,Peter Crosby died in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Even though he was only 40 years old when he died, he left behind a great legacy for future generations of Black People to admire! In Closing, it appears to me that tactics similar to the intimidation and violence tactics utilized by White Mississippians with the intent on “restoring white supremacy” back in 1875 are now starting to reappear here in Louisiana. Furthermore,I feel that it’s time for the Black Leaders and Black Citizens of Louisiana to awaken from their sleep and unite & organize, before what happened in 1875 happens again!

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : GEORGE HENRY WHITE

Sometime ago, I read an article on the internet entitled,”The Negroes Temporary Farewell.” Well, I searched on Google for the article this past weekend, but could not find it. Nevertheless, the article was about how when a Negro representative from North Carolina by the name of “George Henry White” gave his farewell speech on the floor of the U.S. Congress in 1901. You see, George was the last Negro to serve in the U.S. Congress for almost “3 whole decades!”Therefore, for almost 30 years, there were no Negro representatives serving in the U.S. Congress. A Negro serving in Congress from the North would have to wait until 1928, before another Negro would serve again. In 1928, a Negro by the name of Oscar S. De’Priest was elected to represent the First Congressional District of Illinois. As for the election of a Negro representative from the South, there was not another Negro elected to Congress until 1972, after federal civil rights legislation was passed in 1965 to enforce constitutional voting and civil rights for citizens. Now, how many of you all are just learning about this piece of American history? It is my hope that more Black People will read my articles and want to learn more about the Black History that’s not being disseminated at the schools in our Black Communities. Ok, this week’s Black Pioneer is George Henry White. George was born on December 18, 1852, in Rosindale, North Carolina. After the American Civil War, public schools were setup for Negro children. In 1870, George met a teacher by the name of David P. Allen. Mr. Allen took a liking to George and encouraged him to learn. When Mr. Allen moved to a place called Lumberton to establish a school, George decided to go with him. Mr. Allen started the Whitin Normal School. In 1874, George enrolled in Howard University. He graduated from Howard in 1877 and went back to North Carolina, where he was hired as a principal at a school. Some of his accomplishments included serving as a legal apprentice under former Superior Court Judge William J. Clarke, being admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1879, being elected to serve in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1880, and his being elected to to the U.S. Congress in 1896. Additionally, he founded a commercial Black-Owned Bank in 1906, and he co-founded the Black town of “Whitesboro” in Southern New Jersey. In 1917, he became the first Negro from Pennsylvania to be selected as an alternate delegate at-large to the Republican National Convention. Furthermore, he was a member of the National Negro Business League and the NAACP. On December 28, 1918, George Henry White died at his home in Philadelphia.

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : FRANCES E. W. HARPER

Let’s talk about “DEEPFAKES” baby!!! Recently, I ran across a “NEW LAW” that was recently passed in Louisiana. It’s called the Deepfake Law. With it being football season and all, I thought they might be talking about something dealing with football. Well, come to find out, it’s legally known as “ACT 457.” According to this law, as of August 1, 2023, it is illegal to create and distribute “DEEPFAKES” depicting anyone engaging in sexual acts without their consent, especially minors. Also, the punishment upon conviction is quite harsh to say the least! With that said, “I thought to myself…was this law passed to protect the citizens of Louisiana, or to protect the politicians of Louisiana?” I’ll let you all decide on this one. Meanwhile, let’s get to this week’s Black Pioneer! FRANCES E. W. HARPER was born on September 24, 1825, in Baltimore, Maryland. At the age of three, Frances became an orphan, and went to live with her uncle and his wife. She even took on her uncle’s last name. Frances was educated at the Watkins Academy for Negro Youth, which her uncle had established in 1820. When she turned 13, Frances took a job as a seamstress and nursemaid for a white family that owned a bookshop. Times were difficult, so she quit school. However, she didn’t let this setback keep her from learning! In her spare time, Frances read some of the books from the bookshop, and worked on her writing skills as well. In 1850, she moved from Baltimore to teach domestic science at Union Seminary, which was an AME-Affiliated school for Negroes near Columbus, Ohio. Frances was the school’s first and only Black female teacher. Union Seminary closed in 1863 when the AME Church diverted its funds to purchase Wilberforce University, the first Black-owned and operated college. To her credit, Frances was one of the first Negroes to write a novel and have it published in America! From 1868 to 1888, Frances had three novels serialized in a Christian magazine: Minnie's Sacrifice, Sowing and Reaping, and Trial and Triumph. Additionally, Frances helped found The National Association of Colored Women and served as its Vice President. In 1870, Frances worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau encouraging many freedmen in Mobile Alabama, to "get land, everyone that can," so they could vote and act independently once Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment. From 1883 to 1890, she helped organize events and programs for the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Furthermore, Frances served as superintendent of the Colored Section of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Also, she was a strong and vocal supporter of abolitionism, and woman’s suffrage. Sadly, Frances E.W. Harper died on February 22, 1911, only nine years before women gained the right to vote.