Dedicated to the Black Experience
Lewis Temple was a slave, born in the year 1800, who was responsible for changing the whaling industry in the early 19th century. He would improve the usefulness of the whaling harpoon, which came to be known as Temple’s Toggle. Although he wasn’t actually a seaman, Temple, a blacksmith, would double the amount of production in the whaling industry with his invention.
Full story at www.blackamericaweb.com
October 20, 1898:
On this date, the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company was the first African American owned insurance company.
Since its beginning in 1898, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company has grown to become one of the nation’s most widely-known and successful business institutions. It is the only insurance company domiciled in North Carolina with a charter dated before 1900. North Carolina Mutual is the oldest and largest African American life insurance company in the United States.
Founders and Early Builder:
John Merrick – the first dreamer and leader. A former slave, who learned to read and write in a Reconstruction School. He later became a brick mason in Raleigh, North Carolina and learned the barber trade during a lull in construction. Subsequently, he moved to Durham owning several barber shops, some of which catered to wealthy white men. He was involved in real estate and the Royal Knights of King David, a fraternal benefit society. It was there, Merrick got the notion of life insurance from the very popular mutual benefit societies developing in the south. A seed had been planted. Merrick was born on September 7, 1859 and died August 6, 1919.
Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore – A humanitarian. Born September 6, 1863 of free parents. He taught high school for several years and attended medical school at Shaw University’s Leonard Medical School. He was the first Black person to practice medicine in the city of Durham. Dr. Moore was the Company’s first treasurer and wielded wide influence in the city. He was instrumental in starting other enterprises such as a drug company, Lincoln Hospital and a library. He became president of the Company following Merrick’s death in 1919. He devoted full time to working for North Carolina Mutual until his death in 1923.
Charles Clinton Spaulding – The builder. Born in Columbus County, North Carolina, August 1, 1874. He came to Durham at age twenty and attended high school graduating in 1898. He began his career as a part-time agent with the Company and went on to become general manager in less than a year. Spaulding served in various capacities, i.e., as agent, clerk, janitor and general manager. He was named president in 1923, a post he held until his death in 1952. In addition to his career in life insurance, he was widely respected. Mr. Spaulding served on Howard University’s board of trustees from 1936 until his death in 1952
The Company’s seven organizers were men who were active in business, educational, medical and civic life of the Durham community. An early financial crisis tested their resolve and the company was reorganized in 1900 with only John Merrick and Dr. Aaron M. Moore remaining. Charles C. Spaulding was named General Manager, under whose direction the company grew and achieved national prominence.
When I was younger, history was my worst, and least enjoyable subject. But as I got older, I began to realize that history isn’t just about who fought who during what war and which president was in charge during said war. History is a blueprint of the stones that were put in place which allow us to appreciate any particular aspect of our society. And what I appreciated most, is the comedy, because without comedy, anger and negativity will overpower and poison our minds. There would be no such thing as a “brighter side” of a situation. So, with that said, I wanted to share a few of the African Americans who made, and continue to make it a little brighter, inside and out! Laughter soothes the soul and keeps the body young.
African-American comedians both past and present. From Paul Mooney and Richard Pryor in the 70’s, to Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby in the 80’s, to “The Original Kings Of Comedy,” African-Americans have played a defining role in the scheme of American comedy. By providing a humorous voice to narrate the African-American experience, and breaking down racial and social barriers along the way, each of these comics has brought a unique perspective to the ever-changing tableau that is comedy in America.
Dick Gregory
“I am really enjoying the new Martin Luther King Jr. stamp – just think about all those white bigots, licking the backside of a black man.”
Red Foxx
“Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.”
Richard Pryor
“When that fire hit your ass, it will sober your ass up quick! I saw something, I went, “Well, that’s a pretty blue. You know what? That looks like…FIRE!” Fire is inspirational. They should use it in the Olympics, because I ran the 100 in 4.3.”
Paul Mooney
“You’re telling me that when I’m a slave, I can be in your house. But now that I’m free, ‘I don’t want you in this neighborhood.’ So, you’re saying if slavery came back tomorrow, you’ll just say, ‘Welcome home’?”
Dave Chappelle
“They got a character on Sesame Street named Oscar; they treat this guy like shit the entire show. They judge him right in his face. “Oscar you are so mean! Isn’t he kids?”, “Yeah Oscar! You’re a grouch!” It’s like, “Bitch I live in a fucking TRASH CAN!”
