Robert Fikes, Author at BlackPast

Robert Fikes

Independent Historian

Robert Fikes, Jr., a 1970 graduate of Tuskegee Institute, earned graduate degrees in modern European history and library science at the University of Minnesota. A reference librarian at San Diego State University where he is also subject bibliographer for Africana Studies and for American, Middle Eastern, and African history, Fikes has published journal articles, essays, encyclopedia entries, bibliographies, and monographs pertaining to history and literature.

Gary Stephen May (1964- )

Gary May, an engineer, professor, and administrator, is the second African American chancellor of a University of California system campus, the University of California at Davis. Born on May 17, 1964 in St. Louis, Missouri, May was one of two children of Warren May Jr., … Read MoreGary Stephen May (1964- )

Paul Goodnight (1946- )

Paul Goodnight is a talented painter and ceramist known for his works on hit television series. Born in Chicago on December 31, 1946, Goodnight’s father abandoned him and his mother, a social worker, at a very early age. They moved to New London, Connecticut and … Read MorePaul Goodnight (1946- )

Norman August Black (1957- )

Norman A. Black is one of the most prominent coaches in the history of professional sports in the Philippines. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 12, 1957, Black was the son of a public school teacher. He graduated from the Catholic Cardinal Gibbons School in … Read MoreNorman August Black (1957- )

Fred Vann Cherry Sr. (1928-2016)

Fred Vann Cherry was the highest-ranking African American POW during the Vietnam War to receive the Air Force Cross, the second-highest military recognition. Cherry was born on March 24, 1928 in Suffolk, Virginia to John Cherry, an impoverished farmer and occasional laborer, and Leolia Cherry. … Read MoreFred Vann Cherry Sr. (1928-2016)

Théodore Chassériau (1819-1856)

Théodore Chassériau was perhaps one of the most talented but less celebrated artists of the 19th century. Born on September 20, 1819 in El Limón, a provincial town in the Dominican Republic, Chassériau was the son of Benoît Chassériau, a French diplomat and bureaucrat, and … Read MoreThéodore Chassériau (1819-1856)

Sheku Kanneh-Mason (1999- )

Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a teenage cellist who performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018. Born on April 4, 1999, Kanneh-Mason grew up in Nottingham, England with his six siblings. His father Stuart Mason worked as a … Read MoreSheku Kanneh-Mason (1999- )

Michael Vincent Drake (1951- )

Michael Vincent Drake, a physician and college administrator, became president of two major American universities. Born on July 9, 1951 in New York City, Drake grew up in Englewood, New Jersey and Sacramento, California. His parents Carl Everett Drake, a psychiatrist who had once been … Read MoreMichael Vincent Drake (1951- )

Kandake Amanirenas (?-10 BC)

Kandake Amanirenas was a queen of the ancient African Kingdom of Kush who was best known for skillfully defending her kingdom against the armies of the Roman Empire. Amanirenas was probably born between 60 and 50 B.C. and was the second of the eight Kandakes … Read MoreKandake Amanirenas (?-10 BC)

Francisca Van Dunem (1955- )

Francisca Van Dunem (née Francisca Eugénia da Silva Dias Van Dunem), an attorney and politician, became the first person of African-descent to serve as a cabinet minister in Portugal. Born on November 5, 1955 in Luanda, Angola, Van Dunem was one of six children born … Read MoreFrancisca Van Dunem (1955- )

Jeremiah G. Hamilton (ca. 1807-1875)

Jeremiah G. Hamilton (a.k.a. Jerry Hamilton, though both names may be fictitious) was known as the “Prince of Darkness” and considered the wealthiest African American of the 19th century. Although the details of his life are somewhat enigmatic, he may have been born somewhere in … Read MoreJeremiah G. Hamilton (ca. 1807-1875)