Black History by Jerry Willis

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Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

Black History Feb. 18, 2015

The dream can be achieved muskogeephoenix.com

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Black History

Rentiesville historian celebrated as national hero John Hope Franklin’s life, work honored all year at Duke By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

Historian John Hope Franklin dedicated his life seeking to make the presence of blacks known throughout American history. Duke University kicked off a year-long celebration in honor of the Rentiesville native on what would have been his 100th birthday. The university holds a special place for Franklin, who served as a history and law professor between 1985 and 1992. “On this, the 100th anniversary of John Hope Franklin’s birth, we celebrate the life of a national hero,” said William Chafe, Duke history professor emeritus and co-chair of

the centenary organizing committee in a media release. “Born at the height of Jim Crow oppression, he embodied the struggle of black Americans to steadfastly resist white racism. “No one did more to focus attention on the fundamental contradiction between racism and democracy, and in this year of his centenary, we celebrate — and remember — all he did to make us live up to his dream of racial justice and dignity,” Chafe said. The university will hold a number of events throughout the year with lectures from speakers who knew Franklin. The John Hope Franklin Centenary Symposium is scheduled for November. Franklin was born to Rentiesville civil rights attorney B.C. Franklin and teacher Molly Franklin in 1915. His father represented African-Americans devastated by the Tulsa Race

Riot of 1921. Suing the City of Tulsa for passing an ordinance that banned blacks from rebuilding, the attorney won the suit before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Franklin went on to F i s k University in Nashville, Franklin Tenn., where he graduated in 1935 and earned a doctorate in history from Harvard University in 1941. Franklin’s best-selling work, “From Slavery to Freedom” has sold millions worldwide. Written in 1947, Franklin’s book is updated continually. During his career, Franklin received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He served as president of several organizations and was the recipient of more than 130 honorary degrees. Tulsa honored the historian by opening the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Center, which serves as an aid for history and holds house galleries, archives and documentary projects. Executive director of the John Hope Franklin

Reconciliation Center, Jocelyn Lee Payne of Tulsa describes the importance of celebrating Franklin’s life. “Dr. Franklin could be considered the father of black history as we know it,” Payne said. “He was a historian of such note and his outlook on history encourages the full story to be told. Everything changes when looking at whole story. It requires us to look at all accomplishments, skills and talents of people involved and not just looking at accomplishments of people in one group.” The center will commemorate Franklin’s 100th birthday during their 6th annual Symposium on Reconciliation in May, which seeks to bridge and transform social divisions into social harmony through programs and number of initiatives. “We work to bring people to be in contact with people that have social divisions that normally divides us,” Payne said. The center plans to take a delegation from the Tulsa area to participate in John Hope Franklin Centenary Symposium in November at Duke University to be a part of the celebration. Reach Kandice Lawson at (918) 684-2914 or kandice.lawson@muskogee phoenix.com.

Biographical highlights • Born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma. January 2, 1915. • Earns his bachelor’s degree from Fisk University in 1935, and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Harvard in 1936 and 1941 respectively. • Teaching appointments at Fisk University, St. Augustine’s College, North Carolina College, Howard University, Brooklyn College, the University of Chicago, and Duke University. • In 1947, publishes From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, widely considered to be the definitive work on the subject. Now in its eighth edition, the book has been translated into Indian, Japanese, German, French, Portuguese, and Chinese. • Serves on the team that helps develop the 1954 Supreme Court decision ending the legal segregation of black and white children in public schools. • Serves as president of The American Studies Association (1967), the Southern Historical Association (1970), the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa (1973-76), the Organization of American Historians (1975), and the American Historical Association (1979). • Teaches at Cambridge University as the Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions (1962-62). • Appointed to the Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholorships from 1962-69 (and as chair from 1966-69). • Appointed to the U.S. Delegation to the UNESCO General Conference, Belgrade (1980). • Named James B. Duke Professor of History at Duke University in 1982; elected James B. Duke Professor of History Emeritus in 1985. Join Duke Law School as a professor of legal history in 1985. • Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995. • Donates his personal and professional papers to the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African-American Documentation at Duke (1995-present). • Appointed chair of The Presidents’s Initiative on Race in 1997. • Delivers State Department and United States Information Service lectures in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Greece, Cyprus, Pakistan, India, Soviet Union, Taiwan, Japan, People’s Republic of China, Austrailia, New Zealand, Senegal, Ghana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, Trinidad, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile (throughout his career). • In his honor, the John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies opens at Duke University in 2000. Source: Duke University

African-American Firsts LAW Admitted to the bar — Macon B. Allen, 1845. Woman admitted to the bar — Charlotte Ray, 1872. Elected municipal judge — Mifflin W. Gibbs, 1873. Editor, Harvard Law Review — Charles Hamilton Houston, 1919. Federal Judge — William

Henry Hastie, 1946. Woman federal judge — Constance Baker Motley, 1966. U.S. Supreme Court Justice — Thurgood Marshall, 1967. President of the American Bar Association — Dennis Archer, 2002. DIPLOMACY

U.S. ambassador — Ebenezer D. Bassett, 1869. Nobel Peace Prize winner — Ralph J. Bunche, 1950. Woman U.S. — Patricia Harris, 1965. U.S. Representative to the United Nations — Andrew Young, 1977. Source: BlackPast.org

Black History

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Black History

St. Mark Baptist Church offers history program Event chair says children need to know their history By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

Karen Swindle wants everyone to know the importance of how far African-Americans have come. “Kids need to know their history,” Swindle said. “The reasons they have right to vote, the struggle our ancestors went

through to have certain rights now as leadership. To know that for the freedom we have, the rights we have, black Americans had a such big part in all of that. Inventions, laws, and discoveries, blacks have had a big impact it’s not acknowledged enough.” Swindle is the program chairman at St. Mark Baptist Church, and for the first time, the church will put on a Black History program celebrating achievements and recognizing the role of

If you go WHAT: St. Mark Black History Program. WHEN: 3 p.m. Feb. 22. WHERE: St. Mark Baptist Church, 1020 S. Second St. INFORMATION: Karen Swindle, (918) 348-4452.

