Fans and supporters of comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory are gathered in mourning today. The fiery social critic and public figure passed over the weekend, leaving behind a rich history of blazing trails for other Black comedians and outspoken thinkers. Richard Claxton Gregory was born October 12, 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri. The […]
It has been just under a month since the passing of noted linguist and educator, Dr. Keith Baird. He is best known for spurring a movement in the ’60’s to advocate for the use of the term Afro-American to describe and categorize Black people across the diaspora. Baird was born in Barbados on January 20, […]
Jim Vance entertained and informed Washington viewers as one of the leading news anchors in the region for Washington NBC news station, WRC-TV. The legendary and ultra-cool newsman died over the weekend after a public and brave battle with cancer. James Howard Vance III was born January 10, 1942 and raised in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, just […]
Professor Joseph Roye Applegate is best known as the first Black faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A master speaker of 13 languages, Professor Applegate is also responsible for creating the first Ph.D. Program for African Studies in the U.S. Applegate was born July 25, 1925 in Wildwood, New Jersey, His family relocated […]
The sport of Polo has long had an image of being a sport for the rich, white elite, not something inner-city kids flocked to or even get to see up close. Things are changing on that front as Shariah Harris became the first Black player to reach the highest level of the sport late last month. […]
Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn was a decorated World War II veteran who also served as one of the top educators in Washington. D.C. ON July 11, 1964, Lt. Col. Penn was killed by a group of Ku Klux Klan members who followed him and two Black colleagues along a road in rural Georgia to carry […]
The jazz world is in mourning after news that composer and pianist Geri Allen has died. The University of Pittsburgh educator has worked with some of the genre’s notable players, and was herself an influential figure. Allen, a native of Detroit, celebrated her 60th birthday on June 12. In high school, she was mentored by […]
Tom Bradley made history in the summer of 1973 by becoming Los Angeles’ first, and to date, only Black mayor. The historic feat made the late politician just the second Black person to hold a mayoral seat in a major U.S. city. Bradley was born on December 29, 1917 in Calvert, Texas to sharecropper […]
David Blackwell was one of the most notable mathematicians and statisticians of his time. Dr. Blackwell also broke a couple of racial barriers and authored books on several prominent math theories. Blackwell was born April 24, 1919 in Centralia, Illinois. As a boy, Blackwell wasn’t interested in math but a school teacher taught him geometry […]
50 years ago, Muhammad Ali made a controversial decision that made headlines across the globe when he refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army citing he was a conscientious objector. He refused on April 28, 1967 in Houston, Texas.but it wasn’t until 1971 when the Supreme Court reversed his conviction. The Houston Chronicle‘s Craig Hlavaty […]
Twelve years prior to the establishment of the business lobbying group U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Booker T. Washington founded the National Negro Business League in 1900. The purpose of the group was to advance and support the economic interests of the Black community and provide a model of self-sustained financial growth. Washington’s vision for the […]
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 […]
