-December 19, 1875- April 3, 1950

-Founder of Black History

-Historian, author, journalist and the founder of theAssociation for the Study African American Life and History

-Founder of the Journal of Negro History, now called The Journal of African-American History

-Coming from a large, poor family, he could not regularly attend school. Through self-instruction, Woodson mastered the fundamentals of common school subjects by age 17.

-Convinced that the role of his own people in American history and in the history of other cultures was being ignored or misrepresented among scholars.

-He realized the need for research into the neglected past of African Americans.

-His final professional appointment in West Virginia was as the Dean of the West Virginia Collegiate Institute, now West Virginia State University, from 1920–22.

-He studied many aspects of African-American history. For instance, in 1924, he published the first survey of free black slaveowners.

-He became affiliated with the Washington D.C. branch of the NAACP, and its chairman Archibald Grimke. On January 28, 1915, he wrote a letter to Grimké expressing his dissatisfaction with activities.

-He made two proposals:

1. That the branch secure an office for a center to which persons may report whatever concerns the black race may have, and from which the Association may extend its operations into every part of the city; and
2. That a canvasser be appointed to enlist members and obtain subscriptions for The Crisis, the NAACP magazine edited by W.E.B. DuBois.

-His difference of opinion with Grimké, who wanted a more conservative course, contributed to Woodson’s ending his affiliation with the NAACP.

-He worked to preserve the history of African Americans and accumulated a collection of thousands of artifacts and publications.

-He noted that African American contributions “were overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them.”

-Race prejudice, he concluded, “is merely the logical result of tradition, the inevitable outcome of thorough instruction to the effect that the Negro has never contributed anything to the progress of mankind.”

-In 1926, he pioneered the celebration of “Negro History Week”, designated for the second week in February, to coincide with marking the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass.

-The week of recognition became accepted and has been extended as the full month of February, now known as Black History Month.

-In 1992, the Library of Congress held an exhibition entitled “Moving Back Barriers: The Legacy of Carter G. Woodson”. Woodson had donated his collection of 5,000 items from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries to the Library.

-His Washington D.C. home has been preserved and designated the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site.

-In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante named Carter G. Woodson on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

-Has countless places named after him including: parks, schools, roads and museums.

Harriet Tubman

- 1820 to March 10, 1913

-Born Araminta Harriet Ross

-Born a slave in Maryland, Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom, and later led more than 300 other slaves to the North and to Canada to their freedom, too.

-The best-known conductor on the Underground Railroad.

-She spoke against slavery and for women’s rights.

-Acquainted with many of the social reformers and abolitionists of her time.

-During the Civil War she served with the U.S. Army in South Carolina, as a nurse, scout, spy and soldier.

-Most famously she led the Combahee River expedition, under the command of James Montgomery, helping to blow up Southern supply lines and free hundreds of slaves.

-She helped a biographer publish her life story, spoke for the rights of women and African Americans, helped organize the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Zion Church, and set up a home for indigent aged African Americans.

-She fought for a military pension, but was only able to win a widow’s pension on account of her second husband’s service. When Harriet Tubman died, the people of Auburn buried her with full military honors.

-She later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era struggled forwomen’s suffrage.

-Tubman was beaten by masters to whom she was hired out. Early in her life, she suffered a head wound when hit by a heavy metal weight.

-She was called Moses by slaves whom she rescued.

-When the Southern-dominated Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, requiring law officials in free states to aid efforts to recapture slaves, she helped guide fugitives farther north into Canada, where slavery was prohibited.

-By 1911, her body was so frail that she had to be admitted into the rest home named in her honor.

-Surrounded by friends and family members, Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia in 1913. Just before she died, she told those in the room: “I go to prepare a place for you.”

Okay we all know that the month of February is Black History Month. So what I’m doing this month is featuring a different person everyday with facts you know or may not know about that person. Hopefully you’ll take time to read more about them by googling them and maybe share with your kids, nieces, nephews or whoever because this is something they’ll never learn in schools. They do teach about Martin Luther King, which is good but there is so much more to know.

Booker T. Washington

-April 5, 1856 to November 15, 1915

-Educationist and reformer

-Most Influential spokesman for Black Americans between 1895 to 1915

-Determined to get an education, he enrolled at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia (1872), working as a janitor to help pay expenses

-He graduated in 1875 and returned to Malden, where for two years he taught children in a day school and adults at night. Following studies at Wayland Seminary, Washington, D.C. (1878–79), he joined the staff of Hampton.

-In 1881 Washington was selected to head a newly established normal school for blacks at Tuskegee, an institution with two small converted buildings, no equipment, and very little money

-Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute became a monument to his life’s work. At his death 34 years later, it had more than 100 well-equipped buildings, some 1,500 students, a faculty of nearly 200 teaching 38 trades and professions, and an endowment of approximately $2 million.

-He urged his fellow blacks, most of whom were impoverished and illiterate farm labourers, to temporarily abandon their efforts to win full civil rights and political power and instead to cultivate their industrial and farming skills so as to attain economic security

-In his epochal speech (Sept. 18, 1895) to a racially mixed audience at the Atlanta (Ga.) Exposition, Washington summed up his pragmatic approach in the famous phrase: “In all things that are purely social we can be separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.”

-These sentiments were called the Atlanta Compromise by such critics as the black intellectual W.E.B DuBois.

-During the period of Washington’s ascendancy as national spokesman for black Americans, his race was systematically excluded both from the franchise and from any effective participation in national political life, and rigid patterns of segregation and discrimination became institutionalized in the Southern states.

