Dominga de la Cruz-Becerril, socialist, lecturer, poet, and declamadora, was born April 22, 1909 in Bueno Aires, Ponce, Puerto Rico (PR) to Catalina Becerril of Fajardo and Domingo Clarillo Cruz of Ponce. Reared in Mayagüez, both parents and godparents died while she was a pre-teen. … Read MoreDominga Cruz-Becerril (1909-1981)
The South Conference For Human Welfare (SCHW), and the Southern Conference Education Fund (SCEF) which evolved out of it, were part of a broad movement to promote New Deal policies, civil rights, and economic and political reform in the South. Twelve hundred people, about 25% … Read MoreSouthern Conference For Human Welfare (1938-1948)
Political activist Alexander Rahming was born on February 24, 1884 in Nassau, Bahamas. He emigrated to Key West, Florida in 1884 where he met his future bride, Alice Dean. They married in 1905 and migrated to New York City. Rahming was an advocate and organizer, … Read MoreAlexander Rahming (1884-1922)
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)
Jacob Zuma is the 4th president of post-apartheid South Africa and a member of the African National Congress (ANC). He held the presidency for nine years from 2009 to 2018 until he was ousted under a shroud of scandals and corruption. Before his presidency, Zuma worked with other African nationalists … Read MoreJacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (1942– )
The Crusader was a black communist magazine established by journalist Cyril Briggs initially with the financial support of West Indian merchant Anthony Crawford in September 1918. Briggs established The Crusader in response to and in support of President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points that called for the “impartial adjustment of all colonial claims.” Briggs, formerly of the Amsterdam … Read MoreThe Crusader (1918-1922)
Twenty-three-year-old Sean Elijah Bell, the victim of a violent police shooting in 2006, was born on May 18, 1983, to William and Valerie Bell. As a child, Bell was interested in acting and played baseball. According to Bell’s fiancée, Nicole Poultre, in an interview with … Read MoreSean Elijah Bell (1983-2006)
Frank R. Crosswaith was born on July 16, 1892, in La Croix, Virgin Islands, to William Ignatius and Anne Elizabeth Crosswaith. He immigrated to the United States in 1910 and became a socialist labor leader. He settled in New York City, New York where he … Read MoreFrank R. Crosswaith (1892-1965)
Image Ownership: David Shankbone Veronica Webb is an African American model, actress, writer, and television personality. Webb was the first African American to have a major cosmetics contract when she signed with Revlon in 1992. Webb also appeared on the covers of Vogue, Essence, and … Read MoreVeronica Webb (1965- )
Born February 12, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio, Arsenio Hall is a comedian, talk show host, writer, producer, and actor. He hosted the late night show Arsenio Hall Show from 1989 to 1994. A Baptist preacher’s son, Hall he grew up in a poor East Cleveland … Read MoreArsenio Hall (1956- )
