Independent Historian

Stasia Mehschel Irons is an undergraduate English student at the University of Washington. She was born in Tacoma, Washington and in 1996 moved to the south Seattle area. She has a special interest in the history of African-American musicians.  Irons is a Spoken Word artist for the University of Washington’s Retro Revolutionary Poets and has performed for alumni, faculty, and students. She expects to graduate from the University of Washington in June of 2008 with a B.A. in English. Irons will further her learning in graduate school pursuing her Masters in Education.

Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni (1943- )

“There’s no life in safety,” said three-time National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award winner Nikki Giovanni who began her own life on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee. She moved with her mother and sister to a small black suburb … Read MoreYolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni (1943- )

Stevie Wonder/Stevland Morris (1950- )

Grammy Award winning artist Stevie Wonder, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, was born May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. An excess of oxygen and a disorder affecting his retina called retinopathy resulted in his being born blind. In 1954, his … Read MoreStevie Wonder/Stevland Morris (1950- )