Let’s Talk about The Black Diaspora

The Black Diaspora refers to Black persons that are completely free. This is important because of the longevity that Black education has been placed on the Black community.  Using the digital archive I searched the Haitian Revolution which led me to Documentary filmmaker, stage actor, and film director William Greaves (1925 - 2014) talks about learning about the Black diaspora through his parents at a young age. Greaves states “ And his father used to drag us by the scruff of our necks off the street of Harlem [New York, New York] 135th Street up to his apartment at 505 Lenox Avenue, and teach us, you know, black history, principally Haitian history, and so we learned all about [Pierre] Toussaint L'Ouverture, Henri Christophe, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines and [Alexandre] Pétion and all of those people who were connected with the Haitian revolution” [1] “They were the only--first people that defeated Napoleon, as a matter of fact. I think it was in 1802, I can't recall exactly, but he would teach us this history, so, which was wonderful” [2]. “ I mean, we're, we're, you know, we've been here, you know, and have raised civilization up to the level that it became the Greek and Roman Empires. I mean the the whole European Renaissance got it's large, largest impetus from the Arab, the Moorish, the Moors revo- civilization.” [3]. Through this video, Greaves talks about how impactful Black persons have been in different countries. He refers to the Moors in Spain and how that information was suppressed. This caused Greaves to want to change the perspective of how Black persons were viewed in films which is why he chose to become a filmmaker and actor. 

Continuing on with my Haitian term search where a video of Environmental activist and opera singer MaVynne “Beach Lady” Betsch (1935 - 2005 ) was known for her full-time efforts to preserve to preserve the history and ecology of American Beach, Florida, the oldest African American beach and her great-grandfather’s legacy. Betsch talks about Black Cesear [Henri Cesear] who known to take money from Spanish galleons which resulted in him buying his own ship. “He was head man in charge. All the men under him were white. He was the head man. He would capture the slave ships and put 'em on the islands. If you go to Miami [Florida] right now in the [Biscayne] National Park [Florida], what's it's called, oh, God, I can't think of it. You'll see it says Caesar's Creek, where he would hide out. They never found his loot. It's buried somewhere. We've got a folk hero.” [4] “He sure lived. Black Caesar, had his own ship. You know that's bad, I love it (laughter).” These two quotes emphasis how much rebel he was during this time of chattel slavery.  Moreover, using the search the city feature, I funda video that referenced Mobile,AL where African American history professor Robert Lee Harris, Jr. (1943 -  talked about the racial system in the south compared to the north and how the Haitian revolution changed that. “ if you're located in the upper South, if you're located in the--the--the lower South or the Deep South. In the North, those African Americans were free and some people will refer to them in the South as being quasi-free, because there were still restrictions on them.” [5] “ But the United States basically had what we called a two tiered system of race relations: whites at the top, blacks at the bottom. But in a place like New Orleans, which was very much influenced by immigrants from Haiti after the Haitian revolution, you had more of a three tiered system. So you had whites at the top, mulattos in the middle, blacks at the bottom.” This quote in particular showcases how devalued africans were and the more white ancestry you inherited the more valuable you were to white persons.  Closing the Haitian Revelution search, I came a cross a video of Curator Nicole Smith (1940 - 2016 ) founded the Nicole Gallery in 1973 which came to represent one of the finest collections of world-renowned Haitian, African, and African American artists. She talked about DeSables Measum located in Chicago,IL This was important to her because of the history of DeSables by stated “du Sable was a very important person, because, you know, well, they say that he was pretty rich. He was a fur trader, and then he ended up in Peoria [Illinois]. That's where he died, in Peoria. And--dispute. They, they, some, some say it was St. Charles, Illinois, yeah.” [5]. DuSables was known to be a pioneer to Haitian immigration where he is represented in Chicago by having a statue in the city that has later been torn down. DuSables memory lives on through the DuSables Historical Society. 

