Reginald Francis Lewis was born in (East) Baltimore, Maryland on December 7, 1942. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, black people weren’t allowed to shop at many of the stores and they had designated restaurants and movie theaters they were able to attend. At the age of 6, Reginald decided things would be different for him and stated "why should white guys have all the fun?"
Lewis graduated from Virginia State University with a degree in Economics and later graduated from Harvard Law School with his law degree. Upon graduation, Reginald accepted a position with the prestigious law firm Park, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York City. His position in the corporate law department only held his interest for 2 years (1968-1970)…Lewis wanted to be on his own.
Wallace, Murphy, Thorpe & Lewis was the first Black law firm on Wall Street. The firm specialized primarily in the growing market of Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Companies (MESBIC’s). Lewis brought in most of firms business making him the “rainmaker” in the firm and he often used his savings so others would have a paycheck. He did MESBIC transactions for 14 years. Although these transactions were worth million of dollars, Lewis felt they were second class; he wanted to be handle the big transactions alongside the white attorneys.
Again restless, he began to seek his next business venture…corporate acquisitions.
Reginald’s first target was Park Sausage. Unfortunately, the deal was lost to another buyer and he was devastated. Two years later (1977), the Almet acquisition fell through. The seller backed out of the deal on the day of closing. After threatening to sue the owner for breach of contract, Lewis was paid $250,000 to drop the suit (all fees and expenses were reimbursed). Determined not to display his disappointment, he came to the conclusion he wasn’t ready. Reginald took a long vacation and began to study every successful takeover he could find. He would be ready to take on his next corporate acquisition with a vengeance…and that he did.
In 1982, he purchased an FM radio station in St. Thomas. Due to the station being broadcasted from a trailer located in the mountains, unclear reception and damaged equipment Lewis decided to cut his losses and sold the station in 1986.
Lewis’ 2nd successful acquisition was in 1984 for $22.5 million. The McCall Pattern Company designed and manufactured sewing patterns. Before the sell of McCall in June 1987, Reginald Lewis was responsible for the companies two most profitable years in history.
Based on the pronouncements of the court on May 17, 1954, everyone in the courtroom was shocked after it became clear that Marshall was right in his claim about the unconstitutionality of legal segregation in American public schools. Essentially, this court’s decision became a most important turning point in U.S. history because the desegregation case had been won by an African American attorney. Additionally, this became a landmark decision in the sense that it played a big role in the crumbling of the discriminatory laws against African Americans and people of color in major socioeconomic areas, such as employment, education, and housing (Stinson, 2008). Ultimately, Marshall’s legal achievements contributed significantly to the criminal justice field.
Ira Aldridge’s early life is one of the reasons why Aldridge was such an important actor. Aldridge was born in New York sometime in 1807 (Evans). When he was a teenager, Aldridge acquired his education at one of New York’s African Free Schools, earning an education most African-Americans did not receive in Aldridge’s time (Evans). In essence, the extra schooling Ira Aldridge received helped him to advance his career, because most African-Americans at the time were still working in low ranking jobs and did not get the opportunity to further themselves as Aldridge did. Aldridge went even further to get into an acting career. The first taste of theatre Ira Aldridge got that sparked his interest was at The African Grove Theatre performi...
Even though Jim Lewis was in World War 2, he led an average American life. He raised four kids in the Piedmont of North Carolina, with the values of love and respect. He influenced others through his hard work, dedication to his country, and his loyalty to his family. He voluntarily joined World War 2 and was a part of the Automobile Industry for 20+ years. Through this historical biography, you will learn about his life in the war, involvement of the crash in the S.S. Uruguay, and the car industry of the 1950’s-60’s.
Charles Lyell Charles Lyell was a British lawyer and one of the smartest geologists known at his time. He was known as the author of the Principles of Geology, which helped popularize the theories and concepts of uniformitarianism. The Principles of Geology was the first book written by Lyell and explained the changes in the earth’s surface. He used the research and information in the book as his proof to determine that the earth was over 6,000 years old. The central argument in his book was “the present is the key to the past”, this meant that to find out what happened in the past you had to look at what was happening now.
