Rickey Smiley Morning Show

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 […]

Rickey Smiley Morning Show

Dr. Mae C. Jemison made history on this day in 1992 by becoming the first woman of color to travel to space. Dr. Jemison took her lone flight to the stars aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour before moving on to a stellar career in education. Mae Carol Jemison was born October 17, 1956 in Decatur, […]

Rickey Smiley Morning Show

Toni “Tomboy” Stone was the first woman to play for a men’s professional baseball league. Although she was signed to save a lagging Negro League team’s ticket sales, she proved to be far more than just a novelty player. Marcenia Lyle Stone was born July 17, 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Of her four siblings, Stone […]

Rickey Smiley Morning Show

Linda Martell was a former country and blues artist who made her mark in the industry by becoming the first African-American woman to star in the Grand Ole Opry. Martell enjoyed a brief period of success but elected to raise her family and preserve her health instead of chasing down fame as a musician. Born […]

Rickey Smiley Morning Show

Tony Dungy, one of the NFL’s class acts, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend making him the first African-American coach to achieve the honor. Dungy has already etched his name in the history annals by becoming the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl in the NFL. Dungy, […]

Rickey Smiley Morning Show

The matches between American boxer Joe “The Brown Bomber” Louis and German Max “Black Uhlan of the Rhine” Schmeling defined the era of early 20th Century boxing. On this day in 1938, Louis defeated Schmeling and became the first Black heavyweight boxer of his rank to score a first-round knockout. Louis and Schmeling previously met […]

Rickey Smiley Morning Show

Samuel Sharpe was a Jamaican preacher who led a 10-day slave revolt on the island nation that moved the British Empire to end slavery in 1833. The so-called “Baptist War” because of the denomination of many involved, or the “Christmas Rebellion of 1831,” left over several hundred slaves dead. Sharpe was born around 1801, according […]

Rickey Smiley Morning Show

Moneeta Sleet Jr. spent over four decades shooting some of Black America’s most lasting images for EBONY magazine. He is the first African-American to be…