Legendary rapper, composer, actor, and activist Kurtis Blow was born on August 9, 1959, in Harlem, New York, as Kurt Walker. His mother was a dancer in Harlem during the Renaissance at the Savoy and the Cotton Club. At the age of seven, Blow’s mother … Read MoreKurtis Blow/Kurt Walker (1959- )
Both a pharaoh of Egypt and a king of Kush (in present-day Sudan), Taharqa (meaning “young man” or “young warrior”) was the son of Piankhi (or Piye), the king of the Kushites who conquered Egypt in 744 and founded its 25th dynasty that lasted 88 … Read MoreTaharqa (?-664 B.C.E.)
On August 4, 1914, Britain joined the Great War. The First World War, 1914-1918, is usually viewed as a predominantly white European conflict. In fact, many Africans, Asians, black Britons, and Caribbeans fought for the British Empire. At the beginning of the war, the British War Office, however, was reluctant to allow blacks to enlist … Read MoreBritish West Indian Regiment (BWIR) (1915-1918)
Rear Admiral Stephen W. Rochon was born on March 7th, 1950 to a military family in New Orleans, Louisiana. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1970 and was sent to Astoria, Oregon in 1973 to serve aboard the cutter White Bush. By 1975, Rochon was commissioned by the … Read MoreStephen Rochon (1950- )
In the article below independent historian Kyle Haddad-Fonda describes the Asian-African Conference popularly known as the Bandung Conference which was the first significant gathering of independent and soon-to-be independent nations in Asia and Africa. From April 18 to April 24, 1955, delegates from twenty-nine countries … Read MoreThe Asian-African (Bandung) Conference: Fact and Fiction
Suzan Johnson Cook is a religious leader, pastor, motivational speaker, and diplomat who was born on January 28, 1957, in Harlem, New York. Her father, Wilbert Johnson, was a trolley driver and later founder of a successful security company, and her mother Dorothy Johnson, was … Read MoreSuzan Denise Johnson Cook (1957– )
In the article below, Carlton McLellan, PhD, a senior fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), briefly describes the history of the more than one hundred and forty black women and men who have led diplomatic delegations as U.S. Ambassadors in ninety-five … Read MoreAmerica’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot
Ambassador Joseph Huggins is a retired Career Diplomat who on November 15, 2002 was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as Ambassador to Botswana. Following U.S. Senate confirmation, Huggins arrived in Gaborone, the capital, where he served from January 28, 2003 until July … Read MoreJoseph Huggins (1951- )
Howard Kent Walker is a military veteran, diplomat, and educator who was born on December 3, 1935 in Newport News, Virginia. His father was a high school chemistry and mathematics teacher and his mother a homemaker. Upon graduation from high school Walker enrolled at the … Read MoreHoward Kent Walker (1935- )
Ambassador Johnny Young was a career diplomat and the third African American to be appointed ambassador by three presidents. In 1989 President George H.W. Bush appointed Young Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone. Five years later President Bill Clinton named Young Ambassador to the … Read MoreJohnny Young (1940- )
