VOL.

1 ISSUE 12

May - July 2011

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY

By Gilbert L. Davis

Newsletter

The Legacy of the American Civil War Lives on Today

Recently America looked back on one of the most painful chapters in our nations history. A conflict so deep, that the scars still have not healed. When the conflict ended, 600,000 Americans had been killed and the nations President had been assassinated. The American Civil War lasted four years. It was a war that changed America and in some ways, the whole world. African-Americans can make a special note of this historic conflict because it was fought over them. Though there were other issues as well, but the main source of the conflict was over the issue of slavery. Hot button issues in the news today pale in comparison to the issue of black slavery. It was the main underlying issue that led to the tragic war between the states. For white northerners the issue was preserving the union and keeping the United States from disintegrating in half. The Civil War has been referred to as the Brothers War, because it put Americans in the north against Americans in the secessionist south. Civil War Monument Seaside Park Bridgeport, CT. For African-Americans it was more than just figurative. In many cases it was literal, as many southern whites were related to their black slaves by blood. The war was a war of liberation for black soldiers, a chance to win freedom for themselves and their families. It provided African-Americans the chance to finally face their hated slave owners in the battlefield, with gun and bayonet in hand. Failure was not an option for the black troops, as it would mean returning to a degrading life as slaves picking cotton and tobacco in the hot southern sun. For the proud Ante Bellum south, it was a desperate attempt to start its own nation. Free from the guilt piled on them by an array of abolitionists, black and white. The words of those abolitionists had turned into an angry chorus. Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Sojourner Truth (continued on page 3)

Inside This Issue

Recipients of the Carter G. Woodson and Mary Freeman Awards. Ted Meekins, Earley Pettway and Lora Vernice Brooks.Standing between Meekins and Pettway is Mayor Bill Finch. On far right is A.A.H.A. President Gilbert L. Davis. Captions on pages 4 and 5.

Civil War

President Message pg. 2 Editors Message pg. 2 In Memory of Soliders pg. 3 Past Events pg. 4 Advertisements pg. 7 A.A.H.A. News pg. 8 Those We Mourn pg. 9 Generational Curse pg. 9 Negro League pg. 10 Checking it out pg. 12 Mission Statement pg. 12

pg. 1&3

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Message from the President

Page 2

To all our members, readers, and supporters. I greet you in the name of our most high God. I want to thank you all for your compliments on our last issue. We received some very flattering compliments on our story The Black Jews of Bridgeport. Many of you expressed your surprise at finding out, there is a black synogogue in Bridgeport. Actually they dont refer to it as a synogogue. Im sure the man who runs that congregation would be pleased to hear your encouraging remarks. Recently America looked back on one of the dasrkest chapters in its history, The Civil War. A war that changed our country forever. A war fought on our soil, American against American. One side fighting so that men like me ( men of African descent) could participate in the blessings this country has to offer. The other side fighting desperately to make sure that people of African descent would never share in those same blessings. They believed in it so strongly, they put their own lives on the line to make sure that the Gilbert Davises of this country would work for them, for free the rest of our lives. We should all salute the thousands of young men of every race who fought against this evil, so that people of African descent would be free in this country. Im sorry or Cooking With Joy column will not appear in this issue, as Joy Purdie has been very ill. I ask all the A.A.H.A. family and friends to keep her in your prayers. I hope you all will take time to check out or website at: www. aahact.org We missed you at our 4th. Annual Carter G. Woodson Awards Luncheon. It was a wonderful and inspiring event. But you can make-up for it by attending this years Day of Remembrance this summer. Thanks to all our members for your hard work and the many sacrifices you make to keep us going. Our Vice President Joseph L. Wilcox, our Editor-in-Chief Henry N. Timberlake and all the other staff members. To all of you, keep the faith.

STAff

Gilbert L. Davis President A.A.H.A.

Henry N. Timberlake

Editor-in-Chief Writers

Message from the Editor

The A.A.H.A. members and its staff wish all of our readers a very happy Mothers Day, Fathers Day and a safe and happy summer season. We here at the A.A.H.A. take pride and special consideration in the stories we write for this publication. Once we open our State-of-The-Art museum and cultural center, the A.A.H.A. will take off to a higher and more progressive standard in our publishing techniques. We will gather information from all over the nation on African-American history. There is a lot to learn and a wealth of hidden information on the history of AfricanAmericans, especially within Fairfield County. I am currently doing research on a highly exalted Native-American (John Chops), Chief of the Chopsey Hill Tribe who owned a wigwam in the North-End of Bridgeport, CT. (Circa 1700) and the free African-Americans who lived there during that era, who were referred to as the Chopsey Hill Darkies. You shall read about this in one of our issues of volume two. I thank you for your interest in this publication, as we get the word out about the true history of African-Americans. May the blessings of God always be upon you. Henry N. Timberlake Editor-in-Chief For editorial comments you may contact me via email at: aahanewsman@gmail.com Or visit our website at: www.aahact.org

