The Apache sentinel., 1944-02-11
History of Negro
Noted in February
CONTINUED from Page One)

Pursuit Squadron aided in the air
Teouctlon OF the Italian base of Pan
tellaria. AS of December 81. 1943
the War Department announced
mat the 99th Pursuit Squadron in
ltS SIX months of operation, had
1loWn 2S6 missions of 1,156 sorties.
with the loss of only four pilots.
Outstanding in Pacific
Reports from the Southwest Paci-
TIC theatre of war reveal that a ma
Jor portion of Japanese Zeroes ac-
counted for in that area have been
brought down by anti aircraft gun
merry of Negro units.
With their matchless courage and
physical strength, combined with
military cunning, black soldiers
have been feared and utilized from
the beginning of time. In recent
tlmeS-Italy, with her Dubats, Som
alis, and Eritreans carved out her
shortlived African empire, as did
Britain with British West Indian
battalions. German East Africa.
defended during the last war by
German Negro troops. held out to
the Armistice, although isolated and
assailed for four years by many
times their number France had her
MoroccanS, Algerians, and the re-
nowned Senegalese fighters. In
America, over 5000 Negroes fought
. during the Revolutionary War to
free America from Britain. We
helped to win the battles of Lake
Erie and New Orleans in the War of
1872. Over 100000 Negroes fought
CALAMITY in the Civil War. Dewey's
first shot fired at Manila Bay was
: by Negro gunner John Jordan, later
an instructor at the Naval Academy
at Annapolis. Negroes saved the
impetuous Theodore Roosevelt at
San Juan Hill in Cuba. In the last
World War. an entire Negro regi-
ment, the "Old 18th New York" was
decorated en- gnasse by the French.
Africa Graded" Civilization
Mother Africa, with her warm
sunshine and abundant food supply.
was the ciVilizing influence which
ushered in the dawn CT written his
tory. Black, flat-nosed. thick-ID-
ped men, not only in Egypt, but all
over Africa and southern Asia,
smelted iron, forged metal wearoas
and utensils, built houses, domesti-
Gated animals, planted grain in
vented writing, devised laws and Cr-
ganlzations, developed religion from
the mysteries and vastness of Ma
ture, and created real arts and sci
enceS while inhabitants of the Eur
opean continent were still living like
barbarians. Many noted scientists
acclaim Mother Africa to be the
Cradle of Mankind
Ancient African kingdoms and
empires were Egypt, Ethiopia, Nu-
midia, and Carthage in the north
and east; while the west coast was
represented adequately by the con-
temporary civilizations of the great
kingdoms known as Ghana. Melle.
Songhay, Hausa, Bornu. Guinee,
Zenega, and Kanem. Remnants of
the Melle and the Hausa empires
exist today.
The recent slave era was the most
pernicious period known to man
kind. Vast regions were denuded of
their populations. whole tribes dis
appeared, tens of millions of black
peoples perisehd. Great African civ
1lzations were destroyed by the un-
Drldled plllage and slaughter. Com
plete demoralization reduced the
population to the intellectual paral-
ysls and impotency found in Africa
today
Negro in New Setting
The Negro people, naked, penni-
less, illiterate, utterly disorganized
and bewildered, were given their
freedom into a highly industrialized
and competitive civilization. At
times, this environment proved re-
strictive and even hostile to his
progress, but yet, in just few dec
AIDES, the Negro accumulates a |
measure of wealth and power, be-
comes competitor, and finally
ranks as real factor in American
life. His inborn talent for music !
has become automatic; no other
musicians cooE1 ob1a to J,,o1;oo+o