Page 20 - Lighthouse of Hope Magazine

PRESERVING For several months, Dr. Jeannette C. Holmes-Vann,
founder of Hope Chapel Ministries has provided a venue
for education and discussion of black heritage and its
BLACK impact on the United States and the world.

BRO WILLIAM DESUE

HISTORY QHow have you become more knowledgeable about your
heritage?

A: ”Heritage night has meant a great deal to me. It has

FEBRUARY 2016 opened my eyes with respect to the struggles our an-
cestors had to endure and survive. Knowing our history
makes me more aware of racism we are faced with
today.”
“Philosophers have long con-
ceded that every man has two Q: How has it made a difference in your life?

educations: “that which is given A: I know the history of slavery and Jim Crow and the
to him, and the other which he importance of voting because when you don’t get out
and vote you can’t have a voice in our future.
gives himself”

FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO SERVE IN THE
UNITED STATES CONGRESS AND THE SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN TO
RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 1972.

Shirley Chisholm was a pioneering African-American politician, who became
the first Black woman to serve in the United States Congress. Chisholm was
also the first African American woman to run for president, in 1972. She ran
for Presidency with the slogan, “Unbought and Unbossed.” Chisholm, who
died in 2005, received a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, in No-
vember 2015.

FATHER OF THE UNDERGROUND
WILLIAM STILL RAILROAD

William Still was an African-American abolitionist, conductor on the
Underground Railroad, writer, historian and civil rights activist. As
chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery
Society, he directly aided fugitives and kept records of their lives, to
help families reunite after the Maafa (slavery) was abolished. After the
American Civil War, he published his diary as The Underground Railroad
Records, in 1872. Still was also one of the most successful Black business-
men in the history of the City of Philadelphia.

INVENTOR OF THE SUPER SOAKER LONNIE JOHNSON

Lonnie George Johnson is an African American inventor and engineer
who holds more than 80 patents. Johnson is best known for inventing
the Super Soaker water gun, which has ranked among the world’s top
20 best-selling toys every year since its release.

20 LOH Magazine / February 2016