Febuary is Black History Month. Over the next few weeks, I will post a few black history facts every week. Here are this weeks facts.......
- Cathay Williams was the first and only known female Buffalo Soldier. She was born into slavery and worked for the Union army during the Civil War. She posed as a man and enlisted as Williams Cathay in the 38th infantry in 1866. She was given a medical discharge in 1868.
- Judy W. Reed was the first African-American woman to receive a patent in 1884 for a hand-operated machine used to knead and roll dough.
- John Love invented the pencil sharpener in 1897.
- Black History Month originated in 1926 by Carter Godwin Woodson as Negro History Week. The month of February was chosen in honor of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, who were both born in that month.
- The African Free School in New York City was the first free school for African-Americans. It was started by the abolitionist group the New York Manumission Society in 1787.
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I have my black history moments scheduled for every Thursday this month. Be sure to check it out.