For some people November 12th is just an ordinary day… but it happens to be the birthday of someone near and dear to my heart.
My grandmother turned 80 years old today. Her name is Norma which means rule.
She was born and raised in Louisiana to a family of share croppers.
My grandmother has 7 siblings, 7 children, 14 grand children, and 18 great grand children.
She always says “God Brought Us A Mighty Long Way.”
My grandmother grew up as she puts it “on the rough side of the mountain during hard times.”
She picked cotton and worked in the fields for a 25 cents a day. Her family was very poor.
They lived in dirt floor houses with no electricity, no running water, out houses, and she says that you could see the moon and stars through their roof.
She’s absoulutely right, “God has brought us a mighty long way.” My grandmother has seen and experienced a lot in her lifetime.
With that in mind I took it upon myself to create this 80 year time-line of some of the events in her life and in American history.
1928 Norma was born November 12th to sharecroppers, Lottie and Andrew in Louisiana. American History: Herbert Hoover elected president. Walt Disney released his 1st Mickey Mouse cartoon and the 1st animated cartoon to use sound. George Eastman showed the 1st motion pictures ever exhibited. The Kellogg-Briand Treaty also known as The Pact of Paris, signed by 62 countries renouncing war “as an instrument of national policy”.
1929 American History: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Stock market plummets. A study revealed that 60% of U.S. citizens had annual incomes of less than $2,000. New York’s leading bankers met with Thomas W. Lamont of J. P. Morgan & Co. and raised a $240 million emergency fund to steady the market. Labor problems in the south. The beginning of the Great Depression.
1930 Norma’s sister Gladys born. American History: Pluto discovered and considered a planet.
1931 American History: Star Spangled Banner made national anthem.
1932 Norma’s sister Dorothy born. American History: Unemployed reached 13 million and wages were 60% less than in 1929. “We Want Beer” marches were held in many cities to protest the Prohibition of Alcohol. Franklin D. Roosevelt elected President.
1933 Norma’s sister Etta born. American History: Sixty-seven thousand homeless children were reported to be wandering the streets of New York City. President von Hindenburg of Germany appointed Adolf Hitler Chancellor. Prohibition of Alcohol was repealed.
1934 American History: Dr. Edward Townsend establishes pension plan for retired citizens.
1935 American History: Roosevelt opens second phase of New Deal in U.S., calling for social security, better housing, equitable taxation, and farm assistance. The Wagner Act, guaranteeing the worker’s right to collective bargaining, became law. Huey Long, governor of Louisiana, was assassinated. Joe Louis knocked out former heavy-weight champion Max Baer.
1936 American History: Franklin Roosevelt, nominated again as the Democratic presidential candidate and won the election, defeating Republican Alf Landon.
1937 Norma’s brother John L. born. Norma started working in the fields picking cotton with her mother. American History: The U.S. Government estimated that nearly a half million workers took part in sit-down strikes. The 1st nation-wide student strike against war. Golden Gate Bridge was dedicated in San Francisco.
1938 American History: Richard Whitney, former president of the New York Stock Exchange and a partner in J. P. Morgan and Company, was sentenced to Sing Sing Prison for grand larceny.
1939 Norma’s brother Rufus born. American History: The Great Depression ends. Ten million people were unemployed despite all of the efforts of the New Deal. German armies invaded Poland. Great Britain and France declared war.
1940 American History: Hattie McDaniel won the “Best Supporting Actress”, the 1st black ever to win an Oscar. Nylon stockings were placed on public sale throughout the country. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, returned to office for an unprecedented 3rd term.
1941 American History: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. America declares war on Japan. America enters World War II.
1942 American History: President Roosevelt orders Japanese-Americans into concentration camps. Gasoline rationing , 3 gallons per week.
1943 Norma’s sister Margie Inez born. American History: Withholding Tax Act was signed. Los Angeles Zoot Suit riot. Detroit riots. Mussolini resigns from Italy.
