Carol Channing was an Afro-European actress and performer. Channing was born in Seattle, Washington on January 31, 1921. She was the only child of Adelaide Glaser and George Christian (Stucker) Channing. Her father moved the family to San Francisco, California when Channing was two years … Read MoreCarol Elaine Channing (1921-2019)
Donald Walbridge “Don” Shirley was an American classical and jazz composer and pianist. Shirley was born on January 29, 1927, to Stella Gertrude Young and Edwin Samuel Shirley in Pensacola, Florida. His mother and father were Jamaican-born immigrants. Shirley was a prodigy, taught to play … Read MoreDon Shirley (1927-2013)
Keith Ellison is an American politician and lawyer, who is currently the Attorney General-elect of Minnesota. Ellison was born on August 4, 1963 in Detroit, Michigan. He is the third of five sons born to Leonard and Clida (Martinez). Since childhood Ellison was involved with the civil rightsmovement and briefly worked … Read MoreKeith M. Ellison (1963- )
One of the last of the major riots of the “Red Summer” of 1919, the so-called race riot in Elaine, Arkansas was in fact a racial massacre. Though exact numbers are unknown, it is estimated that over 200 African Americans were killed, along with five whites, during the white … Read MoreElaine, Arkansas Riot (1919)
On Sunday, September 9th, 1739 the British colony of South Carolina was shaken by a slave uprising that culminated with the death of sixty people. Led by an Angolan named Jemmy, a band of twenty slaves organized a rebellion on the banks of the Stono River. After breaking into Hutchinson’s store the band, … Read MoreStono Rebellion (1739)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Eight-time world No. 1-ranked professional tennis player Serena Williams was born September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. She holds 23 Grand Slam singles titles, 12 in women’s doubles, and two in mixed doubles for 39 total—the most of any active player. Formerly coached by … Read MoreSerena Williams (1981 – )
Taylor Emmanuel Gordon was born in 1893 in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, one of six children of a cook and a laundress. He is best known for his career as a singer in the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. After leaving Montana in 1910 for a job in Minnesota, … Read MoreTaylor Emmanuel Gordon (1893-1971)
Linton Kwesi Johnson, political activist, poet and reggae artist, was born in Chapelton, Jamaica in 1952. After his parents’ divorce, Johnson was raised by his grandmother. Johnson left his small parish in 1963 and moved to London, UK to be with his mother, where he attended Tulse Hill secondary school. Johnson became increasingly aware … Read MoreLinton Kwesi Johnson (1952– )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Pioneering black journalist Louis Lomax was born in Valdosta, Georgia on August 16, 1922 to parents Emanuel C. Smith and Sarah Louise Lomax. He attended Paine College in Augusta, Georiga where he was editor of the student newspaper. He graduated from Paine in 1942 at the age of 19. … Read MoreLouis Emanuel Lomax (1922-1970)
The Ledo Road, which was later renamed The Stillwell Road in honor of Army General Joseph W. Stillwell, the commander of the China–Burma–India Theater in World War II, was built during World War II in response to the Japanese Army’s capture of the Burma Road, the main route for Allied military supplies … Read MoreBlack Soldiers and the Ledo Road (1942-1945)