Little Known Black History Facts
Jedidah Isler is the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Yale University. Isler, who is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University achieved her historic mark in 2014. Isler discovered a love of the skies and stars around 12 years old when she was growing up in Virginia Beach, Va. Her […]
Nile Rodgers is best known today as the founder of the 70’s group Chic and a Grammy Award-winning guitarist/producer who has worked with everyone from Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Madonna and countless other stars. What some may not know is that as a teenager, Rodgers was part of the The Black Panther Party For […]
Bob “Butterbean” Love is a former NBA player who became a standout player for the Chicago Bulls, but also struggled greatly with stuttering. Today, Love is an executive for the Bulls, but his journey back to his old team was not a cakewalk by any means. Love was born December 8, 1942 in Bastrop, La. […]
Boxing fans might be aware that fighter Joe Gans was the first African-American to win a world boxing championship in 1902, years before Jack Johnson became the first African-American heavyweight champion. However, a Canadian fighter named George Dixon was actually the first Black world boxing champion and reportedly the first Black champion in any […]
Dr. Claudia Alexander was a leading scientist at NASA who oversaw the tail end of one of the space agency’s most successful missions. Dr. Alexander, who served as the last project manager of the Galileo Jupiter mission, lost her battle with cancer on July 11 at the age 56. Alexander was born May 30, […]
When Albert Einstein announced his “Theory of Relativity” 100 years ago, it solidified the German-born scientist’s legend. But what some may not know is that Einstein was also a staunch supporter of civil rights causes and once called racism a “disease of white people” in a speech. In 1946, Einstein was invited to Lincoln […]
William Grant Still was a pioneering composer and songwriter who achieved several firsts, including becoming the first African-American composer to conduct a major American symphony orchestra. Still achieved that feat on this day (July 23) in 1936. Still was born on May 11, 1895 in Woodville, Miss., and raised primarily in Little Rock, Ark. […]
Dr. Traci Lynn, the founder of Traci Lynn Fashion Jewelry, has turned her formerly modest company into a multi-million dollar enterprise. Lynn’s rise to fame is a living testimony in how much one can achieve with tenacity, confidence, and a lot of faith. Lynn was exposed to the inner workings of being an entrepreneur […]
Dr. George Cooper devoted much of his career to the advancement of HBCUs along with serving on the faculties of a few institutions. The former president of South Carolina State University passed away last Sunday, and his loss was a blow to the Obama Administration, according to a statement from the President. Cooper, a […]
The late Michael Jackson immortalized the “Moonwalk” during his performance at Motown 25 in 1983, with breakdancing and pop locking-influenced dance moves that dazzled the world. However, the moonwalk might have been a later incarnation of a dance move allegedly invented by tap dancer Bill Bailey. Bailey, born on December 8, 1912 in Newport […]
Veronica Blair has emerged as one of the top Black aerialists in the country, and has taken her high-flying talents all around the world. Blair is the first African-American aerialist to perform with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus troupe, along with other high-profile positions in her steadily rising career. Blair, a […]
After 30 years in business Janice Bryant Howroyd has emerged as one of the most successful Black entrepeneurs in the world. While most know that Oprah Winfrey is the first Black woman to become a self-made billionaire, Bryant Howroyd is the first African-American businesswoman to own a a company worth over a billion. Bryant Howroyd […]
