Black History Month Challenge

I once read in a newspaper where students were asked to name 20 Black Americans who are/were not athletes nor entertainers. Many could not. One high school class of mine did that challenge and I think we did make it to 20 people. Let's see how many I can name. Let the challenge begin.

1. Phyllis Wheatley: Poet who met with George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

2. Sojourner Truth: Abolitionist and Women's Suffragist who bared her breasts and gave a famous speech "Ain't I a Woman?"

3. Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad and later scout, spy, and soldier in Civil War.

4. Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist who published his autobiography as a former slave.

5. Solomon Northup: Violinist who published his autobiography 12 Years a Slave.

6. 54th Massachusetts Infantry unit that inspired the film Glory.

7. Bass Reeves: Lawman out of Ft. Smith, AR who entered Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to capture fugitives and some say was the inspiration to the Lone Ranger.

8. George Washington Carver: Professor and inventor of peanut products who revolutionized they way southern farmers planted cash crops.

9. Buffalo Soldiers: Black Soldiers of the Wild West were given this name by the Indian tribes they encountered.

10. Ida Barnett-Wells: Journalist and a founder of NAACP.

11. Madam C. J. Walker: Built a beauty line empire similar to Avon/Mary Kay targeting black women's hair and skin care.

12. WEB DuBois: Author of Souls of Black Folk, professor, and a founder of NAACP.

13. Booker T. Washington: Professor who published his autobiography Up From Slavery and help build Tuskegee University.

14. Thurgood Marshall:1st black Supreme Court Justice.

15. Langston Hughes: Author of The Crisis and part of the Harlem Renaissance.

16. Wiley College Debate Team that inspired the film The Great Debaters.

17. Gwendolyn Brooks: Author of Annie Allen that won a Pulitzer Prize.

18. Zora Neale Hurston: Author of Their Eyes Were Watching God.

19. Maya Angelou: Author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and read a poem at the inaugurations of Presidents Clinton and Obama.

20. James Baldwin: Author of Notes of a Native Son.

21. Alex Haley: Author of Roots and Autobiography of Malcolm X.

22. Toni Morrison: Author of Beloved that won a Pulitzer Prize and received Nobel Prize in Literature.

23. Alice Walker: Author of The Color Purple that won a Pulitzer Prize.

24. Tuskegee Airmen: Pilots in WWII.

25. Emmett Till: Teenager who supposedly whistled at a white woman and shortly after was murdered. His funeral and murder trial gained media attention to become a catalyst in the Civil Rights Movement.

26. Rosa Parks: The woman who refused to give up her seat to a white man that sparked the Civil Rights Movement after attending a rally in memory of Emmett Till.

27. Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader of the Civil Rights Movement and received Nobel Peace Prize.

28. Elijah Muhammad: Leader of Nation of Islam beginning in 1930's.

29. Malcolm X: Islamist preacher who published his Autobiography written by Alex Haley.

30. Jesse Jackson: Christian preacher and civil rights activist who ran for president and hostage negotiator.

31. Quincy Jones: Music producer, songwriter.

32. Spike Lee: Film director and producer.

33. Mae Jemison: 1st Black Woman in space as an astronaut.

34. Clarence Thomas: Supreme Court Justice.

35. Condoleezza Rice: 1st female black Secretary of State and National Security Advisor.

36. Colin Powell: General of US Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and 1st black Secretary of State.

37. Barak Obama: Senator, Author, and 1st Black President of the US.

Happy Valentine's Day

Had a good January. Slept in the New Year going to bed at 11 PM and enjoyed the day off. Then back to work hearing about about a new pay system the corporate office wants to inflict on us. Instead of raises we usually, they will pay us bonus related to how much work we produce over the budget. Which means many employees are looking for new jobs I'm sure. I call it "20 different reason not to pay us".

Drove Mom to my Dad's cousins reunion at a pizza place. Younger generations don't bother to visit people they only see once a year so the cousins have their own gathering in January.

Attended a baby shower for my cousin about to have her first child. Got to see her out-of-state sister and family plus my out-of-state aunt. My sister and niece got a stomach bug at the last minute and decided not to come, so took nephew along to visit out-of-state uncle. They played games down in the basement. Told nephew a baby shower is like a birthday party: have cake and punch, play games, and open presents. One guest was a little girl who helped my cousin open presents and then lifted her shirt up to announce that she tooted. Good to see the family again.

Started volunteering for VITA again and busy checking other people's work to make sure they entered everything in correctly. Explained to people I worked with last year about buying a new house and getting a new HRA account through my job so my tax form next next form will be different from this year.

Nothing else to report. I eat, sleep, work, and volunteer. Such as life.