Toni Morrison On March 31, 1988, Writer Toni Morrison Won The Pulitzer Prize For Fiction, For Her 1987 Novel, Beloved.
In 1993 She Was The First Black Woman To Receive A Nobel Peace Prize For Literature.
Born In Lorain, Ohio, Morrison Entered Howard University In 1949, To Study English. She Began Writing Fiction As part Of An Informal Group Of Poets And Writers At The University Who Met To Discuss Their Work.
Toni Morrison Has Written Several Celebrated Novels, Including: The Bluest Eye (1970), Sula (1974), Song Of Solomon (1977), Tar Baby (1981) And Jazz (1992). Although her Novels Typically Concentrate On Black Women, She Does Not Identify Her Works As Feminist.
Morrison Taught English At Two Branches Of The State University Of New York. In 1984 She Was Appointed To An Albert Schweitzer Chair At The University At Albany, The State University of New York. From 1989 Until Her Retirement In 2006, Morrison Held The Robert F. Goheen Chair In The Humanities At Princeton University.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr. 
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The Harlem Rens Basketball Team
On March 28, 1939, The Harlem Renaissance Big Five Became The First All-Black, Professional Basketball Team To Win A World Championship, Outside The Negro Basketball League.
Formed By Caribbean-Born Basketball Manager And Former Player, Robert L. Douglass In 1922 (Five Years Before The Harlem Globtrotters), The Harlem Renaissance Big Five Became The First Black-Owned, Fully Professional Basketball Team, Comprised Of All Black Players.
Originally Called The Spartan Braves, The "Rens" Big Five Took Their Name Form Harlem’s Black- Owned, Renaissance Ballroom, Which Also Served As The Team’s Home Court.
During The 1920’s And 1930’s The "Rens" Became One Of The Most Succesful Teams In Sports History. They Plaayed And Beat, Black And White Teams, Including The Original Celtics.
Between 1932 And 1936, The "Rens" Won 473 Games And Lost Only 49. In 1934, They Won 88 Consecutive Ball Games.
The Harlem Renaissance Big Five Made History In 1939 When They Won The First Ever World Professional Basketball Tournament, Defeating The All-White, Oshkosh All-Stars Of The Racially Segregated, National Basketball League (A Forerunner To The NBA).
Some Of The Best Black Talent To Ever Play Basketball, Played For The Harlem Renaissance Team. These Basketball Hall Of Famers Include: Clarence "Fats" Jenkins, James "Pappy" Ricks, Frank "Strangler" Forbes And Leon Monde.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Mist Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
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Dr. Dorothy Height
Civil Rights Legend, Administrator And Educator, Dr. Dorothy Height, Was Born March 24, 1912.
From Richmond, Virginia, She Moved With Her Family To Rankin, Pennsylvania. While In High School, Height Got A Scholarship To Barnard College For Her Oratory Skills. However, Upon Arrival, She Was Denied Entrance Because At The Time, Barnard Had Already Admitted Its Two Black Students For That Academic Year. Height Entered New York University Where She Earned Her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees In Four years.
While Working As A Caseworker For The Welfare Department In New York, Dr. Height Joined The National Council Of Negro Women In 1937 And Began Her Civil Rights Career.
She Served On The National Staff Of The YWCA Of USA From 1944 To 1977 Where She Was Active In Developing Its Leadership Training And Interracial And Ecumenical Education Programs. In 1965, She inaugurated The Center For Racial Justice, Which Is Still A Major Initiative Of The National YWCA. She served as the 10th National President Of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. -- From 1946 to 1957. In 1958 Height Became President Of The National Council Of Negro Women (NCNW} In 1958. She Held That Position For The Next 40 Years, Stepping Down In 1997.
Working Closely With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, A. Philip Randolph, And Others,
Dr. Height Participated In Virtually All Of The Major Civil And Human Rights Events In The 1950’s And 1960’s.
A Promoter Of Black Family Life Dr. Height Conceived And Organized The Black Family Reunion Celebration In 1986, To "Reinforce The Historic Strengths And Traditional Values Of The African American Family."
For Her Efforts On Behalf Of The Less Fortunate, President Ronald Reagan Presented Her The Citizens Medal Award For Distinguished Service To The Country In 1989. She Has Received The Presidential Medal Of Freedom, The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom From Want Award And The 78th NAACP Spingarn Medal, In 1993. Height Has Also Been Inducted Into The National Women's Hall Of Fame. In 2004, She Was Awarded The Congressional Gold Medal By President George W. Bush On Behalf Of the United States Congress.
Until Her Death, Dr. Height Served As The Chairperson Of The Executive Committee of The Leadership Conference On Civil Rights, The Largest Civil Rights Organization In The United States.
Dr. Height Died April 20, 2010,
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr. The Life & Work Of Dr. Dorothy Height
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Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman, The Most Famous Conductor On The Underground Railroad, Died March 10, 1913, In Auburn, New York. At The Time Of Her Death Tubman Had A $40,000 Bounty On Her Head.
Tubman Personally Rescued More Than 300 Slaves In Nineteen Trips To The South. She Was Known To Say: "I never ran a train off the track, and I never lost a passenger."
Often Called The "Moses Of her People," Harriet Tubman Was Born A Slave In Maryland Around 1820. When She Was 28, She Escaped And Fled North.
During The Civil War, Tubman Served As A Spy, Scout And Nurse For The Union Army. She Was The Only Woman To Successfully Undertake Operations In Enemy Territory. She Was Also The First And Probably Only Woman To Ever Lead American Troops Into Battle.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
Gen. Oliver Howard &
Congressman Thaddeus Stevens On March 3, 1865, Congress Created The U.S. Bureau Of Refugees, Freedmen, And Abandoned Lands, To Help 4,000,000 Destitute Ex-Slaves And Impoverished Whites In The South, Following The Civil War.
The Freedman's Bureau Provided Medical Services And Helped Establish Hospitals, Schools And Social Service Agencies During Reconstruction. Many Of The Major Black Colleges Were Established During This Period, Including Howard University, Which Was Founded By Union Army General And Bureau Commissioner, Oliver O. Howard.
It Was Also During This Time Of Transition That A 74-Year-Old White Congressman From Pennsylvania, Named Thaddeus Stevens, Suggested That Each Ex-Slave Be Given "40 Acres And A Mule," As Compensation For Their Years Of Forced Servitude.
In Its Efforts To Improve The Quality Of Life For Black Americans The Bureau Was Constantly Hindered By Racist-Driven Activity -- Including Discriminatory Laws Adopted By Southern States, Violence Against Blacks And Increased Activity By The Ku Klux Klan, Which Included Intimidation And Murder Of Black Americans.
Although the Freedman's Bureau Was Not Able To Provide Long-Term Protection For Blacks, Nor Did It Ensure Any Real Measure Of Equality, It Did Signal The Introduction Of The Federal Government Into Issues Of Social Welfare And Labor Relations.
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
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