Audre Lorde was born in Harlem on February 18, 1934, to West Indian immigrants Frederick Byron and Linda Belmar Lorde. She was an introverted child who did not speak until she was five years old. When she began to communicate, she answered questions with poetry that she had memorized. The limitations of her poetic store forced her at 12 or 13 to compose her own … Continue reading Audre Lorde
Height spent decades working for racial equality and women’s rights, and her work often centered the ways in which racism and sexism were inextricably linked struggles for black women. As one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Height was the only woman seated on the speaker’s platform. But, as Height told NPR in 2003, the male-dominated planning … Continue reading Dorothy Height
As we celebrate Black History Month, Ujima Magazine will be looking at Women in Black History. These women are heroes of a time that has come full circle. Women are marching and protesting to ensure our rights are not taken for granted or compromised. This month is dedicated to all women who stand up for freedom, empowerment and equal opportunity. Welcome to Black History Month! … Continue reading Fannie Lou Hamer
I heard the cries in the night before my life was laid to rest upon the mountaintop of fires. Heeding the call to resurrect the injustice that was produced in the minds of unfiltered lies. I began to reach towards heaven for sophisticated words to encounter the molecules of despair. On the mountaintop I was transfused into a vessel of democracy of love, only to … Continue reading ON THE MOUNTAINTOP (A TRIBUTE TO MLK JR)
Sydney Johnson rolled snake eyes and the plantation became his promise land of turmoil. Sydney endured the beating of Hampton Smith in his sickness for not complying to work. The demise of Hampton Smith and a manhunt ensued for justice with a rope and a tree. Hayes Turner was seized from custody and informed of his rights with a community of activists declaring his life. … Continue reading MARY HATTIE GRAHAM TURNER
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