Black History Facts

Goddess morning Royals 👑. First, give praise and worship to the all High.

Elijah McCoy – May 2, 1844 – October 10, 1929

• Canadian-American inventor and engineer.
• Soon of former slaves from Kentucky who escaped via Underground Railroad to Canada.
• Although a great financial sacrifice McCoy’s parents sent him to Edinburgh, Scotland; he studied mechanical engineering.
• Noted for 57 U.S. patents, most involved the lubrication of steam engines.
• Sold many of his patents for a fraction of their worth; never capitalized on his own inventions; the devices he designed made others millionaires.
• His oil-drip cup invention was so amazing, people termed the phrase “The Real McCoy” which now refers to something authentic and of high quality.

Maggie Lena Walker – July 15, 1864 – December 15, 1934

• In 1903, founded St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, VA.
• First female bank president of any race to charter a bank in the United States.
• Served as chairman of the board of directors when the bank merged with two other Richmond banks to become, The Consolidated Bank and Trust Company.
• She said, “Let us put our money together; let us use our money; let us put our money out at usury among ourselves, and reap the benefits ourselves.”
• A visionary, she established a newspaper, The St. Luke Herald, to promote closer communication between businesses and the public.
• Received an honorary master’s degree from Virginia Union University in 1925.
• Inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2001.

Claudette Colvin – September 5, 1939 – Present

• Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement.
• Nine months before Rosa Parks on March 2, 1955, at only 15-years-old, she refused to move from her seat on a Montgomery bound segregated bus. She paid the date and felt it was her constitutional right to board the bus.
• She was dragged of the bus, handcuffed and taken to an adult jail.
• Colvin is not a much-celebrated figure in the African American Civil Rights Movement, many believe this is because she was perceived to being dark toned and pregnant.
• Colvin had a child born out of wedlock at the age of 16.
• On February 1, 1956, Claudette Colvin served as the star witness alongside other four plaintiffs in the Browder v. Gayle case.
• This landmark federal case, chaired by a three-judge panel, ended the history of segregation on public transportation in Alabama and other states in America.

Huey P. Newton, PH.D. – February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989

• Political activist and revolutionary.
• Co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in 1966.
• Overcome illiteracy and attended Merritt College and the University of San Francisco School of Law.
• In 1980, he earned a Ph.D. in social philosophy from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
• Allied for freedom, full employment, decent housing, education, and military exemption for African-Americans.
• Sponsoreda free breakfast program for children, sickle-cell anemia tests, free food and shoes, and a school.
• He was shot and killed in Oakland, California August 22nd, 1989.

Sending you all love and kisses. #GoddessLove