Little Known Black History Facts

Little Known Black History Facts

Charles Adolphus Williams was not only one of the first black British professional football players but he was Britain’s first famous black stand-up comedian. Williams’ catch phrase “me old flowers” became his claim to fame when he appeared on several British television shows in the 1970’s. Williams dropped out of school at age 14 and […]

Little Known Black History Facts

The Tuskegee Syphilis study was one of the most notorious biomedical experiments in U.S. history. In 1972, forty years ago, Jean Heller of the Washington Evening Star wrote in front page news “Syphilis Patients Died Untreated” making the forty-year experiment public knowledge and bringing shame to public health for the conspiracy. 600 poor black male […]

Little Known Black History Facts

In 1968, Director George Romero sought out a cast for his newest horror movie called “Night of the Living Dead.” Unlike his other films, Romero wanted to include an African-American hero. The chosen actor to fight the zombies was Duane Jones. In his role as Ben, Jones became the first African-American to be cast as […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Chuck Brown, who styled a unique mix of funk, soul and Latin party sounds to create go-go music in the nation’s capital, has died after suffering from pneumonia. He was 75. Brown, widely acclaimed as the “Godfather of go-go” for his pioneering sound, died Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. Hospital spokesman Gary […]

Little Known Black History Facts

The Mount Auburn Cemetery is Baltimore’s oldest black cemetery, and one of the oldest black cemeteries in the country, holding over 55,000 families. Dating back to 1872, the cemetery was the known resting place of Joseph Gans, the first lightweight boxing champ, civil rights activist Carl Murphy and John Henry Murphy, the founder of the […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Odetta Felious was an African-American folk music singer who’s sound resonated throughout the civil rights struggle. Odetta, who simply went by her first name, recorded her first single called “Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues” in 1956 followed by “At the Gate of Horn” a year later. Born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Los Angeles, […]

Little Known Black History Facts

William H. Foote is said to be the first black Deputy Collector, (Police Officer), killed in the line of duty. Born a freeman on June 27, 1843 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Foote was an advocate for black civil rights in the era of post-reconstruction. Foote gained his education at Oberlin College. After graduation, he returned to […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Martin Delany was the first African-American commissioned as a major in the Army. The soldier was also a writer, editor, abolitionist, Harvard medical student, physician and judge. As the bicentennial birthday of Delany approaches, historians want the nationalist to be recognized as a man who shaped history. Martin Delany believed that ‘every person should be […]

Little Known Black History Facts, Originals

84-year-old Nathaniel “Magnificent” Montague is a “chaser” of black history artifacts. Montague, a pioneer radio DJ, has collected 50 years of rare and one-of-a-kind documents, footage, recordings and papers in a private collection – 8,000 pieces in all. His collection is valued as being worth millions of dollars. His impressive collection started in 1956 with […]

Little Known Black History Facts

Sixteen-year-old entrepreneur Leanna Archer was the youngest CEO to ring the NASDAQ stock market bell. She was also the youngest person to be featured in INC Magazine’s “30 under 30 list.” At nine years old, Archer began her own hair and bodycare product line using her grandmother’s old recipe made from natural ingredients like avocado, […]

Little Known Black History Facts

English athlete Viv Anderson, a.k.a. “Spider,” was the first black football player to represent England in a full international match. In 1974, Anderson joined the Nottingham Forest team, helping them advance to first division, then win the European cup in 1979. As the first black player, Anderson was often in the middle of heavy discrimination […]

Little Known Black History Facts

For a short time following the Civil War, African-Americans in the state of Virginia were granted the right to run for office and vote for delegates under the new reconstruction law. Freed slaves in Hampton lined up from sun-up to sundown at the polls to vote. In 1867, 92 percent of eligible freed blacks voted […]