February is Black History Month! Although Black History is American History, February is a time to showcase Black Excellence in our history and culture. Thank you for subscribing to The Family Jewels newsletter. Try to make researching your family history a priority this year. If you would like to discuss a specific topic or have a genealogical question, send me a message and I will feature it in the next newsletter.
HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
This year’s Black History Month theme is African Americans and the Arts. Art has many categories. The arts encompasses visual arts (painting, sculpting, filmmaking, photography, drawing ceramics & architecture), literature, performing arts (dance, theater, music) and culinary arts (cooking, candy making & wine). It’s a mixture of African, Caribbean and American culture intertwined with the happiness, pain, and heartache that we have suffered in our history. Our films, fashion and art reflect this, making sure that it tells the history of our people.
African American art, literature, music and culture became well-known during the 1920s and 1930s during a period called the Harlem Renaissance. This was only a snapshot in time because our art began with the creation of the pyramids in Egypt, the Mayan ruins, the fiddlers that entertained on plantations, even the Lowcountry sweetgrass basket weavers in South Carolina and Georgia who have been weaving baskets for over 300 years.
No matter what genre, Black artistry has a flavor that no one can duplicate.
Looking for Long Lost Relatives?
If you want to research your family history (and I strongly encourage everyone to do so), let me know and I can assist you. I offer several affordable packages depending on your research needs. If you are an amateur genealogist/family historian, I can create a research plan to guide you in the right direction. I am always willing to help.
Did You Know About Negro Digest?
I grew up with Reader’s Digest magazine. My mother had a monthly subscription along with Jet Magazine. It was my turn to read it only after my mother and grandmother had their hands on it. I enjoyed the articles, the fashion and the recipes. What I didn’t know until recently was the existence of the Negro Digest! It was first published in November 1942 by the same publishers of Jet and Ebony, John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company. The magazine was marketed directly to the African American community. Writers reprinted articles from other publications that were of interest to the Black community. Eventually, Negro Digest had its own staff writers and produced its own articles.
Magazine Marketing
Of course there was pushback in producing a magazine only geared toward African Americans and Johnson could not get funding. No one would take a chance and publish his magazine. He took out a $500 loan using his mother’s furniture as collateral so that he could send out letters from the mailing list of the insurance company he worked for. The letter was a marketing tool to solicit African Americans with a prepaid $2 per year subscription plan. His plan was a success and he secured the funding necessary to print and mail the magazine.
Strategy to Sales
The next obstacle he had to conquer was getting newsstands to sell his magazines. Newsstand owners believed that Black people would not buy it. Johnson came up with the idea to have any Black person he knew go to the newsstands requesting it. Eventually, the newsstands carried the magazine and it became an overnight sensation. The magazine became so popular that even white writers contributed to the magazine. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote an article for the “If I Were a Negro” column and sales doubled!
Ebony Magazine
Johnson Publishing Company created Ebony Magazine in 1945 which mimicked Life Magazine. Jet Magazine, a weekly digest, launched November 1951. These magazines became extremely popular which caused the downfall of Negro Digest. It ceased publication in 1951 but came back to life in the 1960s under the new name, Black World. The new magazine had a whole new perspective because it focused on politics, activism, the economy and spirituality unlike Negro Digest. Black World came to an end in 1976.
Client Corner – Gloria Baker Goodwin
Words cannot express how much I appreciated all the work Tanya has done in opening up my family history tree. Tanya connected all the dots for me and made all the “leaves” make sense! I couldn’t wait until my next visit with my cousin to share the information, so I called her on the spot! Tanya was presenting me with my Family History Binder and I had to interrupt her to get my cousin on the phone so she could share with both of us. My cousin is the true family historian and I knew she would love to be a part of this discussion. I am so blessed to have Tanya as my genealogist.
Featured Article – Celebrating Black History Month
Black History is American History and should be celebrated every day. This year’s theme is African Americans and the Arts. Artists are the gatekeepers of truth. Because of our culture and heritage, we speak the truth to fight racism, discrimination and injustice. Let’s celebrate this month starting with some of the firsts in African American Arts.