African-Americans in U.S. History. Throughout the evening, the program will highlight black American history a number of different ways. “We’re going to do it

through songs and poems,” Swindle said. “There’s going to be an interaction of a dialogue of black history, there is praise dancing. The choir will sing black spiritual hymns, and there will be black history facts read in between each act.” Swindle says she makes it a priority for children to know the past of their ancestors. “At the school I teach at I gave my kids black trivia fact questions and they did not know any of it,” Swindle said. “All of their

answers were Martin Luther King. They thought he'd done everything. I explained to them, yes, he had a major role in changing history, but there’s a larger role that all blacks played in the struggle. I want to enlighten our kids in where they come from, where they are now and the struggle to get to where they are now through a program about our black heritage.” The program will give children a chance to reenact pivotal parts of history.

“The kids are able to express themselves with whatever talent they put on,” Swindle said. “To show and to be able to express it through black history is exciting. Letting the kids showcase their gifts, to be able to stand up in public and be able to speak, our ancestors made this possible for them to do. The audience gets to see history through the talent of kids.” Reach Kandice Lawson at (918) 684-2914 or kandice.lawson@muskogeephoenix.com.

Driver — Rajo Jack De Soto, 1923. Olympic gold medalist (Summer games; individual) —DeHart Hubbard, 1924. Major league baseball player in the 20th Century — Jackie Robinson, 1947. Woman gold medalist (Summer games; individual) —Alice Coachman, 1948. NFL quarterback —Willie Thrower, 1953. Wimbledon tennis champion —Althea Gibson, 1957. NHL hockey player — Willie O’Ree, 1958, Boston Bruins. NASCAR stock car driver to win a major race —

Wendell Oliver Scott, 1963. Male tennis champion — Arthur Ashe, 1968. Professional Bowlers Association Champion — George Branham III, 1985 Olympic medalist (Winter games) —Debi Thomas, 1988. Masters champion —Tiger Woods, 1997. Chess Grandmaster — Maurice Ashley, 1999. Olympic gold medalist (Winter games) —Vonetta Flowers, 2002. Olympic gold medalist (Winter games; individual) — Shani Davis, 2006.

African-American Firsts Film and Theater Director for a major Hollywood studio —Gordon Parks, 1969. Woman director for a major Hollywood Studio — Julie Dash, 1991. Oscar, Best Actress — Halle Berry, 2001. First President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The

Oscars) —Cheryl Boone Isaacs, 2013. Radio and Television Radio broadcaster —Jack L. Cooper, 1925. Black-owned radio station —WERD, purchased by Jesse B. Blayton, Sr., 1949. Network television show host —Nat King Cole, 1956. Star of a network televi-

sion show —Bill Cosby, 1965. Black-owned television station —WGPR-TV, 1975. First Evening New Anchor —Max Robinson, 1978. Woman television show host —Oprah Winfrey, 1986. Sports Jockey to win Kentucky Derby —Oliver Lewis, 1875. Professional baseball

player —Moses Fleetwood Walker, 1884. Professional Golfer — John Matthew Shippen, Jr., 1896. World cycling champion — Marshall W. “Major” Taylor, 1899. Olympic medalist (Summer games) —George Poage, 1904. Olympic gold medalist (Summer games) — John Baxter “Doc” Taylor, 1908. World Heavyweight boxing champion —Jack Johnson, 1908. NFL football coach —Fritz Pollard, 1922–1937. Professional Race Car

Religion Baptist Church —David George and the Silver Bluff Baptist Church, 1773. African Episcopal (AME) Church — Mother Bethel AME Church, 1794. Church-Sponsored African American College — Wilberforce University, 1856. Episcopal Church Bishop — James Theodore Holly, 1879 Pentecostal Faith Revival —William J. Seymour and the Azusa Street Revival, 1906. National Black Catholic Fraternal Order — Knights of St. Peter Claver, 1909. President of the Southern Baptist CCConvention, Fred Luter, Jr., 2012. Source: BlackPast.org

Black History

Muskogee Phoenix

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 3

Local clergy say King’s dream can be achieved Progress has been made; ministers say work to be done By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

The Rev. Marlon Coleman says knocking down barriers brings about change. “A key change is the new Martin Luther King Center set to be built,” the Rev. Coleman said. “To get voters across all different demographics, age groups and color lines to say we believe in this project, we believe that we can build a place that will symbolizes what we’re trying to do as a community which is bring people together. That alone was a monumental change.” Local clergy members feel that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is obtainable in Muskogee, but there is work to be done in the community. Pastor at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Coleman has only lived in Muskogee for five years but says the solution is quite simple. “We need to do is focus on race relations,” Coleman said. “We’ve got to focus on programs that are going to be very blunt and direct to help people address the challenges that face us in terms of overcoming that barrier.” The Rev. Leroy Walker Sr., of Rayfield Baptist Church has lived in Muskogee 29 years and says he’s seen Muskogee make strides in making Dr. King’s dream a reality. “It has come a long way in the sense that the community is mixed throughout the city,” Walker said.

