Faith in Action: Taking the First Step

Bantu Stephen Biko OMSG (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s. His ideas were articulated in a series of articles published under the pseudonym Frank Talk. Raised in a poor Xhosa family, Biko grew up in Ginsberg township in the Eastern Cape. In 1966, he began studying medicine at the University of Natal, where he joined the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). Strongly opposed to the apartheid system of racial segregation and white-minority rule in South Africa, Biko was frustrated that NUSAS and other anti-apartheid groups were dominated by white liberals, rather than by the blacks who were most affected by apartheid. He believed that well-intentioned white liberals failed to comprehend the black experience and often acted in a paternalistic manner. He developed the view that to avoid white domination, black people had to organise independently, and to this end he became a leading figure in the creation of the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) in 1968. Membership was open only to "Blacks", a term that Biko used in reference not just to Bantu-speaking Africans but also to Coloureds and Indians. He was careful to keep his movement independent of white liberals, but opposed anti-white hatred and had white friends. The white-minority National Party government were initially supportive, seeing SASO's creation as a victory for apartheid's ethos of racial separatism.

Influenced by the Martinican philosopher Frantz Fanon, Biko and his compatriots developed Black Consciousness as SASO's official ideology. The movement campaigned for an end to apartheid and the transition of South Africa toward universal suffrage and a socialist economy. It organised Black Community Programmes (BCPs) and focused on the psychological empowerment of black people. Biko believed that black people needed to rid themselves of any sense of racial inferiority, an idea he expressed by popularizing the slogan "black is beautiful". In 1972, he was involved in founding the Black People's Convention (BPC) to promote Black Consciousness ideas among the wider population. The government came to see Biko as a subversive threat and placed him under a banning order in 1973, severely restricting his activities. He remained politically active, helping organise BCPs such as a healthcare centre and a crèche in the Ginsberg area. During his ban he received repeated anonymous threats, and was detained by state security services on several occasions. Following his arrest in August 1977, Biko was beaten to death by state security officers. Over 20,000 people attended his funeral. Biko's fame spread posthumously. He became the subject of numerous songs and works of art, while a 1978 biography by his friend Donald Woods formed the basis for the 1987 film Cry Freedom. During Biko's life, the government alleged that he hated whites, various anti-apartheid activists accused him of sexism, and African racial nationalists criticised his united front with Coloureds and Indians. Nonetheless, Biko became one of the earliest icons of the movement against apartheid, and is regarded as a political martyr and the "Father of Black Consciousness". His political legacy remains a matter of contention. National Prosecuting Authority set to open an inquest into the death of Black Consciousness Movement Steve Biko.

On September 1, 1975, General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. became the first African American to achieve the rank of four-star general in the U.S. Air Force and was assigned as Commander in Chief of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). A decorated pilot and Tuskegee Airman, James's promotion to four-star general after a distinguished career in three wars was a historic milestone for both the military and the nation.  Details of the Appointment 

• Rank: Four-star general.
• Position: Commander in Chief of NORAD.
• Significance: First African American to reach the four-star rank in the U.S. military.

Career Highlights Leading to the Promotion

• Tuskegee Airman: James trained pilots during World War II as part of the all-African American 99th Pursuit Squadron. 
• Combat Missions: He flew 101 combat missions in the Korean War and 78 missions in the Vietnam War, during which his flight group destroyed seven Communist MiG-21s. 
• Leadership Roles: After returning from Korea, James held various leadership positions within the U.S. Air Force. 
• Patriotic Speeches: He was also known for his widely regarded speeches on patriotism and the American way. 

After the Promotion

• NORAD Command: In his role as Commander in Chief of NORAD, he had operational command of all U.S. and Canadian strategic aerospace defense forces. 
• Service End: General James served as special assistant to the Air Force Chief of Staff until his retirement in early 1978, shortly before his death. 