Named after his dad’s brother, Thoroughgood Marshall was born in the summer of 1908. Thoroughgood Marshall shortened his name to Thurgood Marshall in the second grade because he thought his name was too long and he disliked spelling it. He originated from a middle class family in Baltimore, Maryland. Neither technically included within the north or the south of the country, Maryland’s racism reflected its position on a map. Between the obvious race divided south and the less prejudice north, Maryland included individuals with a mixture of principles and beliefs at the time. The author makes a good point that the geographic setting that Marshall originated from was one of the few factors that formed his thoughts and views on civil rights. His dad, William Marshall, worked as a waiter and country club steward. His mother, Norma Williams, was an elementary school teacher.
Mr. Griffin was a middle age white man who lived with his wife and children. He was not oriented to his family. He decided to pass his own society to the black society. Although this decision might help most of the African Americans, he had to sacrifice his gathering time with his family. “She offered, as her part of the project, her willingness to lead, with our three children, the unsatisfactory family life of a household deprived of husband and father” (Griffin 9). Leaving Mrs. Griffin and his children would deprive them of the care they needed. Even though he was not oriented to his family, he was full of courage. He was willing to discuss topics that people hesitated to talk about, trying new ideas that people were afraid to do. After turning back to his own skin color, he attended most media conferences and also wrote books about what he had gone through. During those interviews, Griffin was very considerate. He requested Wallace, a reporter, to report carefully so that he would not hurt his African American friends. “Please… Don’t mention those names on the air.
John Robert Lewis was born on February 21, 1940 in Troy, Alabama. The son of a sharecropping family, he resided on the family farm. Subject to the regular Jim Crow mindset of the South, he attend a segregated public school in Pike County, Alabama. Early on, he was influenced by civil rights role models such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. His family on the other hand, believed that there was no use trying to change the culture of the South, and advised him to stay out of trouble. He attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and graduated from the American Baptist Theological Seminary which adds stories that he told of preaching to chickens for practice. Preaching to chickens aside, Lewis’ interest in the Civil Rights Movement continued to push him.
John Lewis states that the country needs new laws to be put in place. Lewis uses an anaphora “We need a bill” that portrays his mistrust and doubts towards the way the legislation is run at the time. Lewis immediately states a wrong that the legislation has made when he states “We must have legislation that will protect the Mississippi sharecropper who is put off of his farm because he dares to register to vote.” (para 4). The statement describes an example of how the laws that are set in place have no real intention of protecting the people of color in any way, shape or form. The phrase portrays why the people of color have been marching in the first place, the government has no intention to help them with the horrible conditions they have
Bukka White, young B.B. looked him up for advice and found himself working as a street corner bluesman
“Born on August 18, 1774, close to Ivy, Virginia, Meriwether Lewis was considered the greatest pathfinder the country has ever had. Coming from his family estate in Locust Hill, he came from a decorated family. His father Williams Lewis, his mother Lucy Meriwether, and his father’s cousin. His mother was a skilled cook and herbalist; her generous and charismatic nature was known throughout the region. His family was one of the first to settle in the region and had a long standing connection and friendship with the Jefferson family.
Lewis Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1848. He was the son of George and Rebecca Latimer, escaped slaves from Virginia. When Lewis Latimer was a boy his father George was arrested and tried as a slave fugitive. The judge ordered his return to Virginia and slavery, but the local community to pay for George Latimer’s freedom raised money. George Latimer later went underground fearing his re-enslavement, a great hardship for Lewis' family.
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).
In the mid 1900's, America was finally now an independent country, but had many flaws within their undeveloped system. Racism and segregation towards African Americans was at an all time high in the Southern states. With the Jim Crow laws in place, the privileges that white Americans had were overwhelmingly more than African Americans had ("Civil Rights Movement," para. 1). During this period of injustice in our country's history, there were many activists of equal rights, both black and white. While there were many people who helped the cause, one of the most influential civil rights activists was John Lewis.
Marshall received his law degree from Howard in 1933, and set up a private practice in Baltimore. The following year, he began working with the Baltimore NAACP. H...
This case examines issues of asset control for Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., in light of the outstanding takeover offers by Chartwell Investments, Dreyer‘s Grand, Unilever, and Meadowbrook Lane Capital in January 2000.