GumGum Black History Month Spotlights : Week 1
In celebration of Black History Month, each week GumGummers will be spotlighting inspiring Black Americans throughout history through the present day who have made an impact and mark in the world.
This week we’ll be highlighting the lives and legacies of Chadwick Boseman, Jimi Hendrix, Tupac Shakur, and Robert Sengstacke Abbott.
Read more about them below.
Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Boseman (1976 - 2020) - Steady, gracious, and the complete opposite of flashy, Boseman ascended to become one of the most cherished and important parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reminding the world that superheroes aren't just white saviors, they can and should represent and fight for everyone in the world. As inextricable as Boseman is with Black Panther, he showed equal depth, power, and reverence when it came to portraying real-life heroic men like Jackie Robinson, in 42, and James Brown in Get On Up. No matter the icon — protector of the world, baseball hero, musical legend, or Supreme Court Justice — if Boseman was in the role, there was always dignity, there was always nuance, and there was always the pride of offering another perspective about what it means to be Black in the world.
Boseman remained equally dedicated to using his station as an international star to often speak on that which both his fans and everyday citizens needed to hear: the power we have to fight for change, more opportunities for people of color, a better world, and always using our voice. While dealing with his own illness, Boseman consistently visited children battling cancer. When parents told him their terminally ill children were trying to "hold on until [Black Panther] comes" he felt the weight of his role as King T'Challa. And he executed his role perfectly — touching countless lives. Inspiring, motivating, and often visibly affected with emotion, Boseman never took his voice for granted, and he never stopped using that voice, even when faced with his own struggles.
Jimi Hendrix
JIMI HENDRIX (1942-1970) - For decades, a belief has taken hold among guitarists — to prove your ability, you must pay homage to Jimi Hendrix. He was hailed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as “the most gifted instrumentalist of all time.” Hendrix’s virtuosity looms so large that many guitarists still vainly attempt to emulate him. Just as whiz-kid classical pianists flaunt their chops by interpreting Mozart, so have guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Prince, and John Mayer felt the need to perform Hendrix classics such as “Hey Joe,” “Little Wing” and “Foxey Lady.” That’s why rock’s magazine of record, Rolling Stone, named Hendrix the greatest guitar player ever.
By the time of his death in 1970, Hendrix had so thoroughly changed musical perceptions that even jazz legends such as Miles Davis and Gil Evans were taking cues from him. It’s almost impossible to imagine influential jazz-fusion albums like Davis’ Bitches Brew — or acid-funk masterpieces like Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain — without Hendrix having laid the groundwork. That’s why in the world of electric guitar, there are two ages — the monochrome era Before Hendrix, and the limitless, kaleidoscopic period After Hendrix.
Director of People Ops , Reena Rai shares about her favorite rapper and activist, Tupac Shakur.
“ Hello everyone! My Black History Month Spotlight post is regarding my favorite rapper and activist, the legendary, TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR. I went to the Tupac Shakur Experience (exhibit) this past weekend in LA and learned tons of new information! Tupac was not only a musician, but also an actor, activist, entertainer, poet, and passionate leader. He used his music and other notable skills to address social issues hindering people of color from achieving success. Check out this informative article on how Tupac Changed the World.“I’m not saying I’m going to change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” Tupac Shakur”
Robert Sengstacke Abbott
Robert Sengstacke Abbott (1870 - 1940) Born on December 24, 1870, to formerly enslaved parents in St. Simons, Georgia, Robert Sengstacke Abbott attended Hampton Institute in Virginia and then went on to graduate from Kent Law School (now Chicago-Kent College of Law in Illinois) in 1899. In May 1905 he started publishing the Chicago Defender. In the early years, he personally sold subscriptions to the paper and advertising by going door to door. The paper attacked racial injustice, particularly lynching in the south. The Defender did not use the words “Negro” or “black” in its pages. Instead, African Americans were referred to as “the Race” and black men and women as “Race men and Race women.” Many places in the south effectively banned the paper, especially when, during World War I, Abbott actively tried to convince southern blacks to migrate to the north. Abbott managed to get railroad porters to carry his papers south and he ran articles, editorials, cartoons — even train schedules and job listings — to convince the Defender’s southern readers to come north. The “Great Northern Migration,” as it was called in the Defender, resulted in more than one million blacks migrating north, about 100,000 of them coming to Chicago. The Defender was passed from person to person, and read aloud in barbershops and churches. It is estimated that at its height each paper sold was read by four to five African Americans, putting its readership at over 500,000 people each week.In the burgeoning economic times of the 1920s, with hundreds of new products and the growth of advertising, the Defender became an economic success and Abbott became one of the first African American millionaires. Abbott, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, died in Chicago on February 29, 1940, at the age of 69, with the Defender still a success. Without Abbott’s creative vision, many of the Black publications of today—such as Ebony, Essence, Black Enterprise, and Upscale—wouldn’t exist.
Check back next week for more Black History Month spotlights and check out the #Voice slack channel for daily Black History Month updates and shares.