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THIS WEEK IN PEOPLE’S HISTORY, FEB 12–18  
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_ Lift Every Voice and Sing! (1900), Michigan Rejects the So-Called
Fugitive Slave Act (1855), Our Place in the Universe (1990),
Confronting a Campaign of Terror (2015), An Outrageous Verdict,
Reversed on Appeal (1970) _

Lift Every Voice and Sing at the 1939 New York World's Fair,

 

_LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING!_

FEBRUARY 12, IN ADDITION TO BEING LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY, IS ALSO THE
125TH ANNIVERSARY of the first public recitation, in 1900, of the poem
“Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson. The poem’s
vivid, hymn-like lyrics were soon set to equally stirring music by the
author’s brother, J. Rosamond Johnson.

From the first, Lift Every Voice and Sing was immensely popular among
the Black community of Tallahassee, Florida, where it was first
performed. It was almost immediately recorded and quickly earned broad
and appreciative audience, mostly in Black communities, throughout the
U.S.

In 1919, the NAACP declared that Lift Every Voice and Sing had become
the "Negro national anthem." In more recent days, it has come to be
known as the Black national anthem. If you haven’t heard it lately,
or even if you have, listen to the rendition here, which includes the
lyrics for anyone inclined to sing along: 
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The image shows a sculpture by Angela Savage, entitled “Lift Every
Voice and Sing”. Savage created it for the courtyard of the Pavilion
of Contemporary Art at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, which was
where the photo was taken. Unfortunately, the art work was destroyed
shortly after the fair closed in late 1940.

_MICHIGAN REJECTS SO-CALLED FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT_

FEBRUARY 13 IS THE 170TH ANNIVERSARY OF Michigan enacting a law to
discourage enforcement of the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. 

Michigan’s 1855 law, “The Protection of the Rights and Liberties
of Persons Claimed Fugitive Slaves,” required local prosecutors to
do everything legally possible to “protect and defend” anyone
claimed to be a fugitive slave; it gave alleged fugitives the rights
of habeas corpus and trial by jury; it prohibited the use of public
jails or prisons to hold alleged fugitives; and it made it a crime,
punishable by five years in prison, to falsely claim anyone to be a
fugitive slave.

Michigan was the second state to enact such a law, after Connecticut
did so in 1854. Similar laws were soon enacted in Maine and
Massachusetts (1855), in New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin (1857), and
in Vermont (1858).
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_OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE_

FEBRUARY 14 IS THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY of the day in 1990 when the
spacecraft Voyager 1, having left the Solar System on its journey to
interstellar space, looked back to where it had been launched and
captured an image of the Earth as it had never been previously seen.

Taken from a location that is more than 40 times the distance from the
Earth to the Sun, the Earth shows up as a pale blue dot. The image,
which was captured at the suggestion of astronomer Carl Sagan,
inspired Sagan to write “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future
in Space,” which was published in 1994.

Sagan made a 3-minute video, Pale Blue Dot, in which he reflects on
the photo’s significance You can watch it: 
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_CONFRONTING A CAMPAIGN OF TERROR_

FEBRUARY 17 IS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY of the publication of “Lynching
in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror” by the Equal
Justice Initiative. 

The exhaustively detailed 2015 report found that far more
African-Americans had been lynched between 1877 and 1950 than was
previously believed. It concludes that “Lynching in America was a
form of terrorism that has contributed to a legacy of racial
inequality that our nation must address more directly and concretely
than we have to date.” 

To view the entire report, including more the 30 illustrations,
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_AN OUTRAGEOUS VERDICT, REVERSED ON APPEAL _

FEBRUARY 18 IS THE 55TH ANNIVERSARY of the end of the raucous
4-and-a-half month trial of the Chicago 7 in 1970. All the defendants
were acquitted of the most serious charge – conspired to incite a
riot during the Democratic Party’s nominating convention in 1968.
However, five defendants – Dave Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Tom Hayden,
Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin – were convicted of having
individually promoted the rioting.  Two defendants – John Froines
and Lee Weiner – were acquitted of all charges.

Shortly after the verdicts were announced, the five defendants who had
been convicted released a statement: “The outrageous verdict results
from the unholy combination of an unconstitutional law, a [Mayor John]
Daley prosecutor, and a hostile authoritarian judge . . . . 

“Everyone who opposes the war against Vietnam – and everyone who
advocates the liberation of Black people – everyone with long hair
and a free spirit – everyone who condemns the existence of poverty
here and throughout the world – all have been found guilty by this
verdict.

“This day will live in infamy. But the final jury is the people and
their verdict is already beginning to come in, We await the final
verdict of the people.”

Eventually, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed all of the convictions,
finding not only that the trial Judge. Julius Hoffman, had committed
numerous errors. but also “the demeanor of the judge and the
prosecutors would require reversal even if errors did not.”
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For more People's History, visit
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* Lift Every Voice and Sing
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* Fugitive Slave Law
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* Astrophotography
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* lynchings
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* the trial of the chicago 7
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