Ridgefield Allies

Today in “Hidden” History is a daily listing of important but little-known events illustrating the range of innovators, contributors, or incidents excluded from formal history lessons or common knowledge. Hidden history is intended not as an exhaustive review, but merely as an illustration of how popular narratives "hide" many matters of fundamental importance. Bookmark this page and check daily to quickly expand your knowledge. Suggest entries for Today in “Hidden” History by clicking the Contact Us link. Entries for April 30:

Date	Type	Event
1863		Educator and suffragist Sarah J. Tompkins Garnet (née Smith) becomes the first African-American female school principal in the New York City public school system. Sarah began teaching at the segregated African Free School of Williamsburg in 1854, later taking over as principal of Grammar School Number 4. She taught many prominent students, including musician Walter F. Craig. She served as teacher and principal for 37 years. Learn more.
1892		A white mob lynches Ephraim Grizzard in Nashville, Tennessee, just days after the lynching of his brother, Henry. In the middle of the afternoon, the unmasked mob dragged Ephraim Grizzard from the Nashville jail, stripped him naked, beat and stabbed him severely, and then hanged him from the Woodland Street Bridge. As Mr. Grizzard’s corpse swayed in the air, members of the mob riddled his body with bullets. Thousands of spectators viewed the brutal scene as Mr. Grizzard’s mutilated body was reportedly left on display for almost 90 minutes. Four or five black men, including Mr. Grizzard and his brothers Henry and John, had been arrested on April 27 in response to the nonspecific allegations of two white girls that Black men had assaulted them. Ephraim and Henry were murdered before ever having been specifically identified, investigated, or tried. Despite the bold, public nature of both lynchings, no one was held accountable for either of the brothers’ deaths. Learn more.
1920		Community organizer and relentlessly energetic children's health advocate Odessa Brown is born. Brown was a staunch supporter of a health care facility for children in the Central Area. She worked tirelessly in this mostly African American neighborhood to make residents aware of the health needs of the area and to express these needs to the planners at Seattle Model Cities, a federally-funded anti-poverty agency. Her efforts persuaded Seattle Model Cities to develop a children’s clinic to serve the city’s Central District. She died before the clinic opened its doors in 1970, and it was named the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in her memory. Learn more.
1983		American journalist, newspaper publisher, and editor Robert C. Maynard becomes the first African American to gain a controlling interest in a major metropolitan newspaper when he purchases the The Oakland Tribune from Gannett. He is widely recognized for turning around the then struggling newspaper and transforming it into a 1990 Pulitzer Prize-winning journal. Maynard was friends with influential New York writers James Baldwin and Langston Hughes, and was also co-founder of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education in Oakland, California. Learn more.