Glibert Davis L. Llewelyn James Henry N. Timberlake Henry N. Timberlake

Layout

BoArd MEMBErS
Gilbert L. davis President Joseph L. Wilcox Vice President Joy Purdie Secretary Kizzy Wilcox Treasurer L. Llewlyn James Marketing

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Page 3

Legacy of Civil War (cont.)

and many others, including a little known author Harriet Beecher Stowe whos novel Uncle Toms Cabin galvanized anti slavery forces and invoked sympathy from white Americans, to the plight of black slaves all over America. In all fairness not all white southerners owned slaves and there were white southerners opposed to slavery just as there were northerners who favored it. It was January 1, 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation, which set every slave in the rebel states free from slavery. The loss of their slaves meant ruin to many wealthy southerners. By wars end many rich southerners had been reduced to penniless refugees. It is estimated that 180,000 black men joined the Union Army. They were often denied the place they should have been awarded in American history. They were paid less than white officers and were the first units to march into Richmond and Charleston, but were ordered to halt so that white units could receive the credit. The Civil War has left a mixed legacy. The positive side is, it destroyed the plantation south and ended the peculiar institution known as Slavery in America. In its bitter aftermath, the terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan was born, as was the system known as Jim Crow, missioned to terrorize newly enfranchised blacks and prevent them from exercising their hard fought rights. For African- Americans the war provided a chance to live as free Americans. For the southern planter class, it meant destitution and ruin. It has left a lingering bitterness against the Yankee north, as well as AfricanAmericans. The flag of the defeated confederacy, (the stars and bars) is still popular in the south. So much came out of the civil war that still affects this nation. Perhaps the most positive was, that America remained one strong nation instead of two weakened ones.

The African American Historical Association of Fairfield County Honors the memory of all the soldiers who sacrificed life and limb to secure our freedom and preserve this country. Without them our lives would be very different.
Here are the names of just ten of the young African American soldiers from Bridgeport, CT who served in the Thirty-First Regiment

John Mellow Frederick Horton George Riggs Joseph Post Wesley Miller Joseph Morgan John Jones Thomas Freeman (Sergeant) Ellery B. Leonard George Gaul

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Past Events 4th Annual Carter G. Woodson Awards

Deputy Fire Chief James Grace, Ret. Dep. Fire Chief Earley Pettway, Police Officer Bobby Ramos, Ret. Police Officer and community activist Ted Meekins, Police Officer Nick Ortiz and Firefighter on right unknown.

Pastor Janene Hawkins of Walters Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church delivers the invocation along with a fiery sermon.

Honoree Earley Pettway expresses gratitude after recieving the Carter G. Woodson Award. Pettway became the 1st. African American Deputy Fire Chief in the City of Bridgeport,CT.

A.A.H.A. President Gilbert L. Davis consoled secretary Joy Purdie after she recieved a special surprise.

Retired Police Officer Ted Meekins was more than honored to recieve the Carter G. Woodson Award.

Sergeant Joe Ann Meekins expresses sincere gratitude after recieving a citation from the A.A.H.A.

The Rev. Kenneth Moales Jr. expresses his gratitude for the Post-Humous Award given in honour of his Late father Bishop Kenneth Moales Sr.

Elmon Raiford, Joy Purdie, Police Officer Cheryl Thomas and Arlene Parks. Ms. Raiford recieved the Carter G. Woodson Award in February, 2010.

From left: Winifred Timberlake, Anita Swilling, Deborah Caviness and aide to Congressman Jim Himes, Shante Hanks. Ms. Timberlake recieved the Carter G. Woodson Award in February, 2008.

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4th Annual Carter G. Woodson Awards (cont.)

Ms. Shante Hanks standing in for Congressman Jim Himes, presents a special citation to award recipient Ted Meekins.

Ms, Terri Rudd (left) and A.A.H.A. Editor-in-Chief Henry N. Timberlake make the presentation to Mr. Earley Pettway.

A joyful Joy Purdie and Sergeant Joe Ann Meekins.

A.A.H.A. member Diana L. Black delivers a moving tribute to the Late Bishop Kenneth Moales Sr. on behalf of the organization.

Stratford Deputy Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour (center) and companion. On left: Mrs. Susie Wilson and Vanessa Williams.

