On this day in 1992, Dr. Mae Jemison became the first Black American woman to travel to space aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992, working on experiments including bone cell research.

A highlight of black people who have helped make space exploration possible.

A THREAD Guion “Guy” Bluford was the first Black man in space as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle 'Challenger' in 1983. Of 10,000 applicants to the NASA space program, Guion S. Bluford was one of 35 chosen to join the new space shuttle team in January 1978.

Happy 85th birthday to Claudette Colvin!

She refused to move to the back of a bus 9 months before Rosa Parks, the NAACP did not want to use her to represent them because she was 15 & pregnant.

Other women who refused to give up their seats before Rosa Parks

A THREAD! A century before Rosa Parks, there was Elizabeth Jennings

In 1854, she refused to get off of a streetcar that only allowed white passengers.

She was arrested. She sued (and won), and her case led to the eventual desegregation of NYC's public transit.

Did you know Sesame Street was originally created for black and brown inner city kids?

A THREAD Children usually spend a lot of time watching a lot tv and technically it was sort of a babysitter. It was even worse for inner city children whose parents spent endless hours at work, thus their kids were usually exposed to long hours of mindless programs.

Happy birthday to activist and chairman of the Black Panther Party Fred Hampton.

He was assassinated by Chicago police and the FBI at just 21 years old.

William O'Neal, an FBI informant, infiltrated the Black Panthers and set up Fred Hampton for $300.

A THREAD In Illinois, where Fred Hampton was born, the police constantly harassed black people. Access to social goods too was made difficult, if not curtailed, in the areas with heavy black populations.

61 years ago today, The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C.

A THREAD The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history and called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C.

The sad and racist history behind the Aunt Jemima Brand.

A THREAD

Aunt Jemima was a brand of pancake mix, syrup & other breakfast foods owned by the Quaker Oats Company. It was one of the earliest products to be marketed through personal appearances and advertisements. Aunt Jemima was first introduced as a character in a minstrel show – a show that consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performed by white people in blackface for the purpose of playing the roles of black people.
loc.gov/collections/so…

A statue of La Mûlatresse Solitude, who in 1802, helpled lead a slave revolt while EIGHT Months pregnant in Guadeloupe.

She became a martyr and symbol for all women and mothers who against all odds defended the ideals of freedom and equality.

A THREAD! It is believed that Solitude was born as a result of her mother being raped by a white sailor while she was being transported on a slave ship from Africa. She was sold into slavery in Guadeloupe.

On this day in 1831, Freedom fighter Nat Turner saw a solar eclipse, which he believed was a sign from God and he started what is considered the most deadly slave revolt, the Nat Turner Rebellion, which sparked the events leading to civil war.

A THREAD Around early 1828, he was convinced that he “was ordained for some great purpose in the hands of the Almighty”. A solar eclipse and an unusual atmospheric event on 13th August, is what inspired Nat Turner to start his insurrection, which began 8 days later, on August 21, 1831.

On this day in 1904, The Battle of Waterberg known as the Herero and Namaqua Genocide, occured between the Herero people and German imperialists in German Southwest Africa (present-day Namibia), following the Germans occupation to steal their land and resources.

A THREAD The German colonization of South-West Africa began in 1883, two years before the official Partition of Africa.

Did a thread 🧵 on the partition of Africa ⬇️

https://twitter.com/AfricanArchives/status/1592578345182629890

Did you know that Britain had a Black Panther movement?

The British Black Panthers (BBP) or the British Black Panther movement (BPM) was a Black Power organisation in the United Kingdom that fought for the rights of Black people and peoples of colour in the country.

A THREAD The BBP were inspired by the US Black Panther Party, though they were unaffiliated with them. It was founded by Nigerian playwright, Obi Benue Egbuna in 1968.

In 1841, Madison Washington led The Creole Rebellion: One of the Most Successful Slave Revolts in History.