1945 American History: Nazi concentration camps discovered. Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Germany surrendered. Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The Charter for the United Nations was written in San Francisco. World War II ended.
1946 American History: The 1st computer made known as Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. The United Nations held its 1st session in London. The Simmons Company of Petersburg, Va., offered an “electronic” blanket for sale. The Exchange National Bank of Chicago offered a new service, called “Auto-bank.”
1947 Norma married RT. Norma’s 1st child, son Willie born. American History: Conducting experiments on the control of weather, the General Electric Company used dry ice to “seed” cumulus clouds at Concord, N.H. It produced rain. President Truman signed Executive Order 9835. The Cold War identified. Jackie Robinson 1st African American Major league baseball player.
1948 Norma’s daughter Jean born. American History: Segregation in the U.S. military outlawed by President Truman.
1949 Norma’s daughter Rose born. American History: The bikini was invented, The U.S. signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also known as the NATO pact signed, and cortisone was discovered.
1950 Norma’s son Raymond born. American History: U.S. population estimated at 150,697,361. The McCarran Internal Security Act was passed by Congress. The Korean War begins. Ralph J. Bunche 1st African American awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1951 American History: The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was adopted to limit Presidential terms.
1952 Norma’s son Jesse born. American History: Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President.
1953 American History: President Eisenhower signed a bill surrendering Federal ownership of $80 billion of offshore oil and gas reserves to the oil corporations. Charles E. Wilson, president of General Motors, was appointed Secretary of Defense by President Eisenhower. The Korean war ends and CIA starts a coup in Iran. Willie Thrower 1st African American NFL quarterback.
1954 Norma’s son RT Jr. born. American History: Brown v. Board of Education the Supreme Court declares school segregation unconstitutional.
1955 American History: Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a bus and was jailed. Sparked massive boycott. Bus segregation ordinance declared unconstitutional. Federal Interstate Commerce Commission bans segregation on interstate trains and buses.
1956 Norma’s daughter Marilyn born. American History: President Eisenhower reelected. Polio vaccine discovered. Nat King Cole the 1st African American to host a Network television show.
1957 American History: Orval Faubus, Governor of Arkansas, ordered the National Guard to stop nine black students from entering Little Rock High School. Federal troops were sent by President Eisenhower to allow the nine black students to enter the school.
1958 American History: Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, 1st African Americans to win Grammy Awards.
1959 American History: Fidel Castro takes over Cuba, Alaska becomes 49th state. Hawaii becomes 50th state.
1960 American History: Greensboro, North Carolina restaurant refused to serve black patrons, four Black college students start sit-ins.
1961 American History: Freedom Rides leave Washington, D.C. to test new laws prohibiting segregation based on the United States Supreme Court decision Boynton v. Virginia. John F. Kennedy 35th President of the United States.
1962 Norma’s grandmother Mattie died on April 15th. Norma moved to California from Louisiana. American History: Federal troops sent to the University of Mississippi by President Kennedy to halt riots so that the school’s first black student, James Meredith, could attend. Segregation ruled unconstitutional in all transportation facilities by the Supreme Court. Military reserve units ordered to completely integrate by the Department of Defense, except the National Guard.
1963 American History: Medgar Evers shot and killed by sniper. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives “I Have a Dream” speech. Four young black girls killed in Birmingham, Alabama church bombing. President John F. Kennedy assasinated.
1964 American History: Discrimination based on race declared illegal. Civil Rights Act passed by Congress. Poll tax abolished by 24th Amendment. Two white and One black civil rights workers, missing in Mississippi, later found dead and buried. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awarded Nobel Peace Prize.
1965 American History: Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, march organized to demand voter rights protection. Malcolm X is assassinated. Voting Rights Act passed striking voter literacy tests.
