"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : MARGARET WALKER

The year "1965" was quite an eventful year! In addition to the birth of myself, Garry O Blanson, there was the event of U.S. Troops fighting in Vietnam, there was the Landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, and right here in Monroe, Louisiana, there was the Landmark Andrews vs The Monroe School System. While many Black People in Monroe know about the Civil Rights Voting Act, many haven't heard about the 1965 Andrews Lawsuit Case in Monroe! On August 5, 1965, Jimmy Andrews and Tommy Ray Robertson, "minor children" enrolled in the Monroe City School System, sued through their mothers, Ms. Etta Mae Andrews and Ms. Odell Willis, alleging racial segregation and discrimination in the operation of the Monroe City public schools. The Lawsuit is available online under " Jimmy Andrews v. City of Monroe, Civil Action No. 11,297." It's surprising how people in Monroe can know so much about Civil Rights Events that happened in Chicago, New York, and Alabama, but know so little about the Civil Rights Events that happened right here in Monroe, during the Civil Rights Era. Well, let's turn our attention to this week's Black Pioneer! Margaret Walker was a Black poet and writer. She was part of the Negro literary movement in Chicago, known as the "Chicago Black Renaissance Movement." Her "For My People" writings was considered the "most important collection of poetry written by a participant in the Chicago Black Renaissance Movement. Margaret Walker was born in Birmingham, Alabama on July 7, 1915. Her parents were Sigismund and Marion Walker. As a child, her parents taught her philosophy & poetry, and her grandmother read her interesting bedtime stories. They planted seeds in her little mind that germinated as she grew into adulthood. At an early age, she knew she wanted to become a writer. Well, sometime during her teenage years, her family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. While living in New Orleans, Margaret attended high school and some college. Also, when Langston Hughes visited New Orleans on a speaking tour, she was able to show him some of her poems.Next, her family moved to Chicago, where she attended Northwestern University. Margaret's English professor, E.B. Hungerford, who was also her mentor, helped her learn all the different forms of English poetry, the English metrical system, and scansion of a poem. In 1935, Margaret received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University. Other interesting facts about Margaret Walker is that she received her master's degree in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1942, receiving her PhD from Iowa in 1965, in 942, her poetry collection "For My People" won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition, under the judgeship of editor Stephen V. Benet making her the first Black Woman to receive a national writing prize. On November 30, 1998, Margaret Walker, one of the leading Black writers of the Mid-20th Century passed away in Chicago, Illinois.

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : ELLA NORA P. STEWART

As you all know by now, this past weekend many of the local colleges held their graduation ceremonies, and students received their college degrees. As I thought about the graduations, my mind began pondering this question,"In our rush to get college degrees and jobs, are we as Blacks losing much of "OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE?" Personally, I believe that we are, which is very disturbing to me! Well, In one of my previous articles, I informed everyone about how Dr. John Reddix , the President of the Monroe Chapter of the NAACP had wrote a letter to the C.O.R.E. Organization requesting them to send some of their people to help with Voter Registration and Civil Rights Protests in the Monroe area. Also, I included how "Black Youth" in Monroe were called on to participate in some of the demonstrations. By the way, I recently found the names of a couple of the Black Youth who took part in the library protest at the Anna-Meyer Branch and were put in jail for doing so. Their names were Jimmy Andrews, Bennie Roy Brass, Dorothy Higgins, and Etta Faye Carter. All of the participants were coached on what to do when the police came to arrest them. The police took them and held them in juvenile cages for 3 days, before they were released on $200 bonds. The protests led to three of the young protesters filing a Lawsuit in the Monroe division of the federal district court. After a year of court battles between the City of Monroe officials and Civil Rights Activists, the city officials gave in, and the Ouachita Parish Public Libraries we're integrated in 1965! What's so surprising to me is that all through my days in elementary & high school, I never heard any of my school teachers, Black or White, ever say "one word" about the "Black Youth" Library Protests that took place in the "Summer of 1964!" Furthermore, I feel that we as Black adults need to get busy Educating our Black Youth about the "Summer of 1964," and other Civil Rights Events that took place in and around Monroe, West Monroe, and surrounding towns. If we don't, who will? Anyway, let's get to this week's Black Pioneer! Ella Nora P. Stewart was born , in Stringtown, Virginia. When Ella Nora turned 6 years old, she was sent to live with her grandmother to attend grade school in Berryville, Virginia. After Ella Nora graduated, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Storer Normal School, in nearby Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. From there, she entered a teacher's training program at However, before Ella Nora could finish the teaching program, she fell in love with and married her classmate, Charles Myers. Once they were married, they moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, Ella Nora took a job as a bookkeeper at a local pharmacy. While working at the pharmacy, she decided that she wanted to become a pharmacist. In 1914, she enrolled and gained admittance into the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. When Ella Nora received her degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, in 1916, she became the first black female to graduate from Pitt's pharmacy program. Well, Ella Nora wasn't satisfied with just earning her pharmacy degree. Therefore, she went took and passed the Pittsburgh State Licensing Exam, making her the first Negro female pharmacist in the state of Pennsylvania and one of the first Negro female pharmacists in the country! Later on, Ella Nora and her second husband William Stewart opened Stewarts' Pharmacy, located at the corner of Indiana and City Park Avenues (566 Indiana Avenue), in Toledo, in July 1922. They operated theIr pharmacy until 1945, when they sold the business. Also, their pharmacy became a popular neighborhood gathering place. In fact, the Stewarts actually owned the building and lived in the spacious eight rooms above the Furthermore, they often hosted visitors from out of town, including W.E.B. Dubois and Mary McLeod Bethune. In addition to being a pharmacist, Ella Nora participated and became a leading member of several civic groups in Toledo, Ohio. A few of them included the Young Women's Christian Association, the Enterprise Charity Club, and she served as President of the National Association of Colored Women's Club. After living a full & fruitful life, Ella Nora P Stewart died at the ripe old age of 94! In her honor, a new school in Toledo was named the Ella P. Stewart Elementary School (later: Ella P. Stewart Academy for Girls). In subsequent years Stewart volunteered there regularly, and in 1974 the school created a museum to house Stewart's plaques and awards, and memorabilia she collected on her international tours.

