1806
Benjamin Banneker died on this date at the age of 74 in Ellicott Mills, Maryland. Banneker was a self-taught mathematician and builder (at age 21) of the first striking clock built in the United States.  An amateur astronomer, Banneker’s calculations for solar and lunar eclipses appeared in 29 editions of his almanacs, published from 1792 to 1797.


1859
Frederick Douglass fled to Canada to avoid being arrested as an accomplice in John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. For Douglass, the 1850s were spent in publishing, speaking, and working with fellow abolitionists, including John Brown. The friendship of Frederick Douglass and John Brown began in 1848, when Douglass visited Brown’s home in Springfield, Massachusetts. Brown confided to Douglass his ambitious scheme to free the slaves. Over the next eleven years, Brown sought Douglass’s counsel and support. Douglass, though friendly with Brown, opposed his violent approach, and believed that his attack on the federal armory in Harper’s Ferry, WV would cause a negative reaction among many people who might otherwise support the cause of abolition. In August 1859 Brown made a final plea to Douglass to join the raid on Harpers Ferry. Douglass refused. Brown’s raid failed, and he was caught, tried, convicted, and hung. Douglass mourned him as “being one greater than himself: he was willing to live to free the slaves, but Brown was willing to give his life.” Douglass, who had corresponded with and visited with Brown, was sought as a co-conspirator. In order to avoid capture by federal forces, he fled to Canada and, shortly thereafter, to England, where he had planned to make another speaking tour. In 1860 his 11-year-old daughter Annie died, and he returned to the United States and was exonerated. In a lecture, Douglass wrote a tribute to “a hero and martyr in the cause of liberty.”


1892
On this date, Irene M. Gaines was born. She was an African-American civil rights reformer devoted to her race, especially its women and young people.

Irene McCoy was from Ocala, Florida, her older sister died while she was a child, as an infant she was taken to Chicago and raised by her mother after a family divorce. McCoy graduated from Wendell Phillips H. S., and attended Fisk Normal School from 1905-1910. In 1914, she married Harris B. Gaines and they had two sons. Through her own experiences and those of others (particularly in the juvenile court system), she understood the needs and problems of Blacks in America. Gaines joined the War Camp Community Service during World War I and became the secretary of the first African-American branch of the YWCA in Chicago in 1920.

She also worked in the welfare department for Cook County from 1930 to 1945, and served as president of the Chicago Council of Negro Organizations (CCNO) from 1939 to 1953. Gaines saw the need for change through legislation. She was the first Black woman to run for a state legislature seat and was (in 1950) the first Black woman to run for the county commissioner’s office. Though she lost both elections, she gained much credibility. She received many awards for her efforts over the years including the George Washington Honor Medal in 1958 and the Fisk University Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1959.

Irene McCoy Gaines died in Chicago on April 7, 1964.


1892
L.F. Brown patents the horse bridle bit. Patent #484,994.


1900
The Transvaal in South Africa was annexed by the British. Transvaal is a geographic term associated with land north of (i.e., beyond) the Vaal River in modern day South Africa. Multiple states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.


1901
Louis L. Redding was born on this date. He was an African-American lawyer and activist.

From Alexandria, Virginia, Louis Lorenzo Redding grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and graduated from Howard High School in 1919. Lawyer Redding, as he was affectionately called, continued his education and graduated from both Brown University in 1923 and Harvard Law School in 1928. In 1929, Redding became the first Black lawyer in Delaware. He was a respected civil rights pioneer for Delaware and America.

In 1950, The University of Delaware became the first undergraduate school in the country desegregated by court order. The nine Black students who wanted to attend the all-white university went to Redding; he won the case. He also presented legal arguments that provided for the desegregation of schools in Claymont and Hockessin in 1952. In 1954, Mr. Redding assisted Thurgood Marshall, legal counsel for the NAACP, in the Brown vs. Education case, which struck down the “separate but equal” system of public school segregation across the country. These are but a small portion of the many great deeds that Lawyer Redding accomplished in his lifetime.

