Robert Fikes, Author at • Page 19 of 26

Independent Historian

Robert Fikes, Jr., a 1970 graduate of Tuskegee University, earned graduate degrees in modern European history and library science at the University of Minnesota. Retired since 2017, he worked as a reference librarian at San Diego State University where he was also a subject bibliographer for Africana Studies, European, American, Middle Eastern, and African history. Fikes has published numerous journal articles, essays, encyclopedia entries, newspaper and magazine contributions, bibliographies, and several print and online books pertaining to history, art, and literature.

Edward W. Anderson (1871–1953)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Entrepreneur, political organizer, and civilian pioneer, Edward William Anderson was born the son of former slaves, Wyatt and Fannie Anderson, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, September 26, 1871. He arrived in San Diego, California, in the mid-1890s with just $1.25 in his pocket … Read MoreEdward W. Anderson (1871–1953)

Juliano Moreira (1873–1932)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Psychiatrist and professor, Juliano Moreira was born on January 6, 1873, in the coastal city of Salvador in the state of Bahia, Brazil, an area long known for its predominantly African-descended population. Moreira was the son of a Portuguese public lighting … Read MoreJuliano Moreira (1873–1932)

Leone Jacovacci (1902–1983)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Afro-Italian boxing champion Leone Jacovacci (a.k.a. John Douglas Walker and Jack Walker) was born in 1902 in the village of Pombo in the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), the son of Umberto Jacovacci, a contracted Italian agronomist, and … Read MoreLeone Jacovacci (1902–1983)

Sebastián Gómez (1646?–1690?)

Murillo Discovering Sebastián Gómez Painting in Murillo’s Studio “Image Ownership: Public Domain” Spanish Baroque painter Sebastián Gómez was born around 1646 in Seville, Spain, a product of that city’s sizeable African-descended community. Ordinary benchmarks pertaining to most of his life—ancestry, circumstances of birth, parentage, … Read MoreSebastián Gómez (1646?–1690?)

August A. Sabac el Cher (1836?–1885)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” According to stories handed down to his descendants, a seven year old boy from Kurdufan in what is now central Sudan, orphaned because his father was killed in a revolt against an Egyptian occupation force and his mother subsequently committed suicide, … Read MoreAugust A. Sabac el Cher (1836?–1885)

Juan de Pareja (ca. 1606-1670)

Depending on the source consulted, Spanish Baroque painter Juan de Pareja was born in the region of Andalusia, Spain, either in Seville or the much smaller city of Antequera 82 miles southeast, reputedly to a female of African descent and a native Spanish male whose … Read MoreJuan de Pareja (ca. 1606-1670)

Gustav Albrecht Sabac el Cher (1868-1934)

Afro-German band conductor and restaurateur Gustav Albrecht Sabac el Cher, born March 10, 1868 in a palace in Berlin, was the son of August Sabac el Cher (1836?-1885), a Sudanese man who as an orphaned boy in Egypt was presented as a gift to Prussian … Read MoreGustav Albrecht Sabac el Cher (1868-1934)

Jesse L. Douglas, Sr. (1930- )

Minister, civil rights activist, vocalist, Jesse Lee Douglas, Sr. was born August 19, 1930 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to William and Isabella Douglas, a Merchant Marine cook and a maid. He attended Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana and Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee before … Read MoreJesse L. Douglas, Sr. (1930- )

In the Land of Czars and Commissars: African Americans in Russia, the Soviet Union, and Post-Soviet Russia, 1824-2015

In the following essay independent historian Robert Fikes explores the eclectic experiences of African Americans in the world’s largest nation in the 19th and 20th Centuries It was in May 1824 that Nancy Gardner Prince, rescued from a life of poverty and hardship in Massachusetts … Read MoreIn the Land of Czars and Commissars: African Americans in Russia, the Soviet Union, and Post-Soviet Russia, 1824-2015

Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata (1978- )

“Image Ownership: Ministério da Cultura“ From June 2007 until August 2010 Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata served as one of the highest government officials in Colombia, the first woman of African descent and at 29 the youngest person ever to occupy a cabinet-level post in that … Read MorePaula Marcela Moreno Zapata (1978- )