Afro-American Newspapers Character Edition: Black History Month, Week 1

8/7/2019 Afro-American Newspapers Character Edition: Black History Month, Week 1

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Afro-American Newspapers February 5, 2011 Character Education/Black History Month 1

Week 1


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2 Character Education/Black History Month February 5, 2011 Afro-American Newspapers

A publication of the

Afro-American Newspapers

The Baltimore

Afro-American Newspaper

2519 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21218

(410) 554-8200

The Washington

Afro-American Newspaper

1917 Benning Road NE

Washington, DC 20002

(202) 332-0080

John J. Oliver Jr.

Chairman/Publisher

Character Education Project Manager

Diane Hocker

Character Education Coordinator

Takiea Hinton

Project Editors

Zenitha Prince

Talibah Chikwendu

Kristin Gray

Electronic Editor

William Parschalk

Graphic Designer

Denise Dorsey

Character Education

Black History MonthAfrican Americans

and the Civil War4

Character Education Prole: BGE

5Black History Introduction

6Slavery: The Cause of the U.S. Civil War

8Character Education Prole: College Savings Plans of Maryland

9A Look at the American Civil War

10Black Economy Before, During and After the Civil War

12 Character Education Prole: Legg Mason

13 Character Education Prole: Legg Mason

15 Character Education Prole: Verizon

Table of Contents


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My mother has been a source of great inspiraon to me throughout my

life. She is a strong-willed, hardworking, intelligent woman who emi-

grated from Trinidad to the United States in the late 1960s to pursue the

American Dream and build a successful life for herself and her family. She

pushed me to do my best and always stressed the importance of good

grades, being acve in sports, and giving back to the community by par-

cipang in volunteer acvies.

In my early teens, aer watching a movie in which the main black female

character was a high- powered adversing execuve, I knew I wanted

work in that industry. I began to pursue a path that would enable me toshowcase my passion for design, art and markeng. Even before I started

college, I knew I wanted to major in markeng fully intent on making

that my career.

I began my career in the adversing industry as an account supervisor

and began to work on a variety of projects, including managing adver-

sing campaigns from concept to producon. Building on my business

experience and drawing from the skills I learned early in life, I was able to

advance my career to a broader corporate communicaons and market-

ing role when I joined BGE as a markeng associate. Once I moved into a moretradional business environment I was able to not only manage adversing

campaigns, but to also learn the operaonal business side of markeng. This

experience has been transformaonal in terms of expanding my knowledge

base and skills.

Today I am truly enjoying a career that is a great t for my talent and interests.

Looking back, I credit much of my success to working hard in school, pushing

myself to achieve outstanding results, and surrounding myself with posive role

models.

I urge students to think about where they want to be ve, 10 even 20 years

from now and start working toward those goals. Its never too early to begin

making plans for your future, and you can begin by focusing on your strengths

and passions then, each day, make the small choices that you think will

bring you closer to realizing those dreams.

KeishaClarke-EnglishAssociate, MarketingBaltimore Gas & Electric Co.

Start Planning Now


5/16


The American Civil War, still considered one of the deadliest

wars in American history, was fought to preserve the union

of the states. But it had a nobler result, the ending of slavery

and the freeing of millions of slaves.

This change in status, from slave to free, was not something the

Union army and government did alone, but was assisted in great

measure and by a large number of Blacks. These men and womenfought and struggled alongside soldiers to defeat the Confederates.

They did not leave achieving freedom to others, they invested in it

with their lives.

With the sesquicentennial anniversary of events surrounding the

Civil War fast approaching, it is important for African Americans

to properly mark their place in history. From January 2011 to April

2015, Civil War enthusiasts will celebrate 150 years of its historyfrom the declaration of war to the surrender by the Confederates in

Appomattox, Va.

For the 85th annual salute to Black History and as a part of that

kick off, Black History Month focuses on the Civil War period, and

the efforts and commitment of Blacks to the cause.