He fought to open schools and housing for minorities. Our school is very proud to be named after such a great man. “What we were doing was not addressed to the purpose of singularly changing lives. We were trying to change the status and experience of a minority of Americans that happened to be Black. We were not trying to change our lives; we were trying to change the opportunities of American citizens.” Louis L. Redding died on September 28, 1998. In 2000, the University of Delaware established the Louis L. Redding Chair in their School of Education.


1913
The birth of Bill Spiller is remembered on this date. He was an African-American golfer.

From Tishomingo, Oklahoma, Spiller moved to Tulsa as a nine-year-old to live with his father and quickly learned the drawbacks of being Black in America. One day, he went to a store to return some merchandise he had bought. A white sales clerk slapped Bill for what he claimed was impudence. It so angered Bill that he raced home, got a gun, strapped it on and wore it until his sophomore year at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. Spiller wore his indignation about race on his sleeve. He was also an excellent athlete, a two-sport star in high school.

However, golf was not one of them. He didn’t take up the game in earnest until he was almost 30, but quickly became one of the top black players in Southern California, where he had moved to live with his mother after earning enough college credits to obtain a teaching certificate in the state of Texas. He pieced together a game based on the swings of his favorite PGA Tour stars. By the mid-1940s, Spiller had won several Black amateur tournaments in Southern California and felt ready for bigger challenges. He played against the best African-American players in the Joe Louis Invitational at Rackham GC in Detroit and the nation’s best pros in the Los Angeles Open and Tam O’Shanter in Chicago, two PGA Tour events open to Blacks.

He befriended several white players, including Lawson Little, and Jimmy Demaret who helped convince CC president George S. May to invite Black players to his tournament. In 1947, Spiller turned pro and toured the UGA with Louis, among others. The competition forced him to take a reality check. One day Spiller hustled Louis out of $7,000 in a showdown that started at dawn and didn’t conclude until it was too dark for the pair to see each other. He bought a small house with his winnings. Peace of mind, however, would prove more expensive and elusive. Spiller desperately sought to earn a living playing golf professionally and that meant eschewing the paltry purses of the Black golf tour for the more lucrative PGA circuit.

Only one thing stood in his way; the PGA’s exclusionary Caucasian-only clause. Spiller shot a 68 to tie Ben Hogan for second place after the first round of the Los Angeles Open at the Riviera Country Club in 1948. Although he faltered and eventually finished 20 shots behind the victorious Hogan, Spiller finished in the top 60, making him eligible for the next PGA tournament, the Richmond Open outside Oakland. However, when he showed up to play, PGA Tour official George Schneiter enforced the Caucasian-only clause and turned them away. It wasn’t until four years later that Spiller and his fellow outcasts, led by Louis, were able to deliver the first effective blow to the PGA and its policy.

It came at the San Diego Open, where tour officials refused entry to Spiller and another African-American pro named Eural Clark. Louis was allowed to play after the PGA was the subject of several critical reports by Walter Winchell in a national radio broadcast that exposed the tour’s racial bias even toward a war veteran. Louis’ tenacity forced a vote later that week by the PGA Tournament Committee that resulted in a rule change. Essentially, African-Americans could not be kept out of a tournament if they received one of the 10 sponsor exemptions or earned one of 10 spots in the field through open qualifying. However, the association refused to budge on the matter of allowing them to hold PGA Tour membership. Spiller’s lack of success in the PGA Tour events in which he was allowed to compete (his best finish was a 14th place at the Labatt Open in Canada) forced him to turn to other means of supporting his family. He hustled golf lessons and caddied at Hillcrest Country Club. That hurt him collectively more than anything else.

Later in life, when confined to a convalescent home after suffering two strokes and being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Spiller would clutch the faded newspaper clippings detailing his protests in the clubhouses and exploits on the course. Bill Spiller died in 1988.


1915
Attorney James L. Curtis was named minister to Liberia.


1925
Emmett W. Chappelle, biochemist, was born on this date in Phoenix, AZ. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1950 form the University of California. From 1950-1953 Mr. Chappelle was appointed an Instructor in Biochemistry at the Meharry Medical College. In 1954 Chappelle received a Master of Science from the University of Washington. Between 1955 and 1958 Chappelle served as a Research Associate at Stanford University. Later, Emmett Chappelle was appointed Scientist and Biochemist for the Research Institute of Advanced Studies at Stanford University, from 1958-1963. Between 1963 and 1966 he worked as a Biochemist for Hazelton Laboratories, then as Exobiologist (1966-1970) and Astrochemist (1970-1973). Chappelle served as a Biochemist for the division of Research Center for Space Exploration. Beginning in 1977, he began working with Goddard Space Flight Center as a Remote Sensing Scientist.Chappelle is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society of Photobiology, the American Society of Microbiology, and the American Society of Black Chemists.

