Conrad O. Johnson was a legendary music composer and former director of the Kashmere Stage Band in Houston, Texas. Also called “Thunder Soul,” the award-winning…
On February 28, Pope Benedict XVI officially resigned from his papal duties. This is the first time in 700 years that a Catholic pope has…
Professional stone mason August Williams was one of only two African American constructors that built the Martin Luther King Memorial at the National Mall. Williams…
Deshawn Parker is the most successful black horse jockey in today’s modern derbies with over 4,000 victories. In a sport that is now dominated by…
Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first black gospel music star of the 1930’s. Born Rosetta Nubin Tharpe in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, she was the first…
On February 13, 1970, Joseph Searles became the first African American member of the New York Stock Exchange. The Kansas State University graduate was working…
Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the lovechild of Senator Strom Thurmond and his former black maid, has passed away at age 87. Washington-Williams kept her father’s secret…
In 1931, nine black boys were hitching a ride aboard the Southern Railroad freight train. The illegal use of the freight trains was a common…
As part of the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, a new krewe called the baby dolls was formed in 1912. The baby dolls were…
Annette Jones White is a civil rights activist who was forced to decide if she wanted to remain Miss Albany State in 1961, with a…
Dr. Helen Nash, a Meharry Medical School graduate and Spelman College alumna, became the first black pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in 1949.
Today marks the day that we observe the birthday of Nobel Peace Prize winner, scholar and activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The holiday symbolizes…
