In the speech below to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, on August 1, 1987, Clarence Thomas, then Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), makes the case that many African Americans have always embraced conservative values and thus their natural political home … Read More(1987) Clarence Thomas, “Why Black Americans Should Look to Conservative Politics”
On July 28, 1998, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas gave the keynote speech at the National Bar Association, the predominately black national lawyers’s association, at its annual convention held that year in Memphis, Tennessee. The speech appears below. Mr. Mayor, my fellow colleagues of … Read More(1998) Clarence Thomas, “Speech to the National Bar Association”
On January 10, 2017, Barack Obama delivered his last farewell address in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. His speech is appears below: THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Chicago! (Applause.) It’s good to be home! (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. … Read More(2017) Barack Obama’s Farewell Address as President of the United States
August 11, 1955 Editor: I promised God and some other responsible characters, including a bench of bishops, that I was not going to part my lips concerning the U.S. Supreme Court decision on ending segregation in the public schools of the South. But since a … Read More(1955) Zora Neale Hurston’s Letter to the Orlando Sentinel
Benjamin Banneker’s Letter to Thomas Jefferson, August 19, 1791 SIR, I AM fully sensible of the greatness of that freedom, which I take with you on the present occasion; a liberty which seemed to me scarcely allowable, when I reflected on that distinguished and dignified … Read More(1791) Benjamin Banneker’s Letter to Thomas Jefferson
On August 15, 1987 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall spoke to a gathering of federal judges. Reflecting on his two decades on the Court and particularly on recent affirmative action rulings by the High Court, Justice Marshall reminded his audience that the United States … Read More(1987) Thurgood Marshall, “A Colorblind Society Remains an Aspiration”
Rev. Joseph Jackson, long time pastor of Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois, and President of the National Baptist Convention from 1953 to 1982 became the leading spokesperson for the black conservative opposition to the direct action civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther … Read More(1964) Joseph Jackson, “The Vote is the Only Effective Weapon in the Civil Rights Struggle”
Angelo Herndon was an African-American Communist organizer who, after working on behalf of poor and unemployed blacks and whites in Atlanta, Georgia, was charged with “insurrection” in 1932. In his defense, Herndon spoke directly to the all-white jury and, though he was found guilty, the … Read More(1932) Angelo Herndon Addresses His Jury
“Image Ownership: Michael Kinsey” Corporate executive, ordained minister, and university educator James A. Joseph served as United States Ambassador to post-apartheid South Africa from 1995 to 1999. Ambassador Joseph returned to the United States to deliver the speech below to the General Convention of Alpha … Read More(1997) The Idea of an African Renaissance, Myth or Reality?
In 1951 Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, then President of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, was, was already one of the most prominent African American educators in the United States. He influenced hundreds of young African Americans who came under his tutelage including undergraduate students at … Read More(1951) Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Addresses the NAACP National Convention
