Selma Hortense Burke was a sculptor who crafted images in the likenesses of famed figures such as Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. among others. Ms. Burke’s most notable accomplishment by most accounts is a sculpture of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which some say is the inspiration for the […]
Harriet Jacobs was a former slave who penned an autobiography detailing her escape from an oppressive master who made sexual advances towards her. Jacobs became a darling of the anti-slavery movement with the publication of her book, Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl, helping other slaves by way of her celebrity. Jacobs was born […]
Did you know that The Atlantic Slave Trade has roots in New York City? How about the first armed black rebellion in 1712? You are just in luck as educator Kamau Ware’s The Black Gotham Experience is giving tours that will enrich you on NYC’s black roots. Ware created the tour back in 2010 when he […]
So many African-American women have graced television but do you know who was the first leading lady? In 1950 Ethel Waters became the first black woman to have a lead role on the television show called Beulah. In addition to acting Waters was an accomplished singer and dancer making her a triple threat in the […]
The overwhelming success of the film Hidden Figures, starring Taraji P. Henson, highlighted three African-American women who were instrumental in propelling the U.S. space program. The state of Arkansas has a hidden figure of its own in Raye Montague, who is the first person to design a U.S. Navy ship using a computer. Montague was […]
Oscar Holmes broke three color barriers in his lifetime, although he never set out to become a pioneer. Holmes was not only the first Black air traffic controller, he was also the U.S. Navy’s first Black commissioned officer and the military branch’s first Black pilot. Holmes was born January 31, 1916 in Dunbar. W. Va. […]
May 2018 will be a historic month for Jeanette Epps as she will become the first African American female Astronaut to work as a crew member on the International Space Station and call it home for six months. Epps will be the fourteenth African-American in space and the the fourth African-American women in space. The first […]
The case of Sipuel v. The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma laid the early groundwork for other “separate but equal” cases such as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Ada Louis Sipuel’s racial discrimination case against the school was decided on this day in 1948, making it possible for her […]
Ohio has long been considered a haven for some of the world’s best funk musicians, and now an upcoming venue will be erected in the city of Dayton to honor pioneers of the genre. This March, the city will welcome the opening of the Funk Music Hall Of Fame and Exhibit Center, an effort that […]
A new anti-racism T-shirt is gaining popularity with a message that some African-Americans feel is disrespectful to those who fought on the front lines of the civil rights movement under Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s method of non-violent resistance. The shirt, from a company called Thrift Element, reads: “Dear Racism, I am not my grandparents. Sincerely, […]
