Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) Mathematician, Inventor: Born on November 9, 1731 near Elliott City, Maryland, Benjamin Banneker was one of America's greatest intellectuals and scientists. Benjamin Banneker was an essayist, inventor, mathematician, and astronomer. Because of his dark skin and great intellect he was called the "sable genius." Benjamin Banneker was a self-taught mathematician and astronomer.

Separate drinking fountains for whites and blacks. "Colored balconies" in movie theaters. Seats in the back of the bus. Soldiers called out to protect little children who were trying to go to school. It may be difficult to believe these were examples of conditions in America less than 40 years ago. The struggle to change these conditions, and to win equal protection under the law for citizens of all races, formed the backdrop of Martin Luther King's short life.

The following piece is a paper written by Paul Hill, Jr. It was written in conjunction with the celebration of Black History Month. Paul Hill is presently the director of East End Neighborhood House in Cleveland, Ohio and is a former Black History Teacher at Dyke College and Cuyahoga Community College.

Africa and its people are the most written about and the least understood of all the world's people. This condition started in the 15th and 16th centuries with the beginning of the slave trade and the colonialism system. The Europeans not only colonized most of the world, they began to colonize information about the world and its people. In order to do this, they had to forget, or pretend to forget, all they had previously known about the Africans. They were not meeting them for the first time; there had been another meeting during Greek and Roman times. At that time they complimented each other.