Law Office of Rufus Smith, Jr.

Who are The Temptations and how did they change music for the black community? The Temptations is a group of African American musicians that formed in the 1960s, over 50 years ago. However, the Temptations weren't always so iconic in fact that at the beginning the band of musicians was called The Hitless Temptations. Their first major hit, The Way You Do the Things You Do, was actually their eleventh single. Smokey Robinson was their primary producer and their songwriter.... My Girl in March 1965 became The Temptation's first #1 pop song. The Temptations brought light into the 1960s when the American people were suffering from the loss of a president, the civil rights movement, and the feminist movement. They would go on tours throughout the south and face down discrimination and segregation. The Temptations are timeless and have been introduced to new generations by their musical Ain’t too Proud that took Broadway by storm in 2019. They branched out from their Motown Sound from the early 1960s to their psychedelic soul sound in the early 1970s and then later their adult contemporary R&B sound. In the 1990s, the band took cues from the hip-hop generation as well and produced Stay. The Temptations have included an abundance of vocal groups such as New Edition, Boyz ll Men, the Backstreet Boys. The Temptations have even influenced musicians globally impacting bands such as BTS, a Korean boy band. See more

Are you registered to vote?! Voter registration event tomorrow 12-4 at Coweta FORCE!

Who am I? 1860-1937 The last known survivor of the U.S Slave Ship Redoshi was only twelve years old when she was stolen and sold to slave traders. She, like many african people, was forced into America by slavery. She was a prisoner on the Clotilda, the last known slave ship making its way to Alabama. On the ship there were more than 100 African children, teenagers and young adults on the illegal slave ship in 1860. Redoshi was sold as a child bride to an older enslaved man ...who spoke a language Redoshi could not understand because she was from another West African tribe. Once being sold, she was forced to work on a plantation. She was forced to change her name to Sally Smith by the owner of the plantation. On June 19th, 1865, also known as Juneteenth, the day in which all slaves were freed, Redoshi was only about 17 years old. After being enslaved for 5 years, she had no means in which to travel back to West Africa so she continued to live on the plantation. Redoshi lived a full 72 years after slavery was abolished. She survived living on a slave ship, the civil war and the depression. See more

What is the Song of the South? Zip-a-dee-doo-dah The Song of the South is a 1946 Walt Disney live-action animated musical. The film is based on a collection of Uncle Remus stories. Uncle Remus is a fictional title and narrator created by Joel Chandler Harris. Joel Chandler Harris also wrote many of the ‘Brer Rabbit’ stories from the African-American oral tradition. Uncle Remus would narrate the folklore collected from black people in the south. Harris completed six volumes... of Uncle Remus collections: Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1881) Nights with Uncle Remus (1883) Uncle Remus and His Friends (1892)The Tar Baby and Other Rhymes of Uncle Remus (1904) Told by Uncle Remus: New Stories of the Old Plantation (1905)Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit (1907). In the film Song of the South, actor James Baskett portrayed Uncle Remus. James Baskett later won an academy award for his portrayal of Uncle Remus. The film takes place in America during the Reconstruction era after the abolishment of slavery. The film follows seven-year-old Johnny who is visiting his grandmother’s plantation. He befriends Uncle Remus who is still working on the plantation as Uncle Remus tells the tales Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear. When the movie premiered in Atlanta, James Baskett was not allowed to attend due to segregation. July 17th, 1992 Disney Land opened ride Splash Mountain. The ride presents scenes taken from the film of Brer Rabbit leaving his home in search of adventure. In 2020, due to recent events, the Disney Company said they would be reimagining Splash Mountain. The new themed ride will be based upon the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. See more

The History of the Black Braids The origins of traditional hair braiding can be traced back to the African culture in 3500 BC. The oldest evidence of hair braiding of a female figure is evidenced in the Venus of Willendorf, an ancient carving believed to have been produced during the Paleolithic era. Traditional hair braiding origins began with the Himba people of Africa. The ancient OvaHimba people used hair braiding as a unique way to identify various tribes. Hair braid pa...Continue reading

Who am i Gordon Parks (1912-2006) Gordon Parks was born on November 30th, 1912 in Fort Scott Kansas. Growing up during the era of segregation, Gordon experienced racism first hand. During his early school years, he was not allowed to participate in school activities due to his race. Gordon became interested in photography after seeing images of migrant workers in a magazine. At the age of 25, Gordon bought his first camera at a pawn shop. In 1940, Gordon moved to Chicago wh...ere he developed his portrait business. This self-taught black photographer went on to become the first black staff photographer at Life magazine and Vogue magazine. In his later life, he would become the first African American to direct a major Hollywood film, The Learning Tree. He also directed Shaft in 1971. During his lifetime Gordon covered subjects relating to racism, poverty, and also fashion. He took memorable pictures of figures such as Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Stokely Carmichael. I SAW THAT THE CAMERA COULD BE A WEAPON AGAINST POVERTY, AGAINST RACISM, AGAINST ALL SORTS OF SOCIAL WRONGS. I KNEW AT THAT POINT I HAD TO HAVE A CAMERA. See more