For week one, in large measure to set the stage for the presenting

the struggle, courage and genius of the Black participants in this

part of our history, we talk about the times leading up to, during and

immediately after the Civil War. The articles address the economy

and politics of the period, which help explain the war, and the role

slavery played.

Celebrating Black History Month


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As the atrocities of slavery became more andmore apparent, the din of abolitionist voicesbecame louder.

Courtesy Images

By Zenitha Prince

AFRO Washington Bureau Chief

By the early 1800s, the degradation and pain of the enslavement of about 4 million

African men, women and children had become a putrid stench that stained the American

psyche.

More and more voices White men and women, Black enslaved and Black free born

rose in protest of the institution of slavery.

By 1804, most of the northern states had abolished slavery, but the South provedtougher territory to conquer. In 1829, David Walker, the son of a free Black mother and

a slave father, ratcheted up the movement into militancy when he published his David

Walkers Appeal, a radical manifesto, based on the language of the Declaration of

Independence, that called for slaves to rebel against their enslavers and sought to instill a

sense of pride within Blacks.

[H]ad I not rather die, or be put to death, than to be a slave to any tyrant, who

takes not only my own, but my wife and childrens lives by the inches? Yea, would

Slavery: The Cause for the U.S. Civil War


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I meet death with avidity far! far!! in preference to such servile

submission to the murderous hands of tyrants ... he wrote.. . .[T]hey want us for their slaves, and think nothing of

murdering us ... therefore, if there is an attempt made by us, kill or be

killed ... and believe this, that it is no more harm for you to kill a man

who is trying to kill you, than it is for you to take a drink of water

when thirsty, he added.

Walkers Appeal which also protested colonization, a popular

movement to preserve slavery by moving freed Blacks to a colony in

Africa was so controversial that even the outspoken William Lloyd

Garrison objected.

Garrison, a journalist from Massachusetts, joined the Abolitionistmovement at the age of 25. In 1831 he published the rst issue of

his own anti-slavery newspaper, theLiberator, through which in

addition to speaking engagements he advocated for the immediate

emancipation of slaves.

In 1831, Maria Stewart, in the spirit of David Walker, began

to publish articles and make speeches against slavery, promoting

Black nationalism and educational and economic self-sufciency

for Blacks. Her work made her the rst female to speak on political

issues in public and the rst Black female journalist.

At only 23, Frederick Douglass the son of a slave woman and anunknown White man born in February 1818 on Marylands Eastern

Shore gave his rst public speech, describing his harrowing life as

a slave, before a group of abolitionists gathered on the Massachusetts

island of Nantucket. Of the speech, a PBS.org article stated, one

correspondent reported, Flinty hearts were pierced, and cold ones

melted by his eloquence. Thus began the career of the abolitionist

movements greatest orator, who after escaping from bondage

travelled throughout the United States and overseas speaking out

against the horrors of slavery.

The collected efforts of people like Walker, Stewart, Douglass,Underground Railroad organizers Harriet Tubman and Henry

Highland Garnet and countless others formed a cacophony of anti-

slavery sentiment that ushered in the Civil War and eventually the

emancipation of the former enslaved on Dec. 6, 1865, with the

ratication of the Thirteenth Amendment.

Parts of this article were originally published in the AFRO,

Feb. 17, 2007 edition.

Frederick Douglass was born intoslavery 1818 on Marylands EasternShore. After escaping to the North, hebecame the abolitionist movementsgreatest orator.

CourtesyImage/WikimediaCommons


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Compete to Win

John Halaby

I knew I had made it when I was able to aord a house big enough for more

than one bathroom! You see, I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in a home with at

least six people at all mes sharing one bathroom. I have been thinking about

my life a lot recently, and I am not too sure why but perhaps it has something to

do with turning 40 last year and nally realizing that I am geng older. What-

ever the reason, what I know for sure is that I have the good fortune of living a

blessed life - I have a wonderful wife, two delighul children, many incredible

friends, and a great career.

