Phillis Wheatley: First African American woman to publish a book of poetry

Phillis Wheatley, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c. 1753 – December 5, 1784) was the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry.

Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America. She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.

On a 1773 trip to London with her master's son, seeking publication of her work, she was aided in meeting prominent people who became patrons. The publication in London of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral on September 1, 1773, brought her fame both in England and the American colonies.

Critics consider her work fundamental to the genre of African-American literature,and she is honored as the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry and the first to make a living from her writing.

Miami-Dade Commissioners Rename Highway After Harriet Tubman

Miami-Dade commissioners unanimously approved renaming the county’s “Dixie” highways after Harriet Tubman, replacing a name branded as celebrating a racist legacy with the name of a legendary liberator of Americans subjected to slavery.

The resolution by Commissioner Dennis Moss officially creates Harriet Tubman Highway out of stretches of road currently named Old Dixie Highway in South Dade and West Dixie Highway in Northeast Dade.

“Harriet Tubman is the antithesis of what Dixie, Jim Crow and in human institution of slavery stood for,” said Moss.

The vote follows complaints from numerous Black southern Floridians who believe the name represents racism and slavery.

It’s not known how long it will take county road crews to make the name-change official by switching out the Dixie Highway signs with new signs bearing Harriet Tubman’s name.

Tubman is history’s most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses and hideaways used to ferry enslaved Americans away from slave-holding states and to freedom. Many routes went north to Canada, but the coast of present-day Miami-Dade was also an embarkation point to freedom in the Bahamas.

BET Announces Social Impact Campaign #ReclaimYourVote

Los Angeles, CA – February 20, 2020 – Today, at META:2020, BET Networks announced #ReclaimYourVote, a social change campaign in partnership with the National Urban League and key national organizations committed to harnessing Black collective power and increasing Black participation in the 2020 Census and the 2020 Election.

The nationwide #ReclaimYourVote campaign will layout the most significant issues, break down otherwise confusing processes, and highlight specific ways where we can reclaim our collective power by harnessing the power of media, entertainment, and technology to drive civic engagement. #ReclaimYourVote will leverage this opportunity through community activation's, television spots, compelling print, social and digital media platforms and urge the Black community to be counted in the census and to take a stand and vote.

“The 2020 Census and presidential election are pivotal moments for our communities that will produce lasting effects for generations to come, so we’re tackling the critical issues of voting rights and voting suppression head on with #ReclaimYourVote,” said Scott Mills, President, BET Networks. “At BET, we take this mission very seriously because we’re uniquely positioned to mobilize our partners across media, entertainment and technology to drive civic engagement outcomes for the black community like no other brand can.”

“Our nation’s pursuit of liberty, justice and economic empowerment for all hinges largely on the right to determine who will govern us and how. But the right of African Americans to vote—our right to participate in the civic processes of this nation— quite simply, is under attack,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said, referring to findings analyzed in the 2019 State of Black America® report. “Campaigns such as #ReclaimYourVote are essential to harness our collective power and protect our fundamental right to vote.”

The year-long non-partisan campaign was revealed during the network’s day-long social impact conference ‘META: 2020’ in Los Angeles. META is designed to explore how the most influential people and platforms across these sectors can work together to impact outcomes for the Black community, with a 2020 focus on driving civic engagement ahead of 2020 elections. The convening featured special guest speakers including Senator Kamala D. Harris, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Angela Rye, Andrew Gillum, Elaine Welteroth, actress Skai Jackson, and many leaders within the social activism space including NAACP President Derrick Johnson, NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill, Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change and many more.

The next phases of #ReclaimYourVote will focus on rallying the community around the critical matters that directly affect them with issues-based content and comprehensive analysis.

“Right now, our participation doesn’t match our power. Our goal with #ReclaimYourVote is to build on the long history of work from our national and local organizations to mobilize our community—especially our young voters and African men because their power combined with the proven strength of black women is our true superpower,” said Jeanine Liburd, Chief Social Impact and Communications Officer, BET Networks. “We couldn’t be more excited to launch this campaign with Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris, a perfect partner who shares our commitment to amplifying our collective voices.”

Stacy Childs is missing!

Pittsburgh police are searching for a missing woman.

Stacy Childs, 55, has been missing since last February. She is 5 feet 3 inches tall, 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

Police said Childs’s family describes her as a “free spirit” who frequents Homewood, Wilkinsburg and Rankin. They are concerned for her health and safety.

Information on her location can be reported to police at 412-323-7141.

Pete Buttigieg touts African-American endorsements that do not exist

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has an endorsement problem.

More specifically, the 2020 Democratic primary candidate keeps padding the list of African-Americans who supposedly support his candidacy to include anyone who so much as comes within striking distance of the former mayor.

On Saturday, a South Carolina newspaper published an opinion article by Buttigieg wherein he claimed his “campaign has proudly partnered with” black-owned businesses in the state, including Diane’s Kitchen in the town of Chester and Atlantis Restaurant in Moncks Corner.

As it turns out, though, the proprietors of those establishments have no idea what the former mayor is talking about.

"I stand for what I stand for and I didn't say I had a partnership," the owner of Diane's Kitchen, Diane Cole, told ABC News.

Cole said she explicitly told Buttigieg representatives prior to the publication of the op-ed that she did not agree to any partnership with him or his campaign. Cole said she never even spoke to Buttigieg when members of his team met privately in her restaurant for a lunch that cost no more than $90. After ABC News contacted her, she received a series of emails from the Buttigieg campaign, one of which misspelled her name, asking her to agree to a position that would match the language of the op-ed. In the end, both parties settled on a statement that reads, “Diane's Kitchen greatly appreciates Pete Buttigieg and his campaign for visiting and supporting my business. We are thankful for their willingness to choose Black owned businesses here in Chester, South Carolina."

Atlantis restaurant owner Wendell Varner said similarly that he never agreed to any sort of “partnership” with the Buttigieg campaign.

"It's a little disheartening to say that – that they would say that we have a partnership with them when we don't," Varner said. "We actually don't support any presidential candidate and we try to stay out of politics as a business entity."

If it were just these two shop owners, this would not be much of a story. Maybe there were genuine misunderstandings between Cole and Varner and Buttigieg’s team. But the fact that the former mayor’s campaign keeps touting non-existent “partnerships,” all while he struggles to attract support from minority voters, gives the distinct impression that his campaign is intentionally misleading voters about the true status of his support in the black community.

Read more: Pete Buttigieg touts African-American endorsements that do not exist