In the 2013 Emmy Awards, Kerry Washington is the first African American woman to be nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in nearly 20 years. The last was Cicely Tyson for her role in Sweet Justice in 1995. Tyson was a leading lady for the major awards show, she […]
Maude Ballou was the personal secretary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from 1955 to 1960. During that time, she saved personal notes and papers from the civil rights leader, including a typed page from Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, which had been sent to her on Jan. 31, 1968, weeks before Dr. […]
Nick Gabaldon was the first known black surfer in the United States. He openly surfed in the segregated beaches of California. Gabaldon is noted as being a historical leader for black surfers in the United States. Raised in Santa Monica, California in the 1930’s, he taught himself how to surf at a nearby beach. it […]
The 2013 NFL season kicks off on Sunday, September 8th. On this year’s star roster is a record number of black quarterbacks. For the first time in history, the NFL will start with nine black quarterbacks. Among those on the list is E.J. Manuel of the Buffalo Bills, the only quarterback taken in the first […]
The Girl Scouts of America began as an all-white organization in Savannah, Ga., in 1912. Five years later, in 1917, the troop introduced its first African American girl scouts, possibly in the New York area. This positive change led to the integration of more scout troops in 1950, 14 years before the Civil Rights Movement. […]
Edisto Island in South Carolina is home to two of the nation’s oldest slave cabins. Cabins found on the island date back to the 1850’s. At the Point of Pines Plantation, there were cabins of 75 black slaves who lived in the two-room homes before and after Emancipation. The Point of Pines village held residents […]
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 […]
Nannie Mayme McKinney, also known as “The Black Garbo”, was one of the first black actresses to appear on British television. She was also one of the first black film stars in the U.S. Born in Lancaster, South Carolina in 1913, McKinney lived with her great aunt until she moved to Harlem to live with […]
Judy Lenteen Pace is an African American actress who was the first villainess on television in 1964. Pace starred as the tough Vickie Fletcher, a high-powered lawyer on the hit show “Peyton Place.” “Peyton Place” is the only prime-time scripted series ever to run episodes continuously for years without reruns or hiatuses. The “Peyton Place” […]
In 1890, a former slave named Nancy Green was hired to be the spokesperson for Aunt Jemima brand food products. Nancy Green was born into slavery in 1834 in Montgomery County, Kentucky. In 1889 the creators of Aunt Jemima, Charles Rutt and Charles Underwood, sold the company to R.T Davis, who soon found Nancy Green […]
The card game of whist has been said to originate in Turkey and was brought to the states during slavery, although the Encyclopedia Britannica originates the game of whist to start in Europe in 1529 as the game “Trump”. Black slaves weren’t allowed to read or write, but slave owners believed that the game of […]
In Camilla, Georgia on “The Hill” sits the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home. The building was owned by Georgia midwife Beatrice Borders, or “Miss Bea.” Between 1941 and 1971, Ms. Borders delivered over 6,000 African American babies at the home. Prior to the civil rights era, black women of Camilla were not allowed in the […]
