Condoleezza Rice

Hello, I am Condoleezza Rice. I was born November 14th 1954. I was born in Alabama Brimingham. I am the second woman or african american to be U.S. Secretary of State. I consider myself a republican with moderate views. I have the highest position for an african american female to hold in the presidential cabinet. I became Republican in 1984, because I decided that Democrats patronized the helpless and the poor. When I was growing up my eleven year old friend, Denise McNair, was killed in 1963 in the bombing of Brimingham's 16th Street Baptist Church. When I was three years old I mastered the piano and people told me that my career could be as a prfessional pianist. When I was growing up I skipped the first grade and the seventh grade. I entered college when I was fifeteen years old. I have three degrees, and I got my masters in just one year. I was a professor around 1981-1999 in Stanford University, and I taught Political Science. In 1993-99 I became Stanford's provost. I had a big responsiblility. I had to see the schools budget and their academic programs. I was a memeber of the National Security staff while George Bush was president, then I was the National Security Advisor when the second George Bush was president, before becoming Secreatary of State in 2005. That is how I became famous by hard work.

Roberto Clemente #21 - One of the Best Baseball Players of All Time

  Roberto Clemente:

Hello my name is Roberto Clemente In 1955 I was spotted by a scout from the professional hardball team in the Puerto Rican town of Santurce and offered a contract. I signed with the club for forty dollars per month, plus a five hundred dollar bonus. It wasn't long before i caught the attention of the major league scouts and, in 1954, I signed up with the Los Angeles Dodgers who sent me to their minor league team in Montreal. In 1955, i was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and started as their right fielder. It took a few years for me to learn the rules in the major leagues, but by 1960 i was the best player in professional baseball, helping lead the Pirates to win both the National League pennant and the World Series. Shortly after i joined the Pirates, i chose 21 for my uniform. Twenty-one was the total number of letters in the name–Roberto Clemente Walker. The Pirates retired his number at the start of the 1973 season, and the right field wall at the Pirates' PNC Park is 21 feet high in honor of me. Tragically, my life ended on December 31, 1972 in a plane crash while going to Nicaragua with relief supplies for earthquake victims.

 

Hello,

I was born a slave on a small farm in western Virginia, I was nine years old when the Civil War ended. I worked in a salt furnace as soon as i turned ten started serving as a houseboy for a white family where I first learned the virtues of frugality, cleanliness, and personal morality. I was educated at Hampton Institute, one of the earliest freedmen's schools devoted to industrial education. Growing up during Reconstruction and imbued with moral as opposed to intellectual training, I came to believe that postwar social uplift had begun at the wrong end. I was a pragmatist who engaged in deliberate ambiguity in order to sustain white recognition of my leadership. Such visibility won me international fame and the role of black adviser to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. I widely read autobiography, Up from Slavery (1901), stands as a classic in the genre of narratives by American self-made men, as well as the prime source for me social and historical philosophy. My philosophy did not long survive my death, but in theory and practice, my views on economic self-reliance have remained one of the deepest strains in Afro-American thought.

-Booker T. Washington

Jackie Robinson

Dominic Diaz

Civics Blog

Jackie Robinson

Hey, I’m Jackie Roosevelt Robinson and I was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 in a family of sharecroppers. My mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised me and four of my siblings. Me and my family were the only black family on the block, and the prejudice I encountered only strengthened our bond. From this beginning would grow to be the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier that destroyed the sport for more than 50 years.

Growing up in a large, single-parent family, I was great at all sports and learned to make his own way in life. At UCLA, I became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1941, I was named to the All-American football team. Due to money, I was forced to leave college, and eventually I decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. After two years in the army, I had gone up to second lieutenant. My army career was cut short when I was court-martialed in relation to objections with incidents of racial discrimination. At the end, I left the Army. In my rookie season, I hit 297. with 32 steals and 12 homers. That’s my life and I hope you enjoyed.

In this picture, I was playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. They don’t exist anymore but I’ll never forget them.

Christian Campos

Civics Blog

2-9-11

Michael Jeffrey Jordan

Hi, I’m Michael Jeffrey Jordan I was born on Feb. 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. I attended Emsley A. Laney High School and then I went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I’m 6ft. 6in. tall, and I weigh 215lb. I was the 3rd overall pick in the first round and was drafted into the Chicago Bulls in 1984. My leaping ability, was illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests and earned me the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". I also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. During my first season in the NBA, I averaged 28.2 points on 51.5% shooting. I quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas, and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star is Born" just over a month into my professional career. My second season was cut short by a broken foot which caused me to miss 64 games. Then I got my first MVP award in my third season. In my 1988-89 careers, I led the league in points with 53.5 percent shooting average. With Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, I retired on January 13, 1999. As of 2007, I’ve lived in Highland Park, Illinois, and both of my sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Roman Catholic high school located in Wilmette, Illinois.

