The 365 Black History serious is designed to give our community a chance to learn and appreciate the achievement, struggles and experience of our ancestors, inventors, business people, scientific, educators, children and more.

On May 12th in Black History

1862 – Robert Smalls steals Confederate ship

This has to be one of the most amazing stories we’ve ever heard of our people resisting the barbaric tactics of slavery in America. General Roswell Ripley and other white confederates of the Steamer Planter left the boat and went ashore in Charleston, SC. This is when Robert Smalls and other so-called slaves snuck aboard the ship and escaped.

Smalls was the quartermaster, or wheelman of a ship and was very familiar with the navigation channels in the area. He dawned Confederate wears to attempt going undetected and wasn’t noticed until he was out of firing range. The surrendered the ship to the Union fleet and escaped the terrible existence of slavery.

1871 – Segregated street cars integrated in Louisville, KY, following sit in staged by a Black teenager.

1902 – Joe Gans becomes the first American-born Black to win a world crown in boxing, the lightweight division.

1955 – “Toothpick” Sam Jones becomes first black person to pitch a no-hitter in Major League Baseball and the first pitcher to pitch a no-hit game in forty years.

1967 – H. Rap Brown replaces Stokley Carmichael as chairman of SNCC.

SNCC was the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Stokley Carmichael was a very prominent figure in it’s history but also black history. On this day, H. Rap Brown took control of the organization.

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Our history has a long, glorious and bright light that has shown since the dawn of time. However, it has long been hidden from us as if we were blind.

Now is the time to come together and consciously grow our understanding of our ancestors, culture, history and place in this world. The only way we can do this tie the knot of our past with our present to create the future we all desire.