Ridgefield Allies, Author at 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 May 01:

Date	Type	Event
1863		By a joint resolution adopted by the Confederate Congress and signed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy authorizes enslavement or execution of Black union troops captured in the Civil War. The barbaric policy states that “negroes or mulattoes, slave or free, taken in arms should be turned over to the authorities in the state in which they were captured and that their officers would be tried by Confederate military tribunals for inciting insurrection and be subject, at the discretion of the court and the president, to the death penalty." Learn more.
1865		Over 10,000 formerly enslaved African Americans establish the precedent for our modern observance of Memorial Day when they march onto the former Washington Race Course in Charleston, South Carolina, which had been turned into a prison camp for Union Soldiers, in order to commemorate the hundreds of soldiers who had died on those grounds. The African American freedman had worked in the previous weeks burying the bodies of the soldiers. They also cleaned up the grounds while creating an enclosure and an arch that stated “Martyrs of the Race Course”. The day, which was called “Decoration Day,” was attended by the freedman, teachers, missionaries and members of the National Print Press. The marchers brought flowers, sang songs, prayed, listened to sermons and later had picnics.
1946		African American theological educator Emma Clarissa Williams is named American Mother-of-the-Year, the first Black woman to hold such an honor. Clement accepted the award “in the name of millions of Negroes in the United States and in the name of all mothers.” After her husbands death, Clement raised alone her four sons and three daughters, all of whom graduated college, four who became college professors, including her son Rufus E. Clement who served as president of Atlanta University. Learn more.
1950		American poet, author, and teacher Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks wins the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Annie Allen, making her the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. Throughout her prolific writing career, Brooks received many more honors. A lifelong resident of Chicago, she was appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois in 1968, a position she held until her death 32 years later. She was also named the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress for the 1985–86 term. In 1976, she became the first African-American woman inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Learn more.