Maya Angelou

Hi, my name is Maya Angelou. I was born in Missouri, St. Louis. When I was fourteen years old I became the first African-American female to be a cable car conductor in San Fransisco. When I finished high school I gave birth to a boy, and I named him Guy. I was young and a single mother I had to work as a waitress and a cook. I loved poetry, music, dancing, and performance. Aorund 1954-55 I went to Europe with the production of Porgy and Bess. I ended up studying dance with Martha Graham. Alvin Ailey and I danced on television. I made recorded my own album in 1957 called Calypso Lady. I moved to New York around 1958, there I entered the Harlem Writers Guild. Then I moved to Egypt Cairo, around 1960. While I was in Egypt I was the editor of the English language weekly, The Arab Observer. Soon I moved to Ghana. In Ghana I taught at the Universityy of Ghana's School of Music and Drama. There I worked as one of the editors for The African Review, and I also wrote for The Ghanaian Times. Later on, I was a coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. asked me to help him. I was devasted when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr died on my birthday in 1968. I hada friend named James Baldwin. Because of him, I worked on a book that became, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was publishe in 1970. I composed and wrote the flim Georgia, Georgia. I stille appear in films, and on television. Later, I served on two presidential commitees. I got the Presidential Medal of Arts in the year 2000.
Then I got the Lincoln Medal in 2008. I have also recieved three Grammy Awards. Clinton requested that I should make him a poem for his Inaguration in 1993. The poem I did was called, On the Pulse of the Morning. It was all over the world, and it was live. I have recieved thirty honorary degrees.Well, that is all I ave to say today, so rmeber to follow your drems.

The Greatest Fighter Known to Man Kind

          I am Mohammed Ali but, I was born Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky. I am ready to proclaim my gold medal title in the 1960 U.S. Olympics in Rome. I have gone through many fights over the years but, today is a different kind of fight. It is the fight for a medal, a title, and overall respect. I know some of you fans think I boast too much before a fight but when it’s over you realized that all of that smack was not fake at all. Today I will “flow like a butterfly and sting like a bee” no fighter will get in my way and no punch will knock me down. I am the heavy weight champion of the world and now known as the greatest boxer known to man. I won the Golden Gloves championships twice and now I will win the Olympic fights so I can be in the Hall of Fame vas the greatest fighter the U.S. has ever created. I’m fighting during the segregation period and even though people think that good things come out of black people I have been a living proof that success can comes in any color. I will some become an associate of Malcolm X during my years to come. I have helped the U.S. with foreign countries and their treaties with fighting and making a bond with the people of our nations. This is a farewell and thank you to all of my wonderful fans who have helped me get to the Olympics.                                    

                      Sincerely,                                                Mohammed Ali

Black History Month - Nelson Mandela's Life

Nelson Mandela:

My name Nelson Mandela, I was born in July 18, 1918 in Transkei, South Africa. I served as the president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and I was the first president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before my presidency, I was the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, also the armed wing of the African National Congress or the ANC. In 1962 I was sentenced to prison for life, but I only served 27 years in prison, while I was spending my time in jail in an island called Robben Island. When my release came from prison in February 11^th in 1990, I led my party towards the negotiations where multi-racial democracy took place in 1994. As the president from 1994 to 1999 I gave the order to make peace with the department. Also I was educated in the University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. After the banning of the ANC in 1960 I kept on arguing that there should be a military wing within the ANC. I considered my proposal on the use of violent tactics, and agreed that the members who wanted involved in my campaign would not be stopped by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Also I was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labor. In 1963 when many leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, I was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to take the government out by violence. My statement received a lot international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including myself, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, I was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, I was at Polls moor Prison, nearby on the mainland. After my release I jumped into my work, I kept on trying to reach my goal and the others had set out to fulfill their dreams as well. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, I  was also elected President of the ANC while my lifelong friend and colleague,Oliver Tambo, became the organization's National Chairperson. In 1988 I was hospitalized with an illness, and after my recovery I was returned to prison under lessconditions. By this time, the situation within South Africa was becoming desperate for the ruling white powers. Protest had spread, and international pressures for the end were increasing. More and more, South Africa was turned to a racist state. It was against this backdrop from around the world to release on myself. On February 11, 1990, I walked out of prison. I received joyful welcomes wherever I went around the world. In 1991 Iassumed the presidency of the ANC, which had been given legal status again by the government. My Accomplishments were also that in 1986 I was given the W.E.B DuBois Award by the National Peace Prize. In 1994 the award for the Washington Based MENDUSA peace. In 1995 I got the award for Honorary member of the Order of Merit by the British and Commonwealth Order by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1998 I also got the award for the US Congressional Gold Medal for being a Distinguished Citizen of the World. 2000 I got the award for honorary Canadian citizenship. In 2002 I also got the award for US Presidential Medal of Freedom. 2004 I got an award for Philippine’s Congressional Medal of Achievement. In 2006 I got the award for International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award. In 2007 I got my last award for a statue of me in London’s Parliament Square. People can learn from me that even though throughout everything that I have been through such as getting arrested for trying to do the right thing I still accomplished my goal which is trying to fight for the equal rights of Africa and make peace. Always fight for what you believe in so that your generation can keep on growing.