1966 American History: Use of marijuana and LSD gained national attention. A record 52,500 Americans died and 9 million were injured in traffic accidents. President Johnson nominated Dr. Robert Weaver to become the 1st African American Cabinet member in U.S. history as Secretary of the new Department of Housing and Urban Development. Bill Russell was named coach of the Boston Celtics, becoming the 1st African American coach of a major pro team. Stokely Carmichael elected chairman of SNCC.
1967 Norma’s 1st grandchild, grandson Anthony born. American History: First black named to the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall.
1968 American History: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated. Civil Rights Act of 1968 signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
1969 Norma’s grandson Ramon born. American History: James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to killing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., sentenced to 99 years in prison. Shirley Chisholm, elected to Congress, the first black female U.S. Representative.
1970 Norma’s 1st granddaughters Kisha and Rochelle born. American History: Two black students at Jackson State College, in Mississippi, were killed by police firing on a dormitory.
1971 American History: The 26th Amendment, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote, took effect. Two thousand Vietnam veterans, members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, rallied in Washington to protest the war.
1972 American History: Shirley Chisholm bids for presidency, the first major-party African American candidate for President of the United States.
1973 American History: U.S. signs a treaty with North Vietnam, American Indians fight for their rights, Watergates comes out, and Nixon is exposed as a crook.
1974 Norma’s granddaughter Rashawna born. American History: Oil embargo and gas lines, Patricia Hearst is kidnapped, Nixon owes money on taxes, Hank Aaron breaks the home run record, Muhammad Ali wins the rumble in the jungle and Rockefeller becomes vice-president.
1975 Norma’s granddaughters Eulonda, Marenda, and Denise born. American History: Watergate convictions, high unemployment, U.S. defense contractors train Saudis, last troops leave Vietnam, and South Vietnam immediately collapses.
1976 American History: Black History Month replaces Negro History Week.
1977 Norma’s daughter, Rose died on Nov 24th. American History: Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States.
1978 Norma’s father, Andrew Maxey died on April 8th. American History: The Supreme Court rules medical school admissions based on race unconstitutional.
1979 Norma’s granddaughter Shontae born. American History: The Iran Hostage Crisis
1980 American History: Ronald Reagan, former actor and governor of California, won the Republican nomination in 1980 and won the presidential election. John Lennon Assassinated. Ted Turner Establishes CNN.
1981 American History: Congress passed The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981.
1982 American History: Washington University in St. Louis develops the Flavr Savr tomato, the first genetically-engineered plant approved for sale.
1983 Norma’s mother, Lottie Maxey died on January 9th. American History: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday established.
1984 Norma’s granddaughter Erika born. American History: Vanessa Williams, 1st African American Miss America.
1985 American History: Ronald Reagan elected for second term as 40th President at age 73. Rock Hudson dies of AIDS at age 59.
1986 Norma’s great granddaughter Ramesha born. American History: Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboard. Secret initiative to send arms to Iran revealed. US Supreme Court reaffirms abortion rights. US Supreme Court bars racial bias in trial jury selection. Oprah Winfrey became the first black woman television host, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
1987 American History: Oliver North, Jr., tells Congressional inquiry higher officials approved his secret Iran-Contra operations.
1988 Norma’s granddaughter Danika born. President Ronald Reagan vetoed Civil Rights Restoration Act. Congress overrides presidential veto.
1989 Norma’s granddaughter Michelle born. American History: George Herbert Walker Bush inaugurated as 41st US President. Army Gen. Colin R. Powell is first black Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. San Francisco Bay area earthquake measuring 7.1 in magnitude, killed 67 and injured over 3,000.
1990 Norma’s great grandson Christopher born. American History: President George H.W. Bush vetoes a civil rights bill that he says would impose quotas for employers. Lawrence Douglas Wilder elected Governor of Virginia, the first elected African-American governor in U.S. history. Barack Obama, 1st African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.
1991 American History: Congress passes a civil rights bill without quotas. Sharon Pratt Dixon Kelly elected mayor of District of Columbia, the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city.
