Enlightened Free Thinking Nubian Kings And Queens

Morris Brown was born in Charleston, South Carolina on February 13, 1770. His family belonged to a sizable African American population in the city who were mostly enslaved.  Brown’s parents, however, were part the city’s tiny free black community.  In the year of Brown’s birth, more than 5,800 enslaved blacks and 24 free blacks resided in the city, compared to a total of 5,030 whites.  Within this city where African Americans were the majority, Brown’s family circulated within an elite black society, whose members were often so closely related to aristocratic whites in the city that they were exempt from the racist restrictions imposed on the majority of enslaved people. A prosperous shoemaker by trade and charismatic religious leader, Brown travelled to Philadelphia to collaborate with the Rev. Richard Allen in the founding of the country’s first African Methodist Episcopal Church (Bethel AME) in 1816.  Brown worked tirelessly to forge an independent African M...

The U.S. celebrates Black History Month in February to honor African-Americans' achievements and  contributions to society. People and organizations across the country hold events to recognize  pioneers such as Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson. In its earliest form, the  tradition is almost 90 years old, but some people don't know its origins. Historian Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, which began Feb. 12, 1926. He scheduled  it at that time to match up with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln,  according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1976, Negro History Week became Black History Month. President Gerald Ford urged the public to  "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every  area of endeavor throughout our history," according to the International Association of Official  Human Rights Agencies. Nowadays, every Black History Mont...

During the period that Los Angeles was part of Mexico (1821-1840), blacks were fairly integrated into society at all levels. Mexico abolished slavery much earlier than the US, in 1820. In 1831, Emanuel Victoria served as California's first black governor. Alta, California's last governor, Pío de Jesus Pico, was also of mixed black ancestry. The US won the Mexican-American War and in 1850 California was admitted to the United States. Although one of America's so-called "free states," discriminatory legislation was quickly enacted to restrict and remove the civil rights of blacks, Chinese, and Native Americans. For example, blacks (and other minorities) couldn't testify in court against white people. Pío de Jesus Pico is one of California’s most remarkable historical figures. He witnessed, shaped and influenced nearly a century of California history in the 1800’s. Pío Pico was the governor of California in 1832 and again in 1846 before and during the ...

       Arthur M. Brown was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1867. His grandmother was one of that city's early public school teachers, and his parents made sure that he received a good education.        At age 24, Brown first opened his medical practice in Bessemer, Alabama, later moving to Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois before establishing himself as a surgeon in Birmingham, Alabama in 1894. Dr. Brown was involved in a variety of civic activities, including service as chairman of the Alabama Prison Improvement Board. His wife, Nellie, also served her community as a case worker for the Children's Aid Society.        When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Brown organized a company of infantrymen and offered the group's service to the Alabama governor. Although his group was not activated, Brown was commissioned a First Lieutenant and served as a surgeon in Santiago, Cuba throughout the war.   ...

"Black women are particularly vulnerable to the effects of European standards of beauty, because these standards emphasize skin colors and hair types that exclude many black women, especially those of darker skin. Using a social work lens, this article explores the black woman’s internalization of European beauty standards through family, peers, the media, and society, and the related outcomes of this internalization on self-perception, academic achievement, sexual behavior,  employment, marital status, and mental health. A review of the research indicates that European standards of beauty can have damaging effects on the life trajectories of black women, especially those with dark skin, primarily in the form of internalized self-hatred. Suggestions are made for social work practitioners to address the effects of these internalized European beauty standards among black women through programming and clinical practice."