February 1^st, 1861, was a momentous and ultimately ill-fated day for the great state of Texas. On this day, the state convention was reluctantly called by Governor Sam Houston, a Texan military hero who had led the battle that gained Texas her independence. It voted all but unanimously to secede from the Union. The slave-owning segment of the population was far more influential than that of the Federalist. Governor Houston allowed the vote of secession to happen, but advocated that Texas keep her independence and return to the days of being a Republic. He believed that there was no lawful right for Texas to join the Confederacy. When members of the government of Texas were called to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy, his name was called three times, unanswered each time. The seat of governor was then declared open, and he was deposed.

The state of Texas was not one in which a large number of battles took place during the Civil War. It was more of a supply state, furnishing men, livestock, and cotton for the Confederacy. However, this does not mean that it was not significant in many ways. It contributed over 70,000 troops to the Confederate cause, and Texas regiments fought in every major battle of the war. One famous Texan force was the Texas Brigade of John Bell Hood. Lee affectionately called them “my Texans”. They served bravely in many battles, gaining a reputation for valor and fierceness in combat.

For four years, the Lone Star State fought on and supported the Confederacy. What is relatively little-known about Texas’ role in the Civil War is the way that it ended. In most of the rest of the Confederacy after the surrender, law and order was established by Federal troops fairly quickly. However, Texas was lawless and dangerous for some time after the war, and it was not until Federal troops reestablished the state government and order that it was once again safe to even travel to Texas on business.

The secession of Texas was definitely a blow to the Union, but it ended in being even worse for Texas. Presently, there is a political movement in Texas to secede again, this time for independence. It is difficult to tell if it would be possible for Texas to survive as its own country. What do you think? Could Texas secede again and be successful?

There is a spark within each of us, so Fan the Flame!

When I speak to groups about Eddie Robinson, whose biography I wrote a few years after he died in 2007, I often request a show of hands from the audience in response to this sequence of questions:

How many of you were born sometime during the 1950s?

How about in the 1960s?

I ask the same of all who read this, for the answer helps to make an important, essential, point when considering the place in history of a man such as Grambling’s Eddie Robinson, who is known as the greatest black college football coach in history but who is so much more, a truly great American.

If you were born in the 1960s or later—that’s everyone 50 or younger—you are one of more than 111 million Americans who either were infants during the Civil Rights Movement, or were born after it.

For one-third of America’s current population of citizens born in this country, Martin Luther King was never a living, breathing person.  He’s only a famous American, revered by many, whose courageous contributions are recalled and honored every year.

And who, as of late last year, is memorialized in Washington, DC with a monument dedicated to him.

The ugliness of Little Rock Central High School . . . the tension of the year-long Montgomery bus boycott . . . the violence of the Freedom Rides in Alabama . . . the indignity of whites-only lunch counters and “colored” drinking fountains . . . and the vicious abuse of peaceful marchers in Birmingham and Selma . . .

ALL occurred BEFORE one-third of today’s Americans could have experienced them, or even known that they took place.

This is significant not only because later generations can’t possibly know what it was like at the time—to be black, or white—but also because it puts Eddie Robinson’s achievements as a coach and his contributions as a leader and role model into a context which today, a half century later, are too easily underestimated, if not totally disregarded.

Eddie Robinson was Grambling’s football coach for 57 years, from 1941 to 1997.  In historical terms, that spans the presidencies of Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, from World War II to Vietnam, and from Jim Crow to Brown Vs. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act, The Voting Rights Act, The Fair Housing Act and beyond.

Eddie Robinson’s 408 coaching victories, the more than 200 players he sent into pro football, and his four Pro Football Hall of Famers (Willie Davis, Charlie Joiner, Buck Buchanan and Willie Brown) and milestone players such as Tank Younger, James Harris and Doug Williams speak to his stature as a coach, and explain, at least in part, why he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

But the bigger story of Eddie Robinson is his influence on generations of young people and his broader impact across the once-segregated South.

“Coach Rob,” as he is called still today by those who knew him, emphasized intensive conditioning, detailed preparation and incredibly repetitious practice to achieve flawless execution.

Eddie Robinson, the man, meanwhile, emphasized completing a college education, learning to be accountable, working hard, doing a good job . . . and believing in America.

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Robinson discouraged everyone around him from becoming actively engaged in the marches, sit-ins and protests that became the public face of the unrelenting campaign for racial equality. It is natural to question his reluctance to join those who risked life and serious injury; he wrestled with it himself.