I literally can come up with hundreds of reasons why I have been able to accom-

plish so many of my goals and an equal amount of ideas of what one can do to

posion his or herself for success. However, what Id like to share with you aresuggesons, all centered on the theme of compeon, that have proven bene-

cial to me during my life journey:

1. Love to win there is no beer feeling in the world than working very

hard towards a goal and accomplishing it. I have found this true in

sports, school and most recently in the work environment.

2. Hate to lose I recall crying a lot as a child aer one of my older siblings

beat me in a board game or when my team got crushed in a basketball

game. While I have goen beer at controlling my emoons, it sll

sngs a lot when things do not go as I planned. Never forget the badtaste that losing leaves in your mouth and use it as fuel to drive harder.

3. Embrace pracce if you want to be great at anything it will likely take

a lot of me and eort. There really are no shortcuts in this world. I

recently read a book entled Outliers: The Story of Success that suggests it takes

10,000 hours of pracce to master something youre working towards, so get to

work.

4. Find people who share the same mindset - I have never been the best at any-

thing, but I have always surrounded myself with people who have skills that I

could learn from. Oen these people did not look like me, did not live in myneighborhood, and on the surface most people would not guess that wed get

along. Yet what we shared in common was desire and drive to be the best that

was the e that bound us together.

There have been mes over the years when I have just gone through the

moons and not put my all into whatever the task was, and I must confess

those were some of the worst periods of my life. My love of compeon has

goen me to where I am today, and I have had a blast along the way!


9/16


A Look at the American Civil War

The charge at Fort Wagner by the 54th Massachusettsregiment was led by Col. Robert Shaw, who was killedduring the assault and buried with his troops.

Photo Courtesy National Archives

By Perry Green

AFRO Staff Writer

Its ironic that a nation of citizens would ght against each

other for the sake of establishing unity, but thats exactly

what is sketched in American history. More than 13 major

battles occurred from 1861-1865 during the American Civil

War, killing more than 600,000 soldiers and an undetermined

number of civilians in what remains today as the deadliest

war in American history. But this tragic yet historical event

ultimately preserved and advanced unied federal regulation in the

United States, and served as a catalyst for the ending of the brutal regime

of African-American slavery.

Since establishing its Constitution in 1789, the United States has

governed its individual states under one federal authority, but it was not

until the Civil War that federal authority grew even remotely close to its

current day strength. According to John Huddlestons Killing ground:

Photographs of the Civil War and the Changing American Landscape,

during the rst century of American history, the social and economic

Continued on page 14


10/16


By George Barnette

AFRO Staff Writer

While the Civil War was effective in ending slavery and bringing

Confederate States back into the Union, it left a lot to be desired in terms

of the future of millions of free African Americans. With no real plan

outlined for the former slaves, the task of assimilating into American

society, especially economically, became a huge challenge.

The rst issue: The places former slaves called home were decimated

by war. The Civil War ravaged the South, including the largely

agricultural, labor-intensive economy that had thrived on free slave labor.

Railroads, factories and plantations were destroyed, effectively ruining any

infrastructure Confederate states had in place to provide nancial stability.

The second issue was that certain promises made to freed slaves were

not kept. For instance, Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman issued

Special Field Order No. 15 in January 1865, which would grant each freed

family 40 acres of tillable land on islands and the coast of Georgia. The

news spread quickly as more slaves enlisted in the Union Army, but the

temporary order lasted only one year.

The last issue was that the South was going through a major credit

crisis, much like what America is experiencing now. Before slaves

were freed, plantation owners could use slaves as collateral to borrow

equipment and currency from banks in both the South and North. In

1865, the slaves were no longer collateral you couldnt treat them that

way, said Dylan Penningroth, Ph.D., author ofThe Claims of Kinfolk:

African American Property and Community in the Nineteenth-Century

South. This plunged thousands of planters into a crisis situation.

