THE RETURN OF THE EYE

By: Laila Schwin and Valery Warner

March 10, 2022

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was an activist as a suffragist and abolitionist, along with being a poet, teacher, public speaker, and writer. She was one of the first African American women able to get her literature published in The United States of America. 

Harper was born on September 24, 1825, in Baltimore, Maryland, which at the time was a slave state. At the age of three, both of her unknown parents died, making her an orphan. She was later adopted and raised by her aunt and uncle who gave her the last name “Watkins”. Harper went to school at the Watkins Academy for Negro Youth, which her uncle had established in 1820. As a civil rights activist and abolitionist, Reverend Watkins had a major influence on his niece’s life and work. 

At the age of 13, she worked as a seamstress while also working as a nursemaid for a white family who owned a bookshop. In her spare time, she was able to read the books from the shop and work on her own writings. 

In 1850 at the age of 26, Harper moved to Baltimore, Ohio, to teach domestic science at Union Seminary, an AME-affiliated school for Black students near Columbus, Ohio. She worked as the school’s first female teacher. Union Seminary closed in 1863 when the AME Church diverted its funds to purchase Wilberforce University, the first black-owned and operated church. The following year, Watkins took a position at a school in York, Pennsylvania.

In 1839, Harper began her writing career by publishing works in antislavery journals. Her early works were published under her maiden name, Watkins. In 1845, Harper published her first book of poetry titled Forest Leaves or Autumn Leaves; the poetry in this book established Harper as an abolitionist voice. She went on to publish Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects in 1854 which became fairly popular and established her writing career even further. 

In 1858, she published one of her now best-known poems, “Bury Me in a Free Land” in an anti-slavery newspaper in Ohio. In 1859, Harper became the first black woman to publish a short story with “The Two Offers” being published in The Anglo-African Newspaper. She continued publishing works there such as her essay “The Greatest Want”. Her essays and poetry focused on the abolition of slavery and the plight of African Americans in the U.S. Throughout her life, Harper published 80 poems, many of which continued on these themes of slavery and freedom.

In 1872, Harper published Sketches of Southern Life, which highlighted the experiences of recently freed slaves in the South and the oppression of black women, even outside of slavery. Between 1868 and 1888, Harper published three novels in a magazine, Minnie’s Sacrifice, Sowing and Reaping, and Trial and Triumph. She is more well-known for her novel Iola Leroy or Shadows Uplifted. This novel was published in 1892 and was one of the first novels to ever be published by a black woman in the U.S. All of Harper’s works (specifically this novel) focus on the social issues of both African Americans and women and the intersection of these two identities. 

Harper was a strong supporter of abolitionism, prohibition, and women’s suffrage, progressive causes that were connected before and after the American Civil War. She was also active in the Unitarian Church, which supported abolitionism. In 1853, Harper joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and became a traveling lecturer for the group. During this time, she delivered many speeches and faced much prejudice and discrimination along the way. 

A year later, she delivered her first anti-slavery speech called “The Elevation and Education of our People”. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Harper moved South to teach newly-freed Black people during the Reconstruction Era. During this time, she also gave many large public speeches. In 1870, Harper worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau encouraging many freed men in Mobile, Alabama, to “get land, everyone that can” so they could vote and act independently once Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment. 

Harper’s public activism also continued in her later years. In 1891, Harper delivered a speech to the National Council of Women of America in Washington D.C., demanding justice and equal protection by the law for the African-American people.

A lot of Harper’s activism was displayed through speeches that she delivered. She spoke to the National Woman’s Rights Convention in 1866 and encouraged them to form the American Equal Rights Association (AERA). Harper was on the Finance Committee of the AERA and advocated for suffrage for all women, not just white women, as was previously specified by many suffrage groups at the time. AERA divided into two groups upon the introduction of the 15th amendment giving black men the right to vote. It became the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), which did not support the Fifteenth Amendment because it did not also allow women to vote. The other group was the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which supported the amendment. Harper was one of the founding members of the AWSA as a supporter of the amendment. 

Harper would later go on to help develop the National Association for Colored Women (NACW) in 1896. It was primarily founded to avoid the racism of white feminists when advocating for suffrage. In 1897, Harper became vice president of the NACW. 

On February 22, 1911, at the age of 85, Frances Harper passed away of heart failure. Her legacy as a writer, a poet, a suffragist, and an abolitionist all live on through her literature and the importance of equal rights for all women. 

