One hero and friend of Japanese Americans, both individuals and the community generally, was Paul Robeson. Robeson was (after Joe Louis) the most popular and visible African American of the 1930s and 1940s. He was a celebrated stage actor and movie star, an internationally famous … Read MorePaul Robeson and Japanese Americans, 1942-1949
Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the independent nation, the Republic of Congo, was born July 2, 1925, in Onalua in Kasai province of the Belgian Congo. With just primary education, Lumumba emerged to become one of Africa’s most vocal critics of colonialism. Early … Read MorePatrice Emery Lumumba
(1925-1961)
Mengistu Haile Mariam, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Ethiopian Army, led a coup which ousted Emperor Haile Selassie from power in 1974. Mengistu took control of the government and served as its Communist head of state in Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. He formally … Read MoreMengistu Haile Mariam (1937- )
In the following account, Professor Allison Blakely of Boston University describes the presence of blacks in Early Modern Europe. His article reminds us that persons of African ancestry resided across Europe. Their numbers ranged from a few hundred scattered across Germany, Scandinavia and Russia in … Read MoreThe Black Presence in Pre-20th Century Europe: A Hidden History
Born on February 21, 1945 in Seattle, Washington to parents, Nelmon and Johnnie Carter Gossett, Larry Gossett has been a dedicated public servant for over 40 years. After graduating from Franklin High School, he was a VISTA volunteer in Harlem (1966-1967). Gossett attended the University … Read MoreLarry Gossett (1945- )
Sold into Turkish slavery, Abram Petrovich Hannibal was brought as a black servant to Czar Peter I, known as Peter the Great. He became one of the royal favorites, a general-in-chief, and one of the best educated men in Russia in his era. His great-grandson … Read MoreAbram Petrovich Hannibal (1696?-1781)
Jimmy Winkfield, born on April 12, 1882, was a professional jockey and horse trainer who became famous in the early twentieth century. Winkfield, the youngest of seventeen children, was born in Chilesburg, Kentucky, a town just outside of Lexington. As a child, he had a … Read MoreJimmy Winkfield (1882-1974)
Louis Daniel (Louie) Armstrong is perhaps the most important and influential person in the history of jazz music, swing music, and jazz vocal styling. His virtuosic ability with the trumpet, his distinctive gravelly low vocal style, his bright personality, and his band leadership abilities helped … Read MoreLouis Armstrong (1901-1971)
Annie Box Neal was the proprietor and manager of the Mountain View Hotel in Oracle, Arizona, a western mining town in the Catalina Mountains. Her secluded grand resort was recognized as the “epitome of western opulence” in its day and received distinguished guests from Russia, … Read MoreAnnie Box Neal (1870-1950)
Little is known about the early life of Nancy Gardner Prince, except from what she reveals in her 1853 autobiography, A Narrative of the Life and Travels of Mrs. Nancy Prince. Prince was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Her father, Thomas Gardner, was a seaman from … Read MoreNancy Gardner Prince (1799-ca. 1856)