But in the end he felt a clear responsibility to steer his players and others away from potentially dangerous encounters—those mothers who trusted him to be a father figure and role model for their sons expected it—and to prepare them for the changes he was sure were coming in American society.

“He never told us that life was unfair and that we’d have to be ready for it,” said Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award.  “He always told us that this was America, and we could be anything we wanted to be.”

Said Charlie Joiner, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals during his Hall of Fame career:  “The thing he always wanted to stress, was to be a good citizen and a good American.  He believed in being a good citizen, because he was one.”

When Eddie Robinson died in 2007, a former player who became a member of the Louisiana state legislature, said:

“In the aftermath of his death, a lot of attention will be devoted to all the players he sent to the NFL. That’s not his legacy.  It’s the thousands of young men who went to Grambling with no hope of having a life in the NFL. His legacy is the thousands of men who are good fathers and good husbands, good businessmen, good employees and community leaders.”

DENNY DRESSMAN is the author of Eddie Robinson “ . . . he was the Martin Luther King of football.” The award-winning biography is available in the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center gift shop.

President Lincoln was getting irritated. The war had been declared, and yet Federal forces showed little enthusiasm for joining battle with the Confederates. A few bloody noses, though painful, were no excuse, in his mind, to let up on the pressure. On January 27^th, 1862, Lincoln had finally had enough reluctance from his commanders, especially General McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac. It was known of McClellan that he was excellent at training and organizing troops, but was indecisive. Lincoln once diagnosed the General with a bad case of “the slows”. He was also well-known to have little respect for the President. By this time, Lincoln had gotten sick and tired of McClellan taking no action and seemingly having no plans to do so, though he should have moved against Confederate troops in Virginia.

This frustration with his armed forces culminated on January 27^th in General War Order No. 1, which was an order for all Federal forces to advance and put pressure on the Confederates. This worked well in the West, with armies in Tennessee advancing and General Ulysses S. grant capturing two important forts. However, the Eastern Theatre was another story. Lincoln could not aim such an order at McClellan because he was well-connected politically and because he was so popular with the troops for his charisma and his skill in training and organization. The soldiers nicknamed him “The Young Napoleon” for his charisma and flair for the dramatic. He was too popular for Lincoln to simply plant a boot in his posterior. Therefore, McClellan continued to command the army of the Potomac and stall, waiting for no-one-knows-what.

The historical significance of General War Order No. 1 is not immediately apparent. However, the number of Union victories that followed the issuance of this document in short order is both surprising and impressive. General Grant heeded the order and came up with two hard-fought and well-won victories not long afterward. Advances in Tennessee, though farther west than the main Theaters of the war, were still important for both strategy and morale. Lincoln, though not a military men, knew that wars are not won without aggression, and a lack of aggression was exactly what he saw in the Federal forces. An audacious strategy served well. This just shows that going for the win is often necessary, though it may not get as much progress as was hoped. There is a spark within each of use, so Fan the Flame!

Is studying black history relevant in 2012?

One could presume that since African-American innovations are more visible and greater accepted into popular culture that there is no longer a need to engage in discourse on the topic of black history.

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, "Father" of Black History Month

However, had it not been for the vision of impassioned revolutionaries like Dr. Carter G. Woodson, African-American history might have gone undocumented another century.  This is a history that traces all the way back to the first Dutch and Spanish ships with Africans arriving to North America around 1624, but outside of propaganda publications that published hurtful ethnic stereotypes, black history wasn’t documented with regard until the 20^th century.

Dr. Woodson helped us see that black history is American history, not a history only for African-Americans to study. We can look at his life and see the “American Dream” manifesting the way all of us hope it to manifest in our own lives. Who wouldn’t be inspired to know that Woodson’s parents were former slaves and he worked in a Kentucky coalmine for years before he enrolled into high school at age 20, then graduated two years later and went on to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard?  As a student, Woodson observed that information written on people of African descent was either fallacious or intentionally less mentioned, which propagated the idea that blacks were an inferior race. To counter this racist ideology, Woodson began documenting facts himself, and established the Journal of Negro History. In 1926, Dr. Woodson began Negro History Week the second week in February as a way to call attention to the contributions being made by African-Americans.