George Washington Carver

Hi, I’m George Washington Carver and I was born July 12, 1864 was an American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. My family pioneered with agriculture research that launched a new era for farmers across the South part of American. I wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops like Peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes as a source for food and other products to help them survive, so I showed them the value of crop rotations, that introduced hundreds of possible ways for the peanut, soybean, and sweet potatoes, like medicine and oils, and produced hardier hybrids of a number of other plants, mostly with cotton. George Washington Carver was an African Methodist Episcopal. George Washington Carver was not married, but he had a partner named Austin W. Curtis Jr. also a scientist. In the year 1916, I was named London’s Royal Society for the encouragement of the fine arts. I was now a recipient of the Spingarn Medal for Distinguished Service from the NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), in 1923. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt gave me a medal for the outstanding contribution to the southern Agriculture research. In 1941 George Washington Carver was given a museum at the Tuskegee Institute (George Washington Carver’s college where he studied and practiced science). George Washington Carver died in Tuskegee, Alabama on January 5, 1943. After George Washington Carver died Austin w. Curtis Jr. went to Detroit and took the knowledge of peanuts and manufactured them and made products out peanuts.

Louis Armstrong: One of the Most Influential Artists in Jazz History

Louis Armstrong says he was born on July 4, 1900 but, was actually born on August 4, 1901. Louis was one of the first truly popular African Americans entertainers. He was known for his American jazz trumpet playing and his deep voice. He was a skilled at scat singing, which is using sounds and syllables instead of lyrics for singing. Louis Armstrong grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was born into a poor family and grew up in the rough neighborhood of the Uptown of New Orleans what his father called “Back of Town”. At the age of five he attended a Fisk school for boys, but dropped out at the age of eleven. Armstrong worked at odd jobs and joined a group of boys that sang for money on the street but, it was not enough for his mom to stay clear of prostitution. In 1913, he was sent to the Colored Waifs home by being a juvenile delinquent. While he was at the Colored Waifs home, he learned to play the cornet. Prof. Davis had made him the leader of the Colored Waifs home band. At the age of thirteen, people started listen to Louis because of his cornet playing. When he turned fourteen, he was released from the home then lived with his father and new stepmother and back with his mother and again on the streets. He played in the New Orleans brass band parades. Later on, he started to play in brass bands and riverboats of New Orleans and traveled with the band of Fate Marable. In 1918, his mentor Joe “King” Oliver decided to go up north and quit the Kid Ory’s band. Armstrong was skilled enough to replace Joe “King” Oliver. In 1922, his mentor Joe invited him to his Creole Jazz Band. He enjoyed his partnership with his mentor but his second wife, pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong told him to seek more places.

Barack Obama By Anthony Febre

            Me as the president of the United States has allot of lessons to teach the youth of the Americas. For one, I have accomplished the height of being the first African American to become the president of the United States. I mean in the 2008 general election, i defeated the Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. I was also a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where I was the president of the Harvard Law Review. 7 I also worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University Of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.  Also I gradually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, and signed an arms control treaty with Russia. I also have two children named Malia Anne (their first) who, was born in 1998 and followed by, a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001. I was born in Native Honolulu, Hawaii. Here is a couple of other things I’ve done, Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women, Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible, Limits on lobbyist’s access to the White House, announced his intention to push for energy reform, and announced his intention to push for education reform. Some other accomplishments I’ve done are I’ve Paid for redecoration of White House living quarters out of my own pocket and  returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters. I have also done something incredibly which was that I announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production. Incredibly I have made more loans available to small businesses which help the economy. So as you can see me the president of the united  states