1992 Norma’s great grandson Devan born. American History: L.A. Riots, Four officers acquitted in Los Angeles beating of Rodney King. Bush pardons former Reagan Administration officials involved in Iran-Contra affair. President Bush and Yeltsin proclaim a formal end to the Cold War. Bill Clinton elected president of the United States.
1993 American History: Clinton signs Brady bill regulating firearms purchases. Two police officers convicted in Los Angeles on civil rights charges in Rodney King beating.
1994 Norma’s granddaughter Nicole and great granddaughter Dajanay born. American History: US sends forces to Persian Gulf.
1995 Norma’s great grandson Jordan born. American History: The Supreme Court rules that federal programs that consider race as a category for hiring must have “compelling government interest” to do so. The Supreme Court rules that the consideration of race in creating congressional districts is unconstitutional.
1996 Norma’s great granddaughter Raela born. American History: Clinton appoints Madeleine Albright as first female US secretary of state. Congress passes welfare reform bill. 747 airliner crashes in Atlantic off Long Island, N.Y.
1997 Norma’s great granddaughter Teontae born. American History: US Appeals Court upholds California ban on affirmative action.
1998 American History: US Supreme Court rules line-item veto unconstitutional. President Clinton accused in White House sex scandal.
1999 Norma’s great grandson Philip born. American History: John William King, 24, a white supremacist, is convicted of murder and sentenced to death in case involving the dragging death of a black man, James Byrd, Jr. US Senate opens impeachment trial of President Clinton. Senate acquits President Clinton. Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, storm Columbine High School in Littleton , CO, killing twelve other students and a teacher, then themselves.
2000 Norma’s great granddaughter Alontae born. American History: U.S. presidential election closest in decades between Bush and Gore. Bush declared winner.
2001 Norma’s great granddaughter Lauren born. American History: Colin Powell appointed United States Secretary of State, the first African American appointed to the position. Robert Johnson, 1st African American billionaire. 9/11 al-Qaeda hijacks planes attacks United States. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center. 1 plane crashed into the Pentagon. 1 plane crashed into a field in Pennysylvania. Begins War on Terrorism. Congress passes US Patriot Act.
2002 Norma’s great grandson Monta born. Great granddaughter Aviona born. American History: U.S. withdraws from International Court treaty. Bush signs corporate reform bill. Bush signs legislation creating cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security. Bush announces change in Middle East policy. U.S. abandons 31-year-old Antiballistic Missile treaty. Congress passes Homeland Security Act.
2003 American History: The Supreme Court upholds the University of Michigan Law School’s policy, ruling that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students. Oprah Winfrey, 1st African American female billionaire. Iraq war begins.
2004 Norma’s great granddaughter Alaisha born. American History:
2005 Norma married Amos and gained son Fred, daughters Wanda, Carol Ann, and Cybil. Great Grandsons Jordan and Kev’ionn born. American History: Edgar Ray Killen, the leader of the Mississippi murders (1964), is convicted of manslaughter. Rosa Parks died. Condoleezza Rice appointed United States Secretary of State, the first woman and 2nd African American appointed to the position.
2006 American History: Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died. Jena Six case in Jena Louisiana.
2007 American History: Scientists announced that they found five planets circling a star 41 light-years away from Earth. March in Jena
2008 Norma’s 80th Birthday November 12th. American History: Hillary Clinton won more primaries and delegates than any other female candidate for president in American history. Barack Obama, the 1st African American Major Party Nominee for President. Sarah Palin first female vice-presidential nominee for the Republican Party. Barack Obama defeated John McCain in the general election on Nov. 4, 2008 becoming the first African American elected President of the United States of America.
My grandmother says she never thought she’d live to see a Black President of The United States.
God has truly brought her a mighty long way and it is my sincere hope that she’s blessed to see many more birthdays
Happy Birthday Gram!
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