Historian Yvonne Seon (1937 - ) worked for the Congolese government of Patrice Lumumba and has been a board member of Africare. Seon talked about E.Franklin Fraziers article, “What Can The American Negro Contribute Development of Africa, in this article Seaon critiques “Kind of little discouraging treat us on what, you know, the incapacity of black people to handle their own affairs, let alone those in Africa.”[6] Seon then goes into what can a negro really contribute to Africa by saying “ in political science would be important because government and political science was going to be an area of challenge for the new government, for the new country.”[7]  “think part of the motive for that, for publishing it in Presence Africaine was to remind African Americans that we needed to take ourselves seriously and take our studies seriously and understand what it was that we could bring to Africa.” [8] Seon wanted to make a point that African Americans can contribute a lot to Africa through the use of education, political knowledge, and more.  bring anything that represented Africa over here with them; that they didn't retain much of Africa in the present day. “My research has helped me to discover that that was certainly not the case. That there was much more retained than Franklin could have imagined. Sorry, he didn't live to see some of the research that has come forward now.” [9] At this point in the archive, I looked at educationmakers like Bandi Foster (1942-2019) Educator and nonprofit executive Badi Foster (1942 - 2019) was the CEO of the Phelps-Stokes Fund, which serves the educational needs of African Americans, Native Americans, Africans, and the poor. Foster also worked at Princeton University, Rutgers University, University of Massachusetts, Harvard University, and Tufts University. Foster recalls attending Martin Luther King's Funeral where he remembers the impact his assassination had on people around the world.” And the person who spoke was this white guy who was a navy officer, and he simply said, well, you're gathered here because a man of the cloth has fallen. And I'm saying (laughs), you know. And then the French and Moroccans held a memorial service in Casablanca, filled the Protestant church. I guess there must have been 500 people there. And I was invited to speak.” [10] This began to spark his interest in education. “education must now be a vehicle and an arena for increasing the will and capacity of people to transform towards justice. “ [11] “So that, you know, we, we created two or three, but you learn a lot about your own arrogance. So when we created Livingston College [Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey], I found out later from the Drug Enforcement Agency that Livingston College was the main traffic point for drugs”[12] through this he noticed how Black students were failing out of college and would often blame themselves but it was the fault of the administration that did not care about their learning. 

Dr.Shawana Nesbitt, Cardiovascular physician and cardiovascular scientist Dr. Shawna Nesbitt (1963 - ) has done research on African Americans with hypertension and renal disease. She has worked as an instructor, lecturer and assistant professor at the the University of Michigan and the the University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center. In this interview Dr.Nesbitt talked about how she acted differently with her white friends compared to her Black friends “The way you express yourself, how you wear your hair, all of those things are culturally divisive, and if we are not accepting of each other, we'll very easy to make fun and give each other a difficult time about things that don't mean anything at all.” [13]. Furthermore, Dr.Nesbitt talked her friend Theresa and how she bridged the gap between her friend group and Theresas friend group” And Theresa spoke a lot of black slang so we spent a lot of time trying to work on that (laughter) together. And it was a fun time. She, she just, you know, I brought her to my side on many things. And she helped me on her side, bridging that gap on the other hand, became a majorette with me and we were best of friends.” [14]Through reflecting on her childhood friendship she connected with a person that was not apart of her culture but rather embraced their cultural differences. 

Lastly, Cathay Hughes Broadcast chief executive Cathy Hughes (1947 - ) is the founder of Radio One, the nation's largest black-owned radio chain, and TV One, which features programming aimed at African American audiences. Hughes is the first African American woman to head a media company that is publicly traded on the U.S. Stock Exchange. I came across her video by searching up Grace Jones and came across a video of Hughes talking her family growing up and the strong contributions Black women have made in her life. “She established a women's empowerment organization. And my grandmother, Grace, headed the Mississippi chapter. And we have correspondence between her and the Dunbars, so many individuals. By leaving this quote at the end I wanted to present how strong african americans have been and the different ways we have contributed to society. 

