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BlackPast is dedicated to providing a global audience with reliable and accurate information on the history of African America and of people of African ancestry around the world. We aim to promote greater understanding through this knowledge to generate constructive change in our society.

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Tag: Media – Television and film

Will Packer (1974- )

Will Packer is a film producer who was best known for producing the 94th Annual Academy Awards (the Oscars) on March 27, 2022. Packer was born on April 11, 1974, to Birice Paker and William Packer Sr. in St. Petersburg, Florida. He completed high school … Read MoreWill Packer (1974- )

Posted on August 6, 2022August 18, 2022by contributed by: Samuel Momodu
African American History: African American History: People

Carol Sutton (1944-2020)

Carol Joan Dickerson Sutton was an actress in film, theater, and television, and was best known for her role as Nurse Pam in the film Steel Magnolias. Dickerson was born on December 3, 1944, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Marguerite Bush and Amos Dickerson. She … Read MoreCarol Sutton (1944-2020)

Posted on December 22, 2020December 22, 2020by contributed by: Euell A. Nielsen
African American History: African American History: People

Gil Noble (1932-2012)

Gilbert Edward Noble was a pianist, producer, professor, news anchor, television host, and documentarian. His entry into media was largely due to the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements. Born in Harlem, New York on February 22, 1932 to Jamaican parents Iris Villiers Noble, a … Read MoreGil Noble (1932-2012)

Posted on July 28, 2020February 4, 2021by contributed by: Will Guzmán
African American History: African American History: People

Tyler Perry (1969- )

Tyler Perry is a world-renowned actor, director, producer, writer, and philanthropist. Born Emmitt Perry, Jr. on September 13, 1969 to Willie Maxine Campbell Perry and Emmitt Perry, Sr. in New Orleans, Louisiana, Perry changed his name to Tyler to distance himself from his father. Perry’s … Read MoreTyler Perry (1969- )

Posted on June 21, 2020January 20, 2021by contributed by: Beatrice Johnson
African American History: African American History: People

Terresa M. Graves (1948-2002)

Terresa M. Graves was an American actress who performed in many television shows and movies in the early and mid-1970s. Graves was born on January, 10, 1948 in Houston, Texas. Her mother was Willie Graves and her father was Marshall Graves. Terresa Graves grew up … Read MoreTerresa M. Graves (1948-2002)

Posted on March 9, 2020June 7, 2020by contributed by: Arnissa Hopkins
African American History: African American History: People

Terrence Howard (1969- )

Actor, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer Terrence Deshon Howard is best known for his role as Lucius Lyons, music mogul, in the TV series Empire for which he won the BET Best Actor Award in 2015. While he began his career appearing on several … Read MoreTerrence Howard (1969- )

Posted on February 19, 2020June 24, 2021by contributed by: Anna Christian
African American History: African American History: People

Tessa Lynne Thompson (1983- )

Actress Tessa Lynne Thompson was born on October 3, 1983 in Los Angeles, California to Marc Anthony Thompson, Afro-Panamanian, and an unnamed mother, who was half-Caucasian and half-Mexican. She also has a half sister, Zsela Sterlin-Thompson, and a half brother, Jody Rome Thompson. Thompson attended … Read MoreTessa Lynne Thompson (1983- )

Posted on December 1, 2019by contributed by: Samuel Momodu
African American History: African American History: People

Nipsey Russell (1924-2005)

Julius “Nipsey” Russell was a comedian, dancer, and poet. Russell was born on October 13, 1924, in Atlanta, Georgia. His mother gave him the nickname Nipsey, and he embraced it because he liked the way it sounded. Russell attended Booker T. Washington High School in … Read MoreNipsey Russell (1924-2005)

Posted on September 18, 2019October 13, 2019by contributed by: Samuel Momodu
African American History: African American History: People

Common (1972- )

Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka “Common” Rashid Lynn is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, actor, and songwriter. Common was born on March 13, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois to Mahalia Ann Hines and Lonnie Lynn Sr. Common grew up in the southside of Chicago in the Calumet Heights … Read MoreCommon (1972- )

Posted on August 29, 2019May 22, 2021by contributed by: Samuel Momodu
African American History: African American History: People

Richard Roundtree (1942- )

Richard Roundtree is an American actor known for creating the onscreen persona of John Shaft, the first and perhaps most iconic black action hero of the 1970s blaxploitation era. Following success as a model, Roundtree was recruited into films at an early age and has … Read MoreRichard Roundtree (1942- )

Posted on August 29, 2019January 19, 2021by contributed by: Joseph Sgammato
African American History: African American History: People

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