The African Union (AU) is an alliance of 53 African states that aim to advance and integrate Africa as a continent. The Union was created on September 9, 1999 when the Sirte Declaration was put forward by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which proposed … Read MoreAfrican Union (2002- )
Shani Davis became the first African American to win a gold medal an individual event in the Winter Olympics and the first African American male to win a gold when he competed in the men’s 1,000-meter speedskating championship in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in … Read MoreShani Davis (1982- )
Adrian Malik Fenty was born to Philip and Jan Fenty, an interracial couple, on December 6, 1970, in Washington, D.C. Fenty’s parents were both runners and they owned the athletic shoe store Fleet Feet in Washington, D.C. Fenty graduated from Woodrow Wilson Senior High School … Read MoreAdrian M. Fenty (1970- )
Children in Darfur Refugee Camp, 2007 International Rescue Committee Image Ownership: Public Domain While the country of Sudan has experienced a number of violent conflicts since its independence from Great Britain in 1956, the region of Darfur, which is located in western Sudan, caught the … Read MoreDarfur Genocide (2003- )
In the following article University of Washington, Tacoma student Kayomi Wada describes how she and other Tacoma residents banded together to create a local project that reflects President Barack Obama’s Call to Service. As a fourth-generation Japanese American, whose family made their living in the New … Read MoreBarack Obama’s Call to Service: One Woman Responds
On January 20, 2009, Barack Hussein Obama, became the 44th President of the United States. His inaugural address appears below. My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne … Read More(2009) President Barack Obama Inaugural Address
In an open letter to his daughters, Malia and Sasha, appearing in PARADE Magazine on Sunday, January 18, 2009, two days before his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama describes his hopes and dreams for the future with them and … Read More(2009) Barack Obama, “What I Want For You–and For Every Child”
Eric H. Holder, Jr., U.S. Attorney General since 2009, was born on January 21, 1951 in the Bronx, New York to parents of Barbadian descent, Eric, a real estate agent and Miriam Holder, a telephone operator. Holder was raised in East Elmhurst, Queens, a community … Read MoreEric H. Holder (1951- )
On January 15, 2009 Roland Wallace Burris was sworn in as the U.S. Senator from Illinois. Burris’s appointment made him the third African American U.S. Senator from the state and the sixth black U.S. Senator in the history of the United States. The appointment, however, … Read MoreRoland Burris (1937- )
In the article below Seattle Times columnist Jerry Large provides his perspective on the importance of the Obama victory for the Presidency on Nov. 4, 2008 and the way it forever changed the United States. Barack Obama’s victory opened a new door of possibilities for … Read MoreA New Era Begins: The Significance of the Barack Obama Victory, 2008