On September 9, 1915, not September 15, Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) in Chicago. Woodson, the "Father of Black History," also established the Negro History Week in 1926, which evolved into the current Black History Month. 

b) Carter G. Woodson's Work and Legacy

c) Founding of ASALH: 

d) On September 9, 1915, Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). ASALH's mission was to promote, research, preserve, interpret, and disseminate information about African American history and culture. 

e) Black History Month: 

f) In 1926, Woodson initiated Negro History Week, which was a precursor to the modern Black History Month. This annual celebration is dedicated to honoring the contributions and achievements of African Americans and fostering a deeper understanding of their role in shaping the nation. 

g) Academic Contributions: 

h) Woodson held a Harvard PhD in history and was dedicated to elevating the study of African American history. He founded ASALH and also published a scholarly journal to further his mission. 

i) Mentorship: 

j) He served as a mentor to numerous young Black scholars and historians, fostering the development of future generations of Black historians. 

k) Impact on Education: 

l) Woodson's work was crucial in bringing the study of Black history into schools and colleges, inspiring educators and school boards to develop curricula on the subject. 

On September 3, 1901, Alabama adopted a new state constitution that prohibited interracial marriage and mandated separate schools for Black and white children. The state constitutional convention’s primary purpose was to legally disenfranchise Black voters, and the new constitution also included several electoral policies designed to suppress Black political power.

Framers of this constitution knew that, because the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited race-based disenfranchisement, discriminatory constitutional provisions intended to maintain white supremacy had to appear race-neutral. To that end, the new constitution called for the appointment of three registrars from each county who had wide discretion when accepting registration applications and were chosen and trained to minimize registration by African Americans.

The constitution’s new registration rules also required voters to be able to read and write any section of the U.S. Constitution and to have been lawfully employed for the previous 12 months. Anyone who did not meet the employment specification could still register if he or his wife had real estate and possessions taxed at $300. Though these requirements would have severely limited the voting rights of African Americans and poor white people in Alabama, the constitutional drafters provided exceptions that allowed voters to register anyway if they were voters, descendants of voters, or could demonstrate an understanding of the U.S. Constitution. This provision offered a loophole much more likely to apply to white men (who had been eligible for military service in the South). The effect was intentional.

Alabama was home to approximately 75,000 registered African American voters before the new constitution was enacted, but drafters estimated the new rules would reduce that number to less than 30,000. Alabama delegates approved the constitution 132-12. Since then, the state has amendemes, but several of the discriminatory provisions of the 1901 constitution—including the mandate to maintain racially segregated public schools—remained until 2022.  

On September 17, 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman to be crowned Miss America. Though her reign was cut short by the unauthorized publication of nude photos in Penthouse magazine, she went on to have a highly successful career as a singer, actress, and producer, becoming the most successful Miss America in history.  

Key Events 

· September 17, 1983: 

Vanessa Williams was crowned Miss America 1984, making her the first African-American woman to hold the title.

· July 23, 1984: 

Williams resigned her title after nude photographs were published in Penthouse without her consent. She was succeeded by the first runner-up, Suzette Charles.

Williams' Legacy

· Historic achievement: 

Her win was a significant moment for Black women in pageantry and beyond. 

· Resilience and success: 

Despite the controversy, Williams forged a legendary career in entertainment, achieving success as a singer and actress. 

· Talent and recognition: 

She has received numerous awards and nominations, including Grammy Awards and Emmy Awards, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

· Lasting impact: 

Williams' experience opened doors for future generations and remains a powerful story of resilience in the face of adversity. 

According to the Gospel of John, the second miracle Jesus performed was healing a royal official's dying son from a distance, which is described in John 4:46-54. This miracle, also known as the healing of the nobleman's son, happened in Cana, near where he had previously performed his first miracle. 

The second talking animal in the Bible, appearing after the serpent in Genesis, is the donkey of Balaam in the book of Numbers chapter 22. In this account, God opens the donkey's mouth so that it can speak to the prophet Balaam, rebuking him for striking it.

On August 28, 1963, more than a quarter million people participated in the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, gathering near the Lincoln Memorial.

More than 3,000 members of the press covered this historic march, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the exalted "I Have a Dream" speech.

Originally conceived by renowned labor leader A. Phillip Randolph and Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, the March on Washington evolved into a collaborative effort amongst major civil rights groups and icons of the day.

