The city of Dayton, Ohio is one of the most racially segregated cities in America, and a race-fueled riot that occurred on this day in 1966 only widened that divide. The senseless killing of a Black business owner and West Side Dayton resident was the tipping point for the riots, and the region has yet […]

The Cosby Show remains one of the most revolutionary television series in history and remains an inspiration for hit Black sitcoms like black-ish and others. The series made its debut on this day in 1984, but is now largely gone from the public eye due to Bill Cosby’s sexual assault allegations. The series aired on […]

Hazel Ingram made headlines last year after working 60-plus years at New York’s Douglas Elliman offices on Madison Avenue \ as a cleaner. Ms. Ingram is back in the news again after she was named as part of New York’s Electoral College body in this year’s presidential election. Ingram, 93, was named an elector earlier this […]

The C. R. Patterson & Sons Company was the first Black-owned automobile manufacturer in the United States. The company was initially began by a former slave and his eldest son took the family business to greater heights in the early 20th Century. Charles Richard Patterson was a former slave who escaped captivity in Virginia, then […]

  Geronimo Pratt, also known as Geronimo Ji-Gaga, was a high-ranking leader in the Black Panther Party who served 27 years in prison on a wrongful conviction. Pratt was born on this day in 1947, ironically the day that his godson, Tupac Shakur, died in a Las Vegas hospital. Pratt born in Morgan City, Louisiana, […]

Dr. Mae C. Jemison made history on this day in 1992 by becoming the first woman of color to travel to space. Dr. Jemison took her lone flight to the stars aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour before moving on to a stellar career in education. Mae Carol Jemison was born October 17, 1956 in Decatur, […]

  The Brownsville Affair, also known as the Brownsville Raid, was a racially charged event in Texas that led to the largest dishonorable discharge in U.S. Army history. 167 soldiers were dismissed from their posts, many of whom gave several years of service and missed earning their pensions as a result. On the night of […]

  Arthur Zang of Cameroon is the inventor of the Cardiopad, a device that remotely monitors and examines the heart conditions of patients from far distances for physicians. Zang claims that his device is Africa’s first medical tablet and his invention has helped him become an award-winning public figure as a result. Zang, 28, began […]

Robert C. Henry became the first African-American mayor of any major U.S. city when he was appointed mayor of Springfield, Ohio in 1966. Henry’s achievement is often overlooked because fellow Ohioan, Mayor Carl B. Stokes of Cleveland, was the first elected Black mayor of a major U.S. city. Henry was born July 16, 1921 in Springfield. […]

Tony Dungy, one of the NFL’s class acts, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend making him the first African-American coach to achieve the honor. Dungy has already etched his name in the history annals by becoming the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl in the NFL. Dungy, […]

Mary Ann Shadd Cary made her mark as the first Black woman publisher in North America, and as the first woman publisher in Canada. Mrs. Cary was also an abolitionist, teacher, activist, and lawyer in her lifetime, and established a racially integrated school just across the border from Detroit. Cary was born Mary Ann Shadd […]

Matthew Henson is believed to be the first African-American explorer and is credited alongside Robert Edwin Peary as one of the first two men to reach the North Pole. Henson’s contributions to Peary’s expeditions went largely unnoticed up until his death in 1955, but history reveals that he was an invaluable assistant and explorer. Henson […]