In the movies all of the heroes of the West are male. All cowboys are white males. What if we told you that 20-25% of cowboys of the old west were African Americans. Some were women and a small number were Black women. Like Mary Fields (1832 –1914)...
Also known as Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary, Mary Fields was an American mail carrier who was the first Black woman to work for the US Postal Service (She did contract work as a star route mail carrier). Born in the antebellum south, Fields was enslaved on a plantation in Hickman County, Tennessee until the age of 33. In 1865 she was emancipated upon the end of the American Civil War. After being free she began working on a Mississippi steamboat called the Robert E. Lee as a chambermaid… Fields’ rough demeanor, short temper, gun toting, heavy drinking and excessive use of profanity caused her to have frequent clashes with the religious community within the convent. She even got into a quarrel with a male employee at St. Peter’s Mission that involved firearms. As a result, In 1894, after several complaints from the nuns, the bishop asked her to leave the convent. Fields left St. Peter’s and opened a tavern in Cascade, Montana. However, the business struggled financially and closed in less than a year… See more in this article entitled Mary Fields (StageCoach Mary): Hero of the West with Lesson Plans and Resources.
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Today Sweet Blackberry would like to highlight a little-known historical person, that is absolutely extraordinary. Rev. Dr. William Simmons (1849-1890) was a formerly enslaved African who overcame great odds and was a part of the freedom struggle. Simmons, despite being born into enslavement, received a formal education and went on to do more in four decades than most people do in a lifetime. Simmons’ life defies the popular narrative of the helpless enslaved person, who was powerless against the enslavers’ oppression. Eventually settling in Kentucky, he accomplished a lot in his short life, he escaped slavery, went on to serve in the US military, became a minister, an educator, dentist, author, activist, and even a college president!
To read more about Dr. Simmons click on the article below: William J. Simmons: A Formerly Enslaved Man Who Became a Dentist, Writer, US Soldier, Educator, Minister and College President Founder and CEO Karyn Parsons gave the keynote address at the prestigious Muhammad Ali Center with Sweet Blackberry board member Dr. David Childs. Click below for the full keynote discussion.
SWEET BLACKBERRY featured in article on democracy and me site, a Cincinnati Public Radio project5/1/2024 SWEET BLACKBERRY was recently featured in an article about multicultural educational resources on DEMOCRACY AND ME's website. Democracy and Me is a project of Cincinnati Public Radio, that features information about civics, diversity, social studies, history and education.
Here is an excerpt from the article: "A great example of classroom resources for multicultural education is a series of short animated films and books on African American history by Karyn Parsons’ (Hillary from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air) production company known as Sweet Blackberry. Sweet Blackberry’s stated Mission “is to bring little known stories of African American achievement to children everywhere.” Parsons hopes to tell the “triumphant stories of individuals” who overcame “the odds” and made “invaluable contributions to our society” offering “inspirational and empowering” stories. Sweet Blackberry’s website states that “these stories illustrate for our children the concept that tremendous obstacles are actually opportunities for greatness! Children of all races and ethnicities feel a sense of shared history when they learn about the real people whose lives and work impact their everyday lives.” See the entire article Democracy and Me article in the link below: Re-educating Our Children: Multicultural Educational Resources from Sweet Blackberry Media Company This summer, Sweet Blackberry partnered with Fresh Air Fund on a captivating, unique program teaching young minds about the importance and need for journalism. Through our workshops, Sweet Blackberry shed light on the numerous contributions of Black Americans in American history including, Ida B. Wells, an investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement as founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. We also hosted a workshop on Gordon Parks, prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particularly in issues of civil rights, poverty and African-Americans.
Both Wells and Parks helped show Americans the injustices many Black people faced during their respective time and we wouldn't be where we are today without their contributions or the contributions of their peers. As a final project, we assigned Fresh Air Fund interns a project of their choice focusing on an underserved community or injustice they believe needed to be shared. Please check out our blog each Monday as we begin to post their wonderful work. Over the years, Sweet Blackberry has shared history on the barriers many African Americans had to cross to receive an adequate education. But once, that education was received, there were still rules in place barring Black people from jobs regardless of their talent. Architecture was one of those professions. Still today, African American architects make up only 2% of all licensed architects in the U.S. African American women make up 0.3%. In this post, Sweet Blackberry celebrates these pioneers by showcasing their achievements. You may also read more about the impact racism has, and continues to have, on this profession here.
