On August 15,1969 black folk music singer Richie Havens opened the legendary Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York. Woodstock Music & Arts Festival was considered by many as the most pivotal point in mainstream music history. Havens was supposed to be the fifth act of the show, but due to a technical issue, he kicked […]
On April 17th, Cecile Kyenge was named Italy’s first black government Minister. Kyenge is Italy’s new Minister for Integration. She was born in the Congo and moved to Rome in the 1980’s to study medicine. While working at a hospital in Modena, Kyenge met her Italian husband who was a surgery patient in the hospital. […]
In 1970, Jayne Kennedy was the first black woman to win the crown of Miss Ohio. She advanced as one of the top 15 finalists in the 1970 Miss USA competition. The pageant queen and actress also became one of the first black woman sportscasters in the country. Eight years after the Miss USA pageant, […]
There were several games that black children of the plantation played even in the midst of oppression. The children had to play with things found in nature or in the slave quarters rather than expensive dolls or board games. They played games like Hide the Switch. A child would hide a branch and the first […]
There It Is by Jayne Cortez (1982) And if we don’t fight if we don’t resist if we don’t organize and unify and get the power to control our own lives then we will wear the exaggerated look of captivity the stylized look of submission the bizarre look of suicide the dehumanized look of fear […]
Leo Branton, Jr. was the African American lawyer responsible for the acquittal of activist Angela Davis in 1972. Davis was on trial for murder, kidnapping and conspiracy. Branton was up against an all-white jury. The WWII veteran had served as counsel for Nat King Cole, Dorothy Dandridge, the estate of Jimi Hendrix and the Black […]
On April 6, 2013, horse jockey Kevin Krigger became the first black jockey to win the Santa Anita Derby in 76 years. The 29 year-old rider says he’s destined to win the upcoming Kentucky Derby on May 4th. If Krigger’s horse Goldencents leads them to victory, he will be the first black jockey to win […]
Halevy Hercules Simmons, also known as Hal, is a little known black architect who built major projects like the historic Adam’s Mark Hotel in St. Louis, MO. In the 1950’s, Simmons worked as a draftsman for the U.S. government. When a group of DC investors looked for the best draftsmen, they hired Simmons without an […]
The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication released in 1936 that served as a guide to African American travelers. Because of the racist conditions that existed from segregation, blacks needed a reference manual to guide them to integrated or black-friendly establishments. That’s when they turned to “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel […]
He was referred to as the “Greatest Pitcher Never Known” and his name was Will “Cannonball” Jackman. Jackman joined the Boston Colored Giants in the 1924-1925 season and played ball until he was well into his sixties. He won more than half of the 1,200 games he pitched over 20 years, with nearly 800 strikeouts […]
Award-winning author Ann Petry was the first African American woman writer to attain best seller status in the United States. Though born to a family with privileges, she and her sisters were subjected to many incidents of discrimination while growing up black in privileged society. As a child, she remembers being forced to read the […]
Guy Fisher was a notorious gangster in Harlem in the 1970’s who also became the first black man to own the Apollo Theater. Fisher was a part of the crime wave that ruled the streets of Harlem from 1977 to 1983. Fisher was among the crime group called “The Council” under boss Leroy “Nicky” Barnes. […]