Stemming from a rapidly growing tide of grassroots support and outrage over the nation's racial inequities, the rally drew over 260,000 people from across the nation.

Celebrated as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — speech of the 20th century, Dr. King's celebrated speech, "I Have a Dream," was carried live by television stations across the country. You can read the full speech and watch a short film, below.

In 1941, A. Phillip Randolph first conceptualized a "march for jobs" in protest of the racial discrimination against African Americans from jobs created by WWII and the New Deal programs created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The march was stalled, however, after negotiations between Roosevelt and Randolph prompted the establishment of the Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) and an executive order banning discrimination in defense industries.

The FEPC dissolved just five years later, causing Randolph to revive his plans. He looked to the charismatic Dr. King to breathe new life into the march. A quarter-million people strong, the march drew activists from far and wide. Leaders of the six prominent civil rights groups at the time joined forces in organizing the march. The group included Randolph, leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP; Dr. King, Chairman of the SCLC; James Farmer, founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); John Lewis, President of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); and Whitney Young, Executive Director of the National Urban League.

Dr. King, originally slated to speak for 4 minutes, went on to speak for 16 minutes, giving one of the most iconic speeches in history.

"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. In the speech, King called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was one of the most famous moments of the civil rights movement and among the most iconic speeches in American history. Beginning with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared millions of slaves free in 1863, King said: "one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free". Toward the end of the speech, King departed from his prepared text for an improvised peroration on the theme "I have a dream". In the church spirit, Mahalia Jackson lent her support from her seat behind him, shouting, "Tell 'em about the dream, Martin!" just before he began his most famous segment of the speech. Taylor Branch writes that King later said he grasped at the "first run of oratory" that came to him, not knowing if Jackson's words ever reached him. Jon Meacham writes that, "With a single phrase, King joined Jefferson and Lincoln in the ranks of men who've shaped modern America". The speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century in a 1999 poll of scholars of public address. The speech has also been described as having "a strong claim to be the greatest in the English language of all time".  

One day in 1946, a black woman showed up at the Vogue School of Modeling in New York, seeking to learn the trade. Her arrival caused a stir. The nascent modeling industry was as deeply segregated as America was then, and she was turned away. At the time, the Vogue School of Modeling did not accept black women. Or so it thought.

Unknown to the school, one was already enrolled: Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell. And she had no idea that Vogue was unaware. “I thought they knew what I was,” DeVore-Mitchell would tell Ebony magazine years later. She had not lied to get in; she was so light-skinned that no one thought to ask. She passed inadvertently. But, if she was harboring a secret intentionally, it was this: DeVore-Mitchell was learning not only how to model but also how to run a school like Vogue. She wanted to take what she was learning to young women in her community, because she believed that the poise and comportment that goes along with modeling also commands respect. “That wasn’t my mission, to be a model,” she said, it “was to have us presented in a way that was not stereotyped.”

Years before “black is beautiful” became a rallying cry, DeVore-Mitchell understood the value of using aesthetics to undermine racist attitudes. While she knew black models would be helpful for selling things to a growing black consumer class, she also felt that they could help send the message that African physiognomy is just as beautiful as any, and thus help communicate to the world that black bodies are valuable, important and precious. She saw modeling as a way to make a difference. “It was the vehicle that I used to communicate a positive image of my people,” she said. “I wanted everybody to be accepted as human beings.”

In 1946 DeVore-Mitchell started the Grace Del Marco modeling agency in New York. Two years later, she opened the Ophelia DeVore School of Self-Development and Modeling, where she taught thousands of students etiquette, poise, posture, speech and ballet — and beyond that, how to carry themselves in a regal way, how to look people in the eye, how to enter a room and, above all, how to believe in themselves. Prominent black women like Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson and Susan Taylor all passed through her orbit, and their dignity and allure testify to DeVore-Mitchell’s talents as an instructor and mentor. Building black self-esteem and a deep appreciation for black aesthetics would be crucial to the civil rights movement, the Black Arts movement and the Black Power movement. But before they were born, DeVore-Mitchell was teaching the world to see black beauty.

