Dr. Charles Becknell SR. Black History Talk at La Casita Elementary, Clovis, NM

Of the human voice, expressing one's emotions, originally true gospel with some acapella which means only the voice, no musical accompaniment, like this. It's been a month. And during Black History Month you talk about the leaders and contributions and things that have happened that have blacks have contributed to the United States. So I'm going to talk to you about that and also about some of the things that blacks have done in the state of New Mexico. And I think that's important because throughout the state of New Mexico you don't see too many blacks, so don't do many people know what they've done. But first of all, let me just say that everybody in the United States that came from someplace

else, you know, their ancestors came to this country. And those of us who are black, our ancestors came from work. Africa? Right. And Africa is a large continent. It's three and a half times the size of the United States. It's pretty big isn't it? Now, in Africa, before our people were brought to this country, they had established vast civilizations, large civilizations. They had school systems, they had way back during that time, before the 16th century, long before we came, they had the banking systems, and they had to engage in international trade and trade in all the African waters. So, they had also

the smelting of iron, you know, how you make iron, you know, you melt it down and make designs from it. That first started in Africa as well. So, our people had done great deal before they were brought to this country. When they were brought to this country, they came as what? As slaves, right? So, at slaves, they didn't get a chance to do too much because they were always working in the fields. But there are a number of people who were not slaves who did do a number of things. For instance, back during the period of slavery, and have you studied in your history, the American Revolution, the war for independence, when the United States wanted to break away from England, remember they had the fights, and the red coats, you know those guys walking through with the red coats on them? Well, the first person to get their life during the American Revolution was a black man. I didn't know who that was. His name

was Christmas Attics. Christmas Attics, he was a black slave. And he took a group of people down in Boston Square and said, we must stand up to this British invasion. And he was the first person to lose his life. So, Christmas Attics was a great man. There was another person by the name of Gustavus Vasa. It's kind of funny name, isn't it? But he was a great man. He wrote a book, and he was an escape slave. But he wrote a book of eight volumes. And that's the best book today of anybody who's written a book about what the slave experience was like in the United States. Now, there was another person they filled up quickly. She was a great poet. She wrote a number of poems that are still popular today. And all of this

took place during the American Revolution. Now, anybody know what an inventor is? That's when you make something that somebody else has never made before, right? Okay. Let me just tell you about some of the inventions that are made by blacks in the United States. Any of your fathers play golf? No golf tears? No, there's a little thing that you put in the golf bar one. Okay. A black person is responsible for that. You like to go to the teachers? Good. A black person is responsible for making a picture. How many do you like ice cream? Ooh. Ice cream. All the kind of flavors where a black person is responsible for that. Now, what about the traffic light? Light out there that you come up to and

says, if it's red, what happens? Stop, right? If it's green, you know. A black man by the name of Garrett A. Morton invented the traffic light. And he also invented the gas mask. Let the mask go up your face to get the gas. Okay. You're responsible for that. Garrett A. Morton. There's a famous doctor. Well, they're two famous doctors that I want you to know. One was Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. He was from Chicago. And he was the first American surgeon to successfully complete open -cock surgery in the United States. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. There's another person. Dr. Charles Drew. He has my first name. So that's why it's famous, right?

But he invented blood plasma. What blood plasma is? You know how they store blood in the hospital, and if you get in an accident, person needs blood to replace what you've lost. Well, he invented that process of storing blood in the same millions and millions of lives throughout the entire world. And that's Dr. Charles Drew. How many of you would like to be an explorer? It's kind of exciting, isn't it? Do new things, open up new lands, and pave the way for other people to come in? No, people like him. Daniel Bohn, those were explorers. They were adventures. They opened up new frontiers. But there are a lot of blood explorers too. It was one of the James backwards. And history tells us that his best friends were Daniel Bohn and Kit Carson. James backwards around the city of Weblo, Colorado. And he

opened up a new pathway to California, through the Sierra Nevada mountains. He was a famous explorer. You know who was the first person other than the Indians to enter New Mexico. And on the front of them. On the front of buildings. I don't care though. That's the one. He laid, he was black, right? And he laid the expedition into New Mexico. And he laid the Spanish in here. And Staten Eagle was a tall man. He was really tall. Got a thin. And he loved turquoise. He could speak the language of the Indians. He got along real well. But the Indians thought that he was an Eagle spirit. But why? Because it's in California's different. And the first thing they did, you know what they did, they took a step in the eagle. And it took some soap and water. They tried to wash the

dark off of this kid. It wouldn't come off. And the Indians, they go, that the first white man they ever saw was black. And that's something you'll think. What about cables? You ever see a black cable? There are a lot of them. It's 3 ,000. 3 ,000 black cables in the state of Texas along. And what did they do? They put the cabin. The rope horses. They robbed banks. They got a fight just like all of you. Probably one of the most famous black cables. What's the man called? Deadwood Dead. He was pretty fast with a gun. That's what he called a deadwood. Not because he was in the weight. But because he was famous with a gun. Do you ever heard of Bulldog? You know what Bulldog needs? You ever see a