Former slaves had to create ways to feed their families. In many cases, that led to

sharecropping. Sharecropping, overall, was an unfruitful venture for plantation owners and former

slaves, but became necessary in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Black Economy Before, Duringand After the Civil WarSharecropping During ReconstructionProvides Lessons Then and Now

The Southern economy, a largelyagricultural one that depended on thefree labor of enslaved Blacks, wasdecimated after the Civil War.

AFROF

ilePhoto


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Sharecropping was an arrangement, where

plantation owners made deals with former slaves most often slaves they used to own allowing

the freed Blacks to work and live on a parcel of

land in exchange for a share of the crop produced.

Sharecropping was basically using something

that didnt exist as collateral, Penningroth said.

The future crop, which didnt exist for 11 months

of the year, was used for collateral directly with

bankers in New York or local credit agents and

thats what broke the log jam.This credit-based system go the former slaves

started at a decit. While no cash was usually

required to lease any land; it was required for

seed and equipment. Secondly, if the harvest was

below expectations, then families would plunge

further into debt to the landowners. Lastly, if the

landowner had to provide animals, seeds and

equipment, the landowner could charge a higher

rate on the deal.

It was a system clearly benecial tolandowners, who would put anything they could

into the contracts to bind Blacks. Because newly

freed slaves were now being treated as citizens,

the landowners had the backing of American

courts to do whatever they wanted to Blacks and

could do whatever it took to protect that right.

There are stories of Black people, who

had gotten their children into school during the

Reconstruction, telling their sons to read the

contract for them and the White person shootingthese people for having the audacity to read the

contract and try to enforce its terms, Penningroth

said.

Looking back, historians can see how lessons

can be learned from this time period. There are

parallels between the contracts between former

slaves and landowners and citizens and credit

companies today whether they are mortgage

lenders or credit card companies.

We shouldnt think of this as belonging to

the past or some bygone era where we dont have

to worry about this anymore, Penningroth said.

We still have problems of contracts that are

being written where one side fully understands

what the risks are and the other side doesnt or

one side being driven into the contract out of

economic necessity and the other side isnt. I

think there are lessons for us even today.

Sharecropping, an ultimatelyunfruitful arrangement betweenplantation owners and theirformer slaves, was necessaryafter the Civil War.

AFRO File Photo


12/16


Your palms are sweaty, your mouth dry and your heart beang fast.

You usually sit on the sidelines, but today, unexpectedly, you nally

got picked to substute a rookie playing defense. Five minutes

le and LeBron James is charging at you fast so you must think

even faster! Or maybe you are the opening act on Alicia Keys/Jay-

Zs Empire State of Mind tour. Five minutes to curtains, you nd

out that thanks to last minute changes, your rehearsed 30-minute

show must now ll an hour! Or perhaps you, the new kid on the

job, prepared a great presentaon for a meeng that could land

your company the billion-dollar Oprah Winfrey account. However,

the computers crash ve minutes before the meeng! You willeither be lucky or unprepared.

They say that luck is when opportunity meets preparaon. Just

when we have planned for what is expected, life oen throws us

curve balls. The ability to adjust separates the average from the

excellent. So what happens in your crical ve minutes? A suc-

cessfully blocked shot or beer yet, a defensive rebound? Or will

the crowds cheers for LeBrons dunk nd you knocked at on your

back? Maybe Clive Davis is in the audience and a great perfor-

mance could create mind-blowing opportunies. So do you im-provise and wow the crowd or suer through 30 minutes of awk-

wardness, never to be called back? Have you prepared printouts

to quickly fall back on, or do you risk losing a billion-dollar account to a

competor? At such crucial moments, we must prove ourselves.

I rmly believe that on any given day, everything is exactly the way it

should be. All my challenges, disappointments and mistakes are neces-

sary in the path to success, whether personally or professionally as a

Legg Mason internal auditor. Through it all, I have learned that it is great

to be prepared, but even beer to be prepared for the unexpected. The

ability to quickly adjust could permanently pull you o the sidelines and

into major play. So when faced with your lifes curve balls, are you go-

ing to be luckyin ve minutes, or unprepared?

Angela S. Arykot

Lucky in Five Minutes!