Staff photo by Kandice Lawson

Diverse group of teens hanging out together at the Muskogee Teen Center, a key element of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream.

“Where people live is mixed throughout the city. People have tolerance for each other. Dr. King had a dream where all children grew up together. We can see that in our children. Children come together and they know its racial difference but it’s at a point where they don’t care.” To bring about change, Coleman says citizens must learn to work together and truly try to understand one another. “If you dig deeper into people’s relationships in terms of how they feel about one another across racial lines we still have

our work cut out for us,” Coleman said. “There’s an initial gut reaction sometimes when you see a group of blacks to be suspect of them. On the Coleman opposite side when you see a group of whites there’s also the same perception that we need to be suspicious. Until we have a strong initiative within the city that says lets address race relations, we will not achieve Dr. King’s dream of living in a time where blacks and whites,

Jews and Gentiles can live together and not look at color, and solely look at character and people for who they are regardless of their race.” Walker says the community must tackle the issues head on. “People have got to deal with the issues straight up,” Walker said. “I’ve seen changes — a lot of good changes, but I’m also not naive to the fact that there’s a lot of changes to be made. We need to come together and be proactive. The idea is to be proactive. What do we need to do before something happens? In a sense, Dr. King

was proactive and reactive. He was trying to accomplish things that need to be changed, but he went about it in a peaceful way, a nonviolent way, and it created chaos. But out of that chaos came a lot of things he was trying to accomplish.” To begin to understand one another, Coleman says the community could start with a common denominator to bring citizens together. “The example I always give is that across the country, Sunday is still the most segregated day of the week,” Coleman said. “African-Americans go to

their church and non African-Americans go to their churches. If we can’t cross the barrier religiously then we’re going to have a big challenge trying to address the issue outside of people’s good nature. We’ll never move the race barometer forward in eliminating racism and eliminating false prejudices and eliminating false perspectives of one another.” Walker said he believes it’s our responsibility as a community to carry to torch to fulfilling King’s dream. (See CLERGY, Page 12)

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Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But 100 years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a cheque. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar

Muskogee Phoenix

African-American Firsts

‘I have a dream’ On Aug. 28, 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream speech” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Below is the full text of his speech:

Black History

lence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvellous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realise that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. Trials and tribulations There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights: “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a Metro Creative smaller ghetto to a larger The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a day when his children would be judged by the content of their one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children character and not the color of their skin. are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only". We cannot be satistions of our nation until the nation to overlook the of discontent as her citizens of colour are fied and we will not be satisWe have also come to this urgency of the moment. This bright day of justice concerned. Instead of honfied as long as a Negro in emerges. sweltering summer of the ouring this sacred obligation, hallowed spot to remind Mississippi cannot vote and But there is something Negro’s legitimate discontent America of the fierce America has given the a Negro in New York will not pass until there is an that I must say to my peoNegro people a bad cheque urgency of now. This is no ple, who stand on the warm believes he has nothing for invigorating autumn of freetime to engage in the luxury which has come back which to vote. No, no, we threshold which leads into dom and equality. 1963 is of cooling off or to take the marked “insufficient funds.” are not satisfied, and we will But we refuse to believe that tranquilizing drug of gradual- not an end, but a beginning. the palace of justice: in the process of gaining our right- not be satisfied until justice Those who hope that the ism. Now is the time to rise the bank of justice is bankrolls down like waters and ful place we must not be Negro needed to blow off from the dark and desolate rupt. We refuse to believe guilty of wrongful deeds. Let righteousness like a mighty steam and will now be convalley of segregation to the that there are insufficient stream. us not seek to satisfy our tent will have a rude awaksunlit path of racial justice. funds in the great vaults of I am not unmindful that ening if the nation returns to thirst for freedom by drinking opportunity of this nation. So Now is the time to lift our some of you have come from the cup of bitterness business as usual. nation from the quicksands we’ve come to cash this and hatred. We must forever here out of great trials and There will be neither rest of racial injustice to the solid cheque - a cheque that will tribulations. Some of you conduct our struggle on the nor tranquillity in America rock of brotherhood. Now is give us upon demand the have come fresh from narhigh plane of dignity and until the Negro is granted the time to make justice a riches of freedom and the discipline. We must not his citizenship rights. The reality for all of God’s chilsecurity of justice. whirlwinds of revolt will con- allow our creative protest to dren. (See DREAM, 5) degenerate into physical viotinue to shake the foundaIt would be fatal for the Sweltering summer...

Science and Medicine Developer of the blood bank —Dr. Charles Drew, 1940. Member of the National Academy of Sciences — David Harold Blackwell, 1965. Astronaut —Robert H. Lawrence, Jr., 1967. Implantation of heart defibrillator: Levi Watkins, Jr., 1980. Astronaut to travel in space — Guion Bluford, 1983. Head of the National Science Foundation — Walter E. Massey, 1990. Woman astronaut — Mae Jemison, 1992. President of the American Medical Association — Lonnie Bristow, 1995. Space Shuttle Commander —Frederick D. Gregory, 1998.