Among Chappelle’s discoveries was a method (developed with Grace Picciolo) of instantly detecting bacteria in water, which led to improved diagnoses of urinary tract infections. Chappelle recently was a 2007 National Inventor’s Hall of Fame Inductee. Throughout his career, Emmett Chappelle has continued to mentor talented minority high school and college students in his laboratories.


1926
Crisis magazine, led by Editor W.E.B. DuBois, awarded its first prizes in literature and art. Among the winners were Arna Bontemps’ poem “Nocturne at Bethesda,” Countee Cullen’s poem “Thoughts in a Zoo,” Aaron Douglas’ painting “African Chief” and a portrait by Hale Woodruff.


1940
The Committee on the Participation of Negroes in the National Defense Program met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.


1940
The National Newspaper Publishers Association was founded.


1940
The Spingarn Medal was presented to Dr. Louis T. Wright for his civil rights leadership and his contributions as a surgeon.


1940
Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr., commanding officer of Harlem’s 369^th Coast Artillery (National Guard), was promoted to Brigadier General, becoming the first African American to attain that rank in the United States Army or any other branch of the Armed Forces when he commanded a brigade artillery unit at Ft. Riley, KS. Davis was born on July 1, 1877, in Washington, DC and attended the Washington public schools and Howard University. His career began in 1898, shortly after his graduation from Howard University when was commissioned as a first lieutenant in 1898 after he volunteered to serve in the Spanish American War. During World War II he was a special advisor and coordinator to the theatre commander, European Theatre of Operations. After 50 years of outstanding service to his country, Brigadier General Davis, Sr. retired in 1948. He could count among his military decorations, medals that included World War I and World War II service medals (the Bronze Star and the French Medal), the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star medal, the French Croix de Guerre with Palm from France, medals for service in the Philippines, the Spanish-American War, and along the Mexican Border. Davis died of leukemia on November 26, 1970, at the age of 93 in North Chicago, IL.


1958
In September 1958, Daisy Bates, Ralph Bunche, Martin Luther King, Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Jackie Robinson, and Roy Wilkins launched the Youth March for Integrated Schools. On this date, twelve thousand young people poured into Washington, D.C. and marched down Constitution Avenue to the Lincoln Memorial where they pledged to return in 1959 bearing petitions to the President and Congress urging the speedy integration of schools. The petition call to youth asked that “wherever you may be…come to Washington on April 18, 1959, and join your presence and your voice in a mighty affirmation of equal rights and equal education.”


1958
Daisy Bates, head of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP, and the nine students (The Little Rock Nine) who integrated Little Rock’s Central High School are awarded the Spingarn Medal for their courage and leadership in the civil rights struggle.


1962
Uganda was admitted as the 110^th member of the United Nations.


1962
During the 1940s and 1950s in different parts of Canada, the federal, provincial and municipal governments were working together to take communities labeled slums and relocate the people to better housing. The intent was to use the land for business and industry. Many years earlier, and again in 1947, after a major fire burned several Africville houses, a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin, in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, the topic of relocation of Africville had been discussed. Concrete plans of relocation did not officially emerge until 1961. Stimulated by the Stephenson Report of 1957 and the creation of the City’s Department of Development in 1961, the topic of relocation finally became a reality. On this date, the Halifax City Council adopted the relocation proposal unanimously, and the Rose Report, published in 1964, was passed 37/41 in favor of relocation. The Rose report finalized everything. It promised free lawyers and social workers, job training, employment assistance, education services, etc. The report never went into details or analyzed what the lives of residents would be like in their new homes, but was insistent that their best interests were at heart.

