Selorm Tamakloe, Author at

Student Historian

Selorm Tamakloe is currently a sophomore at the University of Washington, Seattle, pursuing a double degree in Biochemistry and Dance with the aspiration of becoming a pediatrician. Because Selorm was born and raised Ghana, she is still learning about the abundance and variety of culture available here in the United States with the African American community being one of the most fascinating to her. In her pursuit of this learning and understanding she realizes the old saying that we are similar and yet very different.

J.B. Danquah (1895-1965)

Joseph Kwame Kyeretwei Boakye Danquah (Dankwa) was a Ghanaian lawyer, politician, and leader in that nation’s independence movement. He was born on December 18, 1895, to Emmanuel Yao Boakye and Lydia Okom Korantemaa in the town of Bepong in the Eastern Region of the Gold … Read MoreJ.B. Danquah (1895-1965)

Ruby McCollum (1909-1992)

Born Ruby Jackson on August 31, 1909, Jackson was a wealthy married African American woman in Live Oak, Florida, who was arrested and convicted for killing a prominent white doctor in 1952, who at the time was also a Florida State Senator-Elect. Born to Gertrude … Read MoreRuby McCollum (1909-1992)

Joe Brazil (1927-2008)

Joseph Brazil was an American jazz saxophonist and educator born August 25, 1927 in Detroit, Michigan. He taught jazz at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington, and co-founded the music curriculum at the University of Washington in the late 1960s. He also founded the Black … Read MoreJoe Brazil (1927-2008)

Beatriz Nascimento (1942-1995)

Image Ownership: Public domain Brazilian political activist Beatriz Nascimento was born on July 12, 1942, to Rubina Pereira do Nascimento and Francisco Xavier de Nascimento in Aracaju, capital of the Northeast Brazilian state of Sergipe. She migrated with her family, including ten brothers to Rio … Read MoreBeatriz Nascimento (1942-1995)

Al Jarreau (1940-2017)

Commonly known as Al Jarreau, Alwin Lopez Jarreau was an African-American jazz singer and musician who received a total of seven Grammy Awards. Jarreau is best known for participating in the charity song “We Are the World” and his 1981 album Breakin’ Away. Born March … Read MoreAl Jarreau (1940-2017)

Shirley Bassey (1937– )

One of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the twentieth century, Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey is a Welsh singer best known for recording the theme song to three James Bond movies: Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker. Born the … Read MoreShirley Bassey (1937– )

Villa Lewaro, The Mansion of Madam C.J. Walker (1918- )

Villa Lewaro, built by Madam C.J. Walker in 1918, is a thirty-four-room, 20,000-square-foot mansion located at Fargo Lane and North Broadway in Irvington, New York. The estate is situated near the resident of the Franklin D. Roosevelt family on the Hudson River. Walker, a self-made … Read MoreVilla Lewaro, The Mansion of Madam C.J. Walker (1918- )