Male Novelist — William Wells Brown, 1853. Woman novelist — Harriett Wilson, 1859. Recognized photographer —James Conway Farley, 1885. Pulitzer prize winner — Gwendolyn Brooks, 1950. Pulitzer prize winner in Drama — Charles Gordone, 1970. Poet Laureate — Robert Hayden, 1976. Nobel Prize for Literature winner —Toni Morrison, 1993. Woman Poet Laureate — Rita Dove, 1993.

Ivy League University president —Ruth Simmons, 2001.

First African American film company — Lincoln Motion Picture Company, 1916. Film director —Oscar Micheaux, 1919. First Oscar winner — Hattie McDaniel, 1940. First Honorary Oscar — James Baskett, 1948. Tony Award Winner — Juanita Hall, 1950. Oscar, Best Actor — Sidney Poitier 1963. Source: BlackPast.org

Did Indian Territory have role in Underground Railroad?

Documentation on the work of the Underground Railroad can be difficult to find. Naturally, the passage of escaping slaves had to be kept secret, so the route and stops along this road to freedom are not always known. Much of what we know about the efforts to help runaways comes to us through the stories passed Newspapers down orally through the and Other Print Media generations. Newspaper —Freedom’s Some of those stories tell Journal, 1827. that Indian Territory, Daily newspaper — New though far removed from Orleans Tribune, 1864. the more well-known Mass Circulation Underground Railroad Magazine —Ebony, 1945. routes, had its own place Scholarship Music and Dance on the freedom trail. It is College graduate (B.A.) Published musical coman ironic twist in —Alexander Lucius Twilight, position —Francis Johnson, Oklahoma history, since 1823. 1817. members of the Five Graduate of an Ivy Theatrical company — Civilized Tribes held League School —Theodore The African Company, 1821. slaves. But there were aboSedgewick Wright, 1828. Nationally recognized litionists in the territory as College professor — dance performer — William well, just as there were Charles Lewis Reason, 1849. Henry Lane (Master Juba), throughout the South. Woman to graduate from 1845. What made Indian a college —Lucy Stanton, Member of the New York 1850. City Opera —Todd Duncan, Territory a destination for College president — 1945. runaway slaves was this Daniel A. Payne, 1856. Member of the simple fact. Once individuNon-white public high Metropolitan Opera als crossed out of Texas, school —Paul Lawrence Company —Marian Arkansas or Louisiana, Dunbar High, 1870. Anderson, 1955. Ph.D. — Edward A. Male Grammy Award win- they were no longer in the United States. Law officers Bouchet, 1876. ner —Count Basie, 1958. from the states had no Elected to Phi Beta Woman Grammy Award jurisdiction to make Kappa —George Washington winner — Ella Fitzgerald, arrests or capture fugitives Henderson, 1877. 1958. Rhodes scholar — Alain Principal dancer in a in the sovereign nations of L. Locke, 1907. major dance company — the Five Tribes. Bounty Women Ph.D’s — Arthur Mitchell, 1959, New hunters were not welcome Georgiana Simpson, Sadie York City Ballet. either. This information Tanner Mossell and Eva was surely passed through Beatrice Dykes, 1921. Film and Theater

Art and Literature Poet —Lucy Terry, 1746. Published autobiography —Briton Hammon, 1760. Poet (published) —Phillis Wheatley, 1773. Recognized artist — Joshua Johnston, 1790, portraiture. Woman’s autobiography — Jarena Lee, 1831.

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 13

the slave quarters in surrounding states. The Creek and Seminole Nations had a long history of tolerating and even welcoming runaway slaves into their land. The Seminoles were a mixture of Negro and Indian Jonita members Mullins who found refuge in Three the swampRivers lands of History Georgia and Florida. This openness to runaways would have made the Creek Nation a hopeful destination for escaping slaves in the decade before the Civil War. They could hide in the sparsely settled land of Indian Territory or pass through to other “railroad stations” in free

Kansas. The Honey Springs Battlefield site has recently received designation as one of those “stations” on the Underground Railroad. The Honey Springs area was a well-known resting spot on the Texas Road. Its spring of clear, sweet water made it a place where travelers could stop and replenish water supplies while traveling through the territory. It could well be that the many missions that operated churches and schools in Indian Territory also were Underground Railroad stops. Most of the missionaries who worked at these sites were from New England and were staunch abolitionists. Though not documented, it does not seem unreasonable to assume that these abolitionists would have been willing to provide a meal, medical attention

and a place to hide for runaways. One of the best known individuals who escaped to Indian Territory was Bass Reeves. Fleeing from Texas, he lived for several years in Indian Territory, learning the land and the languages of the Five Tribes. This time spent in the Territory well equipped him for his later work as a federal marshal, serving Judge Isaac Parker’s court in Fort Smith, Ark. Reeves later served the federal court in Muskogee. We may never know exactly how many individuals passed through Indian Territory along the Underground Railroad, but we can appreciate the courage and faith it must have taken for all who were a part of this passage to freedom. Reach Jonita Mullins at jonita.mullins@gmail.com.