Do you know these dates significant to Black History? (Courtesy of Infoplease.com)

• February 23, 1868:
  W. E. B. DuBois, important civil rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP, was born.
• February 3, 1870:
  The 15th Amendment was passed, granting blacks the right to vote.
• February 25, 1870:
  The first black U.S. senator, Hiram R. Revels (1822-1901), took his oath of office.
• February 12, 1909:
  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a group of concerned black and white citizens in New York City.
• February 1, 1960:
  In what would become a civil-rights movement milestone, a group of black Greensboro, N.C., college students began a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter.
• February 21, 1965:
  Malcolm X, the militant leader who promoted Black Nationalism, was shot to death by three Black Muslims.

In honor and celebration of Black History Month, The Freedom Center is hosting a debate regarding the value and impact of black history called Why Black History? on February 2.

This session’s panelists include Dr. Francille Rusan Wilson, Associate professor of American Studies & Ethnicity and History at the University of Southern California and Dr. Prince Brown, retired Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Northern Kentucky University.

For more details on this free event, which was made possible by PNC, visit the Freedom Center’s event page here:

There is a spark within each of us. Fan the Flame.

Funding for this program was made possible in part by the Ohio Humanities Council with support by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment of the Humanities, or of the Ohio Humanities Council.

Did you know that Cincinnati is home to one of 45 Tuskegee Airmen chapters in the U.S., and includes 18 members whom are considered “original” Airmen?

The Greater Cincinnati Airmen, Inc. was founded in 1986 by Charles O. Southern. Its members come from many diverse professions but share in common an interest to preserve the Tuskegee Airmen legacy, sharing its heritage with future generations.

The Greater Cincinnati Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

Despite racial segregation during World War II, 450 Black fighter pilots fought in the aerial war over North Africa, Sicily, and Europe, completing 1,578 missions in P-39, P-40, P-47 and P-51 aircraft. Dubbed “Schwartze Vogelmenshen” (Black Birdmen) by Germans, and “the Black Red Tail Angels” by white American bomber crews, the Black fighter pilots’ gallant reputation was both respected and feared because they didn’t lose a single escorted bomber to enemy fighters and they were highly decorated for their service. The Tuskegee Airmen legacy is also shared with civilians who provided ground support duty and the men and women who remained in the military after World War II who integrated the U.S. Air Force.

Read the biographies of men from the The Greater Cincinnati Airmen, Inc., here.

Honoring the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center hosts a showing of the film, Double Victory: Two Warriors in the Fight for Civil Rights During WWII., a documentary companion to the George Lucas-produced film, Red Tails. Following the showing of Double Victory, guests will have the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session with the visiting Tuskegee Airmen, as well as a light reception and a book signing by several members of the Airmen.

When: January 28, 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm

Where: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

Cost: Free, thanks to a PNC sponsorship for Black History Month

For more information and to RSVP for “Double Victory,” visit: http://freedomcenter.org/freedom-forum/index.php/event/double-victory-cincinnati-chapter-tuskegee-airmen/.

There is a spark in each of us. Fan the Flame.

Funding for this program was made possible in part by the Ohio Humanities Council with support by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment of the Humanities, or of the Ohio Humanities Council.

January 16^th, 1861 was the day that antebellum diplomacy between the Union and the Confederacy died. The Crittenden compromise, though proposed after four states had already seceded from the Union, was meant to prevent an all-out war between the Union and Confederacy. The proposed compromise would consist of a series of constitutional amendments that would extend the Mason-Dixon line at the 36 30’ parallel across the entire country, forbidding slavery north of this line. The desperation of the compromise is evident. Passing an amendment to the Constitution is no easy task. If the alternative had not been a split of the Union or Civil War, it would have seemed like an unreasonable course of action. Other amendments forbade federal interference with the slave trade, protected slavery in the District of Columbia, and compensated slave owners whose slaves escaped into northern free states.

It should not be difficult to see why this so-called “compromise” failed. The North alleviated every fear held by the South and the confederate States, and yet received nothing from them. A compromise does not exist unless both parties gain something from the exchange. It has been said that a good compromise leaves no one happy. This one was obviously not a good compromise, since the South would have loved it, and the North would not have benefitted whatsoever. This would have forced the Republican Party to abandon the most important issues that had led to the secession crisis.

The bill had no chance of passing. It was doomed from the start. It was a last-ditch effort to keep the Union together. It was voted down in the Senate twenty-five votes to twenty-three. When persuading someone to vote for a law, it is essential for them to see the benefit in voting for it, and if there is nothing to be gained, as was the case for the Republicans, they will not support the legislation. Many historians have argued that the country was past the point of no return. What do you think? Could the Union have gotten away without the Civil War? There is a spark within each of us, so Fan the Flame!

