AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY Profile picture
Apr 26, 2023 12 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Today on #WorldPilotsDay, i’ll highlight black pilots who broke barriers 👨🏿‍✈️👩🏿‍✈️

—A THREAD—

In 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first black licensed pilot.

When she developed an interest in flying, women and people of color had no flight training opportunities in the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Willa Brown was the first black woman to earn both a pilot's license and a commercial license. (Bessie got hers in France) Image
Marlon D. Green, was an Air Force Pilot who fought to desegregate the Airline Industry. He became the 1st black pilot hired by a major airline. ImageImage
Jill E. Brown became the first female African-American pilot for a major US airline in 1978 when she joined Texas International Airlines as a pilot. Image
Ahmet Ali Celikten was the world's first black fighter pilot.

He served in the air forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. He was a veteran of World War 1 and the Turkish War of Independence. Image
Jesse L. Brown was the first black US Navy pilot. He flew 20 combat missions before being shot down in 1950 during the Korean War. Image
Eugene Jacques Bullard was the first African American military combat pilot. Often referred to as the “Black Swallow of Death” for his courage during missions, he faced incredible obstacles to become the only African-American pilot in World War 1. Image
He grew up in Georgia, flew for France in BOTH world wars, ran a Paris nightclub, spoke 3 languages and unironically owned a pet monkey. Image
Special mention to the Tuskegee Airmen became the first African American flying unit in the U.S. military and fought in World War II.

The Tuskegee Airmen epitomized courage and heroism. ImageImageImage
Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr. is one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.

He survived 43 combat missions during World War II and is one of only a dozen remaining Tuskegee Airmen from the famed “Red Tails” fighter group still alive. Image
In 2001, Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell became the first Black woman to serve as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Image
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More from @AfricanArchives

Apr 1
41 years ago today, singer, songwriter and Motown legend, Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father, a day before his birthday.

A THREAD! Image
On April 1, 1984, Marvin was fatally shot by his father in their Los Angeles home. On the day of the murder, Marvin and Marvin Senior were arguing about a misplaced insurance policy document.
At this point, the relationship between Marvin and his father was as heated as ever- Marvin’s sister had moved out of the house just to avoid the conflict Image
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Mar 21
A sundown or sunset town was a town, city, or neighborhood in the US that excluded non-whites after dark.

The term sundown came from the signs that were posted stating that people of color had to leave the town by sundown.

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In most cases, signs were placed at the town's borders which read: “Stranger/Negro, Don't Let the Sun Set On You Here." The exclusion was official town policy or through restrictive covenants agreed to by the real estate agents of the community. Image
The policy was usually enforced through intimidation. This intimidation could occur in a number of ways, including harassment by police officers or neighbors and in some circumstances violence.
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Mar 21
Today we honour the memories of all the lives lost on this day in 1960, when white police in apartheid South Africa killed over 80 black people and wounded 186 on what is known as the Sharpville Massacre.

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The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21st March, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. It resulted in the largest number of South African deaths(up to that point) in a protest against apartheid.
Sharpeville, a black suburb outside of Vereeniging (about 50 miles south of Johannesburg), was untouched by anti-apartheid demonstrations that occurred in surrounding towns throughout the 1950s. By 1960, however, anti-apartheid activism reached the town.
Read 13 tweets
Mar 19
“fuck it, i’ll do it!” —black women

Black women are routinely erased from public memory and historical narratives of resistance.

Black women powered the civil rights movement, but rarely became its stars. #WomensHistoryMonth

A THREAD! Image
Aunt Polly Jackson, was an escaped slave who worked as an agent on the Underground Railroad helping others escape.

She was known for fighting off slave catchers with a butcher knife and a kettle of boiling water Image
Harriet Tubman, the woman who escaped slavery then fought and freed hundreds of slaves.

She reminded us that bravery and refusal to accept injustice can change history. Image
Read 23 tweets
Mar 16
35 years ago today, Latasha Harlins, 15, was fatally shot by a Korean shop owner, Soon Ja Du, over a bottle of orange juice, it became a major spark for the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

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On March 16, 1991 Latasha Harlin’s short life came to a violent end in the midst of racial tensions in Los Angeles, California, and became a major spark for the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Image
By the late 1980s, racial tensions were high in South Los Angeles, and especially between Korean storeowners and Black American residents of the city.
Read 10 tweets
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
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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

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