In the following article historian Omar H. Ali explores a lesser-known aspect of the global African Diaspora, the spread of African peoples and their cultures throughout the Indian Ocean basin. Africans had become a visible part of the Indian Ocean world long before the advent … Read MoreIslam and the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World
Lincoln University is a public university located in Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. It is a member of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and was founded in 1866 by members of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantry and as such … Read MoreLincoln University [Missouri] (1866- )
William Attaway, writer and composer, was born in Greenville, Mississippi. His mother, Florence Parry Attaway, worked as a teacher and his father, William Alexander Attaway, was a doctor who helped create the National Negro Insurance Association. In the 1910s, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. … Read MoreWilliam Attaway (1911-1986)
Grant Reynolds was a civic leader, civil rights activist, World War II chaplain, attorney, and educator. He was best known as a leading force in ending segregation in the United States Armed Forces. Reynolds was born July 29, 1908 in Key West, Florida to Emma … Read MoreGrant Reynolds (1908-2004)
Writer Ann Petry was born Ann Lane on October 12, 1908 to pharmacist Peter Clark Lane, Jr. and podiatrist Bertha James Lane in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Like her father, Ann was trained as a pharmacist and practiced in the family’s drugstores in Old Saybrook. However, … Read MoreAnn Lane Petry (1908-1997)
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Annie Turnbo Malone was born to Robert Turnbo and Isabella Cook in Metropolis, Illinois on August 9, 1869. Her parents were former slaves and her father joined the Union Army during the Civil War. Turnbo attended school in Peoria, Illinois, but she … Read MoreAnnie Turnbo Malone (1869-1957)
The city of Gao, situated near the north bend of the Niger River, served as the capital city of the Songhai state in West Africa from the 11th century until the fall of the Songhai Empire at the end of the 16th century. Gao emerged … Read MoreGao, West Africa (ca. 1450- )
Nineteenth Century African American soldiers who served in the Western United States have generally been known a “Buffalo Soldiers.” In this article, however, military historian Frank N. Schubert, challenges modern popular perceptions of the soldiers, among them the significance of their name and the nature … Read MoreThe Myth of the Buffalo Soldiers
The first Afro-American League (AAL) was established in 1887 before changing its name, two years later, to the National Afro-American League (NAAL). The focus of the league was to obtain full citizenship and equality for African-Americans. Timothy Thomas Fortune, editor of the New York Age … Read MoreNational Afro American League (1887–1893)
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG), founded in 1937, was the first attorneys organization that welcomed any member regardless of belief or race making it the first integrated bar association. The Guild included a number of African American attorneys but also white New Deal liberals and … Read MoreNational Lawyers Guild (1937- )