A beaming Lora Vernice Brooks holds the special citation presented to her from Congressman Jim Himes office.

Honoree Lora Vernice Brooks flanked by A.A.H.A. member Diana L. Black (right) and A.A.H.A. illustrator Justin Davis (left).

A.A.H.A. Vice President Joseph L. Wilcox reading the bio of honoree Lora Vernice Brooks. Ms. Brooks is standing to the left.

The sultry Sebrina Wesley belts out soulful gospel tunes.

Ms. Anita Swilling poses proudly with the Mary Freeman Post-Humous Award, given for the Late Loyse Tisdale.

Honoree Earley Pettway (front left) amongst family and friends.

Everyone who attended enjoyed themselves. Supporters gather around a very humbled Earley Pettway.

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Past Events (cont)

Page 6

Luncheon. From left: (women) Angela Harrison, Kizzy Wilcox, Diana L. Black, Deborah Williams, Joy Purdie, Monica Wilkes and Terri Rudd. From left: (men) Joseph L. Wilcox, Edward Gray, Henry N. Timberlake, Gilbert L. Davis, Linkcole L. James and Keith Purdie.

A.A.H.A. members pose for the cameras during the 4th. Annual Carter G. Woodson Awards

The event was held in February at the Holiday Inn, downtown Bridgeport,CT.
The A.A.H.A. sponsored its 1st. Annual "Sojourner Truth Women's Symposium" in March for "Women's History Month".
Participants of the Sojourner Truth-Serum and Historically Topical Solutioh Symposium starting from Left (standing) L. Llewellyn James, Director of Marketing and Special Programs for the AfricanAmerican Historical Association of Fairfield County, Connecticut and Moderator of the Sojourner Truth-Serum and Historically Topical Solution Symposium: Shirley Gadsen, Clinical Research Director of the Nurturing Families Program for the Child Guidance Center of Greater Bridgeport; Gilbert Davis, President of the A.A.H.A. of Fairfield County, Connecticut; Minister Che'ri Humphrey, President and Founder of Diamonds in the Rough Ministries; Corinne "Coco" Melvin, Creative Consultant, Book Publicist and Founder/CEO of S.M.I.L.E.S., a literacy program for children; Diana Lynn Black, Host of the "You Need to Know" Show, WDJZ 1530 AM, Bridgeport, Connecticut; (seated from left) Andrea Joseph, Assistant Project Manager, Connecticut Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League; Natasha Pierre, Director of Policy and Legislature, State of Connecticut Permanent Commission on the Status of Women.

This panel of women discussed strong issues, in the plight of struggle and triumph of AfricanAmerican women. The event was held in the

"Fine Arts Dept". at the Bridgeport Public Library in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut.

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We are inviting all former members and those who used to attend services, as well as those who would like to know more about us, to Come Home on Saturday, May 21, 2011. If your soul is yearning for a different spiritual experience, listen from within yourself and Come Home!

COME HOME

Page 7

9:00 a.m. Sabbath School Intermission & Light Refreshments 11:00 a.m. Worship Service Sermon Elder Benjamin R. Keeling How is Life Treating You? Benediction

WE WElCOME yOu WitH OpEnEd arMs and OpEnEd HEart !

Church of God and Saints of Christ, Second Tabernacle 748 Connecticut Avenue Bridgeport, Connecticut 06607 Elder Benjamin R. Keeling, Local Pastor And Congregation

The A.A.H.A. Newsletter is on the rise and packed with pertinent information. Let us help your business grow for just a fraction of the going rates.

Full Page----------------------------------------------- 175.00 Half Page -------------------------------------------------75.00 Quarter Page--------------------------------------------- 50.00 Business Card------------------------------------------- 25.00

Volume 1 Issue 12

A.A.H.A. News
The A.A.H.A. will participate in the 2011 Annual Juneteenth Parade. It was decided upon in Mays board meeting.

