Telegram - Serving Metropolitan Detroit Since 1944

JOSEPHINE BAKER

SMUGGLED MILITARY

SECRETS TO FRENCH

OFFICERS DURING WWII

The famed African-American singer expatriated to France after refusing to continue dealing with racism in the United States. During WWII, she decided to risk her life by helping her adopted country and the rest of the Allied countries by working with the French resistance.

She smuggled intelligence to French allies by hiding them in her sheet music and pinning them to the inside of her dresses.

Although she is famous for her amazing vocals and onstage performances, she also returned to the US to fight racism and segregation in the 1950's and 60's during the Civil Rights Movement.

ALL BLACK ARMY

REGIMENTS FOUGHT FOR THE US EVEN BEFORE

SLAVERY ENDED

The term Buffalo Soldiers was given to the all-black regiments in the United States Army as early as 1866. Native Americans coined this term. Though they often received the worst assignments and were given second-class, discriminatory treatment, they had a lower desertion rate compared to white soldiers.

More than 20 of these "Buffalo Soldiers' were awarded the coveted Medal of Honor for their service. In 2005, the oldest living Buffalo Soldier, Sergeant Mark Matthews, died at the age of 111. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

DID YOU KNOW...an African-American invented the three-way traffic signal?

We can thank Garrett Morgan for our safe roads today. He was a Black man who was granted a patent in 1923 for a traffic control device which included a third warning signal ("yellow").

Prior devices simply had stop and go signals. He invented this device after witnessing a serious accident at an intersection near his home. He later sold the rights to this device to General Electric for the reported amount of $40,000. He also became the first African American to own a car in Cleveland, Ohio.

THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WON AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL IN 1908

John Baxter Taylor, the son of former slaves, was on the gold medal winning 4×400 meters relay at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and was the first African American man to win an Olympic medal.

He may have won another medal, but he protested the disqualification of a fellow University of Pennsylvania athlete and refused to run a secondary final in the 400 meters category. He also graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in veterinary medicine. He died months after winning the Olympic medals from typhoid fever at the age of 26.

AFRICAN AMERICAN

HISTORY FAQ

Who is considered the most influential African American in history?

Martin Luther King, Jr. is considered the most influential African American in United States history. His work toward the non-violent resistance to achieve equal rights for African Americans earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

What is the most crucial event in African American history?

The most crucial event in African American history is the addition of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 13th Amendment was Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, abolishing slavery in the United States.