Bulldog? These guys ride the horse? Yeah. And then they jump off the horse, and take the steer and flip the motor. That's Bulldog. For the black cable, it was the first person to start that bulldog. But you know how he got his cow, dude? He twisted his neck, but he would bite the cow right on the nose. So he'd keep it down. That's Bulldog. That's the first person to start it by. In New Mexico, in this area, there was a group of soldiers that came out, who was sent out by the United States government to so -called Tane, the west of front here. And this group of soldiers, the 9th and 10th Calvary, they were also called the Buffalo soldiers. And they were firefighters, they were good soldiers. And they came out here, and four of the other soldiers came to this area. And they would call Buffalo soldiers. You know why they would call that?

They turned to a buffalo? No, the Indians started calling it that because the hair on the buffalo looked like the hair on the soldiers. And because the hair was pretty much the same, looked the same to them, they called it Buffalo soldiers. What they not got to mention, James Backward, used to fight with the Indians, and he became a chief in the pro -nation. And he got the title of a chief because he was supposed to come into this cave and rastle this bear out of there, kill this bear in this cave. So when he came out, he was given the honor of a chief of the pro -nation. Okay? So there were a number of cowboys, there were a number of winters, there were a number of people who came out in this area and opened up the West. What about New Mexico? In Mexico, there are a number of people that made harsher teachers,

some of them more recent. But have you heard of George Backward? It's called Folsomack. It was a black cowboy, found in the remains of some bones that dig it back to prehistoric times. It was George Backward, the famous cowboy. Also, it is said that black explorers came to this area long before the spiders, long before San Diego, because the moors were said to have come into New Mexico and opted to the area of what is now known as towns in Mexico. And if you have to see the Indians out there in that area, how they wear their blankets on their head, and around, and if you look at the moors, they wear their blankets the same way. So it's also said that cotton is first introduced in the next five lives. Probably the worst

mistake we ever made because once we planted a cotton, yes, we've had to pick it. We did, right? Okay. But there are some good things happening in the Mexico, okay? You know what a mare is? A mare is a person who runs the town, right? Okay. In Los Cruces, New Mexico, there is a black mare who was elected and he's the mare of the city and he runs the city. In Hollywood, New Mexico, my hometown, up until last September, there was a black man who was chief of the police force, all the policemen in the town worked with him. Also in Hollywood, in Los New Mexico, there is a man who is a member of the school board, elected to the school board. Okay?

So those of you who are in this room and you're here to learn, you're here to listen to your teacher, but also with an education, you want to go as high as you can go, right? And then what you need to do is look around and see how many people that you can relate to that are in high positions and then you try to get up to those positions as well. But it takes what? Self -confidence, right? And what else? Black control. Not black control, but lots of control, okay? But hard work, right? It takes hard work. Charities, right? And it's not easy, but it can be done. Any of you ever heard of Hannibal? New Who Hannibal is? Did you ever hear the story

about this man who led these elephants through the Alps and went into, you know, through the mountains and with all these soldiers and they went into Rome and occupied Rome for about 17 years. Well, Hannibal, who's one of the world's greatest military strategist, was a black man. Have you ever heard of Cleopatra? Cleopatra was black, and very beautiful, which is very beautiful, right? So there are a number of people throughout world history, American history, and the state of New Mexico who have made contributions who have done great things that have made all of our lives better. Okay. Those of you, unless you have tennis shoes on, look at your shoes. Okay. You see how your shoes are sewn? See the top part, sewn to the bottom part? Long time ago, that had to be done by hand,

