Malcolm X May 20, 1962 Speech on Police Brutality in Los Angeles, California
I want to thank Allah for coming and giving to us our leader and teacher here in America, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
I want to thank Brother Benjamin at the outset for doing a wonderful job of opening up our eyes and giving us a good preliminary basic understanding of the means and the objectives of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and also I am thankful to Allah for bringing so many people out here tonight, especially just before Christmas. You know, it's next to a miracle when you get this many of our people together so close to Christmas interested in anything whatsoever that's serious. And actually what this shows is the change that's taking place among the so-called Negroes not only here in New York but throughout the entire world.
Today in Black History: February 11, 1644 Enslaved Africans protested and won their freedom establishing the first black community of freed Africans.
Recognized as the first settlement established by freed Africans on the American continent, right here in New York City, (at the time known as New Amersterdam) eleven African petitioned for their freedom after fulfilling the term of their “contracts” to a Dutch Company. This community is located in what is now known as the heart of Manhattan’s art and fashion scenes.
Today in Black History: February 5, 1884 Willis Johnson invented the mechanical egg beater
African-American Willis Johnson of Cincinnati, Ohio, patented and improved the mechanical egg beater (U.S. pat# 292,821) on February 5, 1884. The beater was made up of a handle attached to a series of spring-like whisk wires used to help mix ingredients. Prior to his eggbeater, all mixing of ingredients was done by hand and was quite labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Today in Black History: February 3, 1964 New York City Public School Boycott, Nearly a Half Million Children skip Class
Though segregation in New York was not codified like the Jim Crow laws in the South, a de facto segregation was evident in the city’s school system.
Picketers, made up of teachers, parents, students and activists, marched at 300 of the city’s 860 schools, The New York Times reported. The protest culminated in a march across the Brooklyn Bridge to the Board of Education building on Livingston Street in downtown Brooklyn.
Directing the boycott was long-time civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who had been a chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and had helped organize the first Freedom Ride in 1947.
Today in Black History: Toussaint L’Ouverture was born May 20th, 1743.
François-Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture, also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda, was the best-known leader of the Haitian Revolution.He was a leader of the growing resistance. His military and political acumen saved the gains of the first black insurrection in November 1791.
Today in Black History: On May 9th, 1897 Physician, Orator and Musician, Rudolph Fisher was born.
Unlike Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, and W.E. B. DuBois who tried to put the stereotypes of black exoticism in Pan-African, Rudolph Fisher worked on articulating the broader struggle for black labor privilege, and women's empowerment.
Today in Black History: May 8, 1925 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was founded
Founded in by A. Philip Randolph in 1925, The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP gathered a membership of 18,000 passenger railway workers across Canada, The United States and Mexico.