The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 was a British law that abolished slavery throughout most of the British Empire. It received Royal Assent on August 28, 1833, and came into force on August 1, 1834. The act freed over 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and South Africa, as well as a small number in Canada. While it aimed to end slavery, it also included provisions for compensation to slave owners and a system of "apprenticeship" for formerly enslaved people. Key Provisions: Emancipation: The act declared the emancipation of all slaves in the British colonies, except for those held by the East India Company, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and Saint Helena.  Compensation: Slave owners were compensated for the loss of their "property" with a substantial sum of £20 million, a large portion of the government's expenditure at the time.  Apprenticeship: Instead of immediate freedom for all, those over the age of six were designated as "apprentices," essentially unpaid laborers, for a period of four to six years. This system was intended to gradually prepare them for full freedom and ensure a smooth transition for plantation owners.

Effie O'Neal Ellis (1913 –1994) was an American pediatrician, child medical care consultant, and an activist for infant health and maternal education. Ellis was the first African American woman to hold an executive position in the American Medical Association. In 1989, Ellis was inducted into the Chicago Women's Hall of Fame for her efforts in improving the lives of the black community and helping to lower infant mortality rates. Ellis was born in Hawkinsville, Georgia, Georgia to Joshua P. O'Neal and Althea (Hamilton) O'Neal. In 1933, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry upon graduating from Spelman College. Ellis then attended graduate school at Atlanta University where she acquired a master's degree in biology in 1935. In 1950 Ellis graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine where she graduated with honors and fifth in her class. Following graduate school, she was presented with a grant to study diseases and parasites in Puerto Rico, which prompted her passion for healthcare for all socioeconomic backgrounds. Ellis served as a pediatric residency at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1951 to 1952. Her primary concerns were with the black community, children, and child mortality rates. She aided in the development of parenting and education programs for March of Dimes. She dedicated much of her treating and advising to new and expecting mothers. Ellis obtained a postdoctoral fellowship studying pediatric cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from July 1, 1952, to June 30, 1953. She was a specialist in maternal, prenatal, postnatal, and preventative health care. Her team helped to develop the technique to help save blue babies (those infants with inadequate oxygen supply). In 1970 Ellis became the first African American woman to hold an executive position in the American Medical Association, which she held for five years. She became the Director of Maternal Care and Health Care for Ohio's Department of Health in 1960. In 1970, Ellis was appointed to the President's Committee on the Handicapped. Ellis was inducted into the Chicago Women's Hall of Fame in 1989. 

Elizabeth Coleman (January 26, 1892 – April 30, 1926) was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African American woman and the first Native American to hold a pilot's license and is the earliest known Black person to earn an international pilot's license. She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921

Born to a family of sharecroppers in Texas, Coleman worked in the cotton fields at a young age while also studying in a small, segregated school. She attended one term of college at Langston University. Coleman developed an early interest in flying, but African Americans, Native Americans, and women had no flight training opportunities in the United States, so she saved and obtained sponsorships in Chicago to go to France for flight school.

She then became a high-profile pilot in notoriously dangerous air shows in the United States. She was popularly known as "Queen Bess" and "Brave Bessie” and hoped to start a school for African American fliers. Coleman died in a plane crash in 1926. Her pioneering role was an inspiration to early pilots and to the African American and Native American communities.

On April 30, 1926, Coleman was in Jacksonville, Florida. She had recently purchased a Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny) in Dallas. Her mechanic and publicity agent, 24-year-old William D. Wills, flew the plane from Dallas in preparation for an airshow and had to make three forced landings along the way because the plane had been so poorly maintained. Upon learning this, Coleman's friends and family did not consider the aircraft safe and implored her not to fly it, but she refused. On take-off, Wills was flying the plane with Coleman in the other seat. She was planning a parachute jump for the next day and was unharnessed as she needed to look over the side to examine the terrain. 

