Black History February 20th, 2010

Frederick Douglass, c.1879.
Born c. 1818
Talbot County, Maryland, United States
Died: February 20, 1895 (aged about 78)
Washington, D.C., United States
Occupation: Abolitionist, author, editor, diplomat
Spouse(s): Anna Murray (c. 1839)
Helen Pitts: (1884)
Children:
Charles Remond Douglass
Rosetta Douglass
Lewis Henry Douglass
Frederick Douglass Jr.
Annie Douglass (died at 10)
Parents: Harriet Bailey and perhaps Aaron Anthony


Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, circa 1818 – February 20, 1895) was born into slavery and is best known for his role in bringing the harsh realities of slavery to the attention of white Americans, at the same time being a living example of the fallacy of claims that black Americans were intellectually inferior to whites. He was an American abolitionist, women's suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Called "The Sage of Anacostia" and "The Lion of Anacostia", Douglass is one of the most prominent figures in African American and United States history.

He was a firm believer in the equality of all people, whether black, female, Native American, or recent immigrant. He was fond of saying, "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."




The North Carolina General Assembly incorporated the town of Princeville, NC, on this date in 1885. Princeville is the oldest Black incorporated town in the United States.






Sidney Poitier, actor and "Academy Award" winner for his performance in Lilies of the Field, was born in Miami, FL, on this date in 1924.











Nancy Wilson, pop and jazz singer, was born in Chillicothe, OH, on this date in 1937.


















Jean Baptist Pointe Du Sable, trader, fur trapper, and founder of Chicago, IL, was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp on this date in 1987.





1869 - Tennessee Governor W.C. Brownlow declares martial law
Tennessee Governor W.C. Brownlow declared martial law in nine countries in Ku Klux Klan crisis.The Klan had become so treaturous after the Civil War that the Governor W.C. Brownlow had to attempt to control the state and restore some resemblance to peace. The Governor was a turn coat and was encouraging universal voting rights a sentiment that was not embraced in the state where the Klan was founded.