The Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr. Family Life Community Center

02/28/2021

Thank you for going on this journey with us for Black History month. We hope you enjoyed it. We’ll end with Dr. Obadele, history professor at PVAMU. He loved black people & his students! 💜💛

“A professor, author, reparations advocate, and political prisoner, Obadele is best known as co-founder of both the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) and the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA). The former is important in reminding us of the need for land and independence from settler colonists and their imperial project. The latter is a continuum of the work of Callie Guy House and others who came before her who demanded redress from our oppressors on behalf of African captives.”

https://www.pvamu.edu/blog/opinion-pvamus-imari-obadele-an-unsung-hero-of-black-history/?fbclid=IwAR1yESQS4afoJeDD_8gBSB0CSEyjBTM40EUCiTawEmOfZSF3R_YTf-lUotg

02/25/2021

Feb. 25, 1870 - Hirman R. Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as first black U.S. Senator and first black Representative in Congress.

Hiram Rhodes Revels (September 27, 1827 – January 16, 1901) was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a college administrator. Born free in North Carolina, he later lived and worked in Ohio, where he voted before the Civil War. He became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress when he was appointed to the United States Senate to represent Mississippi in 1870 and 1871 during the Reconstruction era.

02/23/2021

On February 23, 1979, Frank Petersen. Jr. was promoted to brigadier general, becoming the first African-American general in the Marine Corps. In May 1983, he was advanced to the rank of major general. He was then promoted to lieutenant general on 12 June 1986. Lieutenant General Petersen relinquished duties as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, Virginia, on 8 July 1988. He served as the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff from 8 July 1988 until 31 July, and retired from the Marine Corps on 1 August 1988.

Lt. Gen Petersen passed away on 25 August 2015 at the age of 83. For more info on Lt. General Petersen, visit https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/People/Whos-Who-in-Marine-Corps-History/Paige-Russell/Lieutenant-General-Frank-E-Petersen-Jr/

02/18/2021

Born February 17, 1963, Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls.
His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." He was integral in helping to popularize the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a global cultural icon in the process.

02/15/2021

Always celebrating our forever president and others! Happy Presidents’ Day! Stay warm!!!

02/13/2021

Feb. 11, 1990 - Nelson Mandela is released from a South African prison after being detained for 27 years as political prisoner.

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/06/11/190671704/the-day-nelson-mandela-walked-out-of-prison

02/13/2021

On February 9, 1995, Bernard Harris M.D. became the first African American to perform an extra-vehicular activity (spacewalk), during the second of his two Space Shuttle flights.

02/12/2021

On February 5, 1884 African-American Willis Johnson of Cincinnati, Ohio, patented an improved the mechanical egg be**er (U.S. pat # 292,821). The be**er was made up of a handle attached to a series of spring-like whisk wires used to help mix ingredients. Prior to his eggbe**er, all mixing of ingredients was done by hand and was quite labor-intensive and time-consuming.

In fact, what Willis Johnson had really invented was the early mixing machine and not just an egg be**er. His device was not intended for eggs alone. Johnson had designed his egg be**er and mixer for eggs, batter, and other baker's ingredients. It was a double-acting machine with two chambers. Batter could be beaten in one section and eggs could be beaten in another section, or one section could be cleaned while the other section could continue beating.

02/11/2021

On February 3, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution was ratified - it prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude.", as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments.

02/11/2021

Carter G. Woodson initiated "Negro History Week" on February 1, 1926. In 1976, it became Black History Month.

11/26/2020

05/25/2020

Taking the time to celebrate those who gave their lives for our freedom.