Eddie Murphy
“Got to be careful. They say having casual sex nowadays is like playing Russian roulette. And I know I’ve thrown my dick on the crap table many a night.”
Chris Rock
“Barack, man. He doesn’t let his blackness sneak up on you. Like if his name was Bob Jones or something like that, it might take you two or three weeks to figure out he’s black. But when you hear “Barack Obama”, you picture a brother with a spear, just standing over a dead lion. You picture the base player from The Commodores.”
Bill Cosby
“I said to a guy, ‘Tell me, what is it about cocaine that makes it so wonderful?’ and he said, ‘Because it intensifies your personality.’ I said, ‘Yes, but what if you’re an asshole?'”
Martin Lawrence
On the “Cha Cha Slide”: “I can’t stand that dance. That’s the easiest f***ing dance! It’s like ‘2 to the left! 1 to the right! Stop! Think About it.’ Get the f**k outta here… I know the ghetto “Hokey Pokey” when I hear that s**t.”
Arsenio Hall
“My mother wanted me to be a lawyer and I wanted to be an actor. So I went to school, majored in theatre, and said ‘Mom, I have to choose my own destiny. I want to be an actor.’ A couple of weeks after I graduated college I called my mother up and said ‘Can I borrow $200?’ and she said ‘Why don’t you act like you’ve got $200.'”
Whoopi Goldberg
“I don’t have pet peeves, I have whole kennels of irritation.”
Cedric The Entertainer
“Gas is high for real. That was my costume for Halloween last year, I dressed up as a gas pump. None of the kids got it but I scared the sh*t out they parents! I had $6.15 on my chest, they were like Ahhh!”
D.L. Hughley
“White folk, y’all got the littlest dogs I have ever seen in my whole life… ‘Her name is Peppers. She weighs three pounds and cost $2000.’ Well you should have named her Cocaine.”
Mo’Nique
“I couldn’t be no criminal, I could not be a criminal. Because if I did some shit with you, if get caught? WE got caught. ‘Come on, I’m hiding!’, No you not! They got US! They got US! You could escape to Japan, I’d call you in Japanese like “[jibberish] Bring yo’ ass back the f**k home bitch! We got caught!”
Bernie Mac
“‘Mother-f****r’ is a word that black folks have been using for years. It’s about expression. Don’t be ashamed of the word ‘mother-f****r’ Because ‘mother-f****r’ is a noun: It describes a person, place or thing.”
Tracy Morgan
“I was watching Maury Povich the other day. They had the episode, ‘Is it Male or Female?’ And I’m sitting there with an erection, ‘Oh, all of them are good.'”
Keenen Ivory Wayans
“Everything was a joke [in my family]. If you got a whippin’, when you got back to the table, you heard nine other people doing impressions of your screaming.”
Kevin Hart
“I know I’m not good at sex because one time I called my wife and was baby why don’t lick your fingers and play with ya nipples…outta no where I heard, ‘daddy you want me to touch mines too?'”
For more, please see the Documentary “Why We Laugh” by Robert Townsend.
June 19th marks the 145th anniversary of the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery known as Juneteenth. Taken from the Juneteenth.com website, here are some historical facts about this day:
Though Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863, it had minimal immediate effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives, particularly in Texas. Texas was resistant to the Emancipation Proclamation, and though slavery was very prevalent in East Texas, it was not as common in the Western areas of Texas, particularly the Hill Country, where most German-Americans were opposed to the practice. Juneteenth commemorates June 18 and 19, 1865. June 18 is the day Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. On June 19, 1865, legend has it while standing on the balcony of Galveston’s Ashton Villa, Granger read the contents of “General Order No. 3”:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
That day has since become known as Juneteenth, a name derived from a portmanteau of the words June and nineteenth.
Former slaves in Galveston rejoiced in the streets with jubilant celebrations. Juneteenth celebrations began in Texas the following year. Across many parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land specifically for their communities’ increasingly large Juneteenth gatherings — including Houston’s Emancipation Park, Mexia’s Booker T. Washington Park, and Emancipation Park in Austin.
As Juneteenth is a World Wide Celebration, many events will be taking place in Los Angeles today. Click here to find an event near you.
Happy Juneteenth!!!