FREDERICKSBURG, VA – On the road for eight days — part of a national tour for my new book, Shackles From The Deep – and I’m talking to hundreds of grade-school students about the African slave trade, underwater exploration and a 17th century slave ship known as the Henrietta Marie. It’s Black History Month and […]
During last Sunday’s stunning Super Bowl LI victory by the New England Patriots over the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Tom Brady became the second person in the league to win five championships. However, a Black defensive player named Charles Haley was the first to achieve the amazing feat, during so in period between the ’80’s and […]
Actor Humphrey Bogart immortalized author Raymond Chandler’s character Phillip Marlowe in the 1946 film, The Big Sleep. Now, there’s chatter that Chandler might have been inspired to create the tough private eye based on the life of Samuel Marlowe, a Black detective who reportedly worked in Los Angeles in the ’30’s. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren […]
The image of a young Ruby Bridges entering the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans made her an icon of the burgeoning civil rights movement. What many don’t know is that later in life, Bridges became an activist after an unfortunate twist of fate led her back to the school that transformed her […]
entered the social justice arena in a heartbreaking way. She has firsthand experience with the scourge of gun violence. The New York City native, now 36, lost her son’s father, Jason Ryans, to gun violence. Her son was a toddler at the time. That and the fact that her parents were founding members of Al […]
Let’s be honest here. 2016 was one of the blackest years African Americans have had in a long time. From sports to politics to music to technology, we dominated and excelled on every stage. Even one of the least diverse stages ever. On June 5th 2016, instead of a blonde, blue-eyed beauty queen, Deshauna […]
In the mid-1800’s, West Africa’s Kru tribe was known among slave traders and colonialists for their resistance to capture and enslavement. They were also invaluable to merchants who visited the region because of their knowledge of the rough coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The Kru settled in the region now known as Liberia and […]
While Shonda Rhimes has put the world on notice that Black women can run successful TV franchises, women in television’s executive suite ranks have been few and far between with Black women fewer and farther between than anyone else. Channing Dungey’s appointment to the head of ABC Networks is one of the glass-ceiling breaking […]
Tristan Walker, founder and CEO of Walker & Company, is one of Silicon Valley’s rising entrepreneurs hoping to shake up the perception of the technology hub. Walker grew up poor in the projects of Southside Jamaica, Queens in New York City, using his tough experiences to fuel his current passions. At the age of three, […]
A Great Day In Harlem There’s no place better to conclude Black History Month than in the Black mecca – Harlem, N.Y. Yes, the once mostly African-American section of the city has gentrified (A Whole Foods is currently being constructed) but there are still historical and Black-owned spots to spend your time and money in. […]
While most history books point to Shirley Chisholm as the first Black person to run for the office of the President of the United States, the honor actually belongs to the son of a former slave. In 1904, well before Chisholm’s campaign, George Edwin Taylor was the first Black presidential candidate. Taylor was born August […]
Lakatriona Brunson made history by being named the first female football head coach in Florida history. Brunson, who will lead the Miami Jackson Senior High Generals in 2016, will also be joined by 2 Live Crew founder, Luther “Luke” Campbell who was hired as the team’s defensive coordinator. Along with being a physical education […]
