Robert Earl “DJ Screw” Davis was an American hip hop Disk Jockey (DJ) who was best known as the creator of the chopped and screw technique, a music technique that slowed down the tempo of songs and became central to the rise of the musical … Read MoreDj Screw/Robert Earl Davis (1971-2000)
Isadore Banks was a 59-year-old African American landowner who disappeared on June 4, 1954. Banks was born on July 15, 1895, in Arkansas. Much of Banks’ early life is unknown, but he joined the United States Army when he was 22 years old during World … Read MoreIsadore Banks (1895 – 1954)
Kelly Miller Smith Sr, named after the prominent educator and civil rights leader Kelly Miller, was a Baptist preacher, author, and civil rights activist best known for participating in the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville, Tennessee. Smith was born on October 28, 1920, in the … Read MoreKelly Miller Smith Sr. (1920-1984)
Jacob Francis Wheaton’s home in Hagerstown, Maryland was the last stop on the Underground Railroad before crossing over to Pennsylvania. His family members (Buckinghams, Wheatons, and Bruners) owned homes in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan and were coopers and sextons by trade. Jacob Wheaton … Read MoreJacob Francis Wheaton (1835-1924)
Recognized by Broward County Florida as a successful businessman and civic leader dedicated to economic development, education, and community service, Marcellus Sterling Collins, Sr. continued the early 20th Century legacy of his parents, Richard A. and Leola Collins. Beginning in 1923, his father and mother … Read MoreMarcellus Sterling Collins, Sr. (1919-2018)
Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is a congressman who has represented New York’s 8th congressional district in Brooklyn and Queens since 2013. On November 28, 2018, Jeffries’ House colleagues elected him Democratic Caucus chairman. He is currently House Minority Leader, putting him in line to become the … Read MoreHakeem Jeffries (1970- )
During World War II, thirty African-American correspondents risked their lives reporting news home from the front-lines of the war. Covering the war took two forms. First, they were reporters of the combat between the Allies and the Axis. Concurrently, they reported on the treatment of … Read MoreDeton Brooks (1909-1975)
Nineteenth-century politician John P. Green was born on April 2, 1845 in New Bern, North Carolina to free African Americans who were of mixed-race ancestry. His father John used his skills as a tailor to buy his freedom but died in 1850, which put the … Read MoreJohn P. Green (1845-1940)
Born into slavery about January 1830, John Brown was owned by a leading Southampton County, Virginia planter named Robert Ridley. When Ridley died in 1852, Brown’s wife (whose name is unknown), two daughters and one brother were sold and taken to Mississippi. He remarried about … Read MoreJohn Brown (1830-1900)
College Basketball has had many legendary coaches that have become household names through their success on the court. For Coach Clarence Edward Gaines, known as “Big House” for his large frame, winning was a habit that led him to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1982. While … Read MoreClarence E. “Big House” Gaines, (1923-2005)