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lent, tolerant of each other, accepting of each other’s differences. We are different in all communiContinued from Page 3 ties. When I say different. I’m saying that not all “We need to be nonvio- whites think alike, not all

Clergy

blacks don’t think alike, so in our differences we have to learn to accept our differences and tolerate them and respect one another, and once we sit down and really start

“There’s been progress made but there’s still lots of work to be done in all quadrants of our community. I meet with pastors every Wednesday of all different ethnic backgrounds. Face to face breaks down the wall and helps tear apart false impressions and information that has been passed down within groups between other groups during time. What God created for people is to spend face time with each

other.”

still have a way to go. I think — Pastor James it’s still too much polarization McCracken, between race. Too much us Boulevard Church and them and not enough we. I think there needs to be “Muskogee is just like any- more involvement in the where else in the country, we churches in healing the sepahave a long ways to go. We rations between the races. have to work together, that’s — Thomas Twine, where the power is at. I Sunday School stress that the power is in Superintendent at Ward unifying and being honest Chapel AME Church with each other. We can do great things in this communi“I’ve seen some changes ty. We have to learn some within the city way with the help of God to administrawork together, that’s the only tors. There’s a way it’ll happen.” real growth of — Rev. Roscoe Beasley, integration New Jerusalem there. Law Baptist Church enforcement has increased “Muskogee has come a with minoriSmith long way, I’m old enough to ties. The remember white and colored school system signs. I’ve sat in the back of has improvement to do as far the buses. I remember the as teachers and administraseparate restrooms and foun- tive offices. The alliances tains. In terms of segregation, since I’ve been here have we’ve come a long way. We mixed with cross-cultural cler-

Black History

African-American Firsts

talking, we’ll find out that we have a lot of things in Government common.” Officeholder in colonial Reach Kandice Lawson America — Matthias de at (918) 684-2914 or Souza, 1641. kandice.lawson@muskogee State elected official — Alexander Lucius Twilight, phoenix.com.

QUOTABLE “I’ve lived here all my life. When I was coming up, a lot of things were still segregated. We’ve integrated but there’s certainly a ways to go. We can make all the laws in the country, but we have to change people’s hearts. You can’t legislate people’s hearts. Once hearts change, the community will be a better place.” — Rev. Glenn Gardener, Faith Love Baptist Church

Black History

gy and that’s causing Dr. King’s dream to grow.” — Rev. Larry Smith, Macedonia Baptist Church “In Dr. King’s speech he says he dreams of a nation that will rise up and live out its creed that all men are created equal. We want all people in our city to have peace and a life of quality and prosperity. We need a better relationship with the law enforcement and our young people out there. I believe if there were more transparency that we would come together more and people won’t have to feel like this is the Archie enemy. We need to develop real good attitudes toward life and toward our community. Every situation that comes in our community is ours. If you know a person, sometimes you can understand where they’re coming from and come up with a solution to advance together.” — Lathon Archie Jr., Faith Deliverance Christian Center

1836. Municipal elected official — John Mercer Langston, 1855. County sheriff — Walter Burton, 1869. State Supreme Court Justice — Jonathan Jasper Wright, 1870. City mayor —Robert Wood, 1870. U.S. Representative — Joseph Rainey,1870. U.S. Senator (appointed) — Hiram Revels, 1870. Governor (appointed) — P.B.S. Pinchback, 1872. Person to run for the presidency —George Edwin Taylor, 1904. Woman legislator — Crystal Bird Fauset, 1938. U.S Senator (elected) — Edward Brooke, 1966. U.S. cabinet member — Robert C. Weaver, 1966. Mayor of major city — Carl Stokes, 1967. Woman U.S. Representative — Shirley Chisholm, 1969. Woman cabinet officer — Patricia Harris, 1977. Governor (elected) —L. Douglas Wilder, 1989. Woman mayor of a major U.S. city: Sharon Pratt Dixon Kelly, 1991. Woman U.S. Senator — Carol Mosely Braun, 1992. U.S. Secretary of State — Colin Powell, 2001.

Woman Secretary of State —Condoleezza Rice, 2005. Major party nominee for President — Sen. Barack Obama, 2008. U.S. President —Barack Obama, 2009. Military U.S Army unit to have black men comprise more than half of its troops —1st Rhode Island Regiment, 1778. Commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy —Robert Smalls, 1863. Commissioned officer above the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army —Major Martin R. Delany, 1865. West Point graduate — Henry O. Flipper, 1877. Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy — Wesley A. Brown, 1949. Congressional Medal of Honor winner — Sgt. William H. Carney, 1900. Combat pilot —Eugene Jacques Bullard, 1917. General —Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., 1940. Woman general — Hazel W. Johnson, 1979. Woman to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy — Janie L. Mines, 1980. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — Colin Powell, 1989–1993. Woman Rear Admiral in the United States Navy — Lillian Fishburne, 1998. Science and Medicine Patent holder —Thomas L. Jennings, 1821. Hospital dedicated to black patient care — The Georgia Infirmary, 1832. M.D. degree —James McCune Smith, 1837. M.D. degree from a U.S. Medical School —David Jones Peck, 1847. Woman to receive an M.D. degree —Rebecca Lee Crumpler, 1864. Woman patent holder — Judy Reed, 1884. Female Dental Surgeon — Ida Gray Nelson Rollins, 1890. Black-owned hospital — Provident Hospital founded by Daniel Hale Williams, 1891. Heart surgery pioneer — Daniel Hale Williams, 1893. Source: BlackPast.org

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Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 5

