October is

Black History month has been celebrated in the UK for many years providing an occasion to celebrate black cultures that make up our British society.

Across the country schools, churches and communities will celebrate the accomplishments of men and women from African and Caribbean descent who have made society what it is today.

BHM aims to: promote knowledge of black history, culture and heritage; disseminate information on positive black contributions to British society and heighten the confidence and awareness of black people to their cultural heritage.

The Origins of Black History Month

What we now call Black History Month was originated in 1926 by Carter Godwin Woodson as Negro History Week. The month of February was selected in deference to Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln who were both born in that month.

The son of a slave, Carter G. Woodson was born in New Canton, Virginia on December 19, 1875. He began high school at the age of 20 and then proceeded to study at Berea College, the University of Chicago, the Sorbonne, and Harvard University, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1912.

Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 to train Black historians and to collect, preserve, and publish documents on Black life and Black people. He also founded the Journal of Negro History (1916), Associated Publishers (1922), and the Negro Bulletin (1937). Woodson spent his life working to educate all people about the vast contributions made by Black men and women throughout history. Mr. Woodson died on April 3, 1950 and Black History Month is his legacy.

courtesy of http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blblackhistorymonth.htm

NO RACE IS A MISTAKE

I take great heart in the biblical description of heaven John the Apostle described in Revelations 7:9-10. He wrote, “I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

It’s a reminder that everyone, no matter what their skin colour, culture distinctive, spoken language or nationality, has a place in heaven, should they accept Christ’s gift of salvation.

Furthermore, no race of people are on this earth by mistake. Everyone has a part to play in fulfilling God’s purpose for humanity, so the next time someone makes you feel that you should apologise for your existence because you are not part of a favoured racial group, remind them of Revelations 7:9-10.

courtesy of Keep the Faith Magazine

Words of Faith by Marcia Dixon

courtesy of Keep the Faith Magazine

LET'S GET BACK TO BASICS

Whilst history often focuses on the exceptional achievement of individuals, it should be remembered that it is predicted on the behaviour and personal choices of individuals, whose collective actions, carried out on a daily basis, can bring about a massive social change and major historical developments. The election of Obama is a case in point.

One major social development greatly affecting the black church community in recent years is the low rate of marriage, the rising divorce rate and the increasing number of children being brought up by lone parents. This change is taking place in an era when too few church leaders are courageous enough to remind believers of God’s plan for the family.

Unfortunately black people are more adversely affected by this change, because of our lack of wealth, the historical pain we carry as a community and because we thrive when we feel connected to our community.

In the studying the lives of black people who immigrated to the UK in the 1950s and 60s, it is evident that despite the difficulties and hardship they faced, their struggles made them pull together, stick together and work together. Our greatest institution – the church – was built by Christian friends and family units who soldiered together to do the works of God.

In most churches, the people who comprise the backbone of the congregation tend to be just a few families and individuals whose personal faith in God and strength of character play a major part in existence.

Any group of people who seek to make great progress, impact their society and the wider world must learn to work together. Although we admire the individual success stories within our community, that success needs to be spread all around and I believe we will experience greater success when we take note of God’s plan for the family, the role it plays in shaping and moulding us and how our family shapes future generations for success.

Positive change will take place when Christian men and women re-visit the bible and take note of what God has to say about the family, how men and women should relate to each other and child rearing. The family is the bedrock of society and it is important that church leaders actively promote and support both the family and the institution of marriage. Just because marriage is falling out of fashion in wider society, it does not mean the church should follow suit.

In order to help encourage healthy relationships between men and women, individuals may have to repent of the views they hold, mainly because they have been greatly influenced by secular society/ and we all need to ask God to renew our minds so that our views on the family are in alignment with his.

In doing so, we can start on that path of re-building our community, in the hope that we will continue to create history that we are proud of and which positively impacts society as a whole.

courtesy of Keep the Faith Magazine

Keep The Faith 50 BHM Issue

Above articles have been permitted courtesy of Keep the Faith Magazine©

To read and find out more visit

http://keepthefaith.co.uk

http://www.black-history-month.co.uk

"A Black woman can invent something for the benefit of human kind." Bessie Blount

Bessie Virginia Blount, born November 24, 1914, in Hickory, Virginia, was a physical therapist, inventor, and forensic scientist. She is also known by her married name, Bessie Blount Griffin.

Bessie Blount attended the Panzer College of Physical Education and Hygiene in East Orange, New Jersey, and Union Junior College.

Inventions
During World War II as part of her work with wounded soldiers, Blount devised an apparatus to help World War II amputees feed themselves. She invented the electronic feeding device in 1951. It was a feeding tube which delivered one mouthful of food at a time, controlled by biting down on the tube. The American Veterans Administration did not accept her invention, so she sold it to the French government.

Blount was once a physical therapist to the mother-in-law of Theodore Edison, son of famed inventor Thomas Edison. She and the younger Edison became close friends and while in his home she invented the disposable cardboard emesis basin. This invention was also not accepted by the American Veterans Administration, so she sold it to Belgium.

