Tripoli has been the capital of Libya since its independence in 1951. Tripoli is the largest city in the country and in 2002 it had an estimated population of 1,223,300 people. The city is also the chief seaport, commercial, transport, communication, and industrial center of … Read MoreTripoli, Libya (7th Century BCE- )
Juba is one of the newest capitals in the world. It became the capital of South Sudan when that nation was declared independent on July 9, 2011. Juba, located on the White Nile River, is the largest city in South Sudan and in 2011 it … Read MoreJuba, South Sudan (1922- )
Niger Armed Forces fighting Boko Haram in March 2015 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram was founded by Mohammed Yusuf in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri in 2002.The official Arabic name of the group is Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, … Read MoreBoko Haram (2002- )
Image Courtesy of Ruby Bishop Ruby Carol Bishop is a legendary jazz performer in the Pacific Northwest. Graced with ebullient humor, loving her adoring audiences, and always dressed in sparkly sequins, Bishop at 94 continues to play piano in Seattle nightclubs while belting out jazz … Read MoreRuby Bishop (1919 – 2019)
Eddie Gardner Crossing the Mississippi River at St. Louis, 1929 “Image Courtesty of Charles Kastner” In the following account, sports historian Charles Kastner describes the remarkable athletic career of Eddie “the Sheik” Gardner of Seattle, Washington. Gardner was arguably the greatest ultramarathoner in Pacific Northwest … Read MoreEddie “the Sheik” Gardner: An Ultramarathoning Legend and Unsung Hero in the Struggle for Racial Equality in America.
Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a princess of the Egbado clan of the Yoruba people, is best known as the goddaughter of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. Bonetta was born in 1843 in what is now southwest Nigeria. Her parents’ names are unknown as are the names … Read MoreSarah Forbes Bonetta (1843-1880)
Dido Elizabeth Belle is best known for the 1779 painting of her alongside her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray, the great-niece of William Murray, The First Earl of Mansfield. The Earl, also known as Lord Mansfield, was at the time the Lord Chief Justice of England … Read MoreDido Elizabeth Belle (1761-1804)
African American engineer, architect, and mathematician Archie Alphonso Alexander was born on May 14, 1888 in Ottumwa, Iowa, the oldest of Price Alexander’s and Mary Hamilton Alexander’s nine children. In order to help his educational opportunities, when he was 11 years old Alexander’s family moved … Read MoreArchie Alphonso Alexander (1888-1958)
Stuart Hall was a leading 20th Century cultural theorist and a sociologist. Hall, widely known as a founder of British Cultural Studies and the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies, pioneered theories of multiculturalism. He is generally credited with expanding the field of cultural studies to … Read MoreStuart Hall (1932-2014)
Chaka Khan was born Yvette Marie Stevens in Chicago, Illinois on March 23, 1953, eldest of Charles Stevens’ and Sandra Coleman’s five children. As a teenager growing up on Chicago’s South Side community, the presence of the Black Panther Party had an influence on Stevens. … Read MoreChaka Khan (1953- )