Who am I? Amelia Boynton Robertson (1911-2015) Amelia Robertson was born on August 18th, 1911 in Savannah Georgia. She was a civil rights pioneer who pushed voting rights for African Americans. She held black voter registration drives in Selma, Alabama from the 1930s through the 1950s. Amelia was the first African American and the first female Democratic candidate from Alabama to run for a seat in Congress. She also helped lead civil rights marches during which she and her f...ellow activists were brutally beaten by state troopers in an event that would be later called Bloody Sunday. March 7, 1965, Amelia was marching peacefully along with 600 other protesters for voting rights. Many of the protesters were brutally beaten and left unconscious on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Amelia was one of the hundreds left for the dead of the bridge. Images for her brutally beaten body shocked the world. I felt a blow on my arm that could have injured me permanently had it been on my head. Another blow by a trooper as I was gasping for breath knocked me to the ground and there I lay unconscious. One of them poured tear gas all over me. She suffered throat burns due to the tear gas. Bloody Sunday prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965. Amelia attended the event as the guest of honor. Amelia continued touring the United States. In 1990, she won the Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of freedom. It’s important that young people know about the struggles we faced to get to the point we are today. Only then will they appreciate the hard-won freedom of the blacks in this country. You can never know where you are going unless you know where you’ve been. See more

Who am I? Kathleen Cleaver Kathleen Cleaver was born May 13th, 1945 in Dallas Texas. Kathleen studied at Barnard College where she became involved in the civil rights movement. In 1967, she left her studies at college and worked full-time for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The SNCC, or Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, was a civil-rights group formed to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement. The SNCC soon became one of the... movement's more radical branches. The following year, Kathleen met Eldridge Cleaver and moved from New York to San Francisco to join the Black Panther Party. The couple married in 1967. Kathleen was the first woman to be appointed to the Black Panther Central Committee, which was its highest decision-making body. Her role was to write speeches and serve as a spokesperson. She served as one of the chief organizers of the campaign to free Panther Minister of Defense Huey Newton in 1968. At times someone would ask me, ‘what is the woman’s role in the Black Panther Party?’ I never liked that question. I’d give a short answer: It’s the same as men. A woman’s place is in the struggle. See more

Who am I? Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells was born on 16th, 1862. She was born a slave and was the oldest daughter to her parents, James and Lizzie Wells. She was born in a Confederate state and was freed due to the Emancipation Proclamation six months after her birth. When Ida was sixteen she received her first early schooling at Shaw University, a university designed to help educate newly freed slaves. But shortly after admission, Ida had to drop out due to tragedy in her family...Continue reading

Who am I? / This day in history? Who is Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, and ambassador. He was born on February 20th, 1927 in Miami, Florida. Sidney broke the color barrier by becoming the first black man to win an Academy Award for best actor for the movie, Lillies in the Field in 1964. He is considered to be one of the first black movie stars in Hollywood. He rejected roles that would stereotype blacks. Sidney also performed in live theatre starring in Lorraine Hansberry’s 1955 A Raisin in the Sun. He later starred in the 1961 film adaptation. June 23, 1967, was able to imprint his hands in wet cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Who am I? (Requested) Nancy Green Nancy Green was born a slave in 1834 in Kentucky. She would portray Aunt Jemima until her death in 1923. She would sing songs, make pancakes, and tell stories about the old south and that it was a happy place for blacks and whites alike. ... The Aunt Jemima character was based on a real black woman, Nancy Green. Aunt Jemima was supposedly a representation of a Mammy caricature. The Mammy caricature with her wide smile, hearty laugh, and her loyal servitude was offered as evidence of the supposed humanity behind slavery. The caricature is of an obese large breasted maternal figure who shows love for her white family. She was depicted as having no black friends and was a faithful worker. During the slavery-era, Mammy did not want to be free and was willing to defend her white family with her life as prorated in film, The Birth of a Nation (1915). In Gone with the Wind, Mammy fights white soldiers whom she believes will cause harm to the white mistress of the house. Mammy grew in popularity during the Jim Crow Era. She was used to sell any household item. One of the most successful commercials using the Mammy caricature is Aunt Jemima created by Charles Rutt and Charles G. Underwood. The first Aunt Jemima was initially portrayed by Nancy Green. The second Aunt Jemima was another black woman named Anna Robertson in 1933. The third (Yep, there was a third!) woman who portrayed Aunt Jemima was Edith Wilson. Edith portrayed Aunt Jemima on the radio and television between 1948 and 1966. Most recently, Aunt Jemima has been given a makeover of lighter skin and she has lost her headscarf. Quaker Oats have recently come forth to make a statement saying they will be changing the Aunt Jemima brand name and image. Mammy today.. Today, you can find a mammy themed restaurant in Natchez, Mississippi. The restaurant’, Mammy’s Cupboard, building is shaped like, you guessed it, a black woman dressed as Aunt Jemima, smiling wide while wearing a red headscarf. The restaurant opened its doors in the 1940s and you can still visit today. The restaurant serves southern home cooking! In the restaurant, you can buy shirts with a mammy lago on the chest. There are several figurines of mammy in the restaurant. Unfortunately, some people still find this type of branding favorable and profitable.

