Little Known Black History Facts
African-American actor Frank Silvera starred in many top-tier Hollywood shows and films as a white man. The Kingston, Jamaica native held his strongest roles in the 1950’s and 60’s. With a fair-skinned complexion, Silvera usually played the leading white man on Broadway. He wasn’t able to play a black man until he financed his own […]
Tia Norfleet is the first and only black woman racecar driver to be licensed by NASCAR. The Suffolk, Virginia native actually began driving at age 4 when she spotted the keys in the ignition of her parent’s minivan. Her inner-driver made its first debut all the way through the front porch of their home. Three […]
The country of Uganda has placed a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics for the first time since 1972. Olympic athlete Stephen Kiprotich won the gold in the men’s marathon. While Uganda competed and won a medal in the Atlanta games, they hadn’t had a gold to call their own in 40 years. Upon arrival […]
On July 17, 1933, two pilots, Dr. Albert Forsythe and C. Alfred Anderson became the first black men to make a cross-country flight from Bader Field in Atlantic City. The men successfully made the trip without lighting or a radio, with only an altimeter and a map. They coasted to Los Angeles in their plane, […]
At 101 years old, Lee Wesley Gibson of Keatchie, Louisiana is the oldest surviving member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Gibson served as a pullman porter for 38 years. Back in the day, the job of pullman porter was considered a middle-class position, something Gibson, who was raised by a poor single mom, […]
St. Adalbert Church is known as the first and only African-American Catholic parish in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2009, St. Adalbert was among the 50 churches that were ordered to close due to a shortage of priests, funding and church members. Because of the parish’s rules on removing and selling artifacts, the valuable pieces inside St. […]
Attending the Olympic Games in London over the weekend was Harrison Dillard (a.k.a. “Bones), a 1948 black Olympic Gold Medalist. Dillard still holds the record of being the only man to win titles in both sprinting and hurdling events. It was because of Dillard’s close Olympic finish in the men’s 100-meter event that the “Photo […]
Mary Frances Early was the first black student to graduate from the University of Georgia. She graduated with a Masters in Music Education in 1962. After the Valedictorian earned a Bachelors degree from Clark Atlanta College, she decided to be a part of the integration movement in the south. After applying to the University of […]
Dr. James Thomas Still of Medford, NJ was a well-known African-American Doctor in the mid-19th century. He was the son of James Still Sr., who many called “The black doctor,” even though he had no medical training. In 1871, James Still Jr. graduated from Harvard Medical School with honors. He took his talent to the […]
For 50 years, the Masters Golf Tournament has had the honor of employing the same African-American Caddie. His name is Carl Jackson, a.k.a. “Skillet,” the Caddiemaster. Jackson has owned the record of the most Masters caddied since 1995. Last year’s Masters marked Jackson’s 50th anniversary. Jackson’s career started at age 11 in Augusta, GA. As […]
Chase Austin, a 22 year-old African-American race car driver became the youngest driver to sign a driver-development contract in NASCAR when he was age 14. Austin started competing when he was 8 years old. He is now in line to be the third African-American driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500. He started in eleven […]
U.S. Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas became the first African-American to win the all-around Olympic gold and the first American athlete to win both the team gold in gymnastics and the all-around gold medal. The 16 year-old left her home to live with a host family in Des Moines, Iowa two years ago to train for […]
