| Everything Matters |
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| By Patrice Gaines | |||
| Friday, January 09, 2009 | |||
 Patrice GainesLoving Black History I have spent the month flipping between television channels, going from news programs that give the latest reaction to the economic stimulus package and analysis of the Barack Obama administration’s selling of it to programs offering specials because it is Black History Month. I luxuriate in Black History Month. Every year, I learn something new and every year I am reminded of how much more there is to learn. I know there are people who think that the history of Black people should be included in all history books and then there would be no need for the special month. But I want both--to be in history books and to have a special month. As a speaker, each year I get invited to deliver speeches on the official Black History Month theme, the one suggested by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the organization founded by Carter G. Woodson, who was also the founder of Black History week, the precursor to Black History Month. This year’s theme is: The Quest for Black Citizenship in the Americas. I always find historical gems in my research to prepare for my speech. This year’s gems include the story of Jenny Slew, a slave who went to court to sue her owner for her freedom. In most of the colonies, a slave was banned from the courts but Slew lived in Massachusetts, which allowed slaves to bring civil suits. She was born a free woman to a White mother and Black father. But in 1762 she was kidnapped and enslaved. Three years later, she went to court to sue her owner for her freedom, claiming that because her mother was free, she was free. When a lower court ruled against her, Slew went to a higher court. And she won! In addition to her freedom, the court granted her court costs and damages, a total of $500. I wanted to include in my speech some praise for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP,) which is celebrating its 100th birthday this month. In my research, I found information on some of the co-founders including a personal account of an incident written by Ida Wells-Barnett. I was familiar with the bold journalist, who waged an anti-lynching crusade, but I had not read her account of an incident in 1888 when she refused to give up her seat on a train. “[The conductor] tried to drag me out of the seat, but the moment he caught hold of my arm I fastened my teeth in the back of his hand. I had braced my feet against the seat in front and was holding to the back, and as he had already been badly bitten he didn't try it again by himself. He went forward and got the baggageman and another man to help him and of course they succeeded in dragging me out.” White passengers applauded as she was removed from the train. But as soon as she was back home in Memphis, she hired an attorney and sued the railroad. She won her case in the lower courts but lost when the railroad company appealed to the Supreme Court of Tennessee. When I finished my research I flicked to HBO, where I watched a documentary about the 1968 Summer Olympics and the protests by Black athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who raised their fists in the Black Power salute as they stood on the podium after receiving their medals. Smith had won a Gold medal in the 200 meter race, setting a record that would stand for decades. Carlos finished in third place, earning a Bronze medal. I recalled the sense of pride I felt at the age of 19 when I saw the protests of these two athletes on television. But the International Olympic Committee was outraged and expelled the men from the Games. Back in the U.S., the sporting establishment ostracized them and at times they had difficulty earning a living. During the down times, Carlos’ wife committed suicide. It took years for this country to change to the point that it could appreciate the bravery of Smith and Carlos. When the documentary was over I flicked to “Meet the Press” and listened to analyses of how the Obama administration handled the selling of the stimulus package. But after my research and TV watching, I had a new attitude. “So what if Obama could not get the bi-partisan support he dreamed of?,” I said to myself. He has accomplished in a short time what many Presidents could not in two terms, the passage of a historical, major, comprehensive bill. In my head, I heard Malcolm X saying, “By any means necessary.” Patrice Gaines is an author and the co-founder of The Brown Angel Center, a program in Charlotte, N.C. that helps formerly incarcerated women become financially independent. www.patricegaines.com.
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