A THREAD When it comes to how the United States of America portrays slavery it depicts that slaves were very docile and didn’t fight back. However, this was not the case and there were numerous slave rebellions, but they are not usually taught in school or displayed on TV/movies.

The first black Africans to compete in the Olympics were Tswana tribesmen Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani , who ran in the marathon at St Louis in 1904.

They were referred to as LenTau and Yasmani because officials could not pronounce their surnames. They had been brought over as part of the Boer War exhibit in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, held alongside the Games, when they decided to enter the marathon at the last minute.

On this day in 1920, Henrietta Lacks was born.

Her cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951 and became one of the most important tools in medicine. They became vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization & more.

A THREAD

Henrietta Lacks was black woman who unknowingly was the source of cells (from her cancerous tumor) which were cultured by George Otto Gey to create the 1st known human immortal cell line for medical research.

In 1884, during the Berlin Conference, European nations established the 'legal' claim that all of Africa could be occupied by whomever could take it.

They set out murdering africans and taking their wealth to make Europe wealthier.

THREAD

After slavery, Berlin conference was the second declaration of war against Africa.
At the Berlin Conference, Congo was handed to a charity run by King Leopold under the pretext of “stopping slavery” and he named it the “Congo Free State.”

Gaspar Yanga was a liberator and one of Mexico’s heroes, enslaved from West Africa. He fought for the abolition of slavery in Mexico. He was known as “America’s First Liberator” or “El Primer Libertador de las Americas.”

The town of Yanga, Mexico is named after him.

THREAD El Yanga was an African abolitionist and a leader of a slave rebellion in Mexico during the early period of Spanish colonial rule. Mexico was called 'New Spain'.

On this day in 1962, Martin Luther king Jr. was arrested and jailed for holding a prayer vigil in Albany, Georgia.

MLK Jr. Was Arrested 29 Times For These So-Called Crimes. Here are just a few occasions when he was arrested and why,

A THREAD His First Arrest:

January 26, 1956 — He was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama as part of a “Get Tough” campaign to intimidate the bus boycotters. Four days later, on January 30, his home was bombed.

Happy Birthday to Emmett Till. He would've been 83 years old today.

At just 14, two white men kidnapped and brutally murdered him through mutilation for 'whistling' at a white woman.
decades later, Carolyn Bryant admitted to lying that Emmett Till made a pass at her.

THREAD On 28th August 1955, Emmett Till, 14, was kidnapped and brutally murdered for 'whistling' at a white woman.

On this day in 1972, Reporters exposed the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment — a secret study to examine the effects of untreated syphilis in Black men.

American medicine has been built upon the abuse of black people with no oversight.

A THREAD! The Tuskegee syphilis Experiment: It began in 1932. In the syphilis study, doctors were trying to find out more about syphilis test subjects (impoverished African American men), and didn't treat them for syphilis even after they knew penicillin could cure the infection.

65 years ago today, jazz musician and singer-songwriter, Billie Holiday died. Rest in Power!

Events leading up to her death.

A THREAD In 1939, Billie Holiday recorded the first great protest song of the Civil Rights Movement, 'Strange Fruit’ The Chilling Story of Strange Fruit and Billie Holiday.

In 1969, when Black Americans were prevented from swimming alongside whites, Mr. Rogers decided to invite officer Clemmons to join him and cool his feet in a pool, breaking a well known color barrier.
Breaking Color Barriers.

A THREAD! Bill Robinson aka Bojangles wasn't allowed to hold Shirley Temple's hand while filming the stair scene in the movie, "The Little Colonel." She insisted anyway and grabbed his hand during the act becoming the first time where an integrated couple was filmed dancing together.

Everyone knows Lewis & Clark, but did you know that there was a black man who was also part of the expedition?

As he was enslaved by William Clark, he participated as a full member of the expedition & was present when the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean.

A THREAD What’s the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

It was an expedition, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark, during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, to explore the American Northwest, newly purchased from France. (Louisiana Purchase).