News

New Year’s Day 2013 marks the sesquicentennial of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of the most significant documents in American history. Indeed, the Emancipation Proclamation immortalized Pres. Abraham Lincoln. For example, a 2009 C-Span poll of 64 historians reaffirmed a poll of 2000 that rated Lincoln as the…

By Kimberly L Wright Dispatch staff writer When summarizing the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., speaker Dr. Richard Bailey of the Air Force Research Institute noted, "Whether you live in Mobile, Minneapolis or Monterey, on the third Monday of January, all roads in America lead to Montgomery." Attendees and…

Published Montgomery Advertiser

It took more than six decades, but Tuskegee Airman Sherman W. White Jr. was finally honored Monday on a day when Americans paid  tribute to their war dead.  Overcast, rainy skies failed to hold down the crowd outside a house at 690 W. Jeff Davis Ave. as speakers praised a…

Alumni representing almost all of the graduating classes of the former Booker T. Washington High School were among those saddened when its doors closed in 1970. But many of them returned to their old campus for roll call and several days of celebrations this past week during an all-school reunion.…

Booker T. Washington High School alumni let out thunderous cheers during Sunday's unveiling of the Swayne College/Booker T. Washington High School historic marker. The two-sided marker was placed on Union Street at the campus of Booker T. Washington Magnet High School. About 200 alumni attended the unveiling, representing Booker T.…

By Alvin Benn Montgomery Advertiser When author and historian Richard Bailey was a teenager, Montgomery's public libraries were separate and quite unequal. He had to go to the "black" library because if he had tried to check out a book at the "white" library, he faced arrest. "I didn't know…

The history and people of one of Montgomery's oldest neighborhoods were the focus of a special Sunday lecture. Richard Bailey presented the lecture "An Afternoon in Centennial Hill" Sunday at the Church of the Good Shepherd on South Jackson Street. The event was sponsored by the Landmarks Foundation and the…

Historian Richard Bailey discusses the new historic marker that was unveiled Tuesday at Court Square Fountain. One side of the marker commemorates the first emancipation observance in the city, and the other side deals with slave trade in the Capital City. History converges at square By Ken L. Spear, Montgomery…

Claims although they belonged to the Republican Party, they were not carpet-baggers or scalawags by Nick Lackeos Alabama Journal staff writer Editors note: This article was originally printed in the Montgomery Advertiser under the title, Neither Carpetbagger Nor Scalawag. It appeared on page 1F of the Sunday, June 9, 1991 edition and…

BOOKS AND SUCH by Dr. Ralph J. Bryson Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867-1878, by Dr. Richard Bailey A Profile and Review When Richard Bailey became a national officer in Kappa Alpha Psi, little did he realize that 21 years later he would write…

States black officeholders after Civil War had impact NEITHER CARPETBAGGERS NOR SCALAWAGS, Black Officeholders during the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867-1878, by Richard Bailey. 498 pages. $29.95. While we generally think of the Civil War ending on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox, Va., when Lee surrendered to Grant, fighting continued in…

Unit had its role to play in war By Frank Mastin, Jr. MONTGOMERY Advertiser Black soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment went through hell for the right to fight and die like men in the Civil War. When they were permitted, grudgingly, to fight in July 1863, they faced death…

Song is part of soldier's legacy Fact Finder: A historian researched the exploits of a celebrated black Union soldier By Frank Mastin, Jr. MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER A Montgomery historian said the storied 54thMassachusetts Regiment, whose exploits are depicted in the 1989 film "Glory," produced Alabama's most celebrated black Union Army veteran. John…

Selected reviews of Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags, Black Officeholders during the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867-1878. Song is Part of Soldier's Legacy Montgomery Advertiser, 26 May 1997 Unit had its Role to Play in War Montgomery Advertiser, 26 May 1997 States Black Officeholders After Civil War Had Impact Frank Sikora, The Birmingham…

Dr. Richard Bailey Seeks To Discover Explorer De Soto's Trail Through State by Alvin Benn Staff Writer As a young man, Richard Bailey read everything he could get his hands on. He also loved to deliver his hometown Newspaper because it not only provided him with valuable tips on current…