Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 12:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This tour is going to be so inspiring, interesting and exciting -- I'm really looking forward to it!

It's a history-making event!!!

Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 1:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Sounds like a winner!

Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 2:56 a.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by Idefinitelymight (Tom Scarborough) on February 13, 2008 at 3:23 a.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 6:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

thanks tom....

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 7:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Wow, I have always like the writings of Richard Wright. I won't name a favorite, I have too many, but this tour should be fantastic!!! Wish I could make it to Natchez for this one.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 7:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BLACK FEMALE INVENTORS

1. Marie V. Brittan Brown invented the home security system utilizing television surveillance.
2. Louise H. Andrews invented a lens holder accessory.
3. Patricia Bath, M.D. invented an apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses.
4. Miriam E. Benjamin invented the Gong and Signal chair for hotels and similar venues.
5. Henrietta Bradberry invented the bed rack and Torpedo Discharger Means.
6. Virgie M. Ammons invented the fireplace damper.
7. Joan Clark invented the medicine tray and a holder for bras.
8. Sara E. Goode invented the Cabinet Bed.
9. Bessie V. Griffin invented the portable receptacle.
10. I. O. Carter invented the nursery chair.

Please note: This is a partial listing . . . there's more to come.

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND A WONDERFUL BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!!!

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 7:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

WOW ijohnson, you are really enlightening me this morning! These facts are important, as I wasn't privy to any of these!! Keep the positive stuff coming!

Posted by ntzluv (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

ijohnson,
Thanks for all your wonderful black history facts...despite the hateful comments that have been posted on some of these threads....keep enlightening all of us about the important contributions to society made by Black Americans!!!!

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Very good link to an article I found interesting. It seems Australia is on it's way, to becoming a country for all of it's citizens!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23141944/

Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

When I first viewed this article a little after midnite, I thought to myself...now, this would be a good article for ijohnson to hijack with black history facts, lol. No offense ij. You can keep coming back day after day and post more to this one and make it the steps thru time black history page. You see this article isn't about someone being shot, someone being sought, but more about the celebration of someone's life and times gone by. Anyways it's more related to black history facts.

Now, you go gurl wit ur facts.

Posted by kayce (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks Ijohnson. Did anyone get a chance to watch African American Lives on PBS? There is a part II tonight at 8pm. They also have a website. Check it out!!

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aalives/index.ht...

Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 9:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

From a previous post.

KRogers

If you hadn't noticed, Alcorn has a more diverse student, faculty, and staff body.

ijohnson, thanks for acknowleding a few facts relating to the growth and development of this great nation (black history).

What individuals fail to realize is that Black History is more than the "Civil Rights" movement (don't get me wrong, that was extremely important) . For years, the accomplishmentsof Black Americans have gone un-noted. The idea that these individuals still had a sense of pride, even after being deprived, for me, is encouraging. While they had limited resources, often worked in harsh, brutal conditions, they prevailed! That's why Black History is important, and why it's even more important now. If there's no black history, there's no connection.

Knowledge simply empowers and builds, ignorance places restrictions and destroys.

Oh, by the way, check out the, "Compromise of 1877."

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

((kayce)) thanks for that information. I will make a note of that and try to catch it tonight. Did anybody watch Obama's victory speech last night???? I don't think I've heard him speak with so much conviction and determination before . . . it was truly uplifting. Just looking at the faces that stood behind him was TRULY inspiring to me because they were mostly White faces with glimmers of hope that there is finally somebody we can relate to who is about real change. Maybe Dr. King's dream is becoming a reality . . . LET'S VOTE AND MAKE IT A REALITY!!!

In the words of Sam Cooke, "A change is goin' to come!"

GO, OBAMA, GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

((Teach4Peace)) I just caught a piece of that a short time ago! WOW!! I'm going to use your link to go back and read this article in its entirety. Thanks. Have a great day!

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

At last count:

Delegate Info:

Obama: 1078
Clinton: 969
Edwards: 26 (out of it)

McCain: 801
Romney: 282 (out of it)
Huckabee: 240

Posted by kayce (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

ijohnson..I wish I could have seen that.

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"I think what motivates people is not great hate, but great love for other people."

Huey P. Newton

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

((kayce)) try to google it or do a search for it on YouTube. I haven't tried it but it just may be online today. It was awesome! Have a nice day!

Posted by kayce (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Will do ijohnson. You do the same!!

Posted by notfromnatchez (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"Kids, you tried and you failed miserably. The lesson learned is--NEVER TRY."

