November 30
1912—Legendary filmmaker and photographer Gordon Parks is born in Fort Scott, Kan. In addition to his pioneering work in film and photography, Parks wrote 12 books and authored a ballet entitled “Martin” in honor of civil rights legend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1924—Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm is born in Brooklyn, N.Y. Chisholm became the leading Black female politician in America. She served in the New York State Assembly, the United States Congress and ran for the Democratic Party nomination for president in 1972. Chisholm died on Jan. 1, 2005.
December 1
1641—U.S. (then British) colonies began legalizing slavery. On this day, Massachusetts became the first colony to do so. Other colonies followed suit. Ironically, Massachusetts was also the first state to outlaw slavery as a result of a 1783 State Supreme Court ruling.
1774—In another compromise measure that characterized the legal struggle against slavery in America, the Continental Congress approves a measure banning the further importation of slaves into the country. However, slavery itself remained legal. Plus, it was common for slave ships to violate the ban.
1877—Judge Jonathan Jasper Wright resigns. Wright had been the first Black state Supreme Court judge. However, he resigned on this day (out of possible fear for his life) as the Reconstruction era ended White racists were reasserting control over Southern politics and law. While on the South Carolina Supreme Court, Wright wrote 87 opinions which were noted for “clear thinking and a solid basis in common law.”
1878—Arthur Spingarn is born. He, along with his brother Joel, was one of the principal early organizers of the NAACP. At one point, he headed both the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. His contribution to the group was primarily in the areas of law and contacts to liberal, politically well connected Whites.
December 2
1859—John Brown, one of the leading White heroes of Black history, is hanged near Harpers Ferry, Va. He was a tireless crusader against slavery. His activities ranged from working in the secretive “Underground Railroad,” which helped Blacks escape slavery to attacking slave owners who wanted to expand slavery outside of the South. Brown’s frustration, with the slow pace of efforts to abolish slavery, led him to attempt to incite a violent slave revolt which began with a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in October 1859. His group was eventually cornered and he was hanged on this day in 1859.
1884—Granville T. Woods (1856-1910) invents and on this day patents a major improvement to the telephone transmitter. Indeed, it can be reasonably argued that this highly productive African-American inventor actually invented the telephone because his device (called “telegraphony”) was superior to that invented by Alexander Graham Bell. It was so superior, in fact, that the Bell Company purchased it from Woods in part because his telephone was better and in part to prevent Woods from becoming a major competitor. Woods received nearly 50 patents for inventions in the areas of transportation, electricity and communications. He was called “the Black Edison” after Thomas Alva Edison who is generally considered the most productive U.S. inventor. However, Woods and Edison would cross paths when Edison sued him in a dispute over which one first invented the multiplex telegraph. Edison tried to buy Woods off by offering him a prominent position in his company but Woods declined.
1891—Historian Charles Wesley is born in Louisville, Ky. Wesley was one of Black America’s most productive historians and a strong advocate of the need for Blacks to know their history. His major works included “Neglected History,” “Collapse of the Confederacy” and “Negro Labor in the United States.” He had a long association with Carter G. Woodson’s Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History in Washington, D.C.
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