Herschel Walker Skips His First Debate Saturday

The first major debate for the Republican U.S. Senate race in Georgia was held on Saturday. Herschel Walker was a no-show.

Each of Walker’s top rivals criticized the GOP frontrunner for skipping the event and predicted that his strategy, which involves a regimen of mostly tightly scripted events and private gatherings, would leave him vulnerable against Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Since entering the race last year with Trump’s support, Walker has ignored his rivals and bypassed many large GOP gatherings, even if it meant alienating key activists and officials. He’s also indicated he won’t participate in debates until the general election.

In this instance, Walker cited the Horatio Alger Award ceremony in Washington as a scheduling conflict. The event ended Saturday morning, hours before the evening debate.

Walker has held wide leads in public polls, including an Emerson College/The Hill poll that pegged him near 60%. His opponents contend they have an opening to force him into a runoff, noting earlier polls had Walker hovering around 80%.

[SOURCE: AJC]

NYC Mayor Eric Adams test positive for COVID-19

The following is a statement from Fabien Levy, press secretary to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, on the mayor’s health status on April 20, 2022:

“This morning, Mayor Adams woke up with a raspy voice and, out of an abundance of caution, took a PCR test that has now come back positive.

“At this time, the mayor has no other symptoms, but he is already isolating and will be canceling all public events for the remainder of the week. He is also going to immediately begin taking the anti-viral medications offered for free to New York City residents and encourages all New Yorkers eligible for these medications to take them as well.

“While he is isolating, he will continue to serve New Yorkers by working remotely.”

The African American Book Festival set for April 16 in Richmond, VA

The National Museum of African American History and Culture presents the next page from Our American Story

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is proud to present the next page from Our American Story, an online series for Museum supporters. We offer these stories to honor and celebrate the African American experience, share an immensely rich history and culture, and inspire and sustain our community as we move toward the future together.

The Second Great Awakening, an early 19th-century religious revival in the United States, marked an era of transformation for America and a new path forward for Jarena Lee. Born into a free Black family in Cape May, New Jersey, in 1783, Lee navigated the intense religiosity and social reformation of her time to emerge as the nation’s first African American woman preacher and the first woman to be recognized as an evangelist in the male-dominated African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

Lee’s journey to Christianity began when she moved to Philadelphia as a young adult in 1807. Like many Americans of her time, Lee struggled with changing cultural beliefs on human nature, morality, and the path to salvation. In search of answers, she sought out a personal connection to the gospel and heard the teachings of Bishop Richard Allen, a renowned preacher in Philadelphia. Inspired by his powerful sermons, Lee decided to join the church and get baptized.

But Lee’s journey of faith would be difficult. Lee struggled to find a place for herself and her passion for the gospel within the male-dominated church—a battle that brought on depression and even thoughts of suicide. She also wrestled with the inherent conflict between her spirituality and a desire for “the vanities of this life.”

Despite these challenges, Lee remained determined to go beyond the church and share her faith in Christ with the world, a conviction that she carried back to New Jersey, where she moved with her new husband, Methodist Pastor Joseph Lee, in 1811. While in New Jersey, Lee was able to serve in an African Methodist congregation and nurture her faith—but she still couldn’t practice what she believed was her true calling: preaching.

Seven years into her marriage, Lee became a widow. The grief that followed her husband’s death only strengthened Lee’s conviction to “preach the word of God.” She returned to Philadelphia soon after, determined to advocate for women in the ministry.

Bishop Allen, who by then had founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, initially refused to grant Lee permission to preach because of the church’s ban on female ministers. But Lee, driven by the intensity of her faith, began delivering sermons wherever she could—in open fields, town squares, and her home.

One day, while attending a Sunday worship service at Bishop Allen’s church, Lee heard a guest preacher struggle with the delivery of his sermon. She sprang into action, picking up where he left off, and presented her own testimony. Bishop Allen was so impressed by Lee’s preaching and boldness that he publicly endorsed her. She was soon permitted to preach, and later became the first ordained woman preacher in the AME Church.

Lee’s evangelical career spanned multiple decades and intersected with her advocacy for equal rights and powerful leadership in the abolitionist movement. Lee also was the first African American woman to publish an autobiographical memoir, The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee, a Colored Lady, Giving an Account of Her Call to Preach the Gospel, which was first released in 1836.

“For as unseemly as it may appear now-a-days for a woman to preach,” Lee wrote, “it should be remembered that nothing is impossible with God. And why should it be thought impossible . . . or improper for a woman to preach?”

The relentless persistence of Jarena Lee, who died in 1864, helped break down barriers and pave the way for African American women to enter the ministry. Her achievements were especially remarkable, given that they occurred during a time when women’s contributions were often overlooked, ignored, or forgotten.