This day in history/ Why are we celebrating? What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth is an American celebration of independence. It is a holiday commemorating the date when the last enslaved Africans Americans were informed that they were free. This holiday dates back to June 19th, 1865. This holiday should have been celebrated on January 1, 1863, when President Lincoln signed The Emancipation Proclamation. However, the news of slavery’s abolishment did not initially reach all ensla...ved African Americans. These enslaved African Americans continued their forced labor not knowing they no longer were legally held in bondage. In 1865, when the war finally ended there was a two and half year delay in notifying enslaved black people in Texas about the abolition of slavery. On this day, 155 years ago, Federal troops arrived in Texas to tell the slaves they had been freed. According to the 1860 US Census, 250,000 black people were enslaved in Texas, and none of them were aware of their freedom. And of course, apparently, no one was in a rush to tell them. This is why celebrating Juneteenth is important. Because black history is American history! See more

Who am I ? Ann Lowe, The Woman Behind the Dress Ann Lowe was born in Clayton, Alabama in 1898. Ann’s grandmother, Georgia Cole, made clothes for her plantation mistress. Ann’s mother Jane Lowe, also made dresses and specialized in embroidery. Eventually, the three generations of women opened a dress shop together in Montgomery. At age 16, Ann’s mother passed away and Ann would take over her work. Ann’s career began to launch after she completed a ball gown for the First Lad...y of Alabama, Lizzie Kirkland O’Neal. However, her husband did not support her career and she moved to Tampa after a wealthy woman asked her to make dresses for her daughter’s wedding. Ann enrolled at S.T Taylor Design School in New York. Due to segregation, she was separated from the other students and had her own area of space where she was allowed to work. In 1950, Ann opened up Ann Lowe’s Gowns and became the first African American dress designer on Madison Avenue. Women all over were clamoring for Ann’s dresses including Olivia De Havilland, who wore an Ann Lowe original gown to accept her Oscar award to film To Each His Own in 1946. But, unfortunately, Ann’s name was not permitted to be on the dress’s label. Ann would later create Jackie O’ Kennedy’s iconic wedding dress. When asked who made her dress, she only replied, not haute couture. When the newspaper asked who made her lavish dress she said, a colored dressmaker did it. Ann suffered a $2,000 dollar loss after absorbing the cost for replacement fabric while making the wedding dress. She never told the bride or the bride’s mother about the incident. When Ann arrived at Newport to hand-deliver deliver the gowns, a staff member told her to use the service entrance at the back. I’ll take the dresses back if I have to use the back door and Ann walked right in the front door. No one wanted to admit they were wearing a relatively inexpensive dress from an African American woman, making her name barely unknown outside of the elite circles. Ann would later begin to lose sight in both of her eyes and unfortunately lost her business as well due to owing back taxes. Ann died at age 82 years old, never getting to true recognition she that deserved during her lifetime Thank you Ann Lowe for creating beautiful dresses and for being a fashion icon for a generation.

who am I?/ This day in history June 16, 1966 During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, 24-year-old, Stokely Carmicheal famously addressed a crowd of 600 fed up black people in Greenwood, Mississippi with a game-changing statement. Making the declaration, "we have been saying 'freedom' for the six years. What we are going to start saying now is "black power." Stokely Carmichael was born on June 29th, 1941, and died on November 15, 1998. He was a Trinidadian American ci...vil rights activist. He was a member of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and promoted "black power." While Stokely was a freshman at Howard University in 1961, he went on his first Freedom Ride in the south. He was arrested, for 49 days, in Jackson, Mississippi for entering a "whites only" bus. In 1966 Stokely was elected national chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). At age 57 Stokely Carmicheal passed away from prostate cancer. Thank you Stokely being a big part of the black power movement. "Black power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it."- Stokely Carmichael See more

Who am I / this day in history Bessie Coleman was born on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas. She lived with her parents and 12 brothers and sisters. At the ...age of eighteen, Bessie earned enough money to attend college. She attended the Colored Agricultural and Normal University but was forced to drop out due to running out of money after one semester. At age 23, Bessie went to live with her brothers in Chicago. Her brothers served in the military during World War l, and would come home and tell her stories about serving in France. One of her brothers teased her about how the French women would be allowed to learn how to fly airplanes but that she could not. This pushed Bessie to want to become a pilot. She applied to flight schools around the country but none of these schools would accept Bessie because she was both a woman and she was African American. Robert Abbott, a famous newspaper publisher, suggested that she needed to move to France in order to obtain her pilot’s license. She took French classes at night school because her application to a French university would have to be written in French. Bessie was accepted at the Caudron’s Brothers’ School of Aviation. She received her international pilot’s license on June 15th, 1921. Bessie had dreams of opening up her own flight school and wanted to own her plane. She gave speeches and filmed herself performing air tricks in order to earn money. In 1922, she performed the first public flight by an African American woman. She was famous for doing loops the loops and encouraged other African American women to learn to fly. Thank you Bessie Coleman for clearing the skies. See more