The actual relocation took place mainly between 1964 and 1967. The residents were assisted in their move by Halifax literally moving the Africvillians with the city dump trucks. This image forever stuck in the minds and hearts of people and clearly indicated the degrading style in which these people were treated before, during and after the move. There were many hardships, suspicion and jealousy that emerged, mostly due to complications of land and ownership claims. Only 14 residents held clear legal titles to their land. Those with no legal rights were given a $500 payment and promised a furniture allowance, social assistance, and public housing units. Young families would make enough money to begin a new life, but most of the elderly residents would not budge as they had much more of an emotional connection to their homes. They were filled with grief and felt cheated out of their property. However resistance to eviction became harder as more people accepted and homes disappeared. The city quickly demolished each house as soon as residents moved out. The church at Africville was demolished in 1969 at night to avoid controversy. The last Africville home was demolished on January 2, 1970.

After relocation, Africvillians were faced with just as many problems as before. The cost of living went up in their new homes, more people were unemployed and without regular incomes, none of the promised employment or education programs promised materialized, and none of the promises was granted as “benefits were so modest as to be virtually irrelevant…within a year and a half this post-relocation program lay in ruins.” Family strains and debt forced many to rely on public assistance, and anxiety was high among the people. One of the biggest complaints was that “they feel no sense of ownership or pride in the sterile public housing projects.”


1964
On this date, Zambia became the ninth African state to gain independence from the British crown.

The former colony of Northern Rhodesia - part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland since 1953 - celebrated with a ceremony at the Independence Stadium in the capital, Lusaka, as a huge copper torch was lit on a hill overlooking the city.

The new president of the country, Kenneth Kaunda, was given the Instruments of Independence by the Queen’s representative, the Princess Royal. Thousands of people shouted “Kwatcha” - meaning the Dawn - as they watched the red, black, green and orange colors of the Zambian Republic's flag replace the British Union Jack to mark the official changeover at midnight. Princess Mary read a personal message the Queen as the UK welcomed the newest member of its Commonwealth.

On President Kaunda, the only candidate in the August elections, gave his first news conference since taking office, he spoke of the new republic’s “task of building a nation founded on respect for all people of all races, all colors and all religions.” And he told journalists Zambia would support Britain if neighboring Rhodesia, formerly Southern Rhodesia, made a unilateral declaration of independence. “That declaration would meet resistance from all over the world and would not last,” he said.

The son of a Church of Scotland minister, Dr Kaunda, 40, had a reputation as a moderate and reasonable man, opposed to violence. He supported the preservation of 10 of the 73 seats in parliament for the Europeans, for at least the next four years. He hoped this would reassure the community of 70,000 Europeans in Zambia, most of whom worked in the Copper Belt near the border with Congo and are of great economic importance to the country. Many have already left for South Africa fearing increased African resentment against them.

One of Dr Kaunda’s first acts as head of state was to release 200 “freedom fighters” jailed for sedition by the colonial administration.

He has also sent letters to the South African Prime Minister asking for African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, at the time, to be imprisoned in Zambia rather than their homeland.

Lusaka was home to the headquarters of 15 African freedom movements, including Zanu and Zapu from Rhodesia.

After taking power Dr Kaunda partially nationalised the mining industry - the backbone of the country's international economy.

In 1972 he was sufficiently powerful to outlaw all opposition to the ruling United National Independence Party (UNIP) to create a one-party state the following year.

He was a keen supporter of the anti-apartheid movement and opposed Ian Smith's white minority rule in Rhodesia, causing economic problems for Zambia since the countries affected were their main trading partners.

Growing political unrest prompted President Kaunda to lift the ban on political parties in 1990.

He lost the multi-party elections in 1991 to Frederick Chiluba and the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).


1964
On this date, in Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, CA against the 49ers on a fumbled pass reception, Hall of Fame Minnesota Viking Defensive End Jim Marshall scooped up the ball and 66 yards in wrong direction for a safety.

In the fourth quarter, the Niners had the ball with Minnesota leading by a score of 27-17. Quarterback George Mira fired a pass to Billy Kilmer, normally a QB but playing halfback in this instance. Hit hard, Kilmer fumbled and Marshall alertly scooped up the ball and took off toward the goal line, 66 yards away. Unfortunately for him, he had gotten turned around and lost his sense of direction.