Auditor,Internal Audit Department

Legg Mason


13/16


Being comfortable in your own skin means to love your individuality, up-

hold good morals, make your own choices, but also know when to seek

guidance from others.

As a child, I had a lot of great friends that I met at dierent mes and

places. I had friendships that I made in my neighborhood where I grew

up, friendships that I made in my honors classes at school, as well as

friendships that I made playing sports and parcipang in other af-

ter- school acvies. While I did not necessarily consider myself as the

leader or boss of all of my friends, I was not a mindless follower with-

out an opinion. I had a mind of my own and the courage to voice myopinions, even when they were unpopular. Of course, there were mes

when I struggled with making the right decision. And to be honest, I

denitely made a few mistakes along the way. Fortunately, I had two

loving parents that inslled values and provided guidance which helped

me stand up against peer pressure when some of my friends were doing

things that I knew in my heart were wrong.

Some of my childhood friends got so caught up in being cool that they

never nished high school. When it was uncool to get good grades

or take school seriously, I did not worry about what some of my friends

might say. My real friends knew doing well in school was important to

me and they accepted me for who I was and what I valued. I was not ashamed

or embarrassed to be dierent because I had the self-condence to stand up and

defend the things that were important to me.

My hard work and self-condence provided an opportunity for me to aend Mor-

gan State University on a full academic scholarship and graduate with honors. I

went on to connue my educaonal pursuits and received a graduate degree from

American University. I am now an employee of Legg Mason and hold the posionof tax manager.

In closing, self- condence and integrity are two characteriscs that

helped me develop into the person I am today. We all have dierent

qualies, values, and beliefs that make us dierent and special. They

key is to recognize them and have the condence to be yourself.

Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin

Cassandra C.

StevensonTax Manager,

Finance DepartmentLegg Mason


14/16


A Look at the Civil WarContinued from page 9

rights and standards practiced in the

States drastically differed between

the North and South, pitting the two

regions against each other. The North

operated economically under more

of a manufacturing industry, using

raw resources to create nished

goods, while the South depended

on a plantation system, growing

and selling crops such as cotton and

tobacco, which required inexpensive

manual labor. Most southern states

legally imported and enslaved Blacks

to fulll their manual labor needs,

but a majority of northern states

lawfully abolished slavery. The two

cultural systems managed to coexist

under the guidelines of theMissouri

Compromise, an act established

in 1820 by the U.S. Congress that

banned slavery north of the Mason

Dixon Line, yet allowed all states

south of the line to continue slavery.

But as the country began to expand,

adding more states in both regions,

concern grew among both North and

South leaders over whether the new

states would be admitted federally

as either pro-slavery or slave-free.

Both sides feared the potential of

their opposition gaining more states

because whichever side had strength

in numbers would possess an

unequal advantage in political power.

This conict of interest

eventually led to the formation

of the Confederate States of

America (or Confederates) in 1861,

11 southern slave states led by

Jefferson Davis that combined to

declare their secession from the

Union or United States. According

to James McPhersons book This

Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on

the Civil War, southerners believed

it constitutional to govern their

own states independent from

federal union interference. But

the U.S. government, based in the

Northeastern region of the country,

considered secession as an illegal act

of rebellion against federal authority,

and thus a war was born.

Four years of battling occurred

before the Confederates surrendered

their armies, allowing the federal

government to regulate the entire

country free from resistance. The

Union then began its Reconstruction

era, enacting civil rights legislation

such as the continued abolishment

of slavery that was rst established

by President Abraham Lincolns

Emancipation Proclamation

during the Civil War. During the

Reconstruction era of 1865-1877,

the South was governed by the U.S.

military and all former leaders of

the Confederate states were banned

from being reelected into ofce out

of fear that they would try to regroup

and continue practicing slavery.

As a result, the South fell into an

economic slump, while more than 4

million slaves were eventually freed

throughout the nation.

But according to African

and American studies historian

Victorious Hall, ending slavery

wasnt the Unions aim behind

winning the Civil War, but instead a

tool used to win the war.