Blount taught physical therapy at Panzar College in New Jersey.

Forensic science career
In 1969, Blount went into law enforcement as a forensic scientist, at the Vineland Police Department and the Norfolk Police Department. In the mid-1970s, she became the chief document examiner at the Portsmouth Police Department. In 1977, she trained and worked at Scotland Yard in England. She was the first African-American woman to work there. She ran her own business as a forensic science consultant in the 1990s, until age 83, studying slave papers and Civil War documents as well as the authenticity of documents containing Native American-U.S. treaties.

Interviews and public appearances
In 1953, Blount appeared on the Philadelphia television show “The Big Idea”, becoming the first African-American and the first woman to be given such recognition. On the program, she stated, "A Black woman can invent something for the benefit of human kind."

Honors and Awards
Bessie Blount Griffin was named as one of many notable Virginia Women in History in 2005.

Thomas L. Jennings (1791–1856)

Thomas L. Jennings (1791–1856) was a leading abolitionist. He was a free black tradesman who operated a dry-cleaning business in New York City, New York and was the first African American to be granted a patent.

Jennings' skills were so accepted that people near and far-off came to him to alter or custom-tailor objects of clothing for them. When he was thirty years old, in 1821, he was granted a patent for a dry cleaning process called "dry scouring." This enabled him to build up his business.

The first money Jennings earned was spent on the legal fees to purchase his family out of slavery, and then to support the abolitionist cause.

In 1831, Jennings became assistant secretary to the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Changes in patent law

In 1857, Oscar Stuart, a slave owner, patented a "double cotton scraper." He did not, in fact, invent the double cotton scraper; historical records show that the only name given for the actual inventor was Ned, his slave. In his defense, Stuart claimed that "the master is the owner of the fruits of the labor of the slave, both manual and intellectual."

In 1793 and 1836, it was legal for both slaves and free Negroes to receive patents for their inventions. In a challenge to the patent, of Stuart vs. Ned, the Patent Office decided in Stuart's favor. They changed the law in 1858 to exclude the granting of patents to slaves, as they were not considered citizens.

Both articles above are from Wikipedia.

FRANK HART (1858 – 1908)

Very few people know about Frank Hart who became one of the most successful black athletes the sport has ever known.

Frank was born in Haiti and moved to the United States as a youngster. Little is known about his early life, but what has been established is that he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, sometime in the 1870s, where he worked in a grocery store. Franks real name was Fred Hichborn, but as an aspiring young professional athlete at the time, he changed his name because it had more appeal.

To read more go here Courtesy of Black History Month.

©www.black-history-month.co.uk

Paul Robeson (1898-1976)

An extraordinary man, from an extraordinary background

He won a scholarship to a top US university, (and was the only black student during

by Marsha Prescod

Paul Leroy Bustill Robeson was a giant figure of the 20th century. He was the son of a slave in the United States of America - William Drew Robeson - who escaped from bondage at 15 and went on to become a college graduate and a minister. Paul Robeson took that legacy to the next level.

He won a scholarship to a top US university, (and was the only black student during his time there) and distinguished himself both academically and in football, baseball, basketball and track at national level. He graduated in 1919.Then he went to law school, (paying for it by working as an athlete and performer) qualified as a lawyer, and joined an all white firm.

This was at a time when segregation was at its height, the Klu Klux Klan were in their pomp, lynching was a fact of life in the southern states, and black people in many parts of the US were without the vote. The chances for African-Americans to become professionals were few.

If he had accomplished no more than that, Paul Robeson would have been extraordinary. But in addition, he had a special gift. A baritone voice of such beauty and depth that he became internationally famous in theatre, records and films because of it. He appeared on stage in the 1920s,having joined a theatre company which had the legendary playwright Eugene O’Neill as an associate director.

Courtesy of Black History Month.

To read more go here ©www.black-history-month.co.uk

THE LESSONS EVERYONE CAN LEARN FROM

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Dionne Gravesande explores the role of black history month and the valuable insight people of all races can glean from understanding the black experience.

As a daughter of first generation Guyanese man who arrived in the shores of England in 1961, I grew up negotiating an assortment of descriptions which were used to define me. The names ranged from coloured to Afro-Caribbean to Black British. As a child I used to think about ‘my blackness’ and what it mean to me and to others. Unlike now, the 1970s and 80s had little appetite to entertain the notion of black history much less a black history month. I was stuck between the church hymnal. Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ and Steel Pulse’s ‘the Ku Klux Klan’. I think this was partly due to a new black experience in England, born out of injustice, anger, political ideology and a faith that that time was right for something new. Month and what purpose does it serve?” is a question asked by the elders and young (and everyone else in-between) each year. Part of the answer I suggest lies within the question itself, Black History!