{Information retrieved from Womenshistory.org}

By: Laila Schwin and Valery Warner

March 3, 2022

As of March 1, 2022, Women’s History Month began. The theme for this year is “Women who  provide healing and promote hope”. This theme is meant to recognize how women have contributed throughout the world as caretakers, particularly in the medical field as nursing tends to be a female-dominated field. 

Women’s History Month is meant to recognize many of the overlooked women in both history and in the present day. It continues to be important in working towards equality for all people by bringing together women from all walks of life and all around the globe. 

Throughout the month of March, our section of journalism will be writing an article each week to recognize the importance of three women and all of their contributions. Our articles for the next three weeks will be written about Frances Harper, Nellie Bly, and Clara Barton.

This month is a chance for people to reflect on the important women in their own lives as well as those making developments in the present day.

By: Laila Schwin and Valery Warner

February 24, 2022

Alvin Ailey is known for being a choreographer, dancer, and director for various dance companies and later for founding his own dance company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). His theater (and later the Ailey School) were created with the focus of highlighting black dancers and displaying African American experiences through dance performances.

Alvin Ailey was born in Rogers, Texas, on January 5, 1931. His father abandoned their family when Ailey was three-months-old. He and his mother were forced to work in cotton fields and as house servants to support themselves. They moved around a lot, and Ailey often stayed with relatives while his mother went out to find other work. 

In 1941, Ailey’s mother moved to Los Angeles, California. A year later, Ailey followed his mother and enrolled in George Washington Carver Junior High School. He then graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. In 1946, he began to gain an interest in dance after seeing the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Katherine Dunham Dance Company perform in Los Angeles. In 1949, Ailey began learning dance from Lester Horton at what was one of the only racially-integrated dance schools at the time. While learning dance, Ailey started studying writing and romance languages at UCLA. In 1951, he moved his studies to San Francisco State University and continued his academic focuses. While in San Francisco, he met Maya Angelou and performed a nightclub act called “Al and Rita” with her. 

In 1953, Ailey made his debut as a dancer in Revue Le Bal Caribe, which was choreographed by his mentor, Lester Horton. Later that same year, Horton passed away, and Ailey filled his role as choreographer and artistic director for the dance company. Ailey started dancing as a pair with Carmen de Lavallade. The pair performed on Broadway in the musical House of Flowers. After that production closed, Ailey performed in a touring production by Harry Belafonte called Sing, Man, Sing. In 1957, he performed in the Broadway production of Jamaica.

In 1958, Aliey founded his own dance theater called the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Alivin created his theater to honor and celebrate black culture.  The company had its debut at the 92nd Street Y. The performance included Ailey’s first masterpiece, Blues Suite. Two years later, he premiered his most popular and critical work, Revelations, again at the 92nd Street Y. After this performance and despite their success, the Ailey company struggled to find consistent bookings. The U.S. State Department sponsored AAADT’s first international tour in 1962, which traveled across Asia—with follow ups to Senegal in 1966 and East & West Africa in 1967. The company was eventually able to book a few American shows per season as well. After a successful week-long engagement at the Billy Rose Theater, the company was invited to become the resident company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This relationship did not last long, and Alvin began to struggle with tours again.

In 1970, with few bookings on the radar (and on the eve of a tour to Russia as part of a cultural exchange agreement), Ailey announced at a press conference that he was closing the company. That August, the company toured to Russia, where it was ecstatically-received. Their performances were broadcasted on Moscow television and viewed by over 22 million viewers. On closing night, because the Russian audiences would not stop applauding, the company gave over 30 curtain calls. Returning home, the company performed a two-week engagement at the ANTA Theater. By the end of the January 1971 performance, the entire show was sold out. After 13 years, Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater was a monumental success. In August 1972, the company was briefly renamed the Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theater and became a resident company of the New York City Center. Ailey’s work has been met with popular and critical acclaim. AAADT was formed to celebrate African American culture and to provide performances for black dancers, who were frequently denied opportunities due to race. Ailey proudly employed artists based solely on artistic talent and integrity, regardless of their cultural background.

In 1969, Ailey founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and paired with Fordham University to allow for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program through the dance school. The school started off in Brooklyn with 125 students and has continued to grow under various leaderships throughout its history. The Ailey School is now the largest dancing school in New York City. 

