February is Black History Month, a time to honor the accomplishments and achievements of outstanding African Americans and remember the crucial role they have played in American history. The celebration became national in 1976 when President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month as part of the nation's bicentennial.
Today, there are myriad events throughout February, including presentations, festivals, parties, TV shows and special issue U.S. postage stamps. Schools, colleges, universities, cultural centers and community centers celebrate outstanding achievements.
"It's incredibly important that Black History Month be celebrated and used as an opportunity to educate," said Julieanna Richardson, founder and executive director of The HistoryMakers, the single largest archival collection of African American oral histories. More than 3,000 biographies exist in categories such as BusinessMakers, StyleMakers, ScienceMakers and SportsMakers, and these interviews are now housed at the Library of Congress.
"It's extremely important because so little is still known about the achievements of significant African Americans," Richardson said. "The lens has been so very narrow with maybe 20 or 30 names that are known across the country. The view of achievement, accomplishment and contribution to the American story is truly underserved."
The long-term goal of The HistoryMakers is to conduct and archive 5,000 interviews. Some of the names of those interviewed to date are well known, such as Hank Aaron, Diahann Carroll, Harry Belafonte and President Barack Obama. Others — scientists, artists, members of the media and military veterans — are not part of the national consciousness.
"This could motivate a young person," Richardson said. "They learn about a world outside of their own and are intrigued or see something of themselves in that story. That is what I think is ultimately important."
In this issue of SKATING, we look at five women whose lives have been touched by the sport of figure skating: the first African American woman to medal in ice dance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the producer and director of an ice show featuring an all African American cast, the first African American person to judge at the U.S. Championships and two prominent alumnae of Figure Skating in Harlem.
Partnering with Franklyn Singley to be the first African American ice dancers to medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Tiffani Tucker was carrying on her family tradition of trailblazing. Although her father, the late Dr. Sebron Edward Tucker, did not often discuss his road to becoming a physician, he was, in fact, the first African American student-athlete at Stanford University, where he led the Pacific Coast Conference in scoring in the sport of basketball.
"My grandfather was a school principal and educator in Haskell, Oklahoma," Tucker said. "That's where it all started. You always have to look at the people before you, because they have helped pave the way for you to do what you do."
Tucker grew up in Southern California, the youngest of five children. After seeing a TV commercial for Ice Capades, she told her mother she wanted to try skating. Her siblings were all into sports, and she saw skating as her destiny. Her mother first had her experience ballet and other activities before taking her to the rink at age 8.
"My feet hit that ice and I fell in love with the sport," said Tucker, whose mother talked her into trying ice dance so she could be a complete skater. As she grew tall, ice dancing became the natural path for her, and coach Darlene Gilbert matched her with 6-foot-6-inch Singley. They won the bronze medal in junior ice dance at the 1993 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
"Partnering up with Frank was like finding a needle in a haystack," Tucker said. "I don't think I realized what a big impact and how unique that was, how historical that was, until later on in life. It's something that's my past, but it will always be a part of me and something that I'm extremely proud of and grateful that my parents were able to afford."
Education was key in her family. After ending her skating days, Tucker studied communications at California State University, Long Beach. She did an internship at KABC in Los Angeles and then built her reel working for free at a local cable station. Her first paying on-air news job was as a reporter at WNDU in South Bend, Indiana, where she met husband Kevin Rans, an Emmy-winning news photographer.
"We're both in this news business together. It's a family affair," Tucker said.
Her next position was at WPEC in West Palm Beach, Florida, just in time to cover the 2000 presidential election, which thrust her into national news coverage. From there, she went to WSVN in Miami and in 2007 to WOIO in Cleveland, where she transitioned from reporter to news anchor. As she paved the way for others in skating, Tucker is thankful for the men and women of color who came before her in TV news. She also credits skating for giving her discipline, organizational skills, a tireless work ethic, confidence and resilience.
"Skating taught me just about everything I needed to know to transition me into news," Tucker said.
For the past 12 years, Tucker has been based in Cleveland, where she is the main anchor for the 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts on WOIO. A veteran newswoman, she was live on the scene as three Cleveland women — Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight — were rescued from more than a decade of captivity, a story that made international headlines. Tucker anchored WOIO's coverage live from the field.
"News never sleeps," Tucker said. "It's a wonderful constant. … Being a hard worker came from skating. From a young age you set goals, you work hard. You may not reach those goals, but that doesn't mean you don't get up and keep trying again. That was always instilled in me."
She often engages viewers on Facebook Live, sometimes at the most unexpected times. One day, while picking up her children, daughter Mia, 10, and son Tucker, 7, at school, she saw police cars with sirens blaring.
"I called the police captain and asked, 'What's going on?'" Tucker said. "He said, 'A police chase with a crash.' So I get the Facebook Live on and I'm going live for 40 minutes. That's how we were able to get the story."
Being a newsperson in 2020 is a big responsibility, one that Tucker takes to heart. You have to be able to know and tell news stories.
"You usually meet people on their worst day," she said. "You have to share those stories and you have to inform. Being here for 12 years, people know me in the community. I'm blessed to know that they trust me. I consider myself a regular person.
"It's a huge responsibility and it's an honor for me to sit on that desk and tell people the news of the day."
She has taken her kids skating, but neither has a passion for the sport. Mia is a dancer, into ballet, jazz and hip-hop. Tucker is also into hip-hop and recently started playing baseball.
Tucker's siblings live all over the U.S., but she has the blessing of having her mother, Gwendolyn, living with her. Cleveland is a phenomenal place to live, work and raise a family, Tucker said. Winters are a little cold for native Californians, but she is proud to call herself a Clevelander.
Being in Cleveland puts Tucker in proximity to Singley, a skating coach, and they have skated together a few times in recent years.
"It's amazing to be on the ice with him," she said. "It's literally like we're skating again and nothing has changed. When you skate with somebody for that long [1989-'93], no words need to be said. You pick up where you left off. I can't skate like I used to, but it feels exhilarating.
"That was a really wonderful time in my life, and it's wonderful getting on the ice with him again. It's a beautiful thing."
