Pellom McDaniels, the first born of Pellom and Mary McDaniels, was born on February 21, 1968. He was an all-American professional football player who played defensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL). Although he was a well-known player for the Kansas City Chiefs (1992-1998), … Read More … Read MorePellom McDaniels III (1968-2020)
In the following article, Russian DJ Ivan Tchijevsky describes exclusively for BlackPast.org the long history of black music and black musical performers in Russia. Writing from a musical festival in Odessa, Ukraine in June 2019, he outlines his views below. As I visit festivals of … Read More … Read MoreThe Afro-Beat in Russia: The Influence of Black Music on Russian Popular Culture, 1890-2002
Mabel Keaton Staupers, R.N., was instrumental in ending the United States Army’s policy of excluding African American nurses from its ranks in World War II. In 1948 Staupers also successfully lobbied for full integration of the American Nurses Association. Mabel Keaton Staupers (née Doyle) was … Read More … Read MoreMabel Keaton Staupers (1890-1989)
When Mary J. Blige was born on January 11, 1971, in The Bronx, New York, few observers would have imagined her becoming one of the most successful rhythm and blues (R&B) artists within a musical world increasingly dominated by hip-hop. Blige’s father abandoned the family when she was four. She … Read More … Read MoreMary J. Blige (1971- )
Georgina Falú Pesante, university executive, community organizer, professor, and Pan-Africanist, was born on April 23, 1939 in Santurce, Puerto Rico to María Magdalena “Malen” Pesante Santana, business owner and homemaker, and Juan “Juanín” Falú Zarzuela, civil rights activist. Her father created the League to Promote … Read More … Read MoreGeorgina Falú (1939- )
Leigh Whipper, the first black member of the Actors’ Equity Association (1913), was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1876. His father, William James Whipper, was a Civil War Veteran from Connecticut who settled in South Carolina during the Reconstruction period and became an attorney … Read More … Read MoreLeigh Whipper (1876-1975)
[…] his father as director of operations. He shortly afterwards took over as president of James Group International and CEO of its subsidiary, Renaissance Global Logistics. With his arrival, James grew the company from $35 million to $137 million in revenue and added more than […] … Read MoreJohn Edward James (1981-)
[…] Resort Hotel closed and was torn down in October 1977. In the first decade of the 21st century Buckroe Beach had a renaissance. Investors built a mile long boardwalk and installed a large playground for children as well as cycling and walking paths, a […] … Read MoreBuckroe Beach, Hampton, Virginia (1890- )
Chadwick Aaron Boseman was born on November 29, 1976 in Anderson, South Carolina, to Carolyn and Leroy Boseman. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a factory worker. Boseman played little league baseball and basketball in his youth and attended T.L. Hanna High … Read More … Read MoreChadwick Aaron Boseman (1976-2020)
During its brief and rocky tenure from 1918 to 1924, pianist Gertrude Harvey Wright was one of four women in Seattle’s first black musicians’ union, the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 458. Wright, Virginia Hughes, a “Mrs. Austin,” and (Edythe) “Turnham,” all worked with their … Read More … Read MoreRace, Gender, Jazz & Local 493: Black Women Musicians in Seattle: 1920-1955
