The Week in History, Feb. 23rd – 29th.

W. E. B. Du Bois¹

“The function of the university is not simply to teach breadwinning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to be a centre of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.”
― W. E. B. Dubois²

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois³ was born 152 years ago this week. He was an author, editor, historian and civil rights activist and co-founder of the NAACP.

To learn more about W.E.B. Du Bois, check out, The autobiography of W.E.B. DuBois : a soliloquy on viewing my life from the last decade of its first century which can be found in the Clark College Library at E185.97.D73 A3

“The entire race is usually judged by the actions of one man or woman.”

–Hattie McDaniel⁴

This week in 1940 the twelfth annual Academy Awards presented the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress to Hattie McDaniel for her work in the motion picture Gone with the Wind. She was the first actor of color to win the Academy Award. Afterwards she and her white talent agent were relegated to sitting at the back of the room as the hotel “had a strict no-blacks policy, but allowed McDaniel in as a favor.”⁶

McDaniel was a talented singer, radio star and actor who worked hard for her achievements. She knew her win was about more than just her achievement and that it was a start towards a better future for all of us. Learn more about Hattie McDaniel, her accomplishments and struggles at the Hollywood Reporter.⁷

Find out more about McDaniel by checking out the online book, Hattie: the life of Hattie McDaniel by Carlton Jackson, 1933-2014 from the Clark Library.

“I find that the prejudice in this country to color is very great, and I sometimes fear that it is on the increase.”

“I hold that establishing mixed schools will not harm the white race.”
— Hiram Rhodes Revels⁸

It was 150 years ago this week that Hiram Rhodes Revels⁹ became the first African American to be seated in the US Senate.

Senator Revels was a minister and college president known for his sense of justice and promotion of racial amicability. He has been considered one of the 100 Greatest African Americans.¹¹

Opponents to his serving in the Senate, argued that Senator Revels, although he had been born and lived in the US all of his life, did not meet the Senate requirement of nine years of US citizenship as the 14th Amendment granting his citizenship had only been passed two years prior.¹²

Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007,  has more information about Senator Revels.  It can be found in the Reference section of the Clark College’s Cannell Library at E185.96 .B526 2008

¹ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Du_Bois,_W._E._B..jpg
² https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/10710.W_E_B_Du_Bois
³ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois
⁴ https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/hattie-mcdaniel-quotes
⁵ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Studio_publicity_Hattie_McDaniel.jpg
⁶ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattie_McDaniel
⁷ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/oscars-first-black-winner-accepted-774335
⁸ https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/hiram-rhodes-revels-quotes
⁹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_Rhodes_Revels
¹⁰ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Senator_H._R._Revels_(Boston_Public_Library).jpg
¹¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Greatest_African_Americans
¹² https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/hiram-revels-elected/