The overwhelming success of the film Hidden Figures, starring Taraji P. Henson, highlighted three African-American women who were instrumental in propelling the U.S. space program. The state of Arkansas has a hidden figure of its own in Raye Montague, who is the first person to design a U.S. Navy ship using a computer. Montague was […]
Oscar Holmes broke three color barriers in his lifetime, although he never set out to become a pioneer. Holmes was not only the first Black air traffic controller, he was also the U.S. Navy’s first Black commissioned officer and the military branch’s first Black pilot. Holmes was born January 31, 1916 in Dunbar. W. Va. […]
Members of the 333rd Field Army Battalion were honored posthumously by the U.S. government.
The case of Sipuel v. The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma laid the early groundwork for other “separate but equal” cases such as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Ada Louis Sipuel’s racial discrimination case against the school was decided on this day in 1948, making it possible for her […]
Federal parks officials held a signing ceremony and formally established the new Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in upstate New York, honoring the courageous abolitionist on Tuesday.
Ohio has long been considered a haven for some of the world’s best funk musicians, and now an upcoming venue will be erected in the city of Dayton to honor pioneers of the genre. This March, the city will welcome the opening of the Funk Music Hall Of Fame and Exhibit Center, an effort that […]
The late Mayme Agnew Clayton was a librarian and historian who founded the Western States Black Research and Education Center, which bills itself as the largest collection of African-American historical items in the world. Dr. Agnew’s collection, which was amassed over four decades, is housed in the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum in Culver […]
New data shows a racial divide when it comes to how historical events are viewed.
A new anti-racism T-shirt is gaining popularity with a message that some African-Americans feel is disrespectful to those who fought on the front lines of the civil rights movement under Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s method of non-violent resistance. The shirt, from a company called Thrift Element, reads: “Dear Racism, I am not my grandparents. Sincerely, […]
Black circus performers have found varying levels of fame over the years, but little is known about the stars of Europe. Olga Kaira, better known as Miss LaLa, dazzled audiences across the continent and was the subject of one of the art world’s most prized works. Anna Olga Albertina Brown was born April 21, 1858 […]
Comedian and author Dick Gregory has been active since the ’60’s and is showing no signs of slowing down. Gregory turns 84 today and the activist remains fiery and opinionated as ever. Richard Claxton Gregory was born in 1932 in St. Louis. A star track and field athlete, Gregory ran for two years as a […]
In times past, African-Americans have pretended to pass as a white person to avoid harassment and discrimination. The reverse has happened many times as well,(think Rachel Dolezal) as in the case of Rev. L.M. Fenwick, who was a white pastor pretending to be Black. The Fenwick case is curious and not rich in detail, although historians […]
