Thanks to Hollywood blockbusters, the image of the modern jewel thief typically features a dashing leading man who can charm anyone. However, America’s top jewel thief is a Black woman by the name of Doris Payne, who was so infamous at her craft that she was hunted internationally by Interpol. Ms. Payne, 86, celebrated a […]
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 […]
The second game of the World Series took place Wednesday night between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Some might be surprised to know that there is a rich piece of Black history attached to the former Jacobs Field, along with a connection to actress Kym E. Whitley’s family. In the early […]
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 […]
The NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund is the first civil and human rights law firm, established in 1940 by late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The early seeds of the LDF can be traced to the year before when prominent Black attorney Charles Hamilton Houston helped bolster the NAACP’s legal department. Houston, a former vice-dean and dean […]
The 89th annual National Bankers Association convention are meeting in Detroit Oct. 5 and 6th. The group is a collective of banking institutions owned by people and women of color. The convention will honor Grammy Award-winning record producer, valued Association member, and banking pioneer Don Davis, who operated Michigan’s first Black-owned and operated bank. Davis, […]
Marques Brownlee was once called the best technology reviewer on the planet by a former top executive at Google. While Brownlee has never made such a claim for himself, his popular YouTube channel is one of the most-watched on the social media network. Brownlee, 22, is a native of Maplewood, N.J. He came by his […]
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 […]
The Cosby Show remains one of the most revolutionary television series in history and remains an inspiration for hit Black sitcoms like black-ish and others. The series made its debut on this day in 1984, but is now largely gone from the public eye due to Bill Cosby’s sexual assault allegations. The series aired on […]
Hazel Ingram made headlines last year after working 60-plus years at New York’s Douglas Elliman offices on Madison Avenue  as a cleaner. Ms. Ingram is back in the news again after she was named as part of New York’s Electoral College body in this year’s presidential election. Ingram, 93, was named an elector earlier this […]
The C. R. Patterson & Sons Company was the first Black-owned automobile manufacturer in the United States. The company was initially began by a former slave and his eldest son took the family business to greater heights in the early 20th Century. Charles Richard Patterson was a former slave who escaped captivity in Virginia, then […]
The Desire Projects were a notorious housing development in New Orleans’ 9th Ward, was considered the worst in the state. The projects were the site of a large shootout between Black Panthers and the police that took place on this day in 1970, leading to tensions that remained long after the standoff. Longtime Louisiana activist […]