Senator John J Crittenden

12-year-old Maia Thompson, a seventh grader at Mason Middle School, has stepped up to make a difference in her community. Hearing the December 2011 news reports that the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center has concerns for its long term financial sustainability, Maia decided to take action.

In a mere two takes, Maia produced a YouTube video explaining why she believes the Freedom Center is so important.

In her video, she asks viewers to support the Freedom Center by making donations; and, she provides the Freedom Center address. Maia is also careful to remind viewers, “It only takes a spark to start a wildfire,” and asks everyone to help the Freedom Center “Fan the Flame.”

To add to her impassioned plea, Maia also designed a t-shirt, which she and her friend Kendall Watkins plan to sell as a fundraiser for the Freedom Center. To support the efforts of these young fundraisers, the Freedom Center is providing an advance order opportunity through its website at https://www.freedomcenter.org/. The t-shirts, priced at $20 each, made of 100% organic cotton, will be ready for delivery in early February, just in time for Black History Month.

NURFC CEO Kim Robinson states,

Maia and Kendall are two outstanding examples of what the Freedom Center mission is all about, “inspiring everyone to take courageous steps for freedom today.” We are all so impressed with their understanding of the important role the Freedom Center plays in helping everyone become a modern day abolitionist. The initiative and the proactive steps these young girls have taken to ensure that our mission shows us that America’s next generation of Freedom Fighters is well on their way.Our thanks to Maia and Kendall for helping us “Fan the Flame.”

In its Sunday, December 18, feature on the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, The Cincinnati Enquirer editorial stated that the Center is “too vital to fail.” It would seem Maia feels the same way.

For more information; or, to arrange an interview with young Maia Thompson, please contact NURFC External Relations Manager Stephanie A. Creech at screech@nurfc.org or 513.333.7506.

Why Do You March?

On Dr. Martin Luther King Day, my friend, whom I’ll call “Bishop,” called me around 8:30 am, wanting to know if I had the day off and what I was doing. I told him our Public Allies class was celebrating a day in service—“a day on, not off,” and was participating in the Martin Luther King Jr. Coalition’s march from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Bishop groaned.

At first, Bishop seemed to feel sorry for me that I didn’t “get to stay home,” and told me how cold it was that morning when he left to go work. Then, with sarcasm, he told me some of his co-workers, who are a generation older than us, march every year. “I don’t get that,” he said. “Why are people still marching?”

We laughed at his cynical observation after he described how he is judged for not participating in the march with his co-workers,  like he’s a discredit to Dr. King’s legacy and the black race. For me, it was funny, largely because I know Bishop well enough to know that he was really asking, “What does marching do, in terms of service in 2012? And how does it help people after MLK day?”

I can bet that if Bishop asked his middle-aged African-American co-workers who attend the marches faithfully with their civic organizations why they march, and with the same sarcasm, to them, he might’ve sounded ungrateful for the legacy King’s work imparted on America.

But for Bishop’s and my generation, the generation born a decade after the Civil Rights Movement, this legacy came to us skewed, by talking heads tip-toeing the subject of Black History, and textbooks that summarized the Civil Rights Movement—which lasted two decades—into one or two dry paragraphs. By the time Bishop and I were born, the Black Power Movement looked more like Soul Train dancers; and grassroots leadership was becoming an ambiguous notion as corporate America and government became more involved than “the people.” By the 1970s, Americans were more divided by social and economic factions than ever before since slavery. In retrospect, the word “community” must’ve sounded like a misnomer to most people, who were turning inward and concentrating on self-preservation, or “getting ahead.”

In the mid to late 70s, racism wasn’t being denied access to institutions or service, but it was the fine print in government sanctioned regulations that still made us economically disparaged as a community. Growing up, I heard some of my neighborhood’s elders blame integration for the fall of the black community. I can’t say I don’t understand now what they meant, because as an adult thinking about what integration implies, it’s like the happy ending in a Disney film because it assumes what everyone wants to see after witnessing “moments” of peril. Elders who felt this way lived through the pages in history our textbooks couldn’t contextualize, remembering a time when they were happy living in their microcosmic neighborhood. And they observed,  in silent fear while the assets of living in a black community depleted, as drug dealers and gangs slowly pushed away the family-owned businesses that provided services and goods to them.

Urban sprawl that helped connect the city to the suburbs also made people spend time in their own neighborhoods less and less, and spending time outside of the neighborhood helped you learn what other neighborhoods offered, but sadly, it made many people I grew up around see their own neighborhoods as deficit based. Rightfully so, people wanted to move to where they felt they could have better opportunities, but that didn’t change the plight of the people who had no choice but to stay where they were. Madison Avenue and television marketed the image of an upper middle class that wasn’t reflective in many homes, and for some people, the bootstrap ideology was bunk. Over the sitcom’s laugh track, you could almost hear this overwhelming cry from poor people of all races: “Where is my piece of the pie? I’ve worked hard my whole life.”

Bishop and I come from similar life experiences and relate to each other so well that when he asked the question, “Why do people still march,” I knew he wasn’t being ungrateful to King’s legacy. As children, going beyond the grumblings of our elders who wished things were different, we always dreamed and planned how we would make a difference. Maybe to Bishop, marching on MLK Day in the 21st century placates people’s need to feel like we’re making a difference by remembering the one person we like to think of as the face of the Civil Rights Movement.

This MLK Day, I did march. Maybe on the surface to someone else, it just looked symbolic. But I wasn’t just marching out of compliance to my organization. I marched with reverence and with consciousness for the men and women of all ages and races who marched before me so that I can have the things I have today, which are choices. When I think of service, I want to continue reflecting on how the work I do will serve someone else in a way that reminds him or her that no matter what skin we’re in, someone fought—and still fights– for everyone’s right to choose where they spend their money, where they can live, worship, work and socialize. I march thinking of those mighty fighters who go unmentioned beside Dr. King.

And maybe next MLK Day, Bishop will march with me.

There’s a spark in each of us. Fan the Flame.

Cadets from the Citadel fire upon the Star of the West

January 9^th, 1861 is a date that should be known well by any American. That day, an artillery battery operated by Cadets from the Citadel fired upon the Star of the West, a merchant ship sent to resupply the garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The withdrawal of the Federal garrison had been demanded by the government of South Carolina, which had seceded from the Union President Buchanan refused, sending the Star of the West to resupply the fort, though the fort’s commander had sent messages saying that he required no assistance for some time, and not to send anyone to resupply Fort Sumter. This forced the Confederates’ hand, and they fired upon the ship, nearly starting the Civil War. As it was, it resulted in both sides blustering until the Confederates actually fired upon the fort itself in April.

At this point, both sides knew that war was likely. It was a question of when and how it would start. The issue of who started the war was important to both sides, because being considered the “right side” or the “good guys” was important not only for simple PR and foreign relations, but also for recruitment. Everyone wanted to fight for the side that they believed to be right, the more honorable one. The incident of the firing upon the Star of the West could have started the Civil War right then and there. One more action on either side, such as Major Anderson going to the ship’s aid, or the Charleston authorities stopping the ship and boarding it, could have started the Civil War right then and there.

This might have had some interesting ramifications for the war. Since South Carolina had not seceded long previously, had Federal troops been sent South, it could have radically changed the course of the war. Crushing South Carolina and the Confederacy before it became strong could have radically shortened the war. On the other hand, there is the possibility that the troops that the government sent down would have been defeated and started the Union off with an embarrassing loss. (Not that the First Battle of Bull Run was much better).What do you think? Should the war have started sooner? What would have happened if it had? This is what makes history wonderful. We can speculate all that we please.

There is a spark within each of us, so Fan the Flame!

A new interactive experience titled, True Freedom is Sparked by Campfires will be one of the highlights for visitors attending the Freedom Center on Monday’s free day event. As part of its Civil War commemoration, the Freedom Center has created a Civil War encampment experience to give young and old alike the opportunity to see, hear, and feel what life was like as a Civil War soldier from recruitment to camp life.

Visitors will have the opportunity to “enlist” at the recruitment station by answering a series of questions, and their answers may determine if they think they are willing to serve. There will be a drilling exercise to make sure the new recruits can march and carry the tools of the trade of the new soldier. Sit around the tent at the encampment and dine on hard tack and try on the uniforms to make sure they fit properly. And, hear stories from a member of the United States Colored Troops as he shares what life has been like for him before and after enslavement.

True Freedom is Sparked by Campfires will be sure to excite all ages, and the fascinating stories of the USCT will tug at each and every emotion. This immersive experience is just one of several new interactive experiences at the Freedom Center, and visitors will have the perfect opportunity to engage in the Civil War encampment experience on Monday January 16, when the Freedom Center is free in honor of the Martin Luther King Day holiday.

Free admission is courtesy of PNC.

There is a spark within each of us, Fan the Flame