Black History Bootcamp. S6. Day 1
Day 1
“A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” - Malcolm X
The Address: 3448 PINKNEY STREET OMAHA, NEBRASKA
The Story: The historical marker is behind the building. You cannot see it from the parking lot. Near the historical marker lies a small structure that is supposed to resemble the original house. The original house was the brick-and-mortar dreams of Reverend Earl and Louise Little.
The current building houses the Malcolm X Foundation. There are five sets of stairs inside to represent the five pillars of Islam. Outside the historical marker reads “El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz was born Malcolm Little at University Hospital Omaha,” although neighborhood historian Bertha Calloway says he was actually born at home, right there at 3448 Pinkney Ave, attended to by doctor W.D. Lear and assisted by doctor A.S. Pinto. It was common practice back then for official birth certificates to conceal home births by listing a hospital name.
Malcolm would live in this house on the north side of Omaha for less than a year before the Nebraska KKK, which at the time had a membership of more than 45,000, including a women’s branch, a kids club, an annual state convention, ran them out of town.
Unfortunately, the family couldn’t run far enough, and on the corner of E. Michigan Ave and Detroit St. in Lansing, Michigan the terror caught up to them, killing Earl Little.
A quick google image search reveals that there is a Chevy car dealership sitting at the corner now. No one was there to tell the story of how that intersection helped birth the great Malcolm X.
But today we will tell that story, a story that starts at 3448 Pinkney Street.
The story of Malcolm’s birth home is a story set amidst a red summer and a mob rising. It includes the story Louise Norton Langdon Little who was born in Saint Andrew Parish, Grenada to Ella Langdon who was the daughter of Jupiter and Mary Jane.
We don’t know if their names were printed in a family bible, or if Earl would have had a chance to grab that bible before taking his family and fleeing.
What we do know is that the story didn’t end there on that street and that that street birthed one of the greatest revolutionaries of any time.
In his honor, we walk today. Please join us.
The Neighborhood Call to Action
Listen: Malcolm X: A Neighborhood Playlist
Support: The Omaha Freedom Festival
Organize: Do you live in Omaha? Start a Crew in your neighborhood and help GirlTrek takeover the streets with superhero blue healing. Download our Field Guide here or email Regional Coach, Pam Jiner at centralteam@girltrek.org for help getting started.
Black History Bootcamp: Happening Now
In Dunbar, a historically Black neighborhood located in Fort Myers, Florida, an area that was devastated last week by Hurricane Ian, streets are named for prominent late Black activists and leaders, including Ella Mae Lee, philanthropist and entrepreneur, and Veronica Shoemaker, a civil rights activist, flower shop owner and first Black city council member. The neighborhoods most famous park is named after Roberto Clemente, a Puerto Rican baseball player of African descent who arrived in Fort Meyers in the late 1950s with no fame and no right to stay at the Bradford Hotel, where the rest of his teammates where being housed. With no place to go, because of his dark complexion, it was Etta and Charlie Powell who took him into their small wood framed house at 2764 Lime Street in area known as “The Bottom”. The Powell home was one of several private residences in the Dunbar community that provided lodging for many black baseball players who were traveling to the area for spring training. Today, residents of the Dunbar neighborhood, with a median income of $37,740, according to U.S. Census estimates and about a quarter of people living below the poverty line, are waiting for their power to be restored and trying to pick up the pieces in an area that has traditionally been last to receive services when devastating storms hit.
GirlTrek is sending prayers to the city of Dunbar and to all of those impacted by Hurricane Ian. If you are a member of GirlTrek and are experiencing hardship during this time, please contact our care line at 855-GRL-TREK. We have a small number of emergency stipends available to those in need.
In addition, as part of our Black History Bootcamp neighborhood giveback, GirlTrek will be donating $1,000 to the Lee County Black Historic Society, which has worked for decades to preserve the stories of historic Dunbar and other surrounding Black neighborhoods.
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