[Slavery abolishment] was

a military strategy to cripple the

economy of the South and provide

more help to the northern cause,

Hall said, explaining how and why

President Lincoln only offered

freedom to slaves in southern

states that werent in alliance with

the Union. It denitely wasnt a

moral decision because Lincolns

proclamation only freed slaves in

confederate states initially. Lincoln

didnt want to upset the support of

Border States such as Maryland,

West Virginia, Delaware and

Missouri, so initially they were able

to keep their 800,000 combined

slaves.

Hall notes that the Lincoln and

other Union leaders were more

concerned with gaining full control

of the states and ending slavery

became their most effective weapon

in winning the war. Once slaves

heard word of the Emancipation

Proclamation, they escaped north,

destroying the Confederates

economically, Hall said, So

basically Blacks were used as pawns

to defeat the South.

In this illustration coloredtroops have just captureda Confederate gun duringthe Civil War. In many ofthe history books, a stu-dent might receive the im-pression that the coloredman was distinguished

by his absence during thewar which brought abouthis release from slavery.

AFRO

File

Image


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My name is Aaron Morris, and I am a network manager at Verizonwith responsibilies for eld operaons in Washington, D.C. I have

180 people who report to me and they handle customer installaon

and repair telephone service.

The greatest gi a person can give themselves is to be equipped

with as many tools as possible to be included in any process. More

specically, understanding perseverance is extremely important

as many companies, schools, programs, or any procedure whichinvolves an evaluaon process, looks for anything to exclude bright,

young, passionate, and energec individuals from a process.

However, having educaon is a remedy for omission, parcular as

gaining opportunies in todays environment has become more

compeve. Ive endured and experienced some of those obstacles

but, fortunately, the power of educaon has empowered and pro-

pelled me to arculate aspects pertaining to business, even if later

in life.

I graduated summa cum laude from the College of Notre Dame in

Maryland. I will nish course work to obtain my masters degree in

administraon from Loyola University in February of 2011. I am a member of

the Maryland Business Roundtable for Educaon, which is a non-prot orga-

nizaon supporng educaon reform and student achievement in Maryland.

Yes, educaon is important to me, so as far as those characteriscs which are

needed to be successful. It starts with passion, drive, commitment, resil-iency, and then ends with work ethic and honesty. I believe honesty and

hard work will provide the comforts we all seek in life. Finally, being con-

scious regarding the decisions you make will enable you to obtain wisdom

with your direcon.

Be Equipped for Success

Aaron Morris

Network ManagerVerizon


16/16


Afro-American NewspapersCharacter Education Essay Contest

T

he Afro-American Newspapers Character Education

Contest was launched 14 years ago to promote

positive character development among the nations

leaders of tomorrow our youth.We believe good character has to be taught and

modeled, which is why we have chosen to prole local corporate

professionals and business leaders in our publication.

Te featured individuals, time and time again, incorporate positive

character traits such as honesty, respect, responsibility, courage

and perseverance in their everyday lives, proving to be positive role

models in their community.

For the contest, students are asked to read the featured proles

and choose the one that inspires them most to incorporate positive

character traits in their own lives. Students should then write an essay

that best explains why they chose the article and how they plan to use

what theyve learned to shape their future.

Essays should be between two and four pages in length (double-spaced) and must be typed.

Essays will be judged on neatness, grammar, punctuation and the

students ability to give insight on what they learned from the prole.

Judges are impartial volunteers and may include teachers, sta from

local colleges and universities and the editorial sta at theAFRO.

For more information concerning the Afro-American Newspapers

Character Education Contest, please contact: Diane Hocker,

410-554-8243.

Deadline: April 8, 2011Mail typed essays to

:Diane Hocker Afro-American Newspapers2519 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Md. 21218

or e-mail them to:

[email protected]

No faxes will be accepted

Cash prizes to be awarded

Eighth-Graders Only

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Afro-American Newspapers Character Edition: Black History Month, Week 1

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