About ten minutes into the flight, the plane unexpectedly went into a dive and then a spin at 3,000 feet above the ground. Coleman was thrown from the plane at 2,000 ft (610 m) and was killed instantly when she hit the ground. Wills was unable to regain control of the plane, and it plummeted to the ground. He died upon impact. The plane exploded, bursting into flames. Although the wreckage of the plane was badly burned, it was later discovered that a wrench used to service the engine had jammed the controls. Coleman was 34 years old

Funeral services were held in Florida, before her body was sent back to Chicago. While there was little mention in most media, news of her death was widely carried in the African American press. Ten thousand mourners attended her ceremonies in Chicago, which were led by activist Ida B. Wells. 

Shirley Chisolm visits Governor George Wallace (1972) Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress, visits Alabama Governor George Wallace, perhaps the single most famous supporter of racial segregation in modern history, as he recovers from an assassination attempt on June 8, 1972. The two were both seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. Wallace won the governorship on a platform of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” and rose to national prominence in 1963 when he appeared on the steps of the University of Alabama to block Black students from attending. He won five Southern states as a third-party candidate in the 1968 presidential election, promising to end the federal government’s attempts at desegregation. Chisholm, who began her career as an early-childhood educator before entering politics, won her Bedford-Stuyvesant seat the same year, presenting herself as “Unbought and unbossed.” Chisholm’s campaign was a long shot—she would later state that her Democratic colleagues refused to take her seriously because she was a woman—but Wallace’s prospects looked decent until he was shot five times at a campaign stop in Laurel, Maryland on May 15, 1972, leaving him permanently paralyzed.

Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing topped the billboard charts  (1968);  - Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations is, as the title implies, a collaborative album combining Motown's two best-selling groups, Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations. Issued by Motown in late 1968 to coincide with the broadcast of the Supremes/Temptations TCB television special, the album was a success, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200. Originally the lead single was to have been "The Impossible Dream" as featured in the climax to the TV spectacular TCB. However, it was decided to release "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" as a single instead even though it wasn't featured on TCB. This became a number-two hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B singles chart, and the follow-up, "I'll Try Something New", was a Top 30 hit. “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing”, hit the billboard top of the charts in 1968. A third single, "I Second That Emotion", was released exclusively in the United Kingdom, where it became a Top 20 hit. Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations marks the first on-record appearance of new Temptations lead singer Dennis Edwards, who was brought in as David Ruffin's replacement in July 1968. All of the tracks on the album are covers of songs for other artists. Both "I Second That Emotion" and "I'll Try Something New" were originally recorded by Motown's Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, while "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" was an outside hit for Dee Dee Warwick before it became a hit for the Supremes and Temptations. Motown's Marvin Gaye had previously had hits with "Try It Baby" and, as a duet with Tammi Terrell, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". "This Guy's in Love with You" was a hit for Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass , while "Funky Broadway" had been recorded as a hit for Wilson Pickett. The Sweet Inspirations' signature song, "Sweet Inspirations", is also covered here, as is Stevie Wonder's "A Place in the Sun", The Four Tops' "Then", and the show tune "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha. Frank Wilson served as executive producer of the project. Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations, joint-recorded at both the main Hitsville USA studio in Detroit, Michigan, the Golden World studio in Detroit, and satellite studios in Los Angeles, primarily features leads by 

Diana Ross of the Supremes and Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations, with additional leads by Temptations Dennis Edwards, Paul Williams, Otis Williams, and Melvin Franklin.

Freedom Riders (1961)  - Freedom Riders Stokely Carmichael, Gwendolyn Green, and Joan Trumpauer Mulholland were arrested, on June 8, 1961, along with Jan Triggs, Rev. Robert Wesby, Helen Wilson, Terry Perlman, Jane Rosett, and Travis Britt. They had traveled from New Orleans, Louisiana to Jackson, Mississippi, where they were arrested and taken to the notorious Parchman State Penitentiary. The origins of the rides is explained at BlackPast.org Following the momentum of student-led sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee in early 1960, an interracial group of activists, led by Congress of Racial Equality Executive Director James Farmer, decided to continue to challenge Jim Crow segregation in the South by organizing “freedom rides” through the region. They used as their model CORE’s 1946 “Journey of Reconciliation” where an interracial group rode interstate buses to test the enforcement of the Supreme Court’s decision in Morgan v. the Commonwealth of Virginia which outlawed segregation in interstate travel. White southern segregationists resisted CORE’s efforts. When most of the demonstrators were arrested in North Carolina, the police effectively aborted the Journey of Reconciliation. Continue reading Freedom Rides – 1961 at BlackPast.org. Learn more about the young activists in Nashville students and SNCC pick up Freedom Rides at SNCCDigital.org, “Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders,” “Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders,” and “Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC.”Find additional resources below, including a lesson on SNCC with a segment on Freedom Riders.

