Year of the Black

The vast majority of Americans, both white and black, remain ignorant of the contributions that black men have made to the national culture. Now a Los Angeles group called Progressive Black Associates has prepared an informal black-studies course of instruction. It is in the form of a calendar that chronicles day by day "the untold history of the black man in America." From Jan. 1, the 107th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, to Dec. 31, Odetta's 40th birthday, the calendar measures 1970 in terms of black men's achievements.

The calendar includes portraits of famous black men, ranging from Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. to Saxophonist John Coltrane. There are also some fascinating but sometimes disputed footnotes, such as the story that a black adventurer called "El Negro" piloted one of Columbus' ships to the New World. Or that black men and women have held patents on the gas mask, the ironing board, the lawn mower, the golf tee, the folding chair and the automatic traffic light.

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