San Francisco center Bruce Bosley trailed the play, thinking at first that Marshall might try and loop back in the right direction. He was the first player to greet Marshall after he crossed the goal line and tossed the ball away, assuring a two-point safety for the 49ers. “Thanks a lot, we can use more like that”, said Bosley to the stunned defensive end.

Fortunately for Marshall, his miscue didn’t lose the game for the Vikings. In fact, he accounted for a sack and forced fumble that helped seal the win. San Francisco managed only a 47-yard Tommy Davis field goal in the remaining time and the final score was 27-22. Minnesota went on to an 8-5-1 record for the first winning season in the franchise’s history.

Marshall is the unfortunate player to have the dubious honor of owning the top spot, #1, in NFL Film’s 100 Greatest Follies. It is the only glaring blemish in an otherwise 19 year NFL Hall of Fame worthy career.


1968
The state of Illinois recognized Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable as the true founder of Chicago on this day. Du Sable, a historic Black American pioneer, was the first known settler to build a house and open a trading post in what is now the city of Chicago. Born in Haiti, he was educated in Paris and later worked as a seaman for his father. Fearful that he would be enslaved after he was shipwrecked in New Orleans, he traveled north and settled in Eschikagou (Chicago) where he reared a family and became a successful fur trapper. Eventually he expanded his home and land into a major settlement that included a dairy, bake house, smokehouse, workshop, stable, barn and mill. Du Sable used his home as a trading post where he received furs from Native Americans. He also grew wheat, baked bread and sold meat. A plaque on the approach to Chicago’s Michigan Avenue Bridge marks the site of Du Sable’s home. He died on August 28, 1818.


1968
The double album “Electric Ladyland” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was released. It was also made available as two albums with changed artwork after complaints about the naked women who were pictured on the sleeve. The female models were each paid £5 for the photo shoot and another £5 if they posed completely naked.


1973
Abebe Bikila, Ethiopian marathoner who won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1960 and 1964, died on this date at the age of 46.


1973
On this date in baseball, two future Hall of Famers were traded. The Chicago Cubs traded pitcher Ferguson Jenkins to the Texas Rangers for Bill Madlock and Vic Harris and the San Francisco Giants traded first baseman Willie McCovey to San Diego Padres for pitcher Mike Caldwell


1974
On this date, singer Al Green was taking a shower at his Memphis home when his ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson burst in and poured boiling hot grit over him. She then shot herself dead. Green suffered second degree burns.


1976
Clarence “Willie” Norris, the last surviving member of the nine Scottsboro Boys, who were convicted in 1931 of the alleged rape of two white women on a freight train, was pardoned by Governor George C. Wallace.  Forty five years earlier, Norris and eight other Black men were falsely charged with raping two White women. Norris had spent 15 years in prison and had been a fugitive fleeing parole in Alabama in 1946.


1980
On this date, heavyweight boxer Michael Dwayne Weaver made the first defense of his WBA title, the title he took from John Tate on March 31, 1980, traveling to Sun City, South Africa, to fight Gerrie Coetzee. Weaver knocked Coetzee out in the 13th round. Coetzee a good boxer/puncher had never previously been down, amateur or pro. Weaver held this title until December 10, 1982 where he lost to Michael Dokes in the first round. A rematch was ordered due to the controversial nature of referee Joey Curtis’s stoppage, which some felt was premature. In the rematch, Dokes retained the title on a majority draw.


1983
Mary Francis Berry, professor of history and law at Howard University, and two other members of the Civil Rights Commission were fired by President Ronald Reagan. Considered a champion of minority concerns on the Commission, Berry went on to charge the administration with attempting to “shut up” criticism. She later sued and was reinstated.


1983
On this date, President Ronald Reagan launched Operation Urgent Fury by ordering U.S. Marines and Army Rangers to invade Grenada. Citing a takeover of the Caribbean Island by “a brutal group of leftist thugs” six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters were executed in a coup d'état, U.S. troops, along with a small force from six Caribbean nations, overcame surprisingly strong resistance from Cubans, who supported the island’s new regime. A day after the invasion, the troops begin evacuating 1,100 U. S. citizens on the island.