‘I have a dream’ Continued from Page 4 row jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. The dream I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed - we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of

brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a

interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to Metro Creative pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that nation where they will not be we will be free one day. judged by the colour of their skin This will be the day, this will be but by the content of their characthe day when all of God’s children ter. will be able to sing with a new I have a dream today! meaning: “My country, ‘tis of thee, I have a dream that one day, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. down in Alabama, with its vicious Land where my fathers died, land racists, with its governor having of the pilgrim’s pride, from every his lips dripping with the words of

mountainside, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California. But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring! And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last! Free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

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Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

King played pivotal role in US race relations Metro Creative Martin Luther King, Jr. played a pivotal role in race relations in the United States for nearly a decade. He helped secure the end of legal segregation of African-American citizens, created the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and served as a source of inspiration for black individuals across the globe. Dr. King did not begin his life as a crusader or public figure. He had much more modest beginnings in rural Atlanta. Born Michael King, Jr., he was the middle child of Michael King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Michael King, Sr. served as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church upon the death of his father-in-law, who was the church’s prior pastor. At this point, the elder king decided to change his name to Martin Luther to honor the famed Protestant religious leader. His son soon decided to adopt the name as well. A religious family, the Kings tried to shield their children from the realities of racism that were alive and well in the country. They believed racism and segregation to be an affront to God’s will, and Martin, Sr. discouraged separation of class and taught these lessons to his children. Those lessons resonated with Martin, Jr.

Metro Creative

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helped secure the end of legal segregation in the United States and created the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Dr. King attended Booker T. Washington High School and was so advanced he was able to skip both the 9th and 11th grades. He went on to college at the age of 15, graduating from Morehouse College in 1948 with a degree in sociology. In his junior year of college, King enrolled in a Bible class that sparked a renewed enthusiasm for the ministry. He later enrolled in

the liberal Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he received a Bachelor’s of Divinity. Later he attended Boston University and earned a Ph.D. at the age of 25. It was during his time in Boston that he met his future wife, Coretta Scott. While he was completing his dissertation work, Dr. King became the pastor for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church of Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King, Jr. became directly involved in the civil rights movement after the head of the local NAACP chapter in Montgomery met with him on the night that Rosa Parks was arrested for failure to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. Dr. King helped institute the Montgomery Bus Boycott. During this time, African-Americans refused to ride the public bus system in Montgomery. The boycott lasted 382 days. During that time, Dr. King’s home was bombed due to his involvement in the boycott, and he was arrested for conspiracy. His work paid off on December 21, 1956, when the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on public transportation was illegal. Dr. King promoted nonviolent protests against unfairness to the African-American community, urging civil disobedience and

peaceful protests, tenets that formed the basis for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC, which he led. He participated in numerous nonviolent protests and was arrested several times. During one stint in jail, he penned his famous, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Dr. King established a relationship with fellow AfricanAmerican civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who shared similar interests, including the teachings of Gandhi. Rustin would serve as King’s mentor and also was the main organizer of the March on Washington that took place on August 28, 1963. Approximately 250,000 demonstrators were involved in the march, and it was the largest demonstration in the nation’s capital up to that time. In front of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King issued his famed “I Have a Dream” speech. He later met with President John F. Kennedy to appeal for greater rights for AfricanAmericans and called for an end of segregation. As a result of his civil rights efforts, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964, at the age of 35. He was the youngest person ever to receive the honor. He donated all of the prize money to his racial equality effort.

Through the late 1960s, Dr. King expanded his Civil Rights Movement to other cities. But he was often met with criticism, especially when he appealed to white middle-class citizens. Many militant black organizations considered King’s methods too weak and ineffective. His support was faltering and Dr. King grew weary of marches, jail and protests. However, in April of 1968, a labor strike in Memphis drew King’s attention, and he gave a speech about the sanitation labor dispute, which would prove to be prophetic. The next day, on April 4, Dr. King was hit by a sniper’s bullet while standing on an outside terrace of his motel room at the Lorraine Motel. King’s words from the previous day, including, “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land,” were haunting. James Earl Ray was charged with the assassination. In his honor, Americans have celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal holiday since 1986. King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. Many streets have been renamed in his honor, and Dr. King remains a source of inspiration decades after his death.

Black History

Muskogee Phoenix

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 11

Local history comes to life in tour of area towns Historic Black Towns Tour created to fill void in state By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

Cassandra Gaines had a vision 16 years ago and took action to make it blossom. “While working in tourism I noticed none of the black history was being told in Oklahoma,” Gaines said. “It was at that time I created the Multicultural Division for the City of Muskogee and decided to do the Historic Black Town Tours.” Gaines was able to secure a $50,000 stipend from governor at Gaines the time, Frank Keating, that spread out for over 10 years and created the Historic Black Town Tour. During a visit to Jacksonville, Fla., Gaines became inspired while out and about doing sightseeing. “I went to Jacksonville, Florida, for a conference but ended up on a tour of the city,” Gaines said. “When I went on the tour they showed vacant lots where nothing was standing. We still had the black towns in place.” Gaines said that with the help of Currie Ballard, Larry Odell, Dr. Bob Blackburn and Bruce Fisher, the team was able to come together and put together the tour that showcases some of Oklahoma’s hidden gems. Once word got out about the tour, numerous media outlets covered it including The Wall Street

File photo

Riders on the most recent Black Towns Tour visited sites such as the Honey Springs Battlefield information center and the Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame In Clearview .

