Juan Valiente, a Spanish-speaking black conquistador, was born in Northwest Africa around 1505 and was enslaved and acquired by the Portuguese. He was eventually purchased by Alonso Valiente, who had become a wealthy resident of Mexico City and Puebla after his participation in the conquest … Read MoreJuan Valiente (ca. 1505-1553)
The Church of St. Mark in Brooklyn, New York was originally established by a group of black Episcopalians in 1838. The next year, Dr. Samuel M. Haskins was asked to be rector (pastor), the role he would maintain for 60 years. By April 1841 the … Read MoreThe Church of St. Mark, Brooklyn, New York (1838- )
In comparison to many countries that have ancient histories spanning over thousands of years, Belize (a small country right below Mexico‘s Yucatan Peninsula) is a relatively young nation whose history spans only about 370 years. The indigenous Mayan population, however, has resided in Central America … Read MoreThe History of Belize
In 1635, two Spanish ships were wrecked near what is now St. Vincent in the West Indies. The ships held West Africans who were to be sold as slaves in the West Indies. The West Africans escaped from the Spaniards, and hid themselves among the … Read MoreThe Garifuna People
Andy Palacio was a popular Belizean musician who was born on December 2, 1960 in the village of Barranco in Belize, Central America. Palacio is the most famous musician to emerge from this little-known country. His work has influenced musicians and music-lovers all over the … Read MoreAndy Palacio (1960-2008)
The Watts Riot, also known as the Watts Rebellion, occurred in Los Angeles, California from August 11 to August 16, 1965. The riot took 34 lives and injured 1,032 people. There were nearly 4,000 arrests and $40 million in property damage in what was until … Read MoreWatts Riot (August 1965)
While a professor of biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Robert Kent Trench earned the reputation as the world’s leading expert on corals and their symbiotic algae, more specifically strains of zooxanthellae adaptation to certain coral species. Born on August 3, 1940 … Read MoreRobert K. Trench (1940- )
