BlackPast is dedicated to providing a global audience with reliable and accurate information on the history of African America and of people of African ancestry around the world. We aim to promote greater understanding through this knowledge to generate constructive change in our society.
[…] treatment of tuberculosis. When Italy invaded Ethiopia in late 1935, Kee joined a group of Harlem nurses collecting medical supplies for the Ethiopians. Like many other African American anti-fascists, Kee shifted her support to the Spanish Republic with the rise of Franco. Her efforts […] … Read MoreSalaria Kee O’Reilly (1913-1991)
International Lyric Spinto Soprano Ella Ruth Lee was born on June 10, 1933, to Winston Lee and Mary Ella Lee in Tyler, Texas. She was reared in Los Angeles and began piano lessons there. From 1947 to 1951, Lee was a student and member of … Read More … Read MoreElla Ruth Lee Romani (1933-2013)
Albert Cleage, jr., or Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman, Black Nationalist and civil rights activist, was one of the most prominent black religious leaders in America. Agyemen preached a form of nationalism within the black community that stressed economic self-sufficiency and separation that relied on a religious … Read More … Read MoreAlbert Cleage Jr. (Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman) (1911-2000)
The Gnawa (sing. Gnawi) are an ethnic group and Islamic sect of West African-descent centered in Morocco who have become globally known for their use of music in liturgy. Beginning in the 11th century under Yusuf Ibn Ta, the Sultan of Morocco under the Ottoman … Read More … Read MoreThe Gnawa (Islamic Sect) (11th c.- )
[…] Some have speculated that because he and his men were from Thebes in Upper Egypt and near Nubia, they were considered “ Ethiopians” which in the Medieval European world was a generic description of all dark skinned people on the African continent. Whatever the […] … Read MoreSt. Maurice (ca. 250-ca. 287)
Born to James and Kate Price on February 10, 1927, in Laurel, Mississippi, Leontyne Price became one of the world’s leading opera sopranos and among the first African Americans to gain prominence in major performance halls in that musical genre. Her parents were amateur musicians … Read More … Read MoreMary Violet Leontyne Price (1927- )
Gloria Davy, a rich-voiced (lirico-spinto) soprano who “sang for the sheer joy of singing” had a four decade career as a concert singer. Early in her career she replaced Leontyne Price as Bess in the 1954 international tour of Porgy and Bess. In 1958 she … Read More … Read MoreGloria Davy (1931-2012)
Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia was born on April 29, 1876 as Askala Maryam in the city of Harrar in Enjersa Goro Province, Ethiopia. Her mother was Abechi, a Shewan noblewoman and her father was Menelik II, at that point the king of Shewa and the … Read More … Read MoreEmpress Zewditu (1876-1930)
Eshetu Chole was Ethiopia’s leading economist prior to his death in 1998. His research and publications encompassed an extraordinary breadth: agriculture, industrial and social development, fiscal policy, macro- and microeconomics, and human development at national and regional levels. He was also a budding poet. Chole … Read More … Read MoreEshetu Chole (1945-1998)