Black History Month 2025
1973 1974-1977 1978
37 Richard M. Nixon | 38 Gerald Ford | 39 Jimmy Carter
Black Power Affirmative Action Mass Incarceration
The 'Welfare Queen' Was Invented
Chicago, Illinois - The phrase 'Welfare Queen' was used for the first time, in print. The story was by George Bliss, in the Chicago Tribune. It was about Linda Taylor.
Taylor was a career criminal and con-artist. She was charged with many crimes and welfare fraud. Despite welfare being one of many crimes she was alleged to have committed, Bliss used the term 'Welfare Queen' to describe her.
Ronald Reagan used the story in his 1976 Presidential campaign. He argued that poor women used welfare to get over on the system. He used the story of Linda Taylor, as his example.
There were many doubts that the story was true, as told by Reagan. Yet, Reagan used the con-artist as a basis to push his welfare reform policy of the 1980s. Those reforms limited access to welfare to Black American women and children. Black men were already blocked from welfare, except in special cases.
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Elijah Muhammad Died
Chicago, Illinois - Elijah Muhammad died. He was born Elijah Robert Poole. Muhammad led the Nation of Islam, for more than 30 years. This period covered the most expansive and dominant period of the Nation of Islam.
Muhammad led the group into the Black Rights movement (later called Civil Rights). This continued through the Black Power movement, and into the integration era. At one time, under his leadership, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, and Muhammad Ali were all followers.
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WGPR Goes On-Air
Detroit, Michigan - The first wholly-owned and operated Black American television (TV) station began its first broadcast. This was a first in the United States. It was founded by William V. Banks. The station had no network affiliation so the station created its own programs.
Banks was an attorney. He founded The International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, Inc. and Order of Eastern Stars. The Masons sold WGPR 20 years later.
On September 20th, 1995, the deal was finalized. It left Black Americans with no control of any TV station in Detroit. No Black American television has broadcast since, in Detroit.
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Roots First Aired on Television
Burbank, California - Roots was first broadcast, on ABC (American Broadcasting Company). It was the story of a Black family. It began in Africa, with the birth of a Black child, in 1750.
As the child grew, he reached the age of maturity. There, he began his rites of passage. It was at this time, that he was captured, by white males. These whites made him a slave.
Roots showed his path through the Transatlantic Slave Trade and into American slavery. Slave existence was shown all the way to the American Slavery War. The final part showed life after slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, and a grim future for Black Americans. The time spanned over 100 years of American history.
There were 8 parts. Each was shown over 8 days. All times are Eastern time. Roots Parts 1 and 2 were on Sunday and Monday, 9:00-11:00 p.m.
Parts 3, 4, and 5 were on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Part 6 was on Saturday, from 9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Part 7 was on Sunday, from 10:00 p.m - 11:00 p.m.
Roots Part 8 was on last, on Monday, from 9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Part 8 was the highest rated of the series. It was the third (3rd) most watched show in television history.
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