African American Heritage Society

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. was born December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. His parents were named Lennis Lynne who owned a beauty parlor and his father was named Denzel Sr. who was a Pentecostal preacher. They divorced when he was 14. His mother sent him to a private school called Oakland Military Academy in New York. After the military academy he went to Fordham University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Drama and Journalism. In college his GPA got to 1.5. He was on Academic Probation and he thought about dropping out. After going home to his mom’s beauty parlor. A woman looked at him and said your going to be great. At the time he didn’t believe that statement though. He decided to pursue an acting career and has been acting since 1975. Denzel met his future wife on the set of Wilma and they now have 4 children together. In 1994 he was voted sexiest man alive making him the first person of color voted to that title. In 1995 he donated 2.5 million dollars to the new West Angeles Church of God in Christ. To this day he still believes maybe he should have been a preacher like his dad. Since starting his acting career his most notable for his character roles as Civil Rights Activist leader “Malcolm X” and Coach Boone from “Remembering the Titans”. He now has 3 Golden Globes. In 2016 he was awarded the Cecile B. Demille Lifetime Achievement award. The same year he directed the critically acclaimed movie Fences. He is also the director of the “Great Debaters” He is not one of the best black actors, he is one of the best actor’s period. When he takes on a role you can feel him embody that role like Frank Lucas in “American Gangster” On average he makes a whopping 60- 80 million dollars a year. His net worth is $220 million dollar. Fordham University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate degree. Over the years he has been quite the philanthropist and because of his generosity there is now a school named after him. He donated $2,250,000 part of that money was to start a scholarship for drama. Unlike many actors he doesn’t seem to get into trouble and be in the magazines for cheating or what have you. He is just a good role model.

Jesse Jackson is a civil rights activist who worked under Martin Luther King Jr. His life wasn’t always the best. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was born October 8, 1941 to Helen Burns a 16-year-old girl and his father was a professional boxer named Noah Luis Robinson. Jesse’s father was 33 years old and was already married with other children. The children in his neighborhood would make fun of him because he was a child out of wedlock. After his birth his mother married a post man named Charles Henry Jackson who adopted Jackson. As a kid still under Jim Crow laws on more than one occasion was told about the colored fountains and he belongs in the back of the bus. This ignited his fire for change. When he graduated high school in 1959 a minor league coach wanted to recruit him, but he turned him down. He opted instead to attend the University of Illinois to play football, but he eventually transferred to North Carolina A&T. In December of 1962 he married his wife Jacqueline. They have five children together. However, Jesse Jackson had an affair with one of staff members and had one child. In 1965 he participated in the walk on Selma. In 1971 he founded the People United to Serve Humanity. He went to Syria to reals the captured navy Lt. Robert Goodman. In 1991 Mr. Jackson went to Iraq to plead with Saddam Hussein for the reals of the captives. Jesse Jackson ran for president twice. In 2002 Jesse Jackson was included on the top 100 Greatest African Americans. Last year Mr. Jackson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He is currently 76 years old well for two more days.

John Lewis has a seat in Congress. He is a Democrat serving in the House of Representatives in the State of Georgia. A lot of people know him because of his seat in Congress however his life is way more than that. He was born February 21, 1940 in Troy, Alabama. His parents were sharecroppers. He himself helped his parents on the farm. When he was a young child he went to get a library book when the librarian said the libraries are for whites only. His family supported the “Montgomery Bus Boycott” He met Rosa Parks in 1957. When he was 18 he wrote a letter for the injustices he faced in Alabama to a man named Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King read his letter and sent him a bus ticket to meet him. Once he met Martin he became one of the six Civil Rights Leader. He helped organized the legendary “March on Washington”. He spoke before Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream Speech” During one of the Freedom Rides his bus was attacked by the Ku Klux Klan in Montgomery where he was beaten along with the others. He fought to get black people the chance to vote in Selma, Alabama. He is the last of the Civil Rights Leader left. He was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom which is the highest honor given to any civilian. On top of that he has been given a plethora of honorary degrees. He is currently 78 years old. He in my opinion is the definition of the American Dream. He was born poor then rose to prominence in his youth and helped start a movement to revolutionize the way black people are treated today. He is the very definition of the American Dream. Mr Lewis took action when many others sat back because they were terrified for their lives. Not him though we need more people like Mr. John Lewis. Thank You Sir!

Have you ever wanted to find out where you come from? Maybe theirs a certain relative you want to find out more about. Perhaps you have done a lot of research but have hit a brick wall on a certain relative.Then come and we can help you with your family research. Tea & Genealogy is every Saturday from 2-4.

Who is the "King of Calypso"? None other than great Harry Belefonte. Harold George Bellanfanti Jr was born March 1, 1927. He was born in New York City. Harry started singing in night clubs in 1949 and was discovered by 1956. He is best known for the Banana Boat song and the Ballad of John Henry.Some of his songs ere in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. He was an early advocate for the Civil rights and one of Martin Luther King Jr's confidants. He has won a total of three Grammy Awards which includes the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014 Berkeley College awarded him an Honorary Doctorate.To this day he continues advocating and speaking out on political issues. He is currently 91 years young.

