February 28, 2010 in Black History

Phillis Wheatley was the first African American, the first slave, and the third woman in the United States to publish a book of poems.

Kidnapped in West Africa and transported aboard the slave ship Phillis to Boston in 1761, she was purchased by John Wheatley as a servant for his wife. Young Phillis quickly learned to speak English and to read the Bible with amazing fluency.

Because of her poor health, obvious intelligence, and Susannah Wheatley's fondness for her, Phillis was never trained as a domestic; instead she was encouraged by the Wheatleys to study theology and the English, Latin and Greek classics. She published her first poem in 1767, and six years later, she published a book, Poems on Various Subjects. That same year, John Wheatley emancipated her.

On Virtue-
O Thou bright jewel in my aim I strive
To comprehend thee. Thine own words declare
Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach.
I cease to wonder, and no more attempt
Thine height t' explore, or fathom thy profound.
But, O my soul, sink not into despair,
Virtue is near thee, and with gentle hand
Would now embrace thee, hovers o'er thine head.
Fain would the heav'n-born soul with her converse,
Then seek, then court her for her promis'd bliss.
Auspicious queen, thine heav'nly pinions spread,
And lead celestial Chastity along;
Lo! now her sacred retinue descends,
Array'd in glory from the orbs above.
Attend me, Virtue, thro' my youthful years!
O leave me not to the false joys of time!
But guide my steps to endless life and bliss.
Greatness, or Goodness, say what I shall call thee,
To give me an higher appellation still,
Teach me a better strain, a nobler lay,
O thou, enthron'd with Cherubs in the realms of day-Phillis Wheatley

Phyllis Wheatley was invited to President George Washington's headquarters in Cambridge, MA, on this date in 1776. Wheatley had written a poem in his honor.


The play Porgy and Bess, starring Todd Duncan and Anne Brown, opened on Broadway on this date in 1943.




Edmund Lincoln Anderson died of heart disease on February 28, 1977 at the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles, California. al name, but it was the name that made him famous. For 27 years, Eddie Anderson played “Rochester” on The Jack Benny Program and it made him a star.

But Eddie Anderson’s talent exceeded the funny quips that audiences saw and heard on The Jack Benny Program. He was a multi-talented performer who could also sing, dance and act. In fact, during his career, Anderson had roles in over 70 movies and television programs including three Top 100 Black Classic Movies: “Cabin in the Sky”, “The Green Pastures” and “Gone With the Wind."



With an unforgettable voice and natural talent, it’s no surprise that Eddie “Rochester” Anderson was one of the biggest African-American stars of the 1940s and 1950s.

Tennis sensations, Venus and Serena Williams both won tournaments on this date in 1999, marking the first time in Women's Tennis Association (WTA) history that sisters won a championship final on the same date. Venus won in Oklahoma City, OK, and Serena won in Paris.




1984-Musician and entertainer Michael Jackson wins eight Grammy Awards. His album, "Thriller", broke all sales records to-date, and remains one of the top-grossing albums of all time.


1932-Richard Spikes patented an improved automatic gear shift.




1879-Southern Blacks fled political and economic exploitation in "Exodus of 1879." Exodus continued for several years. One of the major leaders of the Exodus movement was a former slave, Benjamin ("Pap") Singleton.

During the Exodus of 1879, an estimated twenty thousand Afro-Americans migrated from southern states to Kansas. Ever since the Civil War, former slaves had been moving west, particularly to Kansas, where, encouraged by promoters like Benjamin ("Pap") Singleton, a number of black colonies had been established. These early black migrants fared reasonably well.

Then, in 1879, the slow westward stream became a flash flood. Advertising by the railroads and land promoters helped encourage the Exodus, but worsening conditions for blacks in the South played a larger part. With the end of Reconstruction, white supremacists had regained power, causing some to fear that slavery might be reestablished. A sense of impending doom, combined with an idyllic picture of life in the West, evolved into a millenarian vision of Kansas as the new Promised Land. During the spring of 1879, hundreds and then thousands of black families from all over the South joined the Kansas Fever Exodus.

Most of the "Exodusters" managed to reach Kansas, but their huge numbers and relative penury overwhelmed the resources of the various charitable organizations set up to assist them. Few had enough money to start farming; most had to turn to wage labor, and some became destitute. Public attitudes toward them hardened.

By 1880 the Exodus had ended. News of the first Exodusters' problems, the growing efforts by Kansans to discourage further immigration, and the difficulties of winter travel all broke the momentum. Kansas's black population continued to grow, but slowly. In 1880, southern Democrats in Congress produced a committee report blaming the migration on enticement by Republicans and promoters. But it seems clear that, whatever the attractions of the West, the Exodus of 1879 was primarily a desperate reaction to the economic and political repression faced by Afro-Americans in the South.


1871-Second Enforcement Act gave federal officers and courts control of registration and voting in congressional elections. On March 31, 1870 the Enforcement Act of 1870 was approved by Congress. As the first of three enforcement acts, its goal was “to enforce the rights of citizens of the United States to vote in the several States of the Union, and for other purposes.” [1] The first Enforcement Act (1870) and the second (1871) were passed in order to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment. A columnist of the Washington paper elaborates on the amendment’s lack of authority: “everybody knows that in many states the constitutional provision, standing by itself, isn’t worth a straw.” [2] Congress also passed the Second Enforcement Act in February 1871 to ensure justice of voting measures in regards to fair registration and elections. As a result of these two acts and the Ku Klux Act of ’71, many people were brought to trial for illegal acts, but few were convicted. Numerous southern whites and blacks refused to testify in courts because many whites did not agree with the Enforcement Act and blacks were afraid to bear witness against whites. [3] After 1874, the Enforcement Acts basically disintegrated and the amount of hearings significantly decreased. Perhaps it was a result of the Panic of 1873 and “Southern intransigence and Northern apathy.” [4] Even though Congress attempted to enforce equality and justice at the polls, after a while, Southern whites and even blacks grew tired of heavy-handed legislation, and in the end, all were ready for a change in federal governmental policies.


1778-Rhode Island General Assembly in precedent-breaking act authorized the enlistment of slaves.
It is Voted and Resolved, That every able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man-slave in this State may enlist into either of the said two battalions, to serve during the continuance of the present war with Great Britain; That every slave so enlisting shall be entitled to and receive all the bounties, wages and encouragements allowed by the Continental Congress to any soldiers enlisting into this service.

It in further Voted and Resolved, That every slave so enlisting shall, upon his passing muster by Col. Christopher Greene, be immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress, and be absolutely free, as though he had never been incumbered and be incumbered with any kind of servitude or slavery. And in case such slave shall, by sickness or otherwise, be rendered unable to maintain himself, he shall not be chargeable to his master or mistress, but shall be supported at the expense of the State.

And, whereas, slaves have been by the laws deemed the property of their owners, and therefore compensation ought to be made to the owners for the loss of their service,

It is further Voted and Resolved, That there be allowed and paid by this State to the owners, for every such slave so enlisting, a sum according to his worth, at a price not exceeding one hundred and twenty pounds for the most valuable slave, and in proportion for a slave of less value, provided the owner of said slave shall deliver up to the officer who shall enlist him the clothes of the said sum.

And for settling and ascertaining the value of such slaves,

It is further Voted and Resolved, that a committee of five shall be appointed, to wit, one from each county, any three of whom to be a quorum, to examine the slaves who shall be so enlisted, after they shall have passed muster, and to set a price upon each slave, according to his value as aforesaid.