--Homer J. Simpson

Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Words of wisdom from an inanimate object, wow, we've really evolved!

Posted by deloresmurray (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I love to read about Natchez and its history. I wish I could just be there for a day to go on the 'Ramble'. I hope it is something that perhaps could be offered on the tours of Natchez that are year-round.

Posted by notfromnatchez (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 3:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How about this one from the one who is ALMIGHTY?

"A lot of times people look at the negative side of what they feel they can't do. I always look on the positive side of what I can do."

--Chuck Norris

Posted by vidalia1 (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 5:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Good work ijohnson.I really appreciate you for giving facts
to all that read and take notice.

Posted by aesa (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

is this match.com?

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I think ((oldmoney)) has lost his marbles.

Posted by notfromnatchez (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 10:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Oldmoney never had any marbles...all he has is lots of money. At least that's what he wants us to think.

My guess is that he lives in a trailer park and drives a trashy truck.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 10:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Anybody with any money, and with some sense, (no pun intended) wouldn't go around bragging about it.

Posted by peaceout (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 11:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

what a complete LOON!

Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on February 13, 2008 at 11:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have no problem with Black History Month . How would ya'll feel about a White History Month ? Or free education for everybody ? It's the only way this country is going to stay ahead .

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 12:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Between 1863-1913, nearly 1,200 inventions were patented by African-American inventors.

In observance of BLACK HISTORY MONTH, I am honored to present you with these additional facts about our female inventors:

11. Lyda D. Newman invented the hair brush.
12. Theora Stephens invented the pressing/curling iron.
13. Maxine Snowden invented the rain hat.
14. Ruane Jeter invented the digital toaster.
15. Marjorie S. Joyner invented the permanent waving machine.
16. Julia Terry Hammons invented an apparatus for holding yarn skeins.
17. Mary B. Kenner invented the sanitary belt, sanitary belt with moisture-proof napkin pocket, carrier attachment
for invalid walker, bathroom tissue holder, and backwash mounted on shower wall and bathtub.
18. Natalie R. Love invented the T-top roof cover.
19. Anna Mangin invented the pastry fork.
20. Judy W. Reed invented an improvement in dough kneader and roller.

Please check back . . . I will post more interesting facts tomorrow.

»-(¯`v´¯)-»»-(¯`v´¯)-»-» HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!! »-(¯`v´¯)-»»-(¯`v´¯)-»-»

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 12:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

MADAM C. J. WALKER -- Black Female inventor

Although there are many important African-American inventors, the most documented is Sarah Breedlove, known universally as Madam C. J. Walker. She was born on December 23, 1876 in Delta, Louisiana. Madam Walker was orphaned at the age of seven and moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi with her sister at the age of ten. She was married at the age of fourteen to Moses (Jeff) McWilliams and had a daughter, A'Lelia, in 1885, at the age of eighteen. Madam Walker's husband Moses was reportedly killed in a race riot in 1887 which left her to raise her daughter alone.

Madam Walker moved to St. Louis and made a living as a laundress and continued her education in public night schools. During the 1890's Madam Walker's hair began to fall out, especially around her temple area, due to alopecia caused by several factors including stress, diet, and hygiene. She noticed that many other African-American women had the same problem. After researching and experimenting with various mixtures to grow and straighten hair, Madam Walker had a breakthrough. Between 1900 and 1905, she invented a formula with a secret ingredient (probably sulfur) which she always said had been revealed to her by a "big African man" in a dream, that would stimulate hair growth.

With the discovery of this formula and with her entrepreneurial skills, Madam Walker started her own business. Though she is credited with doing so, she did not invent the straightening comb but she popularized its use among black women.

In 1905, Madam Walker moved to Denver and married an old friend, Charles Joseph Walker a newspaperman. By 1906, because of his ability to help her with advertising they went into business together selling Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower. To promote the new product line, Madam Walker traveled into many African-American communities. She would demonstrate her product anywhere there was an audience including churches and lodges.

In 1908, Madam Walker moved her business to Pittsburg where she opened her first training school for "hair culturist" called Lelia College. In 1910, she settled in Indianapolis where she built a factory, hair and manicure salon, and another training school. Less than a year after arriving, she made headlines in the national Black press for contributing $1000 to the building fund of the "colored" YMCA in Indianapolis.

As her client list kept growing and with the production of other inventions, Madam C. J. Walker became the first American woman of ANY race to become a millionaire.

Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 7:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

ijohnson, I felt the need to include an additional figure, Carter G. Woodson (Founder of Black History).

Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
--Carter G. Woodson

During his lifetime, Dr. Woodson developed an important philosophy of history. History, he insisted, was not the mere gathering of facts. The object of historical study is to arrive at a reasonable interpretation of the facts. History is more than political and military records of peoples and nations. It must include some description of the social conditions of the period being studied

Dr. Woodson often said that he hoped the time would come when Negro History Week would be unnecessary; when all Americans would willingly recognize the contributions of Black Americans as a legitimate and integral part of the history of this country. Dr. Woodson's outstanding historical research influenced others to carry on his work. Among these have been such noted historians as John Hope Franklin, Charles Wesley, and Benjamin Quarles. Whether it's called Black history, Negro history, Afro-American history, or African American history, his philosophy has made the study of Black history a legitimate and acceptable area of intellectual inquiry. Dr. Woodson's concept has given a profound sense of dignity to all Black Americans.

To view the article in it's entirety.

http://www.chipublib.org/002branches/woo...

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 7:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Yes, Madam Walker is one of my favorites! Fannie Lou Hamer is another one of my favorites!

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 7:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Fannie Lou Hamer

Known as the lady who was "sick and tired of being sick and tired," was born October 6, 1917, in Montgomery County, Mississippi. She was the granddaughter of slaves. Her family were sharecroppers - a position not that different from slavery. Hamer had 19 brothers and sisters. She was the youngest of the children.

In 1962, when Hamer was 44 years old, SNCC volunteers came to town and held a voter registration meeting. She was surprised to learn that African-Americans actually had a constitutional right to vote. When the SNCC members asked for volunteers to go to the courthouse to register to vote, Hamer was the first to raise her hand. This was a dangerous decision. She later reflected, "The only thing they could do to me was to kill me, and it seemed like they'd been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember."

When Hamer and others went to the courthouse, they were jailed and beaten by the police. Hamer's courageous act got her thrown off the plantation where she was a sharecropper. She also began to receive constant death threats and was even shot at. Still, Hamer would not be discouraged. She became a SNCC Field Secretary and traveled around the country speaking and registering people to vote.

Hamer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). In 1964, the MDFP challenged the all-white Mississippi delegation to the Democratic National Convention. Hamer spoke in front of the Credentials Committee in a televised proceeding that reached millions of viewers. She told the committee how African-Americans in many states across the country were prevented from voting through illegal tests, taxes and intimidation. As a result of her speech, two delegates of the MFDP were given speaking rights at the convention and the other members were seated as honorable guests.

Hamer was an inspirational figure to many involved in the struggle for civil rights.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good morning ((Teach4Peace)) thanks, so much, for this bio of Fannie Lou Hamer. She is definitely one of my favorite civil rights leaders, too. I'm surprised when a lot of people say that they have not ever heard of her. There are a couple of Civil Rights documentaries that captures her in true form. She spoke with so much fervor and determination and she did so much for Mississippi and the South to move forward during those turbulent times.

Please keep them coming . . . remember . . . there's a lot that needs to be learned about a lot of our unsung heroes.

»-(¯`v´¯)-»»-(¯`v´¯)-»-» HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!! »-(¯`v´¯)-»»-(¯`v´¯)-»-»

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good Morning!! Yes, I love to watch those Eyes on the Prize documentaries on PBS! They show her in rare form, and she was not a tongue biter! Yes, MANY were involved in the movement, that didn't get a lot of recognition. Locally, what about Wharlest Jackson! He is a relative of mine.

Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Everytime I vote, Fannie Lou immediatly comes to mind. Images of Ms. Hamer walking those dusty roads in the Mississippi Delta registering people to vote, being jailed and beaten illustrates, a sense of endurances, perservance. While I selected Obama during the primary of my state, I took a moment and just reflected and thought, "Wow, who ever would have a thought, a country with a deep rooted history (racism and discrimination) would be so supportive of an individual who back in the 1960's probably would not have had a chance(or even would have been killed).

All of those racial innuendos and stereo-types posted on this site and others will not block the cause of Justice, Equality and Liberty. Those unlearned individuals are simply restricted by their thinking and will require additional grace in aiding them to realize the importance of "needing one another."

