Herbert “Herbie” Julian Hancock is an African American pianist, composer, bandleader, and keyboardist, with a career spanning over five decades. Hancock was born on April 12, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Winne Belle Griffin, a secretary and Waymand Edward Hancock, a government meat … Read MoreHerbie Hancock (1940- )
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, one of the five fraternities for African American men, was founded on November 17, 1911 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. It is the first African American fraternity established at a historically black college. The three founders—Edgar … Read MoreOmega Psi Phi Fraternity (1911- )
John Jenkins is the former mayor of Lewiston, Maine and the recently elected mayor of Auburn Maine. Jenkins is the first African American to serve as mayor in both cities. He served as mayor of Lewiston from 1993 to 1995. He has held the mayor’s … Read MoreJohn Jenkins (1952- )
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA), the oldest Greek-letter organization established for African American women, was founded on January 15, 1908, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. The principles are Sisterhood, Scholarship, and Service to All Humankind. This organization was founded on … Read MoreAlpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (1908- )
Hazel Johnson was the first African American woman to become a general in the U.S. Army. She was appointed the Chief of the Army Nurse Corps in 1979. Johnson held a doctorate in education administration from Catholic University (1978) and had honorary degrees from Morgan … Read MoreHazel W. Johnson (1927-2011 )
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
In 2006 Sophia Danenberg became the first African American and first black woman from anywhere in the world to climb the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest in the Himalayas (Nepal). Sophia Marie Scott was born in 1972 in Homewood, Illinois (a southern suburb … Read MoreSophia Danenberg (1972- )
Nukina Yoshitaka, a scholar in American literature, wrote that he was motivated to found the Black Studies Association in Tokyo, Japan in October of 1954 because he believed Japanese under United States military control had a commonality with African Americans, as both groups had their … Read MoreBlack Studies Association (Kokujin Kenkyu no Kai) of Japan
Activated on May 15, 1942, at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, the U.S. Ninety-third Infantry Division was the first segregated division-size infantry unit mobilized during the Second World War. Composed of White general staff officers and African American junior officers and enlisted men, the Ninety-third was made … Read More93rd Infantry Division (1942-1946)
Emma Azalia Smith Hackley was an African American singer and Denver political activist born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1867. Her parents, business owners Henry and Corilla Smith, moved to Detroit where she attended Washington Normal School, graduating in 1886. Smith, a child prodigy learned to … Read MoreEmma Azalia Hackley (1867-1922)