and it took a lot of time to do that by hand. And each one had to be done very slowly. But there was a black man by the name of Jan Mattsligger, Jan Mattsligger, who invented a machine that was sewed the top of the shoe to the bottom of the shoe, much more rapidly than you could do by hand. And he's responsible for that. There's a man also with a, he's got a French name. His name is John Baptiste Du Saut and John Baptiste discovered the city of Chicago. He was the first person in the city of Chicago and everybody else came. So a black person is responsible for that. I think I'll stop right now and let you ask any questions you may want to ask. Anybody have any questions? You got it for the smile. Any questions? Anything you wanted to

know about? You've been watching Roots? Mm -hmm. That's a good movie, isn't it? Yes. Is that true? That's where, um, that's how it's saved his real life? Mm -hmm. That's his real life. I think I do for people planning. Mm -hmm. They have actors playing, you know, the parts of his, uh, his ancestors. Mm -hmm. But that's his real life. Yeah. Now it's really real famous now? Yeah, he's real famous. Yeah. Get a lot of money. And real rich, too. He's made a lot of money. Yeah. Yes. Sometimes it makes you mad, right? Yeah, I understand that. There are a lot of things that you face in life that will make you angry. But as you said, you have to have what? Courage. And control, right? Mm -hmm. And try to understand those things. But it's going to be up to you all to make the world a lot better so you don't have people

who are angry, who people who do not have an opportunity to do things. You know, we kind of mess this world up for you. But you're the ones that are going to have to try to clean up what we messed up. And I know you're attitude will be different than what you see on the movie rooms. But being angry is not nothing to be ashamed of. But try to understand why you're angry. Any other questions? I don't know. George Washington, hard to help, but got him. He's probably one of the most famous of all. You know, he took the peanut and he did so many things about that peanut. Special peanut butter. And somebody accidentally put some jelly on it and then we had a pretty good deal going, right? But George Washington Harvard was real famous and was the famous scientist. But he was Washington, was the famous man in the area of education? Yeah.

Martin Luther King, yeah. Great man. He was civil rights leader. And he changed a lot of things. It made things better for all of us. For everybody in this room and everybody in this country. He was a great man. Martin Luther King. Can anybody think of any others? Oh, go ahead. Is there any things you want to know? Good question. Good question. I'll tell you, they're going to keep us straight, right? Yeah, there are a number of famous women. There's a woman by the name of Mary McLeod Bethune. She was, she found it, the National Council of Negro Women. And there was a college named after her. Mary McLeod Bethune. I mentioned Phyllis Wheat and she was one, Harriet Tubman. And every double Harriet Tubman? Yeah, she was one of the ones that was on the Underground

Railroad. And what she did was went into the South. You know, when they had the slaves, she'd helped the slaves escape. She went into the South 19 times and led over 3 ,000 slaves from the South to the North. And she did that by herself. And she never lost a passenger on her railroad. Do you know why? So she carried a pistol right here in her belt. And if anybody decided they wanted to run away from slavery, and they started walking off, and then they decided they wanted to go back. She would tell them, she says, you can keep going with me, or I'll shoot you. What chores would you make? Go to them. That's why they never found out, you know, how they got out of the South because nobody ever went back. She was so famous and so effective that they had a reward for her of $40 ,000. That's a lot of money, isn't it? It was only in them days. Oh, yeah. There was a lot of money in those days. A lot of money. So there were some

famous women, a lot of them. And it was the women that really started the whole thing, okay? They were counted. They never called it. Yeah, she was, she was, she was pretty good at what she was doing. Yes. She said, when did she die? I don't know exactly when she died, but she died in, I think, Syracuse, New York. And finally she decided, you know, she didn't want to go into the South anymore. Got too dangerous. And there was a lot of money and there were a lot of people looking for. But she did help a lot of people get out. Okay. It was a lot of money back then, didn't it? Well, no, it was all. Is that the one? Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens. That's the whole thing we haven't even talked about, right? Sports. Jackie Robinson, who first broke into the Major League, and others began to follow Old J Simpson. You heard Old J Simpson? Thank you. Right? Good

football player. Home of Ali? Home of Ali. Reggie Jackson. Reggie Jackson. Tough, isn't he? He's just playing for the wrong team. He should be playing for the young. He already dodged, it's my favorite team. Right? That's the only problem I got with Reggie. He's playing with the wrong team. That's about last bunch. We read about him. This is a club. You have questions? You know, there's just so much history, and I think what I'll do is just answer your question today. What do you think the makers started coming into Mexico? When Black started coming into New Mexico, well, the first one was a Stevanico. And I would say in the early 1800s, is when you had a number of Blacks coming into New Mexico. They came in mostly with the railroads as they came into... as they built the railroads across the Western States. What if I could go to this way or would? Elzas Devanico too. See,