Journal and the New York Times. The tour route makes stops in Taft, Summit, Boley, Rentiesville, Clearview, and Langston. “Summit has the oldest black church,” Gaines said. “Rentiesville is the home of the Civil War Battle of Honey Springs. They also have a juke joint, and everybody wants to go to juke joint. It was D.C.

FYI For information about the Black Towns Tour, contact Cassandra Gaines at (918) 684-6363.

Minner’s home as a child. When he came back, he turned it into a juke joint.” Through her vision, Gaines was also able to place markers in every

town the tour enters to commemorate deeply rooted historical sites. A few notable people have taken the tour including Rosa Parks, Dr. John Hope Franklin, Susan L. Taylor, Xernona Clayton, Najee, Dr. Bobby Jones, Magic Johnson, Danny Glover and Malik Yoba. Gaines will be planning another tour soon and

encourages everyone to join in on seeing history. “These towns love to tell the history,” Gaines said. “Most of these towns had filling stations, groceries stores, all sorts of businesses, but the point remains that these towns are still standing. Reach Kandice Lawson at (918) 684-2914 or kandice.lawson@muskogeephoenix.com.

“Summit has the oldest black church,” Gaines said. “Rentiesville is the home of the Civil War Battle of Honey Springs. They also have a juke joint, and everybody wants to go to juke joint.” — Cassandra Gaines

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 7 Muskogee Phoenix

Puzzle answers, games, opinion polls and much more at:

www.kidscoop.com Read today’s Kid Scoop page to find the answer for each question. Then, write each letter in the numbered spaces to discover an important lesson that Ruby Bridges learned through her experiences. On November 14, 1960, a little girl named Ruby Bridges walked to school past a screaming mob of angry white people. She had to be protected by four gun-toting U.S. federal marshals.

For months, Ruby quietly walked up the steps of William Frantz public school, past youths who were chanting, “Two, four, six, eight! We don’t want to integrate,” past a woman threatening to “poison” her, past signs designed to terrify her. One woman had a baby-sized coffin with a black doll inside. “That really scared me,” remembered Ruby.

1. The name of Ruby Bridges’ first teacher was:

Why? She was doing something no other African American in her hometown of New Orleans had ever done before. She was going to school with white children.

Ruby’s courage amazed and inspired people. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt sent Ruby a letter. Circle every other letter to discover what she told Ruby in that letter.

2. Who escorted Ruby Bridges to school to keep her safe?

For young Ruby, the isolation was even worse than the threats. When the school’s white parents pulled their children out in protest, she was left alone, day after day, with her white teacher, Barbara Henry. She couldn’t go out at recess so she played games with her teacher.

3. A threat Ruby received while passing a woman on her way to school.

4. Segregation means to: SEGREGATION means the practice of separating people into groups, especially racial groups. Before 1960, schools in America were segregated. Can you guess what integration means? a. Remembering a name

Despite the ___________ protests, Ruby went to school every day. She ___________ create the first desegregated school in the Deep South. After a few _________ of protest,

For each of the following character traits, find a person in the newspaper who shows that trait.

Muskogee Phoenix

Starting at the R, move clockwise around the circle and write every third letter on the lines to find out something you can do today to help someone.

Ruby recalls that famous year when she became one of the first black children to attend an all-white school: www.kidscoop.com/kids

Find and read an article in which a reporter interviews someone. What questions did the reporter ask the person being interviewed? Can you think of new questions to ask? Page 10 — Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015

d. Organizing names alphabetically

white children slowly began to _________ to the school. A year later, Ruby ___________ second grade without the marshals, ____________ a class of white and black children.

Black History

b. Bringing people together that used to be separated

c. Excluding people based on race

SEGREGATED BRIDGES COURAGE THREATS RACIAL SCARED RECESS CREATE SIGNS ALONE RACES GAMES RUBY LADY DOLL

Find the words in the puzzle, then in this week’s Kid Scoop stories and activities. B E S T A E R H T S C R E A T E G U E I S O L L O D N M B N

… making friends with someone even if they are different from you.

Complete the grid by using all the letters in the word ALONE in each vertical and horizontal row. Each letter should only be used once in each row. Some spaces have been filled in for you.

I E U N E G A R R Y S E G R E G A T E D O F A D A C A N C A E C W S I G N S E L S E C A R R E W S O R A L O N E B L S D

Imagine you arrived at school and the gates are locked. No lights are on. And a big sign reads “SCHOOL CLOSED.” What would happen if you no longer had the opportunity to get an education?

Fill in the blanks in the story below by using the word list.

The North Star

here once was a railroad that had no tracks, no trains, no whistles, no schedule. It ran through dark woods and swamps thick with snakes. Its “stations” were secret rooms and musty piles of potatoes.

Runaway slaves followed the North Star to freedom. If the stars were hidden by clouds, they would feel the trunks of the trees, looking for moss, which always grows on the north side of a tree.

Star Gazing Can you find the star that is different?

At one time, in some states, it was legal to own people. They could be bought and sold like cows and horses. This was called slavery.

Slaves often passed ________ instructions from plantation to plantation by __________ .

Many people thought slavery was wrong. They wanted to help slaves find a way to live free. This is how the Underground Railroad started. The kindnesses and concerns of thousands of strangers kept this freedom train “running.”