Teacher, principal, lecturer, missionary to Africa, and warrior against the most cruel oppression, Fanny Jackson Coppin conquered overwhelming obstacles and became the beacon by which future generations would set their courses.

Born a slave in the nation’s capital, the child Fanny was purchased by an aunt. Another aunt took the little girl in, but Fanny had to go out and work as a domestic, getting schooling whenever she could. By age fourteen, she was supporting herself in Newport, Rhode Island, and struggling for education. “It was in me,” she wrote years later, “to get an education and to teach my people. This idea was deep in my soul.” She attended Rhode Island State Normal School and then Oberlin College, where her achievements were amazing. She was the first black person chosen to be a pupil-teacher there. In her senior year, she organized evening classes to teach freedmen.

After her graduation in 1865, Fanny Jackson was appointed to the Institute for Colored Youth, a Quaker school in Philadelphia. Within four years, she became head principal, from which position she influenced two generations of young people. In a letter to Frederick Douglass in 1876, she explained her commitment: “I feel sometimes like a person to whom in childhood was entrusted some sacred flame…This is the desire to see my race lifted out of the mire of ignorance, weakness and degradation; no longer to sit in obscure corners and devour the scraps of knowledge which his superiors flung at him. I want to see him crowned with strength and dignity; adorned with the enduring grace of intellectual attainments.”

Her school was centered on this dream. She expanded the curriculum to include an Industrial Department, established a Women’s Industrial Exchange to display the mechanical and artistic works of young women, and founded a Home for Girls and Young Women to house workers from out of town. Moreover, she persuaded employers to hire her pupils in capacities that would utilize their education.

In 1881, she married Rev. Levi J. Coppin, a prominent A.M.E. minister, and together they were a driving force in Black America. She continued her work at the school but added missionary work to her interests. Mrs. Coppin retired from her beloved school in 1902 at age 65 and began a new career. She accompanied her husband, now a bishop, to Cape Town, South Africa, where she was an effective missionary, counseling African women. She returned to Philadelphia in 1907, broken in health but not in spirit. In her last years, she completed her autobiography, Reminiscences of School Life, which remains a record of a remarkable life. Fanny Jackson Coppin died in 1913 at age 76. Perhaps her greatest accomplishment was her influence on her students. She prodded them toward excellence. She made them dream. She made them become more than they ever thought theFrances (Fanny) Marion Jackson Coppin was, indeed, a model of academic excellence—both in her life and in the heritage that she has bequeathed to those who followed.

Muhammad Ali born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist.[a] A global cultural icon, widely known by the epithet, “The Greatest," he is frequently cited as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970, was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978, and was the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, he began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He joined the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s, but later disavowed it in the mid-1970’s. He won the world heavyweight championship, defeating Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. During that year, he denounced his birth name as a "slave name" and formally changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1967, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, owing to his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War, and was found guilty of draft evasion and stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison while appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, where his conviction was overturned in 1971. He did not fight for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture of the 1960’s generation, and became a prominent, high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. He fought in several historic boxing matches, including his highly publicized fights with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier (including the Fight of the Century, the biggest boxing event up until then), the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many boxers let their managers do the talking, and he became renowned for his provocative and outlandish persona. He was famous for trash-talking, often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry and has been recognized as a pioneer in hip hop. He often predicted in which round he would knock out his opponent. As a boxer, Ali was known for his unorthodox movement, fancy footwork, head movement, and rope-a-dope technique, among others. Outside boxing, Ali attained success as a spoken word artist, releasing two studio albums: I Am the Greatest! (1963) and The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay (1976). Both albums received Grammy Award nominations. He also featured as an actor and writer, releasing two autobiographies. Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and focused on religion, philanthropy, and activism. In 1984, he made public his diagnosis of Parkinson's syndrome, which some reports attributed to boxing-related injuries, though he and his specialist physicians disputed this. He remained an active public figure globally, but in his later years made fewer public appearances as his condition worsened and was cared for by his family.