It appears that much effort has gone into submerging the black experience, so much is often written out of classic history books. This is not so surprising since many of the western history books written over the last century re-tell the stories through the lens of those who were victorious. Africa’s history over the last century was not always a victory, and if we want to find out about our African history beyond the transatlantic slave trade we need to look further. Robin Walker, author of When we Ruled answers the key question in Black History: How much documented history is there beyond the Slave Trade, Mary Seacole and Malcolm X?

Such knowledge is important to excavate for Africans, their descendants in the Diaspora and the wider global community because history is treasure for its people. Black History Month seeks to achieve three objectives.

Promote knowledge of the Black History, Culture and Heritage
Disseminate information on positive Black Contributions to British Society
Heighten the confidence and awareness of Black people to their cultural heritage.

Theses objectives are not unique to a 21^st century moment, we have had heroes both men and women who over the past two decades championed these critical areas of activity.

Dionne Gravesande is Head of Church Networks at Christian Aid

continue reading this (page 14) article here

courtesy of Keep the Faith Magazine

It’s time to unite and work together for positive change

By Lee Jasper

Lee Jasper writes that organisations that represents Britain’s black community, including the church, need to work collaboratively to achieve common goals.

There are so many within the Church who view politics as an activity that can be inimical to the work of Christians. There is a culture of tentative engagement and that is reflected in the extent to which we are involved in key political debates and policy discussion that are critical to the quality of life experienced by many in our communities.

The political reality is that whatever our denominational views, sustained strategic engagement with political parties and their representatives is an absolutely necessary part of the discourse in seeking the attainment of a more equal and just society.

British society is still a place where discrimination continues to be a reality for far too many and where genuine opportunity is enjoyed by the few. Of course seeking to support congregation members in their daily lives has been a part of the Church mission since the Crucifixion of Christ, however I believe that much more could be done to address the many issues faced by our community at a national, and local level.

Of course there are faith-based organisations that seek to act as a collective voice for Christians. Such organisation have played an important role in seeking to provide a strategic voice to Government and other statutory agencies. However despite this the voice of the Church remains discordant, fragmented and more importantly largely connected from large sections of secular organisations and campaigning groups. At a time of the deepest worldwide economic recession, when the negative and pernicious effects of race inequality will deepen through increased poverty and unemployment, where the BNP is on the rise and racist attacks on the increase, where in the absence of the Commission of Race Equality the Government is considering substantially weakening current Race Discrimination legislation. We must expect racism to dramatically increase for our children, prepare for worse and pray for the best.

continue reading this (page 12) article here

courtesy of Keep the Faith Magazine

Christeen Wilson

"My advice to those inspired by success is: Never waste time with time wasters and uninspiring peope'. They will sap your time and energy and hold you back".

In the past decade there has been a steep rise in the number of Christians forming their own businesses. One woman who has experienced great success in doing so is Christeen Wilson. A committed Christian and member of the New Testament Church of God in Peterborough, Christeen recently became the first black woman to win the East of England NLA Property Award.

Christeen is the owner of Olive Properties, a company she established in 2001, after scraping together the deposit to pay down on two homes. Now eight years later this millionaire businesswoman owns over 50 contemporary houses, apartments and luxury furnished rooms based mainly in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, which she rents out to a wide range of clients. She provides property consultancy, and a house doctor service.

Eager to share her faith and business success with others, Christeen has plans to branch out into public speakers and run seminars sharing the principles of business success. A mother of two, Christeen spoke to Keep The Faith about her life growing up in church, how her faith has impacted her work and her plans to encourage others to help bring out their inner entrepreneur.

KTF: How did you feel when you became the first blackwoman to receive the East of England NLA Property Woman Award in July 2009?

Christeen Wilson (CW): When I realised I was the first black woman to receive the NLA East of England Property Woman of award 2009, I could hardly believe it. It was a massive boost and major surprise! Winning the award meant so many things about my business would be enhanced. Part of winning the award means I am now able to use the title NLA East of England Prioperty Woman of the year 2009, along with the official logo. This is a fantastic accolade for God who has favoured me, for myself as a woman and for other women. This proves that people can start from nothing and become major achievers too. This is also a major boost for black and ethnic minorities wanting to enhance an existing business or start from scratch.

KTF: You are one of just af ew black businesswomen involved in the property business. What inspired you to set up your company?

CW: I was inspired to set up a property company in 2001 because I have always had an innate passion for property and the potential of owning many. When I started the business I was a humble social worker having difficulty making ends meet.

I had two small children and wanted a better life for them, when I walked into my first property I knew thjat God was with me and He was steering this. I bought the property AND the one next door, without a moment's hesitation and I've never looked back since. As a Christian woman I believe that everyone is entitled to a good standard of accommodation. My business is built unpon that mantra - these firm foundations.

KFT: Your business is very successful. You own over 53 properties which you rent to tenants. To what do you attribute your success?

CW: Yes, my business is very successful. I attribute my success, firstly to God Himself. it is my firm belief that God wants His children to be successful; we are His children after all. I also believe I have found favour with God and He proves that to me every day. He has made me what I am today and I give Him all the glory for it.

continue reading this (page 16) article here

courtesy of Keep the Faith Magazine