“Follow the Drinking Gourd” is a song that provided in code the route for an ____________ from Alabama and Mississippi. A portion of the song and its coded message follow: When the sun comes back And the first quail calls, Follow the drinking gourd. For the old man is waiting To carry you to freedom If you follow the drinking gourd.

“Conductor” was one of the most dangerous jobs on the Underground Railroad. Conductors were runaway slaves who led other slaves to freedom. One of the most famous was Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman led more than 300 slaves to freedom. She once said, “On my Underground Railroad I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger.”

Help Harriet find a path through the forest. Standards Link: Eye-hand coordination; problem solving.

Thomas Garrett’s home was a station on the Underground Railroad. He gave food and shelter to more than 2,500 runaway slaves. In 1848, he was arrested for helping runaway slaves. All of his property was taken away from him and sold. He had to pay a huge fine and was left penniless. Yet, he surprised the sheriff with what he said.

Use the code to find out what Thomas said.

Standards Link: History: Students know historical accounts through the stories of people and their actions.

Runaway slaves used musty piles of potatoes as “stations” to hide in. What can you find hidden in this pile of potatoes? A ball, a sock, a boat and a fish.

Find a newspaper story about someone overcoming a great obstacle such as a health challenge, an accident, or an unfair law. Read the article and list the facts: who, what, when, where, why and how. Using the facts, write a one-paragraph summary of the article.

Find the words in the puzzle, then in this week’s Kid Scoop stories and activities. S B R S W A M P S T N L M A H L A C R R O K O H I S T A T A I O D S S L C E R I T Y E M T K R D O N A N E T L C M O S S T G R E E N A O A I S H F S S F E F B D Y R E V A L S O L D Standards Link: Letter sequencing. Recognizing identical words. Skim and scan reading. Recall spelling patterns.

This week’s word:

SLAVERY The noun slavery means the owning of people by other people. Frederick Douglass called for an end to slavery. Try to use the word slavery in a sentence today when talking with your friends and family members.

My Hero Tell about someone who is your hero (or heroine). Why is this person special to you? Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 9

Standards Link: Writing Applications: Write summaries using newspaper format.

Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.

Muskogee Phoenix

Standards Link: Visual Discrimination: Students compare and sort common objects.

FREEDOM RAILROAD WHISTLES SECRET SLAVERY GREEN FACTS MOSS STATIONS TRACK SWAMPS TRAIN LOST SOLD FOOD

Black History

Look through the newspaper and circle things that can be owned in green. Circle things that cannot be owned in red.

“When the sun comes back” means the time in __________ when the altitude of the sun increases each day. Quail are a migratory bird that winter in the South, and the drinking gourd is the Big Dipper. Most freedom seekers had to cross the _______ and powerful Ohio River, a difficult crossing most of the year. The song urged freedom seekers to begin their journey in winter, which would enable them to reach the Ohio when it was still frozen and easier to cross.

Black History

Standards Link: History: Students understand the importance of individual action and character and how heroes from long ago made a difference.

How We Overcome

Frederick Douglass named his ____________________ after a symbol of _______________ to slaves, as well as a physical guide to those slaves escaping the South and traveling north. They were taught to locate this star by using the stars of the Big ____________ .

Muskogee Phoenix

The Underground Railroad, as it was called, was a series of secret paths and stations that helped runaway slaves find their way to freedom. The secret railroad ran from the southern United States to Canada.

Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist and a newspaper publisher. He escaped slavery, traveled north to freedom and then began speaking out against slavery.

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Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

Metro Creative

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helped secure the end of legal segregation in the United States and created the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Black History

Muskogee Phoenix

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 11

Local history comes to life in tour of area towns Historic Black Towns Tour created to fill void in state By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

File photo

Riders on the most recent Black Towns Tour visited sites such as the Honey Springs Battlefield information center and the Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame In Clearview .

FYI For information about the Black Towns Tour, contact Cassandra Gaines at (918) 684-6363.

Minner’s home as a child. When he came back, he turned it into a juke joint.” Through her vision, Gaines was also able to place markers in every

Page 12 — Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015

Muskogee Phoenix

Clergy

blacks don’t think alike, so in our differences we have to learn to accept our differences and tolerate them and respect one another, and once we sit down and really start

other.”

Black History

African-American Firsts

Black History

Muskogee Phoenix

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 5

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Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

Muskogee Phoenix

African-American Firsts

Black History

Ivy League University president —Ruth Simmons, 2001.

Did Indian Territory have role in Underground Railroad?

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 13

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Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

St. Mark Baptist Church offers history program Event chair says children need to know their history By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

If you go WHAT: St. Mark Black History Program. WHEN: 3 p.m. Feb. 22. WHERE: St. Mark Baptist Church, 1020 S. Second St. INFORMATION: Karen Swindle, (918) 348-4452.

African-Americans in U.S. History. Throughout the evening, the program will highlight black American history a number of different ways. “We’re going to do it

Black History

Muskogee Phoenix

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 3

Local clergy say King’s dream can be achieved Progress has been made; ministers say work to be done By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

Staff photo by Kandice Lawson

Diverse group of teens hanging out together at the Muskogee Teen Center, a key element of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream.

Page 2 — Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015

Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

Rentiesville historian celebrated as national hero John Hope Franklin’s life, work honored all year at Duke By Kandice Lawson Phoenix Staff Writer

Black History

Muskogee Phoenix

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 — Page 15

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Muskogee Phoenix

Black History

Black History Feb. 18, 2015

The dream can be achieved muskogeephoenix.com