Black history is 24/7/365, and it’s global. In fact, there is no world history without Black history. Below are just a few of the historical happenings involving our people that happened over the centuries in the month of January.
Haiti Wins Independence Jan 1, 1804
On Jan. 1, 1804, the people of Haiti overcame over a decade of revolts and three centuries of colonial rule to win independence, becoming the first African nation in the Western Hemisphere to throw off the shackles of enslavement. The people of Haiti defeated the world’s three mightiest superpowers of that time: France, Britain, and Spain. For their heroism, the people of Haiti endured centuries of ruthless economic and political exploitation that last even to this day, including having to pay “reparations” to France for depriving the French of the profits from slavery because the Haitian people had the audacity to fight for and win their freedom.
The Legendary Dr. George Washington Carver was born Jan. 10, 1864
George Washington Carver, agricultural scientist extraordinaire, was born. He died Jan. 5, 1943. Carver and his genius was one of the main reasons Tuskegee Institute was able to send out agricultural extension agents throughout the south, teaching Black farmers new growing techniques and new crops, a service that saved untold thousands of lives and livelihoods during the Great Depression. Carver is known for his work discovering hundreds of uses for the peanut, but he did just as much with soybeans and more. Carver’s genius speaks to the power of the African legacy of being spiritually in tune. When asked how he was able to work his “magic” with plants and vegetation, discovering uses for them that the “greatest” western minds couldn’t conceive, Carver said when he took his daily early morning walks among the vegetation, the plants would “speak” to him, sharing their medicinal and other secrets.
Philadelphia Blacks Push Back Against Forced Deportation, Jan. 10, 1811
Philadelphia Blacks held meetings at Bethel Church (founded by Bishop Richard Allen in 1794) to protest colonization society’s campaign “to exile us from the land of our nativity” (i.e. to send Black people back to Africa).
The Greatest of All Time was born Jan. 17, 1942
Three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was born. On that same day in 1927 singer/actress Eartha Kitt was born. Additionally, on Jan. 17, 1856, Black nationalist Paul Cuffee was born. Unfortunately, in Black history Jan. 17 was not only a day of birth, but also a day that led to death and destruction. On Jan. 17, 1874, armed white domestic terrorists “seized” Texas’ government and ended Reconstruction in the state. Ending Reconstruction opened the door to wanton violence unleashed by vindictive whites upon Blacks who were guilty of nothing but exercising the brief window of freedom after the “end” of slavery as the law of the land in 1865.
Barack Obama was Inaugurated as the first Official Black U.S. President Jan 20, 2009
Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th President of the United States during his historic inauguration. Here’s an excerpt from that speech: “On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation. But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan was born, Jan. 21, 1936
The late Congressman Barbara Jordan was born in Houston on Jan. 21, 1936, and raised in Fifth Ward. She was a groundbreaker and game-changer in countless ways and shown bright as an example of how an elected official is supposed to be about their work – putting her constituents and their concerns before her own. She was truly a giant.
The Legendary Sojourner Truth Makes Famous Address, Jan. 25, 1851
Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree, addressed the first Black Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio on Jan. 25, 1851. Truth, who emancipated herself from her state of enslavement (yes, she freed herself by walking off the “plantation” in broad daylight) became an outspoken advocate for temperance, civil rights, and women’s rights in the nineteenth century. However, she was most known for her fight to abolish the vile and insidious institution of slavery which included kidnapping, forced labor, torture, rape, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, murder, labor and intellectual property theft, child trafficking, mutilation, and ongoing abuse (mental, physical, and emotional).
The Free African Society was founded, Jan. 28, 1787
The Free African Society (FAS) was organized in Philadelphia, led by founders Bishop Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. The FAS, a multi-denomination mutual aid society for freed Blacks, worked to empower Blacks and develop leaders for Black self-determination. The Free African Society founded schools, taught Blacks to read, served as a meeting place for Black business owners, and provided assistance to the sick, widowed, and orphaned members of Philadelphia’s black community. The FAS inspired the founding of other mutual aid societies, collectives of Blacks who pooled their resources for the specific purpose of helping any of its members who found themselves in need. Mutual aid societies served as the inspiration and model for the benevolence fund/offering common to most Black churches.
Home of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was bombed Jan 30, 1956
Early on in the midst of MLK serving as the president and spokesperson of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization created to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott, his home was bombed by white domestic terrorists on Jan. 30, 1956. His wife, Coretta, and oldest child, Yolanda (who was an infant at the time), were home at the time of the bombing/murder attempt, but were miraculously unharmed.
James Baldwin’s Classic “The Fire Next Time” was published Jan 31, 1963
James Baldwin’s influential collection of essays “The Fire Next Time” is published. On that same day in 1986, August Wilson’s “Fences,” starring James Earl Jones, opens at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.