-Even Washington’s visit to the White House in 1901 was greeted with a storm of protest as a “breach of racial etiquette.”

-Most blacks felt comfortable with Washington’s approach, however, and his influence among whites was such that he became an unofficial arbiter determining which black individuals and institutions were deemed worthy to benefit from government patronage and white philanthropic support

-He went on to receive honorary degrees from Harvard University (1896) and Dartmouth College (1901). Among his dozen books is his autobiography, Up from Slavery (1901), translated into many languages.

-Representative of the last generation of black American leaders born in slavery.

-Northern critics called Washington’s followers the “Tuskegee Machine”.

-Has a high school named after him.

-He also founded the National Negro Business League in 1900. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, both men with deep racial prejudices, used Washington as an advisor because he accepted racial subordination.

If you are looking for a new place to call home, Calgary may be the ideal option, especially if you are expecting to rent Calgary homes. Here are some things about the city that you will likely appreciate and enjoy.

• Calgary has a variety of neighborhoods and communities designed to appeal to a variety of lifestyles. The Downtown area of Calgary is full of tall buildings for that big city atmosphere. Many of these buildings also have shopping centers in them and they are also connected by a covered walkway system for easy travel between the buildings. The Inglewood community is one of the “hipper” areas of the city with its various bookshops, antique stores, trendy eateries and clubs. Other neighborhoods include Uptown, Kensington and Mission, just to name a few.

• Whether you are a fan of seafood, American style burgers, steak or Canadian fare, Calgary has everything that you are looking for. You can find something fancy and romantic for you and your significant other or find something on the less expensive side that the entire family can enjoy. And the best part is that it is all within just a short distance from most of the Calgary rental homes that are available.

• The Calgary Public Library is a full service library with thousands of resources that you can use for researching particular topics. You can check out some of the latest books and videos or participate in one of the many programs that it offers for members of the community. Some of the programs include story times, ways to help you practice your English, coffee times and so much more.

• If you like to have nearby attractions that you can enjoy with the kids, Calgary is a great place for you to rent a home. Calgary Tower is one of the most recognizable symbols in the entire city and it is visible against the beautiful Calgary skyline. The Fort Calgary Historic Park offers a history lesson in how the area was settled many years ago. For something more exciting, the Saddledome is the home of Calgary’s world-famous rodeo which occurs every year in July.

These are just some of the things that you can enjoy when you rent Calgary homes. Once you start exploring the area, you will find many more things that will make you glad that you made Calgary your new home.

IHOP, one of America’s favorite restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner, has announced plans to serve millions of free pancakes again next year in celebration of National Pancake Day on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.  Planned as a celebration of friends, family and community, IHOP hopes the program will raise $1.75 million for Children’s Miracle Network, an international non-profit organization that raises funds for children’s hospitals, and other worthy local causes.

2010 will mark IHOP’s fifth year celebrating the national event and the company has set an ambitious goal to raise a cumulative $5 million for charity in the first five years of its free flapjack philanthropic effort.  More than 1,400 IHOP restaurants throughout the United States will once again invite guests to enjoy a free short stack of IHOP’s signature buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on National Pancake Day.  In return, IHOP guests are asked to donate what they would have paid for the free pancakes, or more, to the Children’s Miracle Network hospital in their community, or another designated local cause.

“We are flipping for ‘five in five’ with our 2010 National Pancake Day campaign, and with our guests’ generous support, plan to reach our goal of $5 million in five years,” said Carolyn O’Keefe, IHOP’s senior vice president, marketing. “IHOP’s franchisees and guests have raised more than $3.25 million to support Children’s Miracle Network and other local charities since we started our National Pancake Day in 2006.  The day has become a tradition for families and friends who wish to enjoy great food and great service while helping out a great cause.”

Children’s Miracle Network “Miracle Balloons” will be sold for $1 and $5 each and will be personalized and displayed at participating IHOP restaurants from February 1 through February 23, 2010.  Miracle Balloon sales offer guests another way to show their support of Children’s Miracle Network and contribute to the National Pancake Day fundraising effort.

In 2009, IHOP gave away three million pancakes and raised nearly $1.5 million in support of Children’s Miracle Network and other local charities, far exceeding its goal to raise $1 million.  Since starting its National Pancake Day celebration in 2006, IHOP has given away more than 6.1 million free pancakes to benefit children’s charities –- that stacks up more than 53.5 miles high!

For more information about IHOP’s National Pancake Day, or to learn more about Children’s Miracle Network and make an online donation, visit www.ihoppancakeday.com.

ABOUT CHILDREN’S MIRACLE NETWORK

Children’s Miracle Network is an international non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals. Countless individuals, 90 organizations and 400 media partners unite with Children’s Miracle Network hospitals to help sick and injured kids in local communities. Donations to Children’s Miracle Network create miracles by funding medical care, research and education that saves and improves the lives of 17 million children each year. To learn more go to ChildrensMiracleNetwork.org.

ABOUT IHOP

For 51 years, the IHOP family restaurant chain has served its world famous pancakes and a wide variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner items that are loved by people of all ages. IHOP offers its guests an affordable, everyday dining experience with warm and friendly service. The first IHOP opened in Toluca Lake, Calif. in 1958, and as of September 30, 2009, there were 1,433 IHOPs in 50 states, Canada and Mexico. IHOP restaurants are franchised and operated by Glendale, Calif.-based International House of Pancakes, LLC and its affiliates. International House of Pancakes, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DineEquity, Inc. (NYSE: DIN).