With a somber heart the African American Heritage Society is heart broken to say that the great Mrs Aretha Franklin has passed. This legendary woman who dominated the musical charts in the late sixties and up until her death.Some of her classics such as "Respect" and a "Natural Woman" are still sung today by millions of people. She received 18 Grammy Awards and over 26 Grammy Nominations over her long illustrious career. She performed at the 2009 inauguration welcoming Barack Obama as the First black President. Aretha Franklin had suffered from pancreatic cancer and died in her home last week at the age of 76 years old surrounded by family. Her funeral will be held in Detroit on August 31,2018.Former President Bill Clinton is set to speak as well as Smokey Robinson.Their will be a tribute concert the day before honoring her. Stevie Wonder and Fantasia is just some of the talent who will be performing for her tribute. Aretha Louise Franklin will be forever missed

A huge thank you to Caress Hudson for supplying these custom made desserts for our open house! We look forward to booking you for our next event!

Special Item: African American Heritage Society! Just for you! This Saturday as welcome in the community we pray for amazing things!

OPEN HOUSE TOMORROW FROM 10AM-4PM!

Historic Pensacola Village
OPEN HOUSE!
Saturday June 2 10a-4p
Visit us at 200 E Church St.

Due to inclement weather and the holiday weekend the AAHS office will be closed this Saturday May 26. We will reopen Tuesday as scheduled at 10 am. Tea and Geneaology will also resume in 2 weeks, Saturday June 9th.

Happy Birthday to our shining black prince, Malcolm X, a revolutionary mind who advocated for freedom for his people at home and oppressed people abroad. We continue your work in your memory Brother Malcolm ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

Support local artists at this celebration of culture !!!

Don't forget to come out to Tea and Genealogy today at 2 PM! Come hear from a local genealogist and learn more about researching your family's heritage!

Our children’s book drive was so successful we’ve decided to keep it running with books for both our Heritage Library. A special thank you for our first donations from Nora Wilcox!

To contribute to the book drive see the link below:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1OBME14H7STKJ?type=wishlist

Keep an eye on your inboxes for this month's edition of our monthly newsletter, THE TRIBE! If you aren't already signed up, hit the sign up button on the homepage to get the newsletter and updates about events and history straight to your inbox each month! See a small preview below ⬇️

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Don't forget, we're still collecting adult books and items for our library all this month! We saw so much success with our children's book drive we would love to keep it going. If you want to contribute and don't know how, select something from our Amazon Wish List (link below) to have it sent directly to us. Or mail items directly to 200 Church Street, Pensacola, FL 32502

https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1OBME14H7STKJ/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1

amazon.com

DON'T FORGET! We will be having a Black Female Icons in History presentation TOMORROW at the Coulson House. Join us as we close out Women's History Month with a celebration of important African American women.

Stay up to date with monthly events and goings on! Here is our March edition of The Tribe, our monthly newsletter. You can sign up to receive it straight to your inbox below:

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Heritage Library Coming Soon! Stay tuned!

FAMU Recruiting Event this Friday at Booker T. Washington HS!

If you or an artist you know would like to be featured in next month's newsletter, send artwork and artist information to [email protected]. We are working to keep a directory of local Pensacola artists to celebrate, add your name and art to the list!

We had a great time last night hosting our Heritage Leaders Poetry Social! We heard from a lot of great performers had great conversation. Be sure to check out future events and stop by and see us at the Coulson House in downtown Pensacola!

Heritage Leaders Poetry Social Friday Night at the Coulson House! Come out and share or just enjoy the art!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1599007973481400/

DON'T FORGET! Our Heritage Leaders Poetry Social is this Friday at 6 PM! Open to all ages. Come join us at the Coulson House for this open mic event, share a piece or just enjoy the performances.

We've received THIRTY-ONE books thanks to contributions via our Heritage Book Drive! These books greatly bolster our new children's section at the Coulson House!

Be sure to come out and visit us at 200 Church Street in downtown Pensacola!

Our first batch of books came in this week! Thank you to all those who have contributed so far! We are so appreciative.

If you want to purchase+donate a book to our growing children's section see the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1OBME14H7STKJ?type=wishlist

Upcoming events for ! Be sure to participate in our children's book drive (link below), show up to our FIRST EVER AAHS Poetry Night and support our AAHS Readers Ensemble at the Naval Base. Hope to see everybody this month!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1OBME14H7STKJ/ref=cm_wl_huc_title

For updates on upcoming events and other information, sign up for our monthly newsletter, The Tribe, on our homepage.

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To kick off Black History Month, the AAHS is running a children's book drive for our new children's section at the Coulson House. We have a handful of books, posters and coloring books for the children, but we would love to really strengthen our library for the kids. Any donations would be appreciated!

Click the link below to purchase and donate a book this month!
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1OBME14H7STKJ?type=wishlist

amazon.com

"If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated"
-Carter G. Woodson, who began Negro History Week, that would later evolve into Black History Month.

Music and stories from local experts, including readings from When Black Folks Was Colored.
Friday, February 2, 5:00pm
at Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site
5709 Mill Pond Lane Milton, FL 32383
Contact Adrianne Walker at [email protected] or (850) 626-3084 for questions

Don't forget! Hope to see you tomorrow!

Tea and Genealogy informational meeting coming up next Saturday! Come out and get insight on researching YOUR family history!

Come check out the Coulson House! Beyond our community programs and literature, we have a variety of activities for visitors.
Coming in 2018 a black history centered library and a children's section with black-centric kids books, coloring sheets and important black figures!
If you haven't been before, 2018 is the year you'll want to visit!
We're open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm.