Little Known Black History Facts
Colorado’s Lu Vason, the creator of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, passed last Sunday of a heart condition. Vason, a fixture in the Greater Denver community, used his rodeo events to preserve the legacy of Black cowboys and their rightful place in the history of rodeo. Vason held the first of his invitational events […]
We all know Jamie Foxx as an accomplished comedian and singer and you’ve more than likely even heard about his humble beginnings in Terrell, Texas. But have you heard about the time he threw parties in his house and made all his guests perform? Those parties introduced him to an undiscovered Jay Z, Pharrell and Kanye […]
Last weekend, HBO debuted, Bessie a new biographical drama focused on the life of blues legend Bessie Smith, starring Queen Latifah in the title role. While much of the film detailed Smith’s rise to becoming the “Empress of the Blues,” it also highlighted an important mentor – the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey played […]
The Sigma Pi Phi fraternity, the first Black Greek Letter Organization, was founded on May 15, 1904. Four Philadelphia doctors – Dr. Henry Mckee Minton, Dr. Algernon B. Jackson, Dr. Edwin C. Howard, and Dr. Richard J. Warrick – established the group at the time Black professionals were not afforded membership to similar White organizations. […]
Poet, author, and educator Rita Dove is the nation’s first Black United States Poet Laureate, although some historians would give that distinction to Robert Hayden. However, Dove is the first to hold what was previously known as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress position before it was changed to its current […]
The involvement of Black soldiers in the American Civil War is common knowledge to many, with troops fighting for both the Union and Confederate forces. What might not be known to some is that Black troops in support of the Union Army fought on the front lines in some of the Civil War’s most […]
The prestigious grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, better known simply as West Point, recently honored one of its most accomplished, if controversial, graduates by naming a cadet barracks after him. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the school’s first Black cadet in the 20th Century, and though he faced a […]
Dr. Claudia L. Thomas made history when she became the first Black woman orthopaedic surgeon in the United States in 1980. Today, Dr. Thomas is a partner in an all-Black orthopaedic practice and inspires others as a speaker, author and public figure. Thomas was born in Brooklyn, New York, attending the famous High School […]
Hampton House was a Miami Beach hotel that served as a social hub for some of Black America’s most significant figures. During the days of Jim Crow segregation in the Deep South, Hampton House was a creative haven and resting place for Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Berry Gordy, Jackie Robinson, Ray Charles, Lena Horne, […]
The practice of using “Blackface” makeup in the American minstrel theater tradition of the 19th Century persisted well into the 1900s. White actors applying burnt cork, then grease and black shoe polish, donned the makeup and wore woolly wigs while depicting racist stereotypes. While every race was mocked satirically at the time, none were […]
It’s been 40 years since the University of Alabama has elected a Black president for its Student Government Association. Junior Elliot Spillers, who was elected this spring, faces continuing opposition from a white secret society at the school collectively known as “The Machine.” Spillers, who hails from Pelham, Ala., is only the second Black […]
Provident Hospital was the first Black-owned and operated hospital in the United States, founded by pioneering Black surgeon Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. The facility was opened on May 4, 1891 with the combined support of religious, community and business leaders in Chicago and was also the first racially integrated hospital. According to Provident Hospital’s […]
