Milton Arthur Galamison, minister and civil rights activist, was the leader of New York City’s school integration movement in the 1960s. Born and raised in Philadelphia, where he experienced poverty and hostile racial relations that influenced his later activism, Galamison received a B.A. with honors … Read MoreMilton A. Galamison (1923-1988)
In the following article Professor Malik Simba, an historian at California State University, Fresno describes his professional and personal odyssey that led to the writing of his book, Black Marxism and American Constitutionalism: From the Colonial Background through the Ascendancy of Barack Obama and the … Read MoreA Marxist Scholar Analyzes the American Legal System
Professional basketball star Isiah Lord Thomas III was the Detroit Pistons’ point guard from 1981-1994, helping to lead the team to back-to-back National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in 1989 and 1990. Thomas was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the … Read MoreIsiah Lord Thomas III (1961- )
Claudius W. Rice was a political activist and labor leader in Houston, Texas from the 1920s through the 1940s. He was the owner of Negro Labor News, president of the Texas Negro Business Association, and advocate of Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee philosophy of … Read MoreClaudius William Rice (ca. 1892-1973)
The Mills Brothers, a musical quartet, originally featured John Jr. (b. 1910), Herbert (b. 1912), Harry (b. 1913), and Donald Mills (b. 1915). Born in Piqua, Ohio, the Mills Brothers lived with their father John Hutchinson Mills, a barber, and their mother, Eathel Harrington. As … Read MoreThe Mills Brothers (1925-1982)
The Ink Spots, a musical quartet, originally included members Orville “Hoppy” Jones, Ivory “Deek” Watson, Jerry Daniels, and Charlie Fuqua. Some accounts claim Slim Greene also was a founding member. Influenced by the Mills Brothers, all four members sang together under the name “King, Jack, … Read MoreInk Spots (1932-1953)
Art Blakey, jazz drummer and band leader, was born Arthur William Blakey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1919. Blakey’s father, Burtrum, who worked as a barber, left his family when Blakey was a newborn. Blakey lost his mother, Marie Roddericker, before his second birthday. … Read MoreArt Blakey (1919-1990)
Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist whose natural genius and distinctive sound earned him recognition as one of the most important jazz musicians of the 20th century. Montgomery was born on March 6, 1925 in Indianapolis, Indiana into a musically inclined family. Although he was … Read MoreJohn Leslie “Wes” Montgomery (1925-1968)
Roy Campanella was an African American baseball player who helped break the color barrier in Major League Baseball (MLB), becoming the first African American catcher in MLB when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Campanella, nicknamed “Campy,” was born on November 19, 1921 in Philadelphia, … Read MoreRoy Campanella (1921-1993)
Pitcher Juan Antonio Marichal, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco (California) Giants from 1960 to 1973, was first Dominican-born baseball player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Marichal, nicknamed “The Dominican Dandy,” was born on October 20, 1937 in … Read MoreJuan Antonio Marichal (1937- )