William Eldon O' Ree  (born October 15, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is widely recognized for being the first black player in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing as a winger for the Boston Bruins. His accomplishment of breaking the color barrier in the NHL has led him to sometimes be referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of hockey," whom he had the chance to meet when he was younger. In 2018, O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and starting that year the NHL has introduced the annual Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award in his honor. William Eldon O'ReeB was born on October 15, 1935, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Harry, a civil engineer and road maintenance worker, and Rosebud O'Ree. He was the youngest of nine siblings. His grandparents were escapees of slavery in the United States, moving to Canada through the Underground Railroad. Fredericton had a small black population during O'Ree's early years, with only two families living in the city at the time. 

O'Ree began skating at the age of three and started playing organized hockey at the age of five. O'Ree regularly used the family's backyard rink to play the game, and when the weather allowed, he would skate to school. In the early rinks, skin color was never a problem, as O'Ree wrote in his autobiography, The Willie O’Ree Story: Hockey’s Black Pioneer. 

When O'Ree was 14 years old, he was taught how to bodycheck by his older brother Richard, with whom he played organized hockey. At this age, O'Ree also met Jackie Robinson. At the age of 15, O'Ree participated in the New Brunswick Amateur Hockey Association playoffs as a part of the Fredericton Falcons. 

Playing career

O'Ree played junior hockey for several teams in Quebec and Ontario before being signed by the Quebec Aces of the Quebec Hockey League (QHL) in 1955. Midway through his second minor-league season with the Quebec Aces, O'Ree was called up to the Boston Bruins of the NHL to replace Leo Labine, who was unable to play due to an illness. Two years earlier, O'Ree had been blinded when he was hit in his right eye by an errant puck; which would have precluded him from playing in the NHL if the Bruins had known. However, O'Ree managed to keep it secret, and made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 18, 1958, against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black player in league history. He played two games that year, with center man Don McKenney and right wing Jerry Toppazzini as his linemates. O'Ree played 43 games for the Bruins during the 1960–61 NHL season. An incident occurred during a game from that season against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago Stadium. According to O'Ree, he was called racist names by several of the Blackhawks players. During the game, Eric Nesterenko butt-ended O'Ree, knocking out his two front teeth and breaking his nose. O'Ree responded by hitting Nesterenko over the head with his stick, which O'Ree said "almost created a riot." O'Ree remembered that fans called him racist names and that the Blackhawks players were threatening to kill him, and he stated that he was "lucky to get out of the arena alive." After the 1960-61 season, O'Ree was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. O'Ree described that the Canadiens were run by racists and that he wasn't invited to try out for the team but was sent to a minor league team in Hull, Quebec. O'Ree scored 4 goals and 10 assists in his NHL career, all in 1961. 

O'Ree faced racial taunts throughout his hockey career, including in the NHL, especially in the United States. [15] He noted that racist remarks were much worse in the U.S. cities than in Toronto and Montreal, the two Canadian cities hosting NHL teams at the time, and that "Fans would yell, 'Go back to the South' and 'How come you're not picking cotton?' Things like that. It didn't bother me. I just wanted to be a hockey player, and if they couldn't accept that fact, then that was their problem, not mine." 

In the minor leagues, O'Ree won two scoring titles in the Western Hockey League (WHL) between 1961 and 1974, scoring 30 or more goals 4 times, with a high of 38 in 1964–65 and 1968–69. O'Ree played 50 games for the American Hockey League's New Haven Nighthawks in 1972–73. Most of O'Ree's playing time was with the WHL's Los Angeles Blades and San Diego Gulls. The latter team retired his number, which now hangs from the rafters at Pechanga Arena, formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena. O'Ree continued to play in the minors until the age of 43.