Black History Month

 

February 12, 1909, to be exact, and the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.

It was a response to race riots in Illinois, segregation laws, lynchings.  Many members came from the Niagara Movement, a group of Black activists who were opposed to the concepts of conciliation and assimilation.  The founding also included such leaders as W.E.B. DuBois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett.

The need for such an organization is evident with other bits of history.  On this day in 1793, the first fugitive slave laws were enacted.  When Northern states were lax on enforcement, Southern states were enraged, which led to the passing of a second law as part of the Compromise of 1850.

The second law allowed for a jury trial, such as the Dred Scott case of 1857.

Also on this day, in 1924, George Gershwin performed "Rhapsody in Blue" for the first time.  The reason this correlates with Black History is the jazz of it.  In an 1893 essay, Czech composer Antonin Dvorak wrote in the US, "The future music of this country must be founded upon what are called Negro melodies."  Leonard Bernstein later wrote of a national basis for American music being jazz.

But of course, African American performers were not allowed in the concert halls and conservatories.  Gershwin profited in a way that others could not, composers like William Grant Still.

Lastly, on this day in 1970, Joseph Searles III broke a color barrier becoming the first Black member of the US Stock Exchange, gaining trading floor access.  He was the first chairman of Harlem's 125th Street Business Improvement District, and organized New York's first minority franchising fair.