George Patrick Alphonse Forde was an important physician in early 20th century Houston, Texas. Forde was born in Barbados in September 1882. Educated in the Caribbean, Forde first became aware of the possibility of a medical profession while he worked in a Panama Canal hospital. … Read MoreGeorge Patrick Alphonse Forde (1882-1967)
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 the account below historian Lorraine McConaghy uses the story of black sailor Robert Shorter to indicate that while the Civil War freed nearly four million slaves, it also set in motion the status decline of antebellum African American seamen. The eleven years Robert Shorter … Read MoreEleven Years in the U.S. Navy: The Strange Saga of Robert Shorter
Guadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond, known popularly as “La Lupe,” was a Cuban and Cuban American singer and dancer. She was born in San Pedrito, a locality within Santiago de Cuba, Oriente Province, Cuba on December 23, 1936. Yolí grew up in an impoverished family. Her … Read MoreGuadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond (1936-1992)
Ewart Guinier, labor activist and political candidate, was the first chairman of Harvard University’s Afro-American Studies Department. Born in Panama in 1910, Guinier migrated to the United States in 1925 and attended high school in Boston, Massachusetts. After his acceptance into the Harvard University Class … Read MoreEwart Guinier (1910-1990)
Mary Jane Grant Seacole was an early nurse in the British Empire during the 19th Century. Born in Kingston, Jamaica as Mary Grant, she was the daughter of a Scottish officer and a black mother. Mary’s mother ran a hospital/boarding house in Kingston and she, … Read MoreMary Jane Seacole (1805-1881)
Jamaican-born Ferdinand Christopher Smith became a prominent twentieth century international labor activist and leader. At an early age Smith left Jamaica’s poor economic conditions in search of work as a migrant laborer. He spent five years in Panama, where he worked as a hotel steward … Read MoreFerdinand Christopher Smith (1893-1961)
Eric Walrond was an Afro–Caribbean-American fiction writer and journalist of the Harlem Renaissance era. Born December 18, 1898, in Georgetown, British Guyana, Walrond would write short stories with the interwoven themes of immigration, racial pride, and discrimination as he captured the early urban experience of … Read MoreEric Walrond (1898-1966)
Born December 9, 1579 in Lima, Peru, St. Martin de Porres is best known for his charitable work. His piety allowed him access to the Dominican order of his country, and his acts of compassion for the sick became part of the justification for his … Read MoreMartin De Porres (1579-1639)
Amy Ashwood Garvey was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, but spent most of her childhood in Panama where her father supported the family as a businessman. She returned to Jamaica as a teen and attended Westwood High School in Trelawney, where she met her future … Read MoreAmy Ashwood Garvey (1897-1969)
