AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY Profile picture
Mar 8, 2022 11 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Sarah Breedlove known as Madam C.J Walker was the first black woman to become a self-made millionaire. She developed a successful line of beauty and hair products for black women.

Black Women who have made their mark on History. A THREAD! #InternationalWomensDay ImageImage
Sister Rosetta Tharpe is credited as the Godmother of Rock ‘N’ Roll. Before Elvis, Johnny Cash or Little Richard, there was Sister Tharpe- A Black woman who forged her own sound in a male dominated industry.
She does not get the credit she deserves.
A Boston monument to Phyllis Wheatley. In 1773 she became the first black woman to publish a book.

Her poems captured the realities of slavery for the enslaved, before covering themes such as rebellion and revolution. ImageImage
When Bessie Coleman developed an interest in flying, women and people of color had no flight training opportunities in the US.

She learnt French and moved to Paris to earn her pilot's license.

She became the first black licensed pilot. ImageImage
Euphemia Lofton Haynes was a mathematician and Educator. She became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1943. Image
Dr. Alexa Canady. She became the first black woman to become a neurosurgeon in 1981. She also co-invented a device to treat fluid buildup in the brain. ImageImage
Alice Coachman became the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal following a record-setting high jump despite nursing a back injury.

She was often unable to use the training facilities due to segregation & also trained barefoot and used old equipment Image
Constance Baker Motley was the first Black woman to argue cases before the Supreme Court and was the first African-American woman to be appointed as a federal judge, serving from 1966 to 1986. Image
Dr. Shirley Jackson, first Black woman to ever earn a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Her research paved the way for numerous developments in the telecommunication space including the touch-tone telephone, the portable fax, caller ID & call waiting. ImageImage
Hazel Scott, piano prodigy, jazz sensation and television pioneer. She was the First African-American Woman to Host Her Own TV Show.

Not one but two Grand pianos being played with ease by Hazel Scott in 1943 🤯
If you'd love to support my history page/project here through donations/tips to keep up, you can on: ko-fi.com/africanarchives

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More from @AfricanArchives

Mar 14
"I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake." —Leopold II of Belgium

Before Hitler killed 6 million Jews.…. Leopold Il of Belgium killed over 10 million Africans in Congo and amputated the arms of countless others.

A THREAD Image
Image
After the Berlin conference of 1884-1885 ( conference where European nations established the 'legal' claim that all of Africa could be occupied by whomever could take it), different European nations set out to mount their flags all over Africa.
The nations set out murdering africans, and then taking their wealth to make Europe wealthier.

King Leopold II set out for the Congo and declared it his territory proclaiming it his property, the people and the land, quickly turning the land into a money-making enterprise.
Read 14 tweets
Mar 10
A formerly enslaved woman, Mary Lumpkin, liberated a slave jail known as ‘The Devil’s Half Acre’ and turned it into an HBCU.

A THREAD Image
Mary was sold to a man named Robert Lumpkin at the age of around 13 and was forced to bear children for him & help him run a slave jail in Richmond, Virginia. It was known as Lumpkin’s jail.
Slave jails were sites of confinement & torture for enslaved men, women and children who tried to escape from slavery to free states or who were waiting to be sold.
Read 10 tweets
Mar 5
Inventions that wouldnt exist without Black Women. #WomensHistoryMonth

—THREAD—

Valerie Thomas, NASA physicist, invented 3D Movies

In 1977, she developed the illusion transmitter, the 1st mechanism that allowed images to be viewed in 3D using concave mirrors & light rays. Image
Dr. Shirley Jackson research paved the way for numerous developments in telecommunication including the Touch-Tone Telephone, the Portable Fax, Caller ID & Call Waiting.

She was the first black woman to ever earn a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Image
Mary Beatrice Kenner changed the world of feminine care with the invention of the sanitary belt, the forerunner of sanitary pads.

Her creation was considered to be the first form of modern menstruation protection. Image
Read 9 tweets
Mar 5
On this day in 1959, 69 black boys were padlocked in their dormitory at school and it was then set on fire.

21 burnt to death while 48 managed to escape.

A THREAD. Image
On March 5th, 1959, 69 African American boys, ages 13 to 17, were padlocked in their dormitory for the night at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville. Around 4 a.m., a fire mysteriously ignited, forcing the boys to fight and claw their way out of the burning building. Image
The old, run-down, & low-funded facility, just 15 minutes south of Little Rock, housed 69 teens from ages 13-17. Most were either homeless or incarcerated for petty crimes such as doing pranks. 48 boys managed to escape the fire.
Read 6 tweets
Feb 26
The 369th Infantry Regiment, The Harlem Hellfighters.

Though they spent more time in battle than any other regiment and were one of the most decorated, they never got the recognition they deserved.

—THREAD— Image
Even as one of the most successful military regiments in WWI, they were denied their going away parade because they were a black regiment.

They were invited after the war due to their valor. Image
They fought so hard & with such tenacity that they were dubbed "The Harlem Hellfighters" by the German troops they faced.

It became the first American unit to be cited with the French Croix de Guerre. One medal of honor & many Distinguished Service Crosses.
Read 9 tweets
Feb 17
The 'Real Life Mulan', Cathay Williams.

Cathay had to pose as a MALE to be enlisted as a union soldier, becoming the only documented Black woman to serve as a Buffalo Soldier.

A THREAD Image
Cathay was born and enslaved in 1850 in Jackson County, Missouri. In September 1861 Union troops impressed Cathay and she joined the Army to work as a cook and washerwoman for Union Army officers.
On November 15th, 1866 Williams disguised herself as a man and enlisted as William Cathey, serving in Company A of the 38th Infantry, a newly-formed all-black U.S. Army Regiment, one of its earliest recruits.
Read 7 tweets

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