POSTED BY BLACKTHEN – APRIL 29, 2021 – LATEST POSTS, SLAVERY

Of all his writings, Thomas Jefferson’s most famous and far-reaching was undoubtedly his draft of the Declaration of Independence.

Although the issue of slavery was widely debated — both the chattel slavery of Africans in America and the civil slavery that fired patriot rhetoric — it is conspicuously absent from the final version of the Declaration. Yet in his rough draft, Jefferson railed against King George III for creating and sustaining the slave trade, describing it as “a cruel war against human nature.”

Although Jefferson’s description of the slave trade was as much an indictment of the colonies as of Britain and the king, the issue that most distressed the patriots stemmed from Lord Dunmore’s 1775 proclamation that offered freedom to slaves who joined the British cause: “…he is now exciting those very people to rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he also obtruded them…”

When the document was presented to the Continental Congress on July 1, 1776, both northern and southern slaveholding delegates objected to its inclusion, and it was removed. The only remaining allusion to the original paragraph on slavery is the phrase “He has excited domestic Insurrections among us,” included in a list of grievances against the king.

Original Article Found At http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/2h33.html

Source: blackthen.com

THE CAMPAIGN WAS ALSO THE FIRST TO BE AIMED DIRECTLY AT CHILDREN; BEFORE THIS, COMMERCIALS WERE ONLY TARGETED AT ADULTS, SO TOY ADVERTISEMENTS HAD ALWAYS BEEN PITCHED TO PARENTS. THIS COMMERCIAL REVOLUTIONIZED MARKETING, AND CAUSED AN INDUSTRIAL BOOM.

Source: youtube, internet

Los Angeles Riots of 1992, major outbreak of violence, looting, and arson in Los Angeles that began on April 29, 1992, in response to the acquittal of four white Los Angeles policemen on all but one charge (on which the jury was deadlocked) connected with the severe beating of an African American motorist in March 1991. As a result of several days of rioting, more than 50 people were killed, more than 2,300 were injured, and thousands were arrested. About 1,100 buildings were damaged, and total property damage was about $1 billion, which made the riots one of the most-devastating civil disruptions in American history.

Although many Angelenos in the late 20th century prided themselves on their city’s ethnic diversity, there was a strong feeling in Los Angeles’s minority communities that the city’s predominantly white police force practiced racial profiling and engaged in racist brutality against African Americans and Hispanics. These suspicions seemed to be confirmed by a videotape shot on March 3, 1991, by a man who watched police officers brutally beat Rodney King, an African American motorist who had been pulled over for speeding after an eight-mile chase. When the officers’ initial efforts to bring a noncompliant King to the ground failed, they clubbed him with their batons dozens of times. The videotape, which was broadcast across the United States, prompted a huge outpouring of protest.

For the complete article, britannica.com

By an act of the Pennsylvania legislature, Ashmun Institute, the first college founded solely for African American students, is officially chartered.

Established in the rolling farmlands of southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, Ashmun Institute was named after Jehudi Ashmun, the U.S. agent who helped reorganize and preserve the struggling African-American colony in Africa that later grew into the independent nation of Liberia. The Ashmun Institute, chartered to give theological, classical, and scientific training to African Americans, opened on January 1, 1857, and John Pym Carter served as the college’s first president. In 1866, the institution was renamed Lincoln University.

READ MORE: Black History Milestones

READ MORE: Black History Milestones

Citation Information

Article Title

First African American college chartered

AuthorHistory.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-african-american-college-chartered

Access Date

April 29, 2022

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 27, 2020

Original Published Date

February 9, 2010

BLACK HISTORYEDUCATION

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Update 4/27/26: Trump is again abusing his power to pressure ABC to censor and silence Jimmy Kimmel, calling for him to be fired.

And now first lady Melania Trump is joining the calls, posting on X: “A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.” All because of Kimmel’s roast of the president on his show after the White House Correspondents’ Association booked Oz Pearlman instead of a comedian.

We are once again urging ABC to NOT to cave to authoritarian censorship and keep Kimmel on air.

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In a blatant attack on free speech and a continuation of this administration’s descent into authoritarian control and censorship, ABC and Disney have caved to pressure from the Trump administration and MAGA Republicans to suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. 

Kimmel was pulled for pointing out how the Trump administration and Republicans exploited Charlie Kirk’s murder—and the hypocrisy between their statements and actions. 

Kimmel wasn’t axed for his remarks on Kirk—he was suspended for using his platform to expose and critique our government. Enough! We especially need large corporations, with the money and influence they have, to fight back.

The FCC may give Disney its license, but it’s everyday people who make Disney relevant. If they want the trust of their customers, they have to reverse this terrible decision, reinstate Kimmel, and demonstrate that they will fight back against censorship NOW!

Why is this important?

Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Brendan Carr announced Wednesday that he had a strong case for taking action against Kimmel—insinuating that Disney’s license was on the line. 

“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest,” Carr said. 

This is blatant corruption—a government agency abusing its power to coerce corporations into submission and silence those who disagree with it. 

This isn’t just about one late-show host. It’s about the ability of people—whether they’re high-profile media hosts like Kimmel or everyday Americans—to use their platform to speak out against the government. 

Kimmel’s suspension comes on the heels of CBS and Paramount Global’s firing of popular and Emmy-winning late-show host Stephen Colbert. From slashing funding for public television and NPR to the firing of media personalities, the Trump administration wants to control what Americans hear and watch. It wants to strip away access to a diversity of news and information sources so that it can control the narrative. 

This is a dangerous slide into authoritarianism, and we have to resist every step of the way. Add your name to the petition now. 

Source: moveon.org