Ambassador Update: Hello, my name is Mauryce Thomas,II. I am a junior in psychology from Mobile,AL. I hosted my HistoryMakers Digital Archive Poetry competition February 27th from 7-9pm in the multi-purpose room at Fisk University. This event was amazing because there were so many great poets on campus that have yet to perform publicly making my event their debut. I had 7 people registered for my event but 5 people performed strong pieces. Additionally, we announce the top three winners for the competitions where they will receive their reward from the HistoryMakers. 

Citations:

Badi Foster (The HistoryMakers A2003.021), interviewed by Amy Billingsley, January 25, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 1, Badi Foster details his anger at King's assassination and struggles for African American Studies programs

Bethann Hardison (The HistoryMakers A2013.190), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, July 15, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 5, Bethann Hardison talks about Grace Jones

Cathy Hughes (The HistoryMakers A2004.171), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, March 2, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 12, story 1, Cathy Hughes describes African American women's sacrifices for their community

Carolyn Armenta Davis (The HistoryMakers A2008.141), interviewed by Larry Crowe, November 21, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 5, Carolyn Armenta Davis describes the cultural differences in architecture, pt. 1

Carolyn Armenta Davis (The HistoryMakers A2008.141), interviewed by Larry Crowe, November 21, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 1, Carolyn Armenta Davis talks about her research plans

Daniel Texidor Parker (The HistoryMakers A2009.146), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 16, 2009, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 4, Daniel Texidor Parker talks about the African diaspora

Denise Bradley-Tyson (The HistoryMakers A2015.009), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, December 17, 2015, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 6, Denise Bradley-Tyson describes her role at the Museum of the African Diaspora

Eugenia Collier (The HistoryMakers A2013.223), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 7, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 5, Eugenia Collier talks about her early exposure to African American literature

The Honorable Helen Marshall (The HistoryMakers A2005.131), interviewed by Larry Crowe, June 8, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 2, The Honorable Helen Marshall describes her father's affiliation to Garveyism and her recollections of moving from Manhattan to the Bronx during the 1920s

Reverend Dr. Kwame John R. Porter (The HistoryMakers A2003.293), interviewed by Larry Crowe, December 10, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 7, Reverend Dr. Kwame John R. Porter recalls the many programs that Christ United Methodist Church supported

MaVynee "Beach Lady" Betsch (The HistoryMakers A2004.168), interviewed by Jodi Merriday, September 20, 2004, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 5, MaVynee "Beach Lady" Betsch tells stories from the African American history of Jacksonville, Florida

Nicole Smith (The HistoryMakers A2012.093), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 2, 2012, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 4, Nicole Smith talks about the legacy of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable

Dr. Shawna Nesbitt (The HistoryMakers A2008.047), interviewed by Denise Gines, March 13, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 2, Shawna Nesbitt talks about bridging the gap between her black and white friends

The Honorable Terri A. Sewell (The HistoryMakers A2017.096), interviewed by Denise Gines, May 5, 2017, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 1, The Honorable Terri A. Sewell remembers her production of 'For Colored Girls' at the University of Oxford

Robert Lee Harris, Jr. (The HistoryMakers A2013.287), interviewed by Larry Crowe, October 24, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 7, story 7, Robert Lee Harris, Jr. talks about the regional differences in racial categories

The Honorable Reverend Walter Fauntroy (The HistoryMakers A2003.016), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, January 23, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 8, Walter Fauntroy describes the worsening condition of the black community over a fifty year period

William Greaves (The HistoryMakers A2003.082), interviewed by Larry Crowe, April 17, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 1, William Greaves talks about his parents' role in his early education and the fault with America's media and educational systems

Yvonne Seon (The HistoryMakers A2003.154), interviewed by Larry Crowe, July 14, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 4, Yvonne Seon talks about E. Franklin Frazier's article, 'What Can the American Negro Contribute to the Social Development of Africa?'