Week of Sept. 10-16

September 10

1847—John Roy Lynch is born into slavery on this day near Vidalia, La. Lynch would be among the first group of Blacks to serve in the United States Congress after slavery. He represented the state of Mississippi. Lynch would even serve as temporary chairman of the Republican Party National Convention. During this period, the Republicans were the more progressive and friendly-to-Blacks party. But as the period of Reconstruction faded and Southern politicians made it virtually impossible for Blacks to remain in political office, Lynch moved to Chicago and practiced law. He died in 1939 at the age of 92.

FATHER DIVINE

MIAMI (AP)—Author and folklorist Stetson Kennedy, who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan six decades ago and exposed its secrets to authorities and the public but was also criticized for possibly exaggerating his exploits, died Saturday. He was 94.

In the 1960s, Kennedy wrote a weekly column under the pseudonym, “Daddy Mention,” for the Pittsburgh Courier.

by Charles D. Ellison

WASHINGTON (NNPA) —The past couple of weeks were overflowing with headlines of agitated Black Members of Congress throwing tantrums at the tea party, the president and anything that could create distance between them and the wrath of frustrated Black constituents looking for jobs.

FRUSTRATION CONSTITUENT—K.T. Houston, left, of Inglewood, Calif., talks with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., during a Kitchen Table Summit event at Inglewood High School Aug 20. More than 2,000 residents gathered around tables at the Los Angeles-area high school gymnasium to vent their frustrations about the lingering recession and call on their elected officials to focus on job creation. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

It was the Black version of the summer of 2010; an In-Living-Color retrofit of those angry, legendary town hall meetings last year that took down the Democratic majority in the House, slimmed it down in the Senate and made President Obama wear a gray suit and ideologically matching red tie in a white flag waving peace sign the day after.

by Lauran Neergaard

WASHINGTON (AP)— Black scientists are less likely than Whites to win research dollars from the National Institutes of Health, says a study released Aug. 25 that is prompting changes at the premier science agency.

“This situation is not acceptable,” declared NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, who announced steps to better train young scientists in seeking the highly competitive grants and appointed a high-level task force to explore other actions.

DR. RAYNARD KINGTON

Increasing diversity in science, to better reflect the U.S. population and its health problems, is a big concern. While women have made gains over the past few decades, minorities, especially Blacks and Hispanics, still make up a small proportion of the nation’s doctors, medical school faculty and biomedical researchers.