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : JOHN EDWARD BRUCE

The Negro essayist, novelist, and playwright James Baldwin once said, “Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go.” As we're about to exit 2023 and enter 2024, there's a lingering question that just won't go away. The question is, "What did our Black ancestors fight. bleed, and die for?" Before Rev. Harry Blakes died, he did an interview where he talked about the things that he, his family, and other Negroes had to endure in Louisiana during the 30s,40s, and 50s. Also, he explained how he lived and was reared on two different plantations. One was located in Madison Parish, in Tallulah, Louisiana, and was known as "The Ashley Plantation." In 1951, his family left there and moved to Caddo Parish, and lived on a plantation north of Shreveport, known as "The Woodspur Plantation." What was surprising about many of the things that he brought up in the interview is that some of them took place in the late 50s and early 60s. I'm talking about less than "75 years ago" ; about places & times that most of our "Black Youth" in Monroe, Louisiana have no recollection of! Additionally, he talked about his father being a share-cropper and how the White owner of the land always reminded his family that they were inferior to White People. Furthermore, they were required to purchase just about everything they needed to farm the land with from the White Owner. Long story short, Rev Blakes said that back then everything was setup to keep Negroes in debt, and that America is very much on that style today, because they keep Black People "slaves" with "credit cards.". Please Note that the interview with Rev Blakes is still available online to read or download. Now to this week's Black Pioneer! John Edward Bruce was born a slave on February 22, 1856, in Piscataway, Maryland. When John was three years old, his father was sold to a White slave-owner in Georgia, and John never saw or heard from his father again! Around 1873, he took a 3 month course at Howard University, which was the last time John received any formal schooling. Although he received some public and private schooling, John was mostly self-taught. When John turned 18, he was hired as a messenger for the associate editor of the New York Times. While working for the New York Times, he got the idea to start his own newspaper. So in 1879, John and Charles Otley founded the Argus Weekly newspaper. They decided that the paper would be a fearless advocate of the true principles of the Republican Party, and the moral and intellectual advancement of the Negro American. By 1908, he had followed the Great Migration of Negroes to New York, where he settled in Yonkers. Also in 1908, he established The Yonkers, New York Weekly Standard Newspaper. Along with establishing numerous newspapers, he worked with Marcus Garvey's Organization, "The Universal Negro Improvement Association." Need-less-to-say, John was a strong proponent for civil rights for Negro Americans. Additionally, he would lecture and give speeches that addressed lynching, the condition of southern blacks, and the weak American political system that failed to protect the rights of its Negro citizens. Among his many accomplishments included being elected as President of The National Negro Council, the first Nationwide Civil Rights Organization in the United States, his founding of The Negro Society for Historical Research, which for the first time brought together African, West Indian and Negro Americans Scholars, and his work in the Civil Rights Movement. On August 10, 1924 , John Edward Bruce passed away at the Believue Hospital in New York City Furthermore, he received an impressive state funeral at the UNIA Liberty Hall in New York City.

"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : CHARLOTTE FORTEN GRIMKE'

Well, it comes as no surprise that when you poll 100 Black People about the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, and President John F Kennedy, about the only two things that everyone can agree on is that they were shot, and that they all died. Also,due to the numerous documentaries, movies, and conspiracy theories, who can rightly tell you what happened between them being shot and them being pronounced dead at the hospital? Furthermore, trying to say what happened would be like trying to say exactly what happened at the end of the siege at the "Battle of The Alamo." Now, let's get to this week's Black Pioneer! Charlotte Forten Grimke' was born on August 17,1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to prominent Negro abolitionists, Robert and Mary Forten.They were members of the "Underground Railroad," an anti-slavery network that rendered assistance to people who escaped slavery. By the way, Robert B Forten and his family were a part of Philadelphia's "Negro Elite" Community. In 1854, Charlotte attended the Higginson Grammar School, a private academy for young women. She was the only NON-WHITE student in a class of 200. Once she graduated from Higginson, Charlotte's father sent her to live with a free Black family living in Salem Massachusetts.The Remonds, John and Nancy, were the famous & influential "resident family" of Hamilton Hall, named for Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Today, Hamilton Hall is widely recognized as one of the most important Federal buildings in America! Once in Salem, Massachusetts, Charlotte attended Salem Normal School, which trained school teachers. When Charlotte graduated from Salem Normal School, which is now Salem State University, she became the first Black to graduate from the school. After graduating, Charlotte took a teaching position at Eppes Grammar School, becoming the first Black female hired to teach White students in a Salem public school! During the American Civil War, Charlotte taught school to Freedmen in South, Carolina. After the war, she taught at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Besides having a reputation as a teacher, Charlotte was known for writing poetry, her work as a Women's Rights Advocate, her work as a civil rights activist, and being "First Lady" at the prominent Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C., alongside her husband, Francis J. Grimke'. Also, two of the organizations she helped found were The Colored Women's League, along with Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell & The National Association of Colored Women. Although Charlotte didn't live to see Black Women vote, her efforts as a Women's Rights Advocate helped paved the way! At the ripe old age of 76, Charlotte Forten Grimke' earned her wings on July 23, 1914.