Little Known Black History Facts

Stage, film and television actress Ruby Dee has died. The Harlem native, 91, died at home in New Rochelle, N.Y. this past Wednesday, and a nation mourns one of the greatest and most celebrated actresses of all time. Dee honed her craft at the American Negro Theater alongside fellow future stars Harry Belafonte and Sidney […]

Recent Articles

Attempting to list all the achievements of musician, producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers is nearly impossible. His career, which began when he was still a teenager has spanned over 40 years and he remains as a vital part of the music industry. Rodgers was born September 19, 1952 in New York. In a revealing 2013 […]

Simply acknowledging 92-year-old Betty Reid Soskin and her current role as the oldest National Park Ranger in the United States fails to capture the richness of her life’s experiences. Mrs. Reid Soskin is a also a historian, writer and prolific blogger who chronicles not only her past works but the lives of other pioneering African-Americans. […]

William and Ellen Craft’s daring escape from slavery is a tale that could one day be retold by a major movie studio. Mrs. Craft, a fair-skinned woman, posed as a white plantation owner while her husband posed as her servant during a risky journey from Georgia to Philadelphia in 1848. William Craft was born September […]

The St. Augustine Movement in Florida, led primarily by Dr. Robert B. Hayling, was a pivotal moment in the civil rights struggle and one of the factors that helped the Civil Rights Act of 1964 gain passage. Although St. Augustine was mostly white, in the early 1960s Blacks started moving in who were smacked with […]

Mavis Staples may be best known as one of the most dynamic gospel and soul singers of all time, but her involvement in the civil rights movement was just as important as her powerful voice. The vocalist and activist continues to add to her vibrant legacy as she is set to celebrate her 75th birthday […]

Ruth Carol Taylor was the first African-American airline flight attendant in America. She made the historic mark back on February 11, 1958. After working as a nurse, Taylor challenged the discriminatory practices of the airlines industry by applying for a stewardess position at Trans World Airlines (TWA). When she was rejected, Taylor filed a complaint. […]

President Lyndon B. Johnson‘s legacy has been a topic in political circles of late, with the 50th anniversaries of the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the War On Poverty occurring this year. During LBJ’s time in office, major policies that changed the fortunes of working class Black people nationwide were pushed […]

The destruction of Tulsa, Okla.’s “Black Wall Street” district, also known as the “Tulsa Race Riot,” is one of the most explosive racial incidents of the early 20th Century. Angry white rioters destroyed Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, then considered the most affluent all-Black district in the nation. The riots were sparked by unconfirmed reports of an […]

Wendell Scott was a pioneering figure for NASCAR as the first Black driver to earn a NASCAR license. Scott’s accomplishments on the racetrack will finally be recognized after he was announced as the first Black NASCAR Hall Of Fame inductee for its 2015 class. Scott was born August 19, 1921 in Danville, Va. He grew […]

Vivian Malone Jones may not hold the sway of other civil rights figures who fought against Jim Crow laws in the Deep South, but her legacy as one of the vital cogs of the movement remains intact. In 1963, Malone Jones made headlines as one of the University of Alabama’s first two African-American students during […]

Author, poet and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou died Wednesday at the age of 86. As one of the literary world’s most influential figures, Angelou’s legacy has been enriched by a life replete with terrible struggles overcome by amazing triumphs. Angelou was born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Mo. […]