Visual Arts
Henry Ossawa Tanner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 21 June 1859. He was an American artist who moved to Paris in 1891 to study art. He was the first African-American painter to gain international fame. His most famous painting was The Banjo Lesson.
Mary Edmonia Lewis was a Free Person of Color born in 1844 In upstate New York, She was of African American and Native American (Mississauga Ojibwe) descent. She was the first African-American and Native American female sculptor who gained critical acclaim. Her most famous sculpture was The Death of Cleopatra.
Oscar Micheaux was born in Metropolis, Illinois on 2 Jan 1884. He was an author, director and producer who produced and directed 44 silent films in his lifetime. His most famous movie was Body and Soul.
Gordon Parks was the first Black photographer hired by Life magazine. He was multitalented in the visual arts. He was a pioneering photojournalist from the 1940s to the 1970s, a film director (“Shaft,” “The Learning Tree”), a best-selling novelist and a composer. His most famous work was a photograph called American Gothic.
Robert Robinson Taylor was born 8 Jun 1868 in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was the first African American student allowed into MIT and graduated as an architectural student. He was the director of the Department of Mechanical Industries at Tuskegee Institute (now University). His most famous building was The Chapel at Tuskegee built in 1898. A fire destroyed the chapel in 1957.
Literature
Phillis Wheatley was born in West Africa about 1753 and was enslaved in Boston Massachusetts. She published her book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, in 1773. Manumitted in 1774, Wheatley became the first African American to publish a book and the first African American to achieve an international reputation as a writer.
Performing Arts
Arthur Mitchell was born on 27 Mar 1934 in Harlem, New York. He was the first African American male dancer in a major ballet company. He also became the first African American principal dancer of a major ballet company, the New York Ballet in 1956.
Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry, also known as Stepin Fetchit, was born 30 May 1902 in Key West, Florida. He was an American vaudevillian, comedian, and film actor. Perry became the first African American actor to have a successful film career, earning him $1 million dollars.
George Washington Johnson was born about Oct 1846 in Virginia. He was a singer and recording artist. Johnson was the first African American recording star of the phonograph. His most popular songs were “The Whistling Coon” and “The Laughing Song.” He moved to New York after the Civil War and became a street entertainer who was famous for his whistling.
Culinary Arts
James Hemings was born enslaved in Virginia about 1765. He was the brother of Sally Hemings and half brother to Thomas Jefferson’s wife, Martha; he was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson. He trained in France as a master chef in the art of French cooking, the first African American to do so. We can credit him for creating the recipe for macaroni and cheese, French fries and the ice cream cone!
Augustus Jackson was a Free Person of Color born 16 Apr 1808 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as a chef for the White House in the 1820s. After leaving the White House, he ran a successful catering business. He was also a candy confectioner who created several ice cream recipes and perfected the method of manufacturing ice cream around 1832.
Thomas Price became the first African American to achieve the certification of American Master Sommelier in 2012. He is the 190th of 262.
John June Lewis, Sr. is recognized as the first African American winemaker in the United States. He took an interest in wine and winemaking while stationed in France during World War I. When he inherited land in Clarksville, Virginia, he started growing grapes. He opened Woburn Winery in 1940.
Editor’s Note – Making the Most of our History
Hello My Peoples! Black History is under fire. Many states ban books and prevent our history from being taught in schools. Why? Many say that it makes students feel uncomfortable and it’s unfair to those students. But is it fair that school curriculum is trying to erase the only history African Americans have? As much as we know, our history started when colonizers kidnapped us from Africa and we arrived in this country. We know that we helped build the United States, therefore we cannot allow school boards and administrators to erase and censor our hard work, determination and perseverence. If your children aren’t learning our history in schools, teach them at home! Take them to cultural events for Black History Month, Juneteenth, and Kwanzaa! Make sure they know who their ancestors are! It’s your job for each one to teach one. Love, Peace and Genealogy.