Let's continue to post and celebrate the contributions of Black Americans

Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
--Carter G. Woodson

Obama '08

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Yes ((Teach)), just like you mentioned before regarding being a lot like Fannie Lou Hamer, I am a lot like her, too. I'm not a tongue biter, either. I bet you never would have guessed it. *LOL*

Wharlest Jackson and my father worked together for many years. His daughter, Delrese, and I were classmates. Please post something about Wharlest Jackson if you have something.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good morning ((Incognito))!!! How's your Valentine's Day going???? I missed your Carter G. Woodson posting. It's an absolutely wonderful bio to add here today and I hope you continue to post some more. Post any and everything you have that will honor and give recognition to those we may already know and those we NEED to know.

Keep them coming because just reading the accomplishments of our people is so inspiring and spirit-lifting for me each and every day!

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

When Wharlest Jackson Sr.

36, left his job at the Armstrong Rubber Co. in North Natchez the evening of Feb. 27, 1967, life was looking pretty good for him.

Jackson had an adoring wife cooking him dinner at his home, just a few blocks away in North Natchez. He had four healthy daughters and a doting young son, Wharlest Jr., then 8 years old. And he had just gotten a 17-cents-per-hour raise and a promotion from building tires to mixing chemicals at Armstrong—an impressive raise for a black man in 1967—a job that had previously only been held by white men.

Little Wharlest was in the front yard when he heard the blast. He ran into the house and saw his mother standing in the dining room looking anxiously in the direction the noise came from. He ran back outside and jumped on his bike. He had only gone three blocks when he saw his father lying next to his smoldering pickup truck about 25 feet from the corner of Miner Street and what is today Martin Luther King Drive.

“I seen the truck. I seen him laying in the street,” a now-300-pound Wharlest Jackson Jr. said, suddenly bursting into tears at the memory, wiping his tears and his sweat with a small white towel. The bomb, he said, was hidden from the street and heated from the truck’s manifold. “He drove three blocks before it went off.”

As he looked at his father’s limp body, Wharlest could hear his mother’s screams blocks away. “People get intuition; they feel things,” he says.

The former linebacker at Valley State, now 47 and dressed in a cotton powder-blue short-sleeved shirt and pants, Wharlest Jackson Sr. was a focused black man who could confound even the most moderate of Natchez whites in the 1960s. He was a hard worker, well-liked and even-tempered, and he loved to hunt and fish and spend time with his family. “He was a typical father,” his son said.

But he was not a man content with the status quo. He wanted the best he could achieve for himself and for his family, as well as for other blacks. He had been involved with the local NAACP for much of his son’s short life and was treasurer of the local chapter when he was killed. He was involved in voter registration in a time when trying to register to vote could get a black Mississippian killed.

“He was one that liked to see people do better, to advance,” his son told us. “He liked to help other people, make it better for other people. There were a lot of bigots who wanted to hold people down, to a level.”

Talk Is Cheap

No justice and no closure would come for the Jackson family, not in the 1960s, not later, which may account for his son’s continuing raw pain over his father’s murder. Throughout our visit, he kept breaking down, a look of sheer pain on his face, tears falling like the truck had blown up the Friday before.

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Cont.

The case did draw some attention. By 1967, even timid Natchez moderates who had done little to curb Klan control of the town were growing tired of the Klan violence, and some spoke out against the murder. Time magazine reported that Charles Evers, who had lost his own brother to race hatred in 1963, came to town and led a rally of 2,000 in a march on the Armstrong plant, which he said was “infested” with Klansmen. Even Gov. Paul Johnson, who had once called the NAACP a group of “n*ggers, apes, alligators, coons and possums,” called Jackson’s murder “an act of savagery which stains the honor of our state.”

But the talk was cheap, with no real investigation, much less indictments, attached. Local law enforcement “was a joke,” Wharlest Jr. says now.

“Not only was nothing done, but we were hopeless. We were up against something bigger than us. … Do you know what it is to feel helpless, like David and Goliath?”

For years, Wharlest Jr. says, he was angry and bitter and took out his frustration in negative, self-destructive ways, becoming “bitter hateful,” he calls it. “I became what these people were.” But his sport of choice helped him have an outlet for his anger: “Thank God for football.”

Eventually, he worked through the anger and drew upon the lessons his father, whom he calls his “best friend,” had taught him and his sisters about using his energy to help others. “His vision ain’t died with him,” the son said. Since he moved back to Natchez three years ago, he has mentored young people in the demolition business. His sister is a schoolteacher, and his nephew in Texas coaches kids after school, he said with pride.

He now wants to set up the Wharlest Jackson Foundation in Natchez, to create a living memorial to his father through activities to help young people.
He walked into a white friend’s barn one day and saw a huge rebel flag hanging on the wall with the words “Klan Country” emblazoned across it. But he didn’t hold it against him. “He hasn’t been too well taught. He doesn’t have enough information coming in,” Wharlest Jr. said.

