Scholar, playwright, journalist, and African nationalist, Duse Mohamad Ali was born in Alexandria, Egypt on November 24, 1866 to an Egyptian father, Ali Abdul Salam and a Sudanese mother, whose name is unknown. At a very young age Ali was sent to study in England … Read MoreDuse Mohamad Ali (1866-1945)
Clayton Pitre was a longtime Seattle, Washington-based community activist, former Chief Housing Developer for the Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP), and a retired Montford Point Marine. Born on June 30, 1924, to Gilbert Pitre and Eugenie Lemelle, Clayton Pitre was the fourth child of seven … Read MoreClayton Pitre (1924-2020)
Desmond Power, a third-generation British subject born in Tientsin (now Tianjin), China in 1923, was incarcerated along with 1,500 other foreign nationals in 1943 in Weihsien, a Japanese Prisoner of War camp in North China during World War II. In the article below, Power recalls … Read MoreJazz in Occupied China: Black Jazzmen at the Japanese Prison Camp in Weihsien, China during World War II
Image Courtesy of Erik van Leeuwen (GNU Free Documentation) Usain Bolt, known as the “fastest man on earth,” has won a phenomenal eight Olympic gold medals the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics, making Olympic history. He has also broken multiple world records Bolt was born … Read MoreUsain St. Leo Bolt (1986- )
Today the phrase “Uncle Tom” evokes a powerfully negative image in American society. It depicts a weak, subservient, cringing black man who betrays his race and its struggle for liberation. David Reynolds, an English professor in the Graduate School of the City University of New … Read MoreUncle Tom Revisited: Rescuing the Real Character from the Caricature
Azie Taylor Morton was a teacher, politician and the only African American to hold the position of Treasurer of the United States. Taylor was born to Fleta Hazel Taylor, who was deaf and mute, on February 1st, 1936 in the small community of St. John … Read MoreAzie Taylor Morton (1936-2003)
Mombasa, located in southeastern Kenya on the Indian Ocean, is the second largest city in the country and the nation’s major seaport. The city, which is located on an island separated from the mainland by Tudor Creek and Kilindini Harbor, had a population of 939,370 … Read MoreMombasa, Kenya (ca. 900 A.D.- )
The 10th Cavalry was one of the original six regiments of the regular army set aside for black enlisted men. These were authorized by Congress in the act of July 28, 1866 reorganizing the army for post-Civil War service, mainly against native peoples in the … Read More10th Cavalry Regiment (1866-1944)
Professional basketball superstar Kobe Bryant played for the Los Angeles (California) Lakers since 1996 when he came to the team as an eighteen-year-old, the youngest player in National Basketball Association (NBA) history, until his retirement in 2016. Bryant was a long-time philanthropist, using his well-known … Read MoreKobe Bryant (1978-2020)
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, Angolan insurgent fighter and longtime leader of The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), was born in Munhango, Angola on August 3, 1934 to Helena Mbundu Savimbi and Loth Savimbi. Savimbi’s father was a railway stationmaster and part-time Protestant … Read MoreJonas Malheiro Savimbi (1934-2002)
