LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jackie Robinson Day was celebrated even in space this year. While Rachel Robinson, the player’s 92-year-old widow, and Commissioner Rob Manfred honored Major League Baseball’s first black player in a ceremony at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night in conjunction with the annual Civil Rights Game, astronaut Terry Virts wore a Dodgers […]
Pioneering heart surgeon, educator and civil rights activist Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. died last Friday. Dr. Watkins leaves behind a series of barrier-shattering achievements and a legacy of promoting change for future Black doctors and activists. Born June 13, 1944 in Parson, Kan., Dr. Watkins’ father, Levi Sr., was the sixth president of Alabama […]
The NCAA tournament is about to determine another college champion and usually around that time there’s one school that seems to always be in contention. That school is Kentucky, which has two games to play to determine if they will succeed in playing and undefeated season. Coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith, now with Texas Tech, […]
Wayne Embry made history by becoming not only the NBA’s first Black general manager, but the first Black general manager of any of the four major U.S. sports. Embry a former NBA player was a five-time All-Star and an NBA champion. The Springfield, Ohio native made his mark as a player at Miami University in […]
Black swimmers Simone Manuel, Lia Neal,(pictured, bottom middle) and Natalie Hinds achieved history recently by sweeping the NCAA Women’s Division I Championship. Manuel and Neal, both students at Stanford University, and the University of Florida’s Hinds, are the latest in a long line of history-making Black swimmers. The International Swimming Hall Of Fame has compiled […]
Willie Thrower was a pioneering football player who broke barriers in football at the college and professional level. Thrower was not only the first Black quarterback to play for the NCAA’s Big Ten conference, he was also the first Black quarterback to play in the National Football League. Thrower was born March 22, 1930 […]
The late playwright, director and actress Vinnette Justine Carroll was born on this day in 1922, and accomplishing much over the course of her celebrated career. Carroll is the first Black woman to direct a Broadway play, and is currently the only Black woman ever to be nominated for a Tony Award for Directing. […]
Minnie Minoso, Chicago’s first Major League Baseball’s star died last Sunday at the age of 90. A native of Cuba, Minoso was also the MLB’s first Latino star, paving the way for other Black-Latino greats such as Roberto Clemente, Juan Marichal, David Ortiz, and Pedro Martinez. Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta was born November […]
Earl Lloyd, the National Basketball Association’s first Black player, has died. Lloyd was 86. Along with three other Black players, Lloyd integrated the formerly all-white league and helped usher in a new age of diversity in professional sports. Lloyd, born April 3, 1928 in Alexandria, Va., first starred at West Virginia State University. Although […]
Perry Wallace is now a Law professor at American University in Washington, D.C. But in an earlier time, Mr. Wallace was a reluctant basketball pioneer. While Wallace shuns the distinction, he does recognize how his ascension in athletics is an important legacy worth remembering. Wallace was a star athlete and standout student in the […]
Despite the significant obstacles she faced as a child in Tennessee, Dr. Mary Frances Berry has established a reputation as one of the most respected educators in the nation, with more accomplishments still on the horizon. Born February 17, 1938, poverty split her family apart and she and her brother lived as orphans for a time. While […]
Director Ava DuVernay has only made four movies, but she’s already broken barriers in the film industry. The one-time film publicist harbored a desire to make her own movies, and finally did with the breakout success of her first film, I Will Follow, made independently on a limited budget. When she was faced with distribution […]
