WordFUL Wednesday: Muhammad Ali

I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.

Muhammad Ali ~ statement after losing his first fight in 1973

My political career, as I like to call it, started with turning a Muhammad Ali quote into my campaign slogan. Thanks to my dad, my first race in 1996 for Class Secretary was "Float like a butterfly, Sting like a Bee, Vote Coco White for Secretary." I used that slogan all the way through High School, undefeated. Student Council instilled leadership and gave me opportunities, advantages and experiences, that I will cherish forever and will pass on to my child.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Happy Presidents Day

It's Presidents Day and for the first time in my working career, I have off. 

Happy Presidents Day to our 44th President Barack Obama. 

"Rosa Parks sat, so Martin could walk... Martin walked, so Obama could run...  Obama is running, so we all could fly" ~ Jay-Z NYC Concert 10/5/08

nkoyo

Black History Month: Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance.

I remember the first time I ever heard the name Langston Hughes. It was a Saturday morning at the Venettes Cultural Workshop, my dance school in Long Island, NY. I went there every weekend (almost) from the time I was 21 months until my sophomore year in high school. I learned a lot about dance, myself, and most importantly my heritage. I remember my Aunt Vanessa saying you will all need to recite this poem for your dance. Langston Hughes', "Ballad of the Landlord".

I learned that poem...

Landlord, landlord, My roof has sprung a leak.
Don’t you ’member I told you about it / Way last week?
Landlord, landlord,
These steps is broken down. / When you come up yourself
It’s a wonder you don’t fall down.
Ten Bucks you say I owe you? / Ten Bucks you say is due?
Well, that’s Ten Bucks more’n I’ll pay you
Till you fix this house up new.

 

And have yet to forget it. 

Thank you for your contributions, your shoulders we stand on.

nkoyo

WordFUL Wednesday: Marian Wright Edelman

The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to.

Marian Wright Edelman ~ The Measure of Our Success (1992)

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Black History Month: Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey (1931 - 1989) started the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with a performance in 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Since then, the company has gone on to perform for an estimated 23 million people in 48 states and 71 countries on 6 continents.

Mr. Ailey created his dances from his experiences growing up in Rogers, Texas. I love, love Alvin Ailey productions and my favorite ballet by far is Revelations. Check out the video below to learn more and click here to see when the Alvin Ailey Company or Ailey II is in a city near you. 

Thank you for your contributions, your shoulders we stand on. 

nkoyo

Black History Month: Camilla Williams

This week it's all about the arts. 

First up, Camilla Williams, believed to be the first African American in a major U.S. opera company.  She made her debut in 1946 with the New York Opera Company, singing her signature role, Cio-Cio-San, in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly". 

Highlights: 

• Retired from Opera in 1971
• Taught at Brooklyn College, Bronx College, and Queens College 
• First African American professor of voice at Indiana University 
• In 1983 guest professor at Beijing's Central Conservatory
• Retired from teaching in 1997 

Camilla Williams recently passed, January 30, 2012 from complications from cancer.  To learn more about her story click here. 

Thank you for your contributions, your shoulder's we stand on. 

 

nkoyo

Black History Month: Philip Emeagwali

Nigerian born (1954), Philip Emeagwali's is an expert in mathematics, physics, and astronomy, Emeagwali won the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers' Gordon Bell Prize in 1989 for an experiment that used 65,000 processors to perform the world's fastest computation of 3.1 billion calculations per second. Emeagwali's computers are currently being used to forecast the weather and predict future global warming. 

Thank you for setting the tone, your shoulder's we still stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Mark Dean

Mark Dean (1957) led the team of IBM scientists that developed the ISA bus—a device that enabled computer components to communicate with each other rapidly, which made personal computers fast and efficient for the first time. Dean also led the design team responsible for creating the first one-gigahertz computer processor chip.

Highlights: 

• Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997  

Thank you for setting the tone, your shoulder's we still stand on.

nkoyo

WordFUL Wednesday: George Washington Carver

"When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." - George Washington Carver

Carver was an agricultural chemist who discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. To learn a bit more click here. 

Your contributions live on and your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Edward Alexander Bouchet

Edward Alexander Bouchet was the first African American to graduate from Yale College (1874). In 1876, he  received his Ph.D. in physics from Yale, and became the first African American to earn a doctorate degree. Bouchet spent his career teaching college chemistry and physics. 

Edward Alexander Bouchet (1852-1918) 

Thank you for the paving the way, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Rebecca Cole

Continuing with the theme of scientist/doctors & inventors, Rebecca Cole was the second black woman to graduate from medical school (1867). She joined Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first white woman physician, in New York and taught hygiene and childcare to families in poor neighborhoods. 

Rebecca Cole (1846-1922) 

Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Henry Blair

Thanks to Mr. Henry Blair the first seed planter was patented in October 1834 and soon after in 1836 his cotton planter was patented. Mr. Blair signed his patents with an "x" because he could not write.  

Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.  

nkoyo

Black History Month: Patricia Bath

Dr. Patricia Bath is the first female African American to patent a medical invention. In 1988 her Cataract Laserphaco Probe was designed to use laser to quickly and painlessly vaporize cataracts from patients' eyes. 

Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

Black History Month: Daniel Hale Williams

February marks Black History month and I want to take the timeout amongst my mommy ramblings to highlight some of the greatest pioneers in America. I want to start the month with scientist/doctors and inventors. 

I stumbled upon this name during the time my Nana was preparing for triple-heart bypass surgery and my inquisitive mind led me to reading pamphlets on open heart surgery. I found a book on African American inventors and Dr. Williams' name was next to open heart surgery. I proceeded to tell my Nana how he could possibly be related to Poppy since his last name was Williams. :)

Doctor Daniel Hale Williams, was accredited with the first open-heart surgery, performed on July 9, 1893. 

Highlights: 

• 1891 - founded Provident, 1st American interracial hospital, which was also the 1st nursing school for Blacks
• 1913 - only African American member of the American College of Surgeons 
• Utilized antiseptic and sterilization procedures 
• Began practice in Chicago at a time when there were only 3 black physicians 

 Thank you for your contribution, your shoulder's we stand on.

nkoyo

WordFUL Wednesday: UNCF

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste" 

UNCF slogan 

nkoyo