By: Jai Rodriguez
2020 is the year of creativity. This year creativity isn't only for artists and musicians; it's for anyone with an idea and MORE than enough time to bring it to life. Usually, we would be spending our summers deep in the woods and enjoying the company of our camp family; unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we were not able to do so. So we made a switch to online Summer Camp! This summer, The Fresh Air Fund had the opportunity to work with Sweet Blackberry and bring their idea to life in our own special fresh airway. You can only imagine the excitement on all of our camper's faces when they discovered that they would be not only be carrying out this project but getting to have their own Q&A session with Karyn Parsons. Deciding who we will be basing our project on was a challenge. We had so many options to choose from. After a few voting sessions, we finally had our winner; it was no other than The Queen of Jazz herself, Ella Fitzgerald. Ella is a very well-known jazz singer, so campers wanted to ensure her full story was told as one camper said, "Ella is like an onion with so many layers." All campers were divided into four groups ScriptWriting, Storyboarding, marketing and educational assets. They were responsible for fulfilling the requirements in each group to ensure their vision for the video. They divided and conquered each obstacle that came their way. They made sure everyone was involved in each creative decision and recalculated whenever an idea they had didn't work out. It was a beautiful sight to watch as a facilitator. `The premiere of their Project was also their very last day of virtual summer camp. Overall, campers enjoyed their time working on this project and were ecstatic with its results. It was a bittersweet ending to our summer, and everything fell into place beautifully.
Did you know that one of the reasons Black History Month sits in February is because President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday also sits in this month? Founded in 1926 as “Negro History Week,” this annual celebration was set to take place during the second week of February because President Lincoln’s birthday was February 12th and Frederick Douglass’s birthday was on February 14th. Both of these birthdays held significance in Black communities’ due to the work of Douglass and Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation freeing African Americans from slavery. Another lesser-known fact -- Frederick Douglass was the first African American to run for president. While the origins on Black History Month and its ties these birthdays hold significance, there are many more strides in Black History to celebrate on this day. Today, we focus on pioneer, Shirley Chisholm.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Chisholm was the oldest daughter of Charles and Ruby St. Hill. A talented debater, her professors at Brooklyn College encouraged her to consider a political career but she showed hesitance. Chisholm knew she’s faced challenges among the nation’s political leaders. She didn’t look like them. She was a double minority – a black woman.
Today, we know of many double minorities who have strived to and succeeded in opportunities that aren’t easy to achieve. We have shared the stories of Janet Collins, the first Black prima ballerina to perform at The Met and the brave Bessie Coleman who had to leave the country in order to earn her pilot’s license. Like these two prolific women, Shirley Chisholm knew how hard the road would be ahead of her. After initially working as a school teacher, Chisholm joined local chapters of the League of Women Voters, the NAACP, Democratic Party club and Urban League. In 1964, she ran for and became the second African American in the New York State Legislature followed by her winning a seat in Congress in 1968 – the first African American woman to do so. During her tenure, Chisholm introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation and championed racial and gender equality and fighting to end the Vietnam War. During her time as a congresswoman, Chisholm co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, helped form the Black Caucus and became the first Black woman and second woman to ever serve on the House Rules Committee.
With all of her accomplishments, when Chisholm decided to run for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, much discrimination followed. She was blocked from participating in televised primary debates to which she had to take legal action resulting in her just making one speech. Chisholm retired from Congress in 1983 after serving seven terms. Upon retirement from her political roles, Chilholm turned her focus back to teaching but this time at Mount Holyoke College. See below to learn more about the significance of Chisholm's legacy.
As Told By: Dr. Wanda Patrick, PhD To kick off Black History Month, Weaver Union School District invited Sweet Blackberry to educate their elementary and middle school students on the importance of Black History. Elementary school students screened Sweet Blackberry's newest film 'Flying High: The Bessie Coleman Story.' The school system also gifted their students with Sweet Blackberry Founder, Karyn Parson's debut novel, 'How High The Moon.' Dr. Wanda Patrick, shares insights to this delightful visit. February is Black History Month; what better way to celebrate literacy than have the founder of Sweet Blackberry address the students at Weaver Union School District. Karyn arrived at the middle school, Monday, February 3rd, eager to share her experience as the author of How High the Moon. 996 extremely eager and excited middle school students wanted to know what it was like to be an author and if it was difficult to balance a career and a family. Of course, many students wanted to take a photo with Karyn. A really excited young author met Karyn one on one getting encouragement to continue writing and to never stop. Monday was a long day for Karyn. She accepted a proclamation from the city of Merced along with the NAACP for their work accomplished at the Multicultural Arts Center for Black History Month (photo below). Karyn spoke to the city council about Sweet Blackberry’s mission and why she was in Merced. There was a dinner in her honor attended by the President of the NAACP, Merced County Office of Education (MCOE) after school program personnel, Weaver Middle School Principal, many Weaver Middle School personnel, Farmdale Principal, and the Karyn Parson Team. On Tuesday, February 4th, Karyn presented the Sweet Blackberry film about Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn her international pilot's license, to the students of Farmdale and Pioneer. The students were captivated with the very interesting story of Bessie. Karyn told the students how she was an actress, but always came back to writing. Karyn left the students with a quote that we will be using for our NAACP 59th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner this October 10, 2020: “Don’t let someone else define your dreams”
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