Page 8

The A.A.H.A. will open its new office located on Noble Ave. near Beardsley Park in June. We will also have a new phone number. Mrs. Maureen Sherice Hollar will be the organizations new Director of Operations. Mrs. Hollar earned her degree at Sacred Heart University. A program documenting the lives of African Americans who migrated to Bridgeport or were born here, will start in July. The A.A.H.A. is planning a bash to celebrate its sixth year anniversary. We hope everyone will come and join us. The event is tenatively schedulede for July 15th. We extend a hearty welcome to our new members: Rev. John Lawson and Pastor Johnathan Hevita. The A.A.H.A. is happy to announce that we have found a building for our museum/cultural center. According to President Gilbert L. Davis a half million dollars is needed to start renovations on the building. Total cost will be over one million dollars. A major fund raiser is planned for this fall. Mrs. Kizzy Wilcox will take over the treasury position. She will start in June. Deborah Williams will serve as substitute secretary while Joy Purdie is recovering from illness. President Davis and Editor-in-Chief Henry Timberlake both give messages to the public. They will rotate the message column. Congratulations to Mr. Llewellyn James, Marketing Director for a job well done with the Sojouner Truth Womens Symposium. A television spot highlighting the A.A.H.A. is currently running on Cablevision Public Access (ch.88). The spot was filmed by Victory Productions Company. The annual Day of Remembrance program is scheduled for Saturday August 27, at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT. the annual observance of when our African forebearers were brought from Africa during the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. Program begins at: 3:00 p.m. Editor-in-Chief Henry N. Timberlake will serve as this years M.C. The A.A.H.A. will host the meeting of the Connecticut Freedom Trail on June 8th.

The A.A.H.A. Newsletter is facing Severe financial problems due to a dramatic increase in printing costs, as well as the volume of newsletters we mail out. The cost of mailing the newsletters has also risen, like everything else. Starting in January our readers can continue to receive the newsletter for a fee of only $ 5.00 per year to help us with costs. If service has seemed a little erratic lately it is because of the difficulties that we have encountered in trying to get the A.A.H.A. News into your hands.

ATTENTIoN ALL rEAdErS

Please make your check payable to: African American Historical Association of Fairfield County P.O. Box 9235 - Bridgeport, Connecticut 06601

Lets keep a good thing going and thank-you in advance for your support.

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The African-American Historical Association of Fairfield County Expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of the following: Jacqueline Williams Raymond Goode Dale Worsham Jerry Johnson Jennifer Jones Joseph Grace Janella Jordan Afria Smith Tony Blake John Blake Ulissa Amani Lewis

Those We Mourn

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Generational Curse
Rickyshia bottomed out after her fourth child. Maybe it was postpartum depression, she thinks. She stayed inside all day. Rarely talked. Never smiled. After my mama died, everything went downhill, Rickyshia says. I lost my apartment, lost my car, lost my job. Im trying to get back on my feet because I want something for me and my kids. I feel like sometimes I cant succeed at nothing, she says. I went and filled out all these applications, and theres no luck. I cant get a job. Without a job, I cant do nothin else. Sometimes, she thinks about when her mother visited her from the grave. Rickyshia was sleeping in the old house. She startled awake to find Glorias ghost standing [...]. Gloria stood and watched her daughter and finally spoke. You need to use your knowledge. Do you hear me? Yeah [Rickyshia Replied]. Rickyshia says she hasnt yet figured out what her mother meant. -from the Newspaper Story Sugar Hill Pastor Takes Steps in Right Direction By Paul Meyer Dallas Morning News October 16, 2007 Illustration by L. Llewellyn James/Alphaholics Non-Anonymous Art Studios www.alphaholism.com E-mail: ljames@aahact.org

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How the World of American Baseball forever Shifted, as per the Stealing of its Tectonic Home-Plate: A Groundbreaking Art-Book dedicated to the Tremor-Inducing History of the Negro Baseball Leagues
By L. Llewellyn James