what he did, he led the Spanish up through Arizona into the Mexico. It's all this way. Look at the seven cities ago. How do they have slaves? Why do they have slaves? Well, at that time, when they had slaves, people could make a lot of money. Having people do a lot of work for them. And they got the money in the slaves debt. So, if you got somebody doing the work, and you getting all the money, then it's pretty possible to have slaves. So, that's why they had slaves. Who's there? Anything in the city? Big part. Singers? Oh, yeah, there are a number of Blacks. Can you name some? I don't know. Stevie Wonder. My head and the jackson. The village people. Village people? See,

there's a lot of them. Diana Ross. Diana Ross, she's real good. Lena Horne. Donna Somers. Donna Somers. Rita Freightlis. James Brown. That's James Brown. He's fine. Are you sure? Joe Freightlis is a better fighter than he is a singer. He should stick to fighting, right? Oh, that's a new one. A lot of these latest groups out there. I don't know what to think about it. It's old. Oh, yeah. Back in the 50s. Back in the 50s, right? Yes. Marion Anderson. She's real famous. You're right about her yesterday. Alex. We're kind of seeing her much.

Opera. Opera, right? Any other question? Yes. Do they ever have slaves in New Mexico? Not that I know of. I don't think they ever slavery really took hold in New Mexico. Now, a lot of the people who left the South and came west brought their slaves with them. So there may have been some people here with slaves, but there was, as far as I know, no slavery in the state of New Mexico. Yes. Back in the South, there's no slavery. Oh, thank God there's no more slavery. But you can say it was responsible for really even though the Civil War abolished the slavery who is responsible to really, truly free and end so many of the injustices in the South. And for the segregation of the restrooms and the buses. But we spent days talking about

it. Mark, you're looking right. I was so hot. You had a question? Oh, are you going to answer that? Yes. How come the blacks didn't like being slaves? Now they go up to try and be butlers and they were slaves? Now they've tried to grow up to be butlers? No, they're so going to be butlers who are made to go. The things they used to do when they were slaves. And they should try to get away from that, huh? I just thought you could get away from that, huh? That's a big difference. And then, too, now it's by choice. You see, at that time, if you were a slave, you couldn't choose what you wanted to be. Somebody told you what they wanted you to do. But now, if you're going to be a butler or a maid, it's by choice. If that's what you want to do. Or you could quit whenever you want to. Or you

could get an education and you could do something else. So now you're not limited in terms of what you can do. But the main thing is that, you know, when you grow up, whatever you do, be proud of what you do. If you're a butler, if you're a maid, you try to be the best one that you can be. Or if you want to go higher than that or whatever you want to do. Don't be ashamed. As long as you're working, and you're doing your best and taking care of yourself and your family, be proud of that, okay? But I try to keep your try to defend on yourself. Don't wait for someone else to do it for you. You've got to study and know what you can do and work hard for yourself. But it's some of you thinking that somebody, if they just sit still, it's up to somebody else to make it happen and make more happen. If you keep waiting for somebody else, you're as important as God. Yeah, if you just wait for somebody to give it for you, somebody else is going to come along and grab it.

It's just like a football. You know, if you write it with a football and you hold it out like this, you see all those fumbles in the football game. And those guys hold the ball out like that. And what they're saying is, come and take the ball. And that's what happens, right? So they get that ball and they tuck it right here and they run with it. Nobody can take it from them. So you have to do it for yourself and you have to hold on. Don't make any fumbles. It's like basketball. Basketball? You look like you might be a football player one day, huh? You think basketball. Basketball? Hmm. He's playing basketball right now. No, I play basketball in college. It's a good sport. A good sport. A good sport. Who's team? A University of Alabama, Curtain. And I was going to play football for hot. I know where it comes from. No hard hockey. We used to be close all the time. Yeah, no hard hockey. Well, we don't, right? That's because we've taken over half the week. We're supporters of the Wildcats and they

owe all their success to this class. Right? Well, we didn't support them and lose tomorrow every week. for sure if they would not waste that thing too. Well, you have a great class. Good bunch of young people. You study hard, and you're the best that you can do in school, OK? And keep those pretty smiles on your faces and your girls. And you guys just keep looking handsome all the time. Keep getting those A's. I know all of your A's students, right? Just about. But you can, because so keep working at it, OK? I've enjoyed being here. APPLAUSE Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.