1984
n this date, the European Economic Community (EEC) donated £1.8 million to help combat the famine in Ethiopia. Officials from Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid, and the Red Cross believed that up to 10 million people were facing starvation unless the flow of aid is increased. Aid agencies lobbied EEC ministers in Brussels in response to the latest drought that hit the country. Hugh McKay from the Save the Children Fund said: “This is an excellent start and will buy us a little time to develop a long term strategy to deal with this tragedy.” The Community has also ordered the immediate shipment of 5,000 tons of food with more to be delivered soon. The worst affected areas were the northern provinces of Tigre, Wollo and Eritrea, where a 10-year drought and a succession of wars had produced the worst famine in Ethiopia’s modern history.

One million people are thought to have died in the famine of 1984 despite money from around the world helping to improve the situation.

In December 1984 rock stars joined together to record “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. The single raised more than £12 million for famine victims in Africa.

Live Aid in July 1985, organized by Bob Geldof, raised more than £70 million for the cause. Two massive concerts were staged in London and Philadelphia. Artists including Paul McCartney, U2 and Madonna performed on the day.

Many Ethiopians continue to rely on food aid from abroad. In 2004 the government began a drive to move more than two million people away from the arid highlands of the east.

It said the program was a lasting solution to food shortages.


1988
Two units of the Ku Klux Klan, also known as the Invisible Empire, and twelve individuals were ordered to pay nearly $1 million to 53 African Americans who were attacked during a 1987 brotherhood rally in predominately white Forsythe County, Georgia. They were also ordered to disband and give their office equipment to the local NAACP.


1990
Evander Holyfield knocked out James “Buster” Douglas in the third round of their twelve-round fight to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion. Holyfield’s record stood at 25-0, with 21 knockouts.


1992
Cito Gaston, manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, became the first Black manager to lead a of a Major League Baseball team to a World Series title on this date. The victory capped a 10-year run during which the Blue Jays compiled the best win/loss record in Major League Baseball. Gaston, a native of San Antonio, TX, was born Clarence Edwin Gaston on March 17, 1944. He played 11 seasons in the Major Leagues with the San Diego Padres. He joined the Toronto Blue Jays and, in 1989, was promoted from hitting instructor to manager. Gaston won three division crowns in the four years as manager and piloted the Blue Jays past the Atlanta Braves to win the World Series. His tenure as manager with the team ended in September, 1997. Gaston is retired and currently in Florida.


1994
A nation-wide manhunt for a fictitious Black car-jacker and kidnapper of two children began on this date. Susan Smith, a South Carolina white woman, perpetuated this hoax and was arrested for the murder of her two children nine days later. She later confessed to drowning the children and was convicted of murder.


1997
The Million Woman March, organized by grass root sisters, led by Sister Phile Chionesu and Sister Asia Coney, takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event is attended by 1.3 million attendees (300,000 to 1 million according to Philadelphia officials). The MWM had been promoted by word of mouth and avoided traditional media and mainstream groups, such as sororities and many civil rights groups. Sis. Chionesu calls the march “a declaration of independence from ignorance, poverty, enslavement, and all the things that have happened to us that has helped to bring about the confusion and disharmony that we experience with one another.” Its focus was on understanding the necessity of rebuilding a foundation and destiny as a people, and possibly begins at the origin (the root) moving upward. Women of African Descent, who live, struggle and interact in grassroots came to Philadelphia to assess the unlimited issues and problems of the times. Many of which have resulted in the deterioration of African-Americans and African people overall. The Million Women March was run as a forum capable and ready to create and implement strategic methods to resolve such matters.

It provided an opportunity to prioritize the human and environmental issues and enabled women to develop an assertive and aggressive movement to insure the participation and impact of people of African Descent. By acknowledgment women will take the procurement of means and bring about solutions. However, there have been various forms of disengagement and those attending wrestled with a number of results.

Some were that women no longer bond as a family unit; we no longer teach and prepare our children in the way we wish for them to go. How do girls learn to become women? Who is responsible for teaching morals and values of womanhood? Have we not been the moral sustainer’s of life? As teachers of life have we failed or do we just exist? The Million-Woman March will revive life as we once exemplified it:

Great Grandmother taught Grandmother!
Grandmother taught Mother!
Mother taught Me!
I will teach You!