History

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When we think of Vintage Vegas, we think of neon lights, high rollers, and the Rat Pack. But beneath the glitter of the 1950s sat a ugly reality: Las Vegas was known as the "Mississippi of the West." While Black icons like Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole were selling out showrooms, they were often forced to enter through hotel kitchens and sleep in segregated boarding houses across town.

Fanny Cochrane Smith (1834–1905) was a remarkable Aboriginal Tasmanian (Palawa) woman whose life and voice became the cornerstone for the survival of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture.

She is most famous for being the first Aboriginal person to have their voice recorded, providing the only known audio record of any original Tasmanian Aboriginal language.

The First Civil Rights Act (the Civil Rights Act of 1866) was a landmark piece of legislation intended to protect the rights of formerly enslaved people following the American Civil War. It was the first time Congress bypassed a presidential veto to pass a major law, asserting that all people born in the U.S. were citizens, regardless of race.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866

The Act was designed to provide a legal foundation for the 13th Amendment. Its primary goals were:

 * Granting Citizenship: It declared that all people born in the United States were citizens.

 * Legal Equality: It guaranteed the right to make and enforce contracts, sue, give evidence in court, and inherit, purchase, or lease property.

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I will agree that Black History Month needs to go away, but now is not the time for that to happen. White people are always sharing this meme thinking that because Morgan Freeman said it that all Black people agree with him. Well, it is not that simple.

In the news this week was word that Kate Smith’s “God Bless America” had been banned by the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Flyers.  The reason for this ban was because it was learned that Ms. Smith had recorded some songs that were considered racist.  The songs pointed out were “That’s Why Darkies Were Born,” and “Pickaninny Heaven. Along with that I sense that people are judging Ms. Smith as being racist for singing these songs, which truthfully do contain wording that is fundamentally racist.  

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.”
-Michelle Obama

These words were spoken by Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention and with these words have come much curiosity.

Yes!  This is true.  The White House and a great deal of Washington D.C. were built by free men and slave labor.  Slaves were used to perform many of the tasks and functions necessary, unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled. Most of these slaves were leased or rented from their owners.  

A couple of years ago I read a book that went into this as well as many little known facts surrounding the White House.  The title of the book is “The Black History of the White House” and besides being a history of the White House from the “Black” point of view, and showing the history of Black people.  

I am Adrian McKee, the Webmaster of the Northern Illinois Bahá’í Web Site. I became a Bahá’í in late August, 1971. It was the end of turbulent times, the end of the “Flower Power” movement, and the winding down of the “Black Power” movement. It was 3 years after the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, and the summer of the Police Riots at the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 1968. Being a Black teen in the ‘burbs of Chicago was very troubling and very confusing. There was excitement of some of the gains that were being made in the Civil Rights movement, but the reality is that there is still a long way to go.