“If you do good, the good is going to come back to you,” Wharlest Jr. said. “If you do wrong … the sins of the father will visit you for generations after that.”

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

“If you do good, the good is going to come back to you,” Wharlest Jr. said. “If you do wrong … the sins of the father will visit you for generations after that.”

So true!!

Posted by notfromnatchez (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ijohnson--that sounds like KARMA. Does that mean that Wharlest was a Hindu?

Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"He walked into a white friend’s barn one day and saw a huge rebel flag hanging on the wall with the words “Klan Country” emblazoned across it. But he didn’t hold it against him. “He hasn’t been too well taught. He doesn’t have enough information coming in,” Wharlest Jr. said

Educating those with inadequate information requires patients and grace (only from God)

Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Also it requires the teacher to not decend to those levels of ignorance(Also, requries God).

thanks for the greeting "ij"

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hindu or not, what you put out, you will get back, and that's BIBLE!

"Take heed, lest no man deceive you, whatsoever a man soeth, that shall he also reep."

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 2:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey, ((notfromnatchez))! It does sound like karma. I think Wharlest Jackson's son is wishing karma upon those who killed his father. That message could be interpreted as a belief in Hinduism or an American belief that "what goes around, comes around"! *LOL

Posted by drawpaintsing (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 2:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hello, Ijohnson and Teach4Peace! Happy Love Day!

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hi Drawpaintsing! Happy Valentines to you and yours as well! Man, wouldn't it be nice if we could all meet! :-}

Posted by notfromnatchez (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 2:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Teach--Hinduism came about WAY before your bible was written. Maybe the bible took some stuff from Hinduism.

Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 3:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wouldn't know that, and can't say that I care. I am interested in what God, has to say about reciprocity. Thanks, but no thanks on your Hindu lessons. I will digress to reply more or reference anything to it. It's not important to me.

Posted by Idefinitelymight (Tom Scarborough) on February 14, 2008 at 4:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wharlest Jackson, Jr. is one of the finest men I have ever had the privilege of meeting.

Posted by theduke (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 7:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I was being serious when I challenged ((ijohnson)to naming 50 Black inventors in 10 minutes but now I feel I created a Frankenstein. The reason I did it was was because she seemed like a know it all type person. I'm not saying know it all in knowledge but it character. Anyone can sit & find all the inventors.
I have been told by several posters that she is a hard cookie to deal with & one even went as far as saying she is bi-polar. All I can say is she is the biggest BORE I've ever emcountered!
We only have a 2 weeks left of Black History month so mayby we can all get back to norman then.
I can't imagine how she researchs all day & night it looks like by now she would be exhausted, but then we don't now if she's norman or not or what medications she takes to keep her going like the Energizer bunny. The worse this is she has even posted inventors on the site about the man in the wreck. I'm sure his family appreciated that.
If she never learns anything in her life she will at least know black inventors, but I can't see how that will make her a living. I wonder does she bore her family the way she does the Democrat viewers? I feel sorry for them is she does. If she would get her lazy self from behind the computer she may be able to invent something her self.
She said I had puffed my chest out & now was backing up like a crawfish well if I was did puff out I didn't realize I was doing it with a maniac.

Posted by Incognito (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 9:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Black history is more than just inventions, but the contributioins (often ignored by mainstream) by Black Americans that have aided in the growth of this nation.

Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.
--Carter G. Woodson

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 10:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Listen ((theduke)), the only reason I'm even wasting time with you is to set the record straight regarding a LIE you posted above. You stated:

"The worse this is she has even posted inventors on the site about the man in the wreck. I'm sure his family appreciated that."

Please show me where I posted something on the above-referenced articles -- SHOW ME!! You bald-faced liar!!!

You are a real sick piece of crap! All these stupid posts are just red flags to the fact that you are an uneducated, desperate, ignorant mad-man . . . you and a couple of your cronies. You're online acting like psychopathic children with all this hateful, racist foolishness. Grow up and get off your knees. I couldn't care less about what you say about me. As a matter of fact, it really amuses me because it's an indication that I must be doing something right . . . DOGS ONLY BARK AT MOVING CARS!!!!

Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 10:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

notfromnatchez are you hindu?

Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 10:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Interesting stories teach and ij.

Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on February 14, 2008 at 10:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ijohnson just let the criticizm roll off you like water off a duck's back.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 12:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BLACK INVENTORS

21. Henry Sampson invented the cellular phone.
22. Cathleen McCoy Garrett invented the siren/horn light indicator.
23. John A. Johnson invented the wrench.
24. Joanna Hardin invented the keyboard stand.
25. James A. Bauer invented the coin changer.
26. Lydia M. Holmes invented the knock-down wheeled toy.
27. Issac R. Johnson invented the bicycle frame.
28. Gertrude Downing invented the corner cleaner attachment.
29. John H. Jordan invented the clothes dresser.
30. Mary J. Reynolds invented a hoisting/loading mechanism.

There will be more interesting facts posted tomorrow.
Have a wonderful BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!!!!

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 12:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)

HENRY THOMAS SAMPSON
Inventor of the Cellular Phone

The inventor of the cell phone was Henry Sampson. The invention of the cell phone was a project of many people over several years, but the credit goes to Henry Sampson because he was the inventor of the Gamma-Electric cell which made it possible to send and receive audio signals via radio waves without wires.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University in 1956. He went on to the University of California, Los Angeles where he graduated with an MS degree in engineering in 1961; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, MS in Nuclear Engineering in 1965, and a PHD in 1967.

Henry T. Sampson invented the "gamma-electric cell", which pertains to Nuclear Reactor use. According to Dr. Sampson, the Gamma Electric Cell, patented July 6, 1971, (Patent No. 3,591,860) produces stable high-voltage output and current to detect radiation in the ground.

In 1983, cellular phone service became available, and people could now call each other from telephones that did not need to be attached to anything or near a base set. The use of cell phones exploded until now, when very few people don’t have one, and most people can’t even imagine life without them.

In the 1990’s it became possible to connect to the internet from anywhere using the same technology that led to the invention of the cell phone.

Henry Sampson worked as a research Chemical Engineer at the United States Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California from 1956 to 1961. He moved on to the Aerospace Corp in El Segundo, California after that and stayed there throughout the remainder of his career in science.

As an interesting sidenote, Henry Sampson is also a writer and film historian who wrote a book entitled, "Blacks in Black and White: A SourceBook on Black Films." He produced documentary films on early black filmmakers and films. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Southwest College Foundation, and a technical consultant to Historical Black Colleges and Universities Program.

Sampson's Awards and Honors:
• Fellow of US Navy, 1962-1964
• Atomic Energy Commission, 1964-1967
• Black Image Award from Aerospace Corp, 1982
• Blacks in Engineering, Applied Science, and Education Award, Los Angeles Council of Black Professional Engineers, 1983

Henry Sampson has made a significant impact on the entire world with his amazing invention, and that is why this famous black inventor will be remembered for a long time.

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Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 5:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Let's be prayerful for the families of those who were so viciously gunned down, for no reason at all, on the college campus in Illinois. Looks like THIS is becoming a trend . . . SHAMEFULLY!

Posted by theduke (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

SHOOTING VICTIM DIES
Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 12, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

GARRETT AUGUSTUS MORGAN – Invented the traffic signal and gas mask
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Sorry ((ijohnson)) it was about the shooting victim dying.
Still disrespectful to his family!!!!!!! So if anyone is sick it its you! I AM not a BALED FACED LIAR but someone that can admit a mistake & then correct it.
You must care what this "uneducated, desperate, ignorant mad-man" says because you keep replying to my comments. If you only knew who I was you would fall off your rocker. I may be your neighbor or someone thats claims to care about you. Think about that. As far as amusing you I don't think you are amused at all only a pissed off black poor soul with nothing better to do than to surf the net for black inventors 24/7.
Let's just say I have become you worse mightmare!

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 10:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

MAHALIA JACKSON -- The World's Greatest Gospel Singer

• BORN: October 26, 1911 in New Orleans, Louisiana

• FAMILY BACKGROUND: Mahalia was the third child to John A. Jackson, a barber and preacher, and Charity Clark, who died at the age of 25 when Mahalia was four years old. In 1916, her father sent her to live with her aunt Mahalia "Duke" Paul. Aunt Duke didn't allow secular music in her house, but Mahalia's cousin would sneak in records. Even at a very young age, Mahalia had a booming voice and she would sing hymns and old-time gospel tunes around the house.

• EDUCATION: Mahalia attended the McDonough School No. 24 in New Orleans through the eighth grade.

• ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Mahalia Jackson is viewed by many as the pinnacle of gospel music. Her singing began at the age of four in her church, the Plymouth Rock Baptist Church in New Orleans. Her early style blended the freedom and power of gospel with the stricter style of the Baptist Church. As a teenager, through her cousin's aid, she was influenced by such famous singers as Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, Enrico Caruso and Ma Rainey, and her own style began to emerge into a more soulful expression.

In 1927, at the age of 16, she moved to Chicago and found work as a domestic. But soon after, she found plenty of work as a soloist at churches and funerals after joining the Greater Salem Baptist Church choir. Her unique contralto voice caught the attention of many small churches from coast to coast. Larger, more formal churches frowned upon her energetic renditions of songs. After performing with the Prince Johnson Singers, she began recording for Decca Records in 1937. When the records did not sell as well as expected, she became a beautician. However, after five years of touring with composer Thomas A. Dorsey at gospel tents and churches, Mahalia's popularity and success garnered her another record contract, this time with Apollo Records, from 1946 to 1954. She then switched to Columbia Records, from 1954 to 1967, where she attained broad recognition as a spiritual singer.

Throughout the 1950s, Mahalia's voice was heard on radio, television and concert halls around the world. Her shows were packed in Europe, and her audience very enthusiastic at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, at a special all-gospel program she requested. In 1954, she began hosting her own Sunday night radio show for CBS. She performed on the Ed Sullivan show in 1956 where she catapulted gospel music into America's mainstream. She sang for President Dwight Eisenhower and at John F. Kennedy's inaugural ball in 1960.

From the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott until her death in 1971, Mahalia was very prominent in the Civil Rights Movement. Very close with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she often performed at his rallies--even singing an old slave spiritual before his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington in 1963. She also sang at his funeral five years later.

Posted by justurgirlnextdoor (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 4:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well Well Well, Boy have I got some news for ya!!!!!!!
I just found out that ""THEDUKE""... is a black woman staying with a white couple in Natchez,Ms. because she lost all she had in New Orleans. So it seems to me she is playing games with ""ijohnson"".. Some people really get me on here and I am new to all this. I just thought I'd like to share this Black History informtion with ya. Goes to show you anybody can pretend to be anyone on here.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 4:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

*LOL* now, that would be a real good one ((justaurgirlnextdoor)) BUT, you never know who's lurking behind this computer screen!! If ((theduke)) is a black woman, looks like she's fallen off her rocker! How are you so privy to this information?

Posted by justurgirlnextdoor (anonymous) on February 15, 2008 at 11:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I know this because I know the people she is living with. I'm new in town & I ask my friend has she been reading all of this & she laughed & said yes. Then the girl staying with them came into the room laughing & said "I'm theduke & I have really pissed some people off on the Democrat." I think it's terrible that she is treating you this way because she is also black. I guess she has vengence because her boyfriend did her dirty & left her pregnant for a white girl.
The reason she is staying with them is because she & their daughter were going to school together. They are the type people that can't say no but they wish she would leave before trouble starts. We have learned the best way to handle her is to ignore her.

Posted by theduke (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 12:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I have no idea who (( justurgirlnextdoor)) is!!!!! I DO NOT live with white people, I have my own home & I am not a woman. The only thing she said that is true is I am playing games with ((ijohnson)) & like an idiot she fell hook, line & sinker.

Posted by theduke (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 12:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I said I don't live with white people I need to correct that I live alone except for my brown dog.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 6:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good morning, ((theduke))!! ((justurgirlnextdoor)) is just another small and narrow-minded bigot who's outsmarted herself in this game she's trying to play. She's been around here for a LONG time . . . playing games. As for who you REALLY are, I've always known exactly who you were -- didn't need anybody to tell me that. What kind of dog do you own?

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 6:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)

. . . More interesting Black History facts:

31. George Cook invented the automatic fishing reel.
32. Beatrice L. Cowans invented the Embroidered Fruit Bowl.
33. William D. Davis invented the horse riding saddle.
34. Virginia E. Hall invented a wall hanging and kit.
35. O. Dorsey invented the door stop.
36. Carol Randall invented ear clips and the tissue tote.
37. L. P. Ray invented the dust pan and door knob.
38. Valerie Thomas invented an illusion transmitter.
39. T. Elkins invented the toilet (commode)
40. M. Toland invented the float-operated circuit closer.

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THOMAS ELKINS -- invented the toilet (commode)

An improved refrigerator design was patented by African American inventor Thomas Elkins of Albany, New York (11/4/1879 U.S. patent #221,222). One unusual fact about Thomas Elkins' refrigerator was that it was also designed to chill human corpses.

