Sarah's Joy Chapter #8 Milwaukee, WI

02/04/2023

Joseph Bologne (1745–1799), Chevalier de Saint-Georges

The first classical composer of African ancestry.

He held a remarkable number of occupations and positions during his life: composer, conductor, violinist, impresario, champion fencer, military officer, and nobleman. President John Adams once referred to him as the most accomplished man in Europe.

He was born to an enslaved mother, Nanon, on the Caribbean island of Basse-Terre, part of the French colony of Guadeloupe. His father, George Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a French plantation owner who acknowledged Joseph as his son and granted him the family surname.

He was also an early Black Mason. He conducted the Concert des Amateurs, a top Paris orchestra, for years, but after the American Revolution, the organization suffered financial losses. The Masons helped him revive the orchestra as part of the Loge Olympique, renamed Le Concert Olympique, which was an exclusive Freemason Lodge.

In 1795, Bologne was dispatched to the Caribbean on a mission to Saint-Domingue, which was in the midst of the slave revolt that became the Haitian Revolution. Returning to Paris, he resumed violin playing and briefly led another orchestra, the Cercle de l’Harmonie, to artistic acclaim, before dying of an infection in 1799.

Learn more about Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges here:

https://www.artaria.com/pages/saint-georges-joseph-bologne-de-1745-1799

and his stunning list of accomplishments here:
https://parkersymphony.org/the-black-mozart

A feature film about him will be released in April 2023. Watch the trailer here:
https://youtu.be/-LtCIImfSCk

02/03/2023

Dr. Valerie L. Thomas (born February 8, 1943) is an American scientist and inventor. She invented the illusion transmitter, for which she received a patent in 1980. She was responsible for developing the digital media formats and image processing systems used in the early years of NASA's Landsat program.

Thomas created the illusion transmitter, the first device that allowed 3D images to be viewed using concave mirrors and beams of light. Her invention was first used in the movie "The Bubble" in 1966.

Her invention was followed by a number of other 3D movie technologies, including Polaroid's Polavision system and IMAX's 3D system.

Throughout her career, Thomas held high-level positions at NASA including heading the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) collaboration between NASA, NOAA, and USDA in 1974, serving as assistant program manager for Landsat/Nimbus (1975–1976), managing the NSSDC Computer Facility (1985), managing the Space Physics Analysis Network project (1986–1990), and serving as associate chief of the Space Science Data Operations Office. She authored many scientific papers and holds a patent for the illusion transmitter. Thomas has received numerous awards for her achievements, including the Goddard Space Flight Center Award of Merit and the NASA Equal Opportunity Medal.

More on Dr. Valerie L Thomas here:
https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/stem-career-connections/meet-dr-valerie-l-thomas-landsat-image-processing-specialist

02/01/2023

Jefferson Franklin Long (March 3, 1836 – February 4, 1901) was a U.S. congressman from Georgia. He was the second African American sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives and the first African-American congressman from Georgia. Long was the first African-American Representative to speak on the floor of the U.S. House, opposing the Amnesty Bill that exempted former Confederates serving in the House from swearing allegiance to the Constitution.

Long was born into slavery to an enslaved mother and a white father near the city of Knoxville in Crawford County, Georgia on March 3, 1836. He taught himself to read and write, an illegal act for slaves, while setting type for the newspaper in Macon, Georgia. By 1860 Long had married Lucinda Carhart and had started a family. By the end of the American Civil War and emancipated, Long had become a successful merchant tailor in Macon, Georgia.

Long had established himself as a prominent member of the Republican Party in 1867 and was elected in 1870 as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress to serve a term from January 16 to March 3, 1871. Georgia had no congressional representation from March 1869 to December 1870 due to the state's failure to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment. Long is best known for his speech on the floor of the House of Representatives in opposition of a measure to provide amnesty to former Confederates:

He remained the only African American to represent Georgia until Andrew Young was elected in 1972.

Jefferson Long's speech from the floor of Congress in 1871 -
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1871-jefferson-f-long-speech-disorders-south/

More on Jefferson Long here - https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/jefferson-franklin-long-1836-1901/

Info on Hiram Rhondes of Mississippi, the first black member of Congress -
https://www.history.com/news/first-black-congressman-hiram-revels

02/01/2023

HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH

12/18/2022

Unity Grand Chapter, PHA OES17th Annual Christmas Ball
Sarah's Joy Chapter #8
Saturday, December 17th, 2022

11/15/2022

THIS SATURDAY!!!! OES Sarah’s Joy & Queen Esther Chapter will host our Community Thanksgiving Dinner to the public FREE! Bring your family down for a delicious meal starting at NOON at 1218 W North Ave, lower level. Food, Fellowship and Fun! Spread the word💙💛🤍💚❤️

10/04/2022

Sarah's Joy Chapter #8 50th Anniversary's Casino Magic Night on Sunday, September 4th at the Tripoli Shrine Hall was a great turnout. Thank you to all who supported this event!

10/04/2022

Sarah's Joy is joining thousands of teams across the country to help save lives and bring hope to those affected by su***de for a second year in a row.
Please help us reach our fundraising goal by donating to a team member. Please select "Roster" and then choose one of the team members listed. Once you're on their page, click "Donate Now."

If you are donating to the entire team as a whole please click the donate button above.

If you would like to donate to the team by check, please download the offline donation form HERE and mail it with the check. Just write the team name in the first name field.

All donations are 100% tax deductible and will help bring AFSP one step closer to achieving their bold goal to reduce the su***de rate 20% by 2025.

You can also support us by registering to walk with our team - just click the "join our team" button above!

Thank you for your generous support!!

I'm supporting American Foundation for Su***de Prevention to help save lives and bring hope to those affected by su***de. Please support me with a donation or join me!

08/18/2022

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/casino-magic-tickets-387668475847?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

Come join Sarah's Joy Chapter #8 as we celebrate 50 Years of Service to the greater Milwaukee Community.