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 […]
Malvin R. Goode was a pioneer in broadcast journalism, becoming the first African-American news correspondent for a major television network on this day in 1962. Goode arrived at the pinnacle of his career later in life, but his accomplishment serves as a testament to the work ethic he developed in the steel mills of Pittsburgh. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Matthew Henson is believed to be the first African-American explorer and is credited alongside Robert Edwin Peary as one of the first two men to reach the North Pole. Henson’s contributions to Peary’s expeditions went largely unnoticed up until his death in 1955, but history reveals that he was an invaluable assistant and explorer. Henson […]
Today marks Youth Day across South Africa, which is meant to observe the start of the Soweto Uprising. Hector Pieterson, a youth shot and killed during the protests in 1976, was the centerpiece of one of the uprising’s most iconic images and helped to rally the world against the country’s racist Apartheid rule. The uprising […]
Ho Chi Minh, the famed Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader was instrumental in leading North Vietnam to eventual independence from French colonizers. According to historians, Ho was influenced partly by the teachings of Marcus Garvey during a stay in America. Ho Chi Minh was born Nguyễn Sinh Cung on May 19, 1890. Much of Ho’s early […]
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 […]
P.B.S. Pinchback was the first African-American governor of the United States, and was nearly a U.S. Senator before the racist power structure kept him from…
The New York Renaissance was an All-Black professional basketball squad, established in 1923 that became a dominant force in the game. On this day in…
Seventy-five years ago, a group of men made history. Those men were the Tuskegee Airmen. Today, they are being celebrated for their achievements in a…
There’s no denying how huge Black History Month was this year. In fact, the cosmos even treated us to the gift of a leap year, giving us one more day for celebration. While looking back on February, there were moments that shifted the conversation surrounding Black Pride among Hollywood, politics, and television. From Beyonce’s Black […]
