Lois Jean White became the first African-American president of the National Parent Teacher Association, achieving the feat in the state of Tennessee. White helped raise the PTA’s profile in several inner city classrooms where they were not present before. Lois Jean Barron White was born on this day in 1938 and raised by a grandmother […]
James and Lydia Sims may not be well-known outside of the city of Spokane, Washington, but their efforts to uplift fellow African-Americans are certainly noteworthy. The late couple achieved much, with their son, Ronald Sims, a former appointee of President Barack Obama, becoming the first African-American to be elected to the King County Council and […]
Labor organizer. Radical socialist activist. Anarchist Communist. These are some of the titles that Lucy Parsons held in her fascinating life. At one point, the Chicago police considered her so much of a threat that they said she was “more dangerous as a thousand rioters.” Born Lucy, or Lucia, Eldine Gonzalez in 1853, much of Parsons’ […]
Marvel’s Black Panther continues to be a smash at the box office and has drummed up new interest in King T’Challa and the mythical African nation of Wakanda. The late Billy Graham, a Black comics artist, helped revolutionize the Marvel’s premier Black characters in Luke Cage and Black Panther in the early ’70’s. William Henderson […]
During World War II, the United States Navy remained the last military branch to resist the admission of Black soldiers and volunteers. On this day in 1945, Phyllis Mae Dailey became the first Black nurse inducted into the Navy, setting the course for another history-making mark. Dailey attended the Lincoln School of Nursing in New […]
Of the three women to play baseball for the Negro Leagues, Connie Morgan has enjoyed less fanfare than her famed colleagues Toni Stone, and Mamie Johnson. Although Morgan’s time in the league was brief, she made her mark simply by willing herself into playing on a professional scale. Constance Enola Morgan was born October 17, […]
Fans who took in Marvel movie blockbuster Black Panther were no doubt thrilled by the all-woman fighting force known as the Dora Mijale, the fierce soldiers who protected King T’Challa. In our world, an all-woman force known as the Amazons of Dahomey were a respected military presence that most accounts say emerged in the 18th […]
Henry Lewis achieved several marks in his storied career as a conductor and musical director. Consider by many as something of a Jackie Robinson for classical music, Lewis became the first Black conductor of a major U.S. orchestra on this day in 1968, this after accomplishing one of his landmarks in music at the age […]
Dr. Olivia J. Hooker turned 102 years of age this past Monday and in this same month in 1945, she made military history. Dr. Hooker became the first African-American woman to join the United States Coast Guard after being rejected by the United States Navy. Hooker was born February 12, 1915 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. At […]
Since 2004, Republican Sen. John McCain has pushed for a posthumous pardon for legendary heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson. The world’s first Black heavyweight champion flaunted his love of the high life and white women during the time of Jim Crow garnering a charge that his great-great niece wants President Donald Trump to pardon. In October […]
For nearly three decades, the Duvalier family reigned over the nation of Haiti, which came at the expense of several thousand lives and others being forced into exile. On this day in 1986, Haiti’s president Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier fled to France with his wife to avoid a military coup. From 1957 to 1971, Francois […]
The exact date of Frederick Douglass’ day of birth isn’t exactly known, but most historians point to February 1818 as birthday month and year. On what would have been the 200th birthday for the famed leader, we take a brief look back at his life and achievements. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery […]