Ailey died from an AIDS-related illness on December 1, 1989, at the age of 58. He asked his doctor to announce that his death was caused by terminal blood dyscrasia in order to shield his mother from the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS.

Ailey’s legacy and the work that he put into uplifting black dancers continues today and is an important part of his dance company and school that still continues to teach and impact new generations of dance students. 

{Information retrieved from Biography.com and Pbs.org}

By: Laila Schwin and Valery Warner

February 17, 2022

Bessie Coleman was the first African American woman to hold a pilot’s license. Equally important, she was the first Native American person to hold one, as well. She excelled greatly as a civilian aviator and spent much of her flight career performing airshows. 

Elizabeth (Bessie) Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, on January 26, 1892. She was born to Susan Coleman, who was African American, and George Coleman, who was African American and also Cherokee. She grew up with twelve siblings, with her being the tenth of the thirteen children. Ultimately, only eight of her siblings survived their childhood. 

Shortly after Coleman’s birth, her family moved to Waxahachie, Texas. She grew up on sharecropping farmland with her family while attending a small, segregated school. She farmed cotton with her family throughout her childhood as part of supporting their lives as sharecroppers. In 1901, her father left the family to move to modern-day Oklahoma on Native American land to find better opportunities for himself.

At age 12, Coleman was accepted into and started attending the Missionary Baptist Church School on a scholarship that she had earned. When she turned 18, she began attending the Oklahoma Colored Agricultural and Normal University (now known as Langston University) in Langston, Oklahoma. She only completed one term before she ran out of money and had to quit her academic pursuits. 

In 1915, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, with some of her brothers. While there, she worked as a manicurist and also worked as a manager at a chili parlor to help her save money for her newfound dream of becoming a pilot. She ended up being in contact with Robert S. Abbott, the founder of the newspaper (The Chicago Defender). Abbott, as well as businessman Jesse Binga, helped Coleman fund her flight school dreams and were a driving force in her being able to study abroad to get her pilot’s license. 

Because there were no flight school options for African Americans, Native Americans, and women in The United States (with Coleman being a combination of all three), she saved for and gained sponsorships to be able to attend flight school in France. To prepare for her trip, she took a French language class at the Berlitz Language School in Chicago. She traveled to Paris, France, to officially begin her flight training on November 20, 1920. She spent a considerable amount of time in France for pilot training. 

With commercial flights still being over a decade away, Bessie realized in order to keep her position as a civilian aviation professional that she would have to become what is called a “Stunt Flier”. Becoming a stunt flier would require her to take advanced lessons. After returning to Chicago, she had no luck finding someone willing to teach her. In February of 1922, she sailed back to Europe. She spent two months there completing an advanced course in aviation. She also traveled to Germany, where she visited the Fokker Corporation and received additional training from one of the company’s chief pilots. After all her flight training was completed, she returned to the U.S. to start her career in exhibition flying. 

Over the course of the next five years, Bessie created a name for herself being known as “The World’s Greatest Woman Flier”. Drawing such high popularity to herself, she was invited to important events and often interviewed by journalists. “Queen Bessie” was admired by all. She made her first appearance in an American airshow on September 3, 1922, at an event honoring veterans of the All-Black, 369th Infantry Regiment of World War I. Six weeks later, she participated in another Chicago air show to honor World War I’s 370th Infantry Regiment. 

In Los Angeles, she broke a leg and three ribs when her plane stalled and crashed on February 22, 1923. As a professional aviator, Coleman often would be criticized by the press for her opportunistic nature and the flamboyant style that she brought to her exhibition flying, but nothing could stop her from losing sight of her childhood dreams. 

Committed to promoting aviation and combating racism, Coleman spoke to audiences across the country about the pursuit of aviation and goals for African Americans. She absolutely refused to participate in aviation events that prohibited the attendance of African Americans.

On April 30, 1926, Bessie Colman passed away. She had recently purchased a Curtiss JN-4 aircraft that had been poorly maintained. While her friends and family tried to encourage her not to fly the plane, she refused and did so anyway. Ten minutes into the flight, the plane took a dive and spun 3,000 feet towards the ground. Colman was thrown out of the plane at about 2,000 feet, instantly killing her at the age of 34. 

Her legacy as a public figure and media sensation, as well as her outstanding achievements as a pilot, made Bessie Coleman one of the greatest pilots to have ever lived. 

(Information for this article can be found at National Women’s History.)