Black Herstory

[Cynique]

You know you’re old if when Black History month rolls around, in addition to celebrating the remarkable accomplishments of your race, you find yourself remembering past events in your life which could now, themselves, be classified as historical. Being born during the Great Depression in 1933, the year Prohibition ended, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected for the first of his 4 terms, I was told that my mother rolled me around in one of the baby strollers provided for visitors to Chicago’s Great World’s Fair, an exposition being held on this city’s famous lake front, and whose theme was “a century of progress“, and where she toured one of the exhibits showcasing the progress of the American Negro. This was when my journey through one of the most compelling eras in the American spectrum began, providing the back drop for events that became chapters in the history book of my life.

 

 

So much of my history centered around my college days because this was when I ventured out into the world and was on my own for the first time and the campus of the University of Illinois was my testing grounds. In the pre-civil rights year of 1951, during my freshman days there, Alpha Kappa Alpha with whom I was affiliated, decided to break precedence and run one of its sorors for Homecoming Queen, something no “negro” girl had ever done. Our candidate was an attractive 19-year-old named Clarice Davis, a good choice who was poised and personable.

 

The panHellenic council which represented all the sororities and Fraternities was one of the organization who oversaw the the voting for this prestigious honor.  apparently all the black soririties and fraternities had formed a voting bloc and   And damned if it didn’t pay off.  When the campaigning was over and the votes were tallied Clarice had won!  A fluke? Maybe.  But nothing could dampen the joy that filled the ranks of black Illini! We had made history! We had broken the color bar.

 

The rest of the campus was either too miffed or stunned to do anything but accept the result.  On homecoming day our regal winner rode in the parade on a float, surrounded by the court of white runners-up. During the half-time ceremonies, however, the tradition of having the captain of the football team crown the queen and plant a kiss on her before presenting her to the crowd, deferred to racial taboos.  This honor was instead delegated to Don Stevens, the football team’s star half-back, who because he, too, was black, made him acceptable. Which also made the memorable moment twice as nice! 

 

And the following semester when I relocated from the AKA sorority house and again participated in history by being among the first blacks to integrate the womens' dormitories. I always found it ironic how, while Rosa Parks was growing tired of sitting in the back of Montgomery, Alabama’s buses, and Emmett Till was yet to travel down south to meet his doom,  and the idea of sit-ins to protest Woolworth’s Jim Crow policy of “whites only” lunch counters, was not yet formulated,  I and the rest of my black dorm mates were living in a residence hall with white maid service, eating in a dining room where white waitresses and waiters served us, and having late night hen parties which pesky white coeds wanted to be included in.

 

This quiet before the storm soon erupted. Time marched on and during the turbulent '60s, as part of the mourners that included an honor guard from one of Chicago's most notorious street gangs, The Blackstone Rangers, I found myself staring down into the coffin of Fred Hampton, my lived in my hometown and  who'd become Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, a martyred young man murdered in his sleep, shot to death by “pigs” in blue uniforms. This  tragedy from the past has never lost its relevance in light of Chicago’s ongoing record of police misconduct. In my position as the first black female columnist of the Chicago daily newspaper where my articles appeared, I wrote about such things from a black perspective.

 

Although certain events are just foot notes, I like to think I participated in history by being among the millions to vote for JFK, the first Catholic president,  and later for the first black president whose hand I had shaken and grin I’d returned when Barack Obama was still the junior state senator from Illinois.

 

,I'd seen my brother become our town's first black Chief Electrician, and shared his pride when he was invited to Washington, DC where President Bill Clinton and The Secretary of the Navy belatedly awarded special medals to him and other members of the first all black-manned ship whose outstanding crew performed bravely under combat in the North Atlantic during World War 2. 

 

Now, I make history by just waking up in the morning. Hurry, November! Before I croak, I'm curious to see if I will participate in history one last time, perhaps by being a member of a black voting bloc that elects the first woman president.  

Meanwhile, pardon me Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells,George Washington Carver, Hattie McDaniel , Paul Robeson, Martin Luther King , Julian Bond, Condoleeza Rice, Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, Jackie Robinson, Serena Williams, and alllll the rest!  I’m just trying to squeeze past y’all so I can find a little seat in the back row. 

[Mel Hopkins]

I got  a bit verklempt reading this piece of "HerStory". Thank you for sharing you with us!  It is amazingly beautiful how being present and deliberate in your steps clears the path for so many to come.