Like so many pioneers of her time, Lee’s story is one of resiliency, optimism, and spirituality—values that are deeply rooted throughout African American history and culture. Although Jarena Lee’s history is not widely known, her legacy as the first African American woman preacher represents an important example of women defying social barriers, transcending traditional gender roles, and touching the hearts, minds, and souls of many.

If you’d like to learn more about Jarena Lee’s incredible journey—or if you are interested in exploring other powerful but lesser-known stories in African American history—please visit our online Searchable Museum today. This groundbreaking—and 2022 CIO Award-winning—initiative by the Museum brings innovative, immersive digital experiences and evocative content directly into the homes of supporters like you.

The Museum’s exhibitions and digital collections help connect individuals with a deeper understanding of the African American story by sharing the lives of pioneers like Jarena Lee. Please help the Museum continue this critical work by joining the Museum or making a donation today.

To learn more about Jarena Lee and other influential figures in African American history, please visit our Searchable Museum.

 

Booker T. Washington was first African American to appear on a U.S. stamp

Hi this is George Cook of African American Reports. I have recently started collecting stamps featuring African Americans, and that lead me to see who the first African American on U.S. postsge stamp. I quickly researched and learned that person would be Booker T. Washington.

If interested in buying the stamp, it can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/3jl3BYG

On April 7, 1940, the Post Office Department (POD) issued a stamp honoring African-American educator Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) as part of its Famous Americans Series. The nation's first stamp to honor an African-American, it holds a unique place in American history. Social, economic, and legislative struggles since 1940 have produced deeper understanding and acceptance among racial groups. Today, the United States Postal Service (USPS) regularly honors African-Americans and their widely varied contributions to the nation and the world.

Born a slave in Hale's Ford, Virginia, Washington served as a role model for other struggling African-Americans, and, as founder of Alabama's Tuskegee Normal Industrial School (renamed Tuskegee Institute in 1937), he profoundly influenced the community's self-esteem and self-reliance. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, responding to numerous petitions from African-American supporters, recognized the timeliness of such a stamp and directed that Washington be considered for this important stamp series.

Major Robert Richard Wright, Sr., among others, had aggressively lobbied for a stamp honoring Booker T. Washington since Roosevelt took office in 1933. When Wright read the POD's decision to feature Washington on the 10¢ stamp, announced in 1939, he reflected with gratification, [the stamp] "comes pretty nearly within the limit of seventy-five years of Negro Emancipation.”¹ He objected, however, to its high denomination, preferring to see it as one of the lower-priced, more affordable denominations used by the public daily. He worried that the cost of the 10¢ stamp "will not induce a large first day sale . . . among colored people.”² Echoing Wright's concerns, The Washington Tribune recommended that its readers buy the stamp for special delivery and parcel post mailings. "Let's overlook no chance to use these new stamps which honor our eminent educator,” urged the newspaper's editor in a special issue released on March 23, 1940.

Numerous institutions, all important in the lives of African-Americans, clamored to host the stamp's first day of issue ceremony. The POD selected Tuskegee Institute, founded by Washington in 1881, for this watershed ceremony's location. Guests gathered in the Institute Chapel. Postmaster General James A. Farley attended the ceremony and afterwards, joined by the Tuskegee Club of Montgomery, Alabama, placed a wreath at Washington's tomb. George W. Peterson, an African-American Civil Service employee attached to the POD's Division of Stamps, attended and helped Tuskegee's postmaster, R. H. Harris, prepare the first day covers. Also an African-American, Harris attracted recognition in The Washington Tribune (March 23, 1940) as "one of the few colored postmasters in the United States.” All told, twenty-five extra clerks assisted Harris in preparing the first day covers.

Enthusiasm for the Booker T. Washington stamp and its momentous significance for the African-American population prompted two official second day of issue ceremonies, events unprecedented in philatelic history—one in New York City and the other in Philadelphia. Unable to attend the ceremony at Tuskegee, Major Robert Richard Wright, Sr., attended Philadelphia's ceremony, where he purchased a batch of 1,000 stamps. The press focused attention not only on Washington but also on Major Wright, a prominent African-American man in his own right. Wright, like Washington, had been born a slave. He had carved-out a distinctive niche within the community as an educator and administrator, through military service during the Spanish-American War, and as a banker.

Tuskegee Institute owns the first sheet of Booker T. Washington stamps sold, but it passed through several hands before reaching its final destination. Captain Alvin J. Neely, Tuskegee General Alumni Association's executive secretary, purchased the sheet, autographed by James A. Farley. Neely presented the sheet to Washington's daughter, Portia Washington Pittman, who then gave it to Dr. William J. Schieffelin, Tuskegee's chairman of the board, for preservation. Adding to the memorable event, the Tuskegee Philatelic Club issued covers with a hand-stamped cachet showing a likeness of Washington's graveside monument.

If interested in buying the stamp, it can be purchased here: https://amzn.to/3jl3BYG

[SOURCE: POSTAL MUSEUM]