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How African American History Became A Fun Pastime During The Pandemic

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Now that the CDC has given Americans who are fully vaccinated the go-ahead to resume most activities without masks or social distancing, those who discovered jigsaw puzzles during the pandemic wonder if that means the pastime, too, goes back on the shelf.

Gabby Jacobs discovered a knack for jigsaw puzzles during quarantine, earning her stripes on a 500-piece Harriet Tubman tribute.

“The puzzle was no easy feat,” Jacobs said. “I mean, risking your life to lead dozens of the enslaved from plantations to freedom is far more challenging, but the puzzle did, indeed, have me stumped.”

The 30-year-old nonprofit professional gathered around the table with her family on New Year’s Eve to enjoy each other and pay homage to Tubman.

“The challenge wasn’t the fact that the puzzle was 500 pieces – the issue was the colors. All the brown and green pieces seemed never-ending. At one point, I actively searched for the end to the puzzle underneath the dining table and only found, well, more puzzle pieces,” she recalled with a smile.

Tubman’s garment in the puzzle matched her skin tone, making it a study in shades of brown. And over the past few years, African Americans are looking for images of themselves on puzzles, leading to a new niche market for puzzle makers.

Matthew Goins, who is African American started his online company in 2018, Puzzle Huddle, when he and his wife were unable to find puzzles showing Black children for their three little ones. According to the company’s website, “Matthew began by printing images from the internet and hand-cutting puzzles at home with a pair of scissors. Eventually he found commercial printers to manufacture puzzles with images he commissioned from different artists.” Goins and Puzzle Huddle have been featured on NPR and in Black Enterprise.

Toy industry experts said the pandemic caused a worldwide shortage of jigsaw puzzles. Goins was already in business, but the added demand for puzzles specific to African American culture presented others with an opportunity. A sister-brother team, Erica Chambers and William Jones, in Dallas started their puzzle company in their garage during the coronavirus. The two had grown up putting together puzzles and decided the industry lacked African American representation and named their new business “Puzzles of Color.”

“It’s all about that representation. You don’t feel like an other,” Chambers told KENS-TV. “You feel like you are a part of the world you live in.”

“Five-hundred to a 1,000 pieces at a time,” quipped Jones.

For Jacobs who will return to in-work person in the coming months, she will do so with a new hobby.

She explained, “African American-centric puzzles evoke a great deal of emotion while sharing an important piece of a major story with those who are willing to journey through it. Although the best part of any puzzle is the end, working on them is a feel-good experience with my family that’ll remain unmatched.”

And, don’t forget the snacks, she advises. They, too, are an important piece of the family entertainment puzzle.

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Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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