In Shadow Ball in Jaspers Town, a new, lushly delineated anthology of artwork and paintings by noted Illustrator and African-American Sports Historian Duane Corey (Special Commemorative Oversized 12 x 12 Hardcover edition $60, 8 X 8 Softcover edition $25, available exclusively from www.artbyduane.com), readers are quickly transfixed by a bucolic vision of a Bridgeport, Connecticut in the throes of a vibrant panoply of athleticism, high sports drama and the no-doubt celestially endowed majesty crafted by the pioneers of the American Negro Baseball Leagues of the early 20th Century. Condemned as a result of the stringent dictates of a society bent upon malignant ethnic depreciation and the festering canker of alleged white supremacy, now-hallowed luminaries of early American baseball history (with names as festive and inventive as their style of play) such as Leroy Satchel Paige, James Bo Wallace and James Cool Papa Bell were all forced to ply their considerable talents on the mound, within the baseball diamond and the rigorous terrain of the far flung fields near the bleachers as members of a loose confederation of baseball teams comprised of only African-American men known nationally as the Negro Baseball League. A lifelong resident of Fairfield County, Connecticut as well as a local sports scholar with a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of both the pastime and its past in this area, Mr. Coreys paintings of these imminently influential artisans of one of Americas most nascent, indigenous open-air traditions focuses specifically upon the influence the Negro Baseball League of Depression and Post-Depression era America exerted upon Bridgeport, Connecticuts own socio-political genesis and development as a major cultural and economic centerall before the advent of the Civil Rights Movement. In fact, according to the text accompanying Mr. Coreys varied paintings and action-oriented illustrations of this period, both P.T. Barnum and Jasper Mclevy (the infamous Mayor of Bridgeport who, for over 20 years, wielded considerable cache over the modus operandi of the political machinery of the realms of Connecticut Society) were active connoisseurs and avid patrons of the Negro Baseball Leagues of the surrounding communities of their domain. Insofar as considerations of Mr. Coreys artistic execution of these mural motifs of American Negro Baseball Alumni are concerned, Mr. Corey has deemed it fit to execute a wide litany of these subjects in an abundance of media, all of which have seemingly been calculated to exact a sense of both wonder and bemusement from the viewer. Often, Mr. Coreys paintings strive to capture both the majesty of the subjects at work in their most lauded, athletics-absorbed environs of the field, as well as the tenuous balance which these young men in segregationist American society found themselves attempting to strike for fear of reprisal, as a result of their extraordinary resiliency and ability on the field. This sort of intentional emotional tenderness, trepidation and tenacity seems to suffuse much of Mr. Coreys work, lending the plight of these men in the midst of fulfilling their dreams even greater dramatic dread. In fact, the term Shadow Ball in the title of this work is actually a reference to a playful game of exotic, well-orchestrated and Houdini-worthy theatricality which players in the Negro Leagues used before each game, so as to gain the exultation of their fans as well as the loosening of their own limbs. In his painterly executions of these extraordinarily inventive games of hide-and-seek pantomime (which serve as an enduring influence to this day in the tomfoolery and balderdash bravado of other sports enclaves and entertainment franchises such as the Harlem Globetrottersand, dare we say, the WWE?), Mr. Corey successfully captures the raw essence of the legacy of the Negro Baseball League which attempted to survive in an America decades away from the irre-

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vocable devastation of the color line in Major League Baseball as per the introduction of Jackie Robinson: men who applied the mystic rouge of joviality, the literal face-paint of clownish ignominiousness and the secretive arts of sociological assassination in the service of openly displaying superior athletic abilities and superlative mental co-ordination and grace. Thus, Mr. Coreys Shadow Ball in Jaspers Town stands as an enduring, painterly mosaic of black men of resolve and patient capacities who proved able to showcase their talents of subterfuge and sublimely surreal, sporting expertise, while prospering under the watchful eyes of a purity-mad White Americawith all of it played, parleyed and essayed in plain sight. e-mail: ljames@aahact.org For an additional video review of Shadow Ball in Jasper Town, complete with several full-color photos and action images of Mr. Coreys Paintings - along with in-depth audio commentary - log onto either one of the following AAHA of Fairfield County, Connecticuts flagship websites: www.aahact.org or www.aahafilmworks. org

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Checking It out
P.O. Box 9235 Bridgeport, CT 06601
Email: aahact@yahoo.com www.aahact.org

Members
Fanel Merville - Angela Harrison - Sherice Hollar Terri Rudd - Joy Purdie - Keith Purdie Deborah Williams - Victor Moono John Lawson - Diana L. Black

Look at whos checking us out. Its Pastor Morris of Christ Apostolic Ark Church and her brother Deacon Wright. Pastor Morris has been locked in battle to keep her food pantry open, on Stratford Ave. A store owner had charged her with hurting his business and took her to court. Here Pastor Morris and her brother emerged victorious from court. They then took time to check us out, so should you.

MISSIoN STATEMENT
Our mission and/or purpose is to relate the story of how Africans & their descendents developed diverse civilizations in Africa; then were taken, yet continued to shape successive eras of economic, political and social development around the world and in Connecticut. We are committed to building a community of shared interests and values by creating a cultural center and educational resource (in the form of a state-of-the-art museum) for the purposes of empowering and educating both our surrounding communities and one another. To further these goals, we will also establish meaningful partnerships with other similarly minded cultural centers, historical sites and attractions in our own region, nation and throughout the world. The A.A.H.A. Fairfield County wishes to be a part of the re-imaging of Bridgeport, CT. as a viable center of commerce, by helping to foster and advance economic & intellectual development in Bridgeport and Fairfield County, Connecticut. Also, the A.A.H.A. of Fairfield County will, as a Not-For-Profit Community Organization, be dedicated to contributing to the awareness of the importance of diversity within the socio-politically, educationally and economically resplendent and expansive milieu of sophistication is Fairfield County, Connecticut.