By anthony ferbe

Reason to Celebrate…

Inspiration - n (ˌɪnspɪˈreɪʃən) The stimulation of the mind, feelings, etc. to special or unusual activity or creativity. (Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition) Celebrating Black History has officially been a big part of American culture since its inception in 1976, which originally began as Negro History Week in 1926, founded by “the Father of Black History”, the son of a former slave, 2nd African-American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University, Dr. Carter G. Woodson. It was assumed that Black people had little or no history because of their existence as slaves, but Dr. Woodson had the hope and dream of educating the American people of just the opposite. Blacks have always had a very rich history pre-dating slavery as well as having a large influence on American culture since the beginning of our great nation. His dream was to help the community learn all about Black life, history and culture. He worked on college campuses, high schools and created publications and organizations to do just that. I believe his dream has been realized, although many argue the necessity of a whole month dedicated to one race or culture in America, while others argue that it’s not enough. “Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children...A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn.” (Quote from expert witnesses to the Supreme Court that led to the 1954 decision in Brown vs. Board of Education) When I look at the famous case study of Brown vs. Board of Education where the Supreme Court decided on equality in education for all, I have to agree with those honoring my ancestors and those who continue to strive for equality in America; Black History is an important aspect of our society as Americans that cannot be limited to the slight mention of the great Civil Rights Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a few pages in our history books or some sense of tolerance in our country. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6  One child thought my skin was dirty and told me to clean it off. I told her it was just the color of my skin, but she didn't believe me,” was the experience of a young Mary Mcleod Bethune, founder of 1st African-American College in Florida. What you don’t know will hurt you and those around you! Since 1976, Black History Month has grown to encourage multiculturalism that meshes all ethnicities. America is indeed a melting pot of incredible histories of people that should be celebrated throughout the year.

Magic Johnson

Hi there,

I'm Magic Johnson

If your interested in learning about an amazing basket-ball legend well your reading the right blog.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is a retired Basket-Ball player from the National Basket-Ball Association. At my time I was the best point guard in the NBA and played for the Lakers. I'm know for passing and delivering the ball. I'm not the type of player that is selfish and doesn't pass. Micheal Jordan is known for scoring not me. They call me magic for leaving players wide open to shot. I beat the best team NBA Team in the time, Boston Celtics with Larry bird the best in three point shooter at the time. It wasn't easy at all. After Boston winning so many rings me having the magic was able to beat them in my passing game in the Finals. I have three NBA Finals MVP and three NBA MVP s. NBA champion five times . Olympic Gold medalist in 1992. Magic Johnson is in the Hall of Fame and won the award for one of fifty best basket-ball player.
Johnson was selected first in the 1979 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the first rookie to start in an NBA All-Star game. The Lakers went on to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA championship, and Johnson became the youngest player ever to be named playoff MVP. At six feet nine inches, Johnson became the first big man to excel at point guard, a position usually reserved for smaller players. He became one of the most popular players in the league. . Magic retired from the NBA because I had gotten HIV in November 7, 1991. But I came back in January 29, 1996 but I retired again in May 14, 1996. Now I have my own show and work as president for the Lakers.

Black history month: Nelson Mandela

Hello my name is:Nelson Mandela. I was born on July 18, 1918. I was educated at the University College of Fort Hare. I joined the National African Congress in 1944. I was also the first South African president in a fully representive democratic election. Before I had presidency I was an anti-arpatheid activists. In 1962 I was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges and sentenced his life to prison. I was brought to stand trial for over throwing the government with violence. I was arrested for all of these charges. Even though I deserved to be in prison for life and the group Umkhonto we Sizwe I was only put the charge to be in prison for five whole years. But later on in 1964 I was put in prison for life, from 1968 to 1982. During my years in prison my reputation started growing steadily. I was widely accepted as the most significant Black leader in South Africa. I was released from prison in 1990. After being realeased from prison I plunged myself into my life's work trying to obtain the goals that I and other's were trying to accomplish decades ago. In 1993 I was given the Nobel Peace award in belong of all South Africans that suffered and sacrificed so much to bring peace to their land. The Era of the apartheid came to an end in April 27,1994. Nelson Mandela is a great influence to lots of people these day and we should honor him this Black History Month.

What did Nelson Mandela do?

Nelson accomplishment was to stop apartheids, which he did. He sacrificed himself by being put in prison for lots of years. Mandela argued for many if his people. He did change the world and I think that everyone should honor him for his great accomplishments. Yes, Nelson is still alive with the age of 92. We should think about lots of people who made a difference in our world such a Nelson. Because of lots of people we live in a better world.

Ella Fitzgerald Biography

Hello there my name is Ella Fitzgerald,

If you are in the mood for hearing about famous people than you came to the right blog.

Is born on April 25th in Virgina.

A few years after my parents separated and then later my mom died. I lived with my step dad for a while and then left i went to live with my aunt. later on i wanted to dropped out of school and I did, but they caught me and send they send me to reform school. I later escaped for reform school because I was abused, and lived on the street. until I got $25 out of singing. I stared living as a show bis girl. And then she I diagnose for having a diabetes. Later I had to amputate my legs for diabetes. later on I died becasue of diabetes, I died at age of 79.

I had a really good life and enjoyed it. The point is that sometimes in life your gonna have problems and you should over come it and live life as it is.

Thank You for your time!!!!!! Ill be seeing you, in heaven!!!