Thank you.  

[Xeon]

“Meanwhile, pardon me Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells,George Washington Carver, Hattie McDaniel , Paul Robeson, Martin Luther King , Julian Bond, Condoleeza Rice, Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, Jackie Robinson, Serena Williams, and alllll the rest!  I’m just trying to squeeze past y’all so I can find a little seat in the back row.”

THANK YOU! I'm trying to find a seat in the back rows also......

[Guest RLH1908]

Cynique: Sorry for the public message, but I am an AKA from U. Illinois (Gamma Chapter alumna) trying to compile information on Clarice Davis for a sorority project. Need to speak with you ASAP! What is the best way to reach you?

[Cynique]

I'll  get back to you.  I'm going to try and get in touch with one of my old school mates who could probably put you in touch with one of the surviving Gamma sorors of Clarice,  She could maybe fill you in on more details.  i was a member of the Ivy Leaf group at the time, and Clarice didn't not live in the AKA house with us. She was a rather  artsy  diva as I recall  and might've been a music major because she had an operatic singing voice. She was chosen because she was very attractive and had a lot of flair.  This was 65 years ago and what i recounted  in my herstory story is pretty much all I remember.  Did you google her name?  Do this because this will provide a picture of her and her court. 

[Cynique]

OK, this is all i can tell you to do.  An AKA by the name of Jean Durades, maiden name "Pierce",  was Clarice Davis' soror down at Illinois during the time she was elected Home Coming queen and she may have some inside memories to share about this event because I was just a pledge during this time. Me and another Illinois classmate suggest that you go to Jean Durades' FaceBook page and make your inquiries. She's located in Minnesota  You may mention the name of our mutual classmate, Mildred Carter Dawe,  when making your inquiries.   Again, be advised that there is a lot of info about Clarice on Google as well as in the U of I archives.   Good Luck!

[Guest RLH1908]

Thank you very much! I've reached out to Soror Jean Ann and a few others from that period. Your account is the first personal recollection I've seen about her coronation. Can we talk offline? I'm at rlh1908@gmail.com. Thanks again for sharing!

 

[Troy]

Cynique, you touch more people than you may appreciate :-)

Your stories are important for they are a historical record.  I will do my best to ensure they, as well as everyone else's thought are preserved.

 

[Pioneer1]

I read this from Cynique....
And I look at Farrakhan who's 83 and just gave a major speech a few days ago in Detroit.
And I look at Dick Gregory who is also in his 80s, still giving lectures, and is up on every major event still impacting Black America...and it all not only makes me wonder but gives me hope.

I wonder will God bless me to make it to and beyond that age range, and I hope that if He does I would have the clarity of mind that Cynique, Farrakhan, and Dick and so many others have to articulately express myself and engage in meaningful convesation.

When I was in my 30s I used to work with a woman who was 73 and I would often tease her about her age but I would do it along with mild flirting and admiration mixed in.  She used to be a school teacher...very smart....snappy.  And at 73 she was still smarter and quicker than most of the younger people on the job, especially when it came to things not requiring a computer.

I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or because society is changing...but 70 and 80 year olds today don't seem to be anything like they were when I was a kid.  They seem more lively and youthful.

[Cynique]

Age is just a number. 80 is the new 60.  Have you checked out 91 year old Cicely Tyson? Talk about black not crackin!  I wanna be just like her when I grow up.  

[Pioneer1]

 Sheeeeyit....age is a little more than just a number.

It's also a LIMIT...on what you can eat.

I know there are certain things I was able to consume in my 20s that I can no longer consume today without experiencing the consequences.

Like ice cream, milk, and chocolate.

[Xeon]

"I always like asking older Black people were Black people as criminal-minded and immoral as they are today.

I've read about the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s and the struggles Black people went through dealing with the raw racism of that time, but I've read few books that actually go in depth about how Black people.. ....and I've noticed this in just one generation.

So it makes me wonder how much things have changed over SEVERAL generations".

Your observations and commentary are on point and very correct. Not much more can be said that you have not already stated. It is a sad observation and an equally depressing reality. It has been a staggering cultural and moral decline over the past 35 years. The malignancy of the buffoon coon culture has taken deep roots in black America and there doesn't appear to be any major changes in the near future....