An improved chamber commode (toilet) was patented by Thomas Elkins on January 9, 1872. Elkins' commode was a combination bureau, mirror, book-rack, washstand, table, easy chair, and chamber stool. It was a very unusual piece of furniture.

On February 22, 1870, Thomas Elkins invented a combined dining, ironing table, and quilting frame.

(The information posted above about Thomas Elkins came from one source. If you click on, or copy and paste, this link: http://inventors.about.com/library/inven...... you can view several drawings of the above-referenced inventions . . . very interesting!!)

Have a wonderful BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!!!!

Posted by theduke (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

((ijohnson)) have no idea who (( justurgirlnextdoor)) is. I do know I have never seen any comments from her until the other night.
As for me you have no idea who I am! Like I posted earlier I could be your neighbor or a family member just making an idiot out of you.
Why you would want to know what kind of dog I have know I have no idea unless you think it will help you solve the mystery of who I am, but if it helps I have a Chihuahua. If you need any more clues just let me know.

Posted by justurgirlnextdoor (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

((ijohnson))...I don't have any clue to what you are talking about... I just moved here from Texas in January.. I just started this on-line comment site when my friend told me about it...So I'm sorry to say but you do not know me or anything about me..And as for me being a " small and narrow-minded bigot " it sounds to me like you are a person who is trying to make people believe you are a Proud Black woman, when you are really a poor lonely soul, trying to impress people with your knowledge of facts that you," have to look up on the computer" of Black Inventors because you are an ignorant black woman with no idea of what you are talking about UNLESS you look it up! So leave me out of your stupid comments and write only about the subject of the article!! Thank you! And Have A nice LIfe!

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Heckle & Jeckle are at it again . . . pecking and pecking away -- just wearing themselves out!!!! I wish both of you well!!!!

Posted by justurgirlnextdoor (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank You for wishing me well, I have been feeling alittle under the weather lately. But I am just a single mom who just moved here trying to do better for my children. And I am not trying to make any enemies on here just posting my thoughts. So if you feel that you know me and want to address me with your strange comments about me go ahead. But I will continue to express my thoughts and opinions because I am an American and I can voice my opinion anytime. It is my Constitutional Right!!

Posted by overthehill60 (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

All the Black invention are interesting keep them going.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 3:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

((overthehill60)), thank you!!! I'm glad you're enjoying them -- I have discovered a lot of facts I DIDN'T know while researching facts to post. Did you see Henry Sampson's bio? He invented the cell phone! And, he's a Mississippian -- GO MISSISSIPPI!!!!!!!!

Please visit these postings every day for more tidbits of little known Black history facts. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 6:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

was it a black man that invented the dice game?

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 16, 2008 at 8:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings. ~Franklin Thomas

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 17, 2008 at 12:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: A remembrance of important people and events.

41. Joseph Dickerson invented the arm for the record player.
42. Madeline M. Turner invented the fruit press.
43. A. L. Lewis invented a window cleaner.
44. David A. Fusher invented the furniture caster.
45. J. F. Pickering invented the air ship (Blimp)
46. Mildred a. Smith invented a family relationship card game.
47. Purdy & Sadgwar invented the folding chair.
48. Mary Moore invented a pain relief composition.
49. Larry Christie invented a pillow utilizing air/water.
50. Mary Kies invented a technique for weaving straw with silk.
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DO YOU KNOW WHO DESIGNED A NEW AND IMPROVED GAS HEATING FURNACE TO KEEP YOU WARM??

On especially cold days, it's great to have that wonderful heating system in your house! Ever wonder who designed the system that keeps you warm today?

In 1919, Alice H. Parker of Morristown, New Jersey, invented a new and improved gas heating furnace that provided central heating.

It's Black History Month! Lets celebrate together.

Posted by vidalia1 (anonymous) on February 17, 2008 at 9:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Wonder why some people get so upset when blacks honor the greatness of their people?It should have a positive reaction Thank you ijohnson

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on February 17, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree and think like you do ((vidalia1)). I guess fear, hatred, insecurity and ignorance has a lot to do with it. Thank goodness, the majority of the online readers don't have those awful traits. An open heart renders an open mind!!! Thanks for sharing.

Posted by theduke (anonymous) on February 17, 2008 at 9:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

((ijohnson)) I guess fear, hatred, insecurity and ignorance has a lot to do with it.

This is describing yourself!!!!!!!

Posted by peaceout (anonymous) on February 20, 2008 at 1:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

stop being so mean!