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- )
Born on November 5, 1940, Cedric Robinson, one of the nation’s most influential political scientists, on died on June 5, 2016. Robinson was born and raised in a working-class neighborhood of Oakland, California, the son of Clara Whiteside and Frederick Hill. After graduating from Berkeley … Read MoreCedric Robinson (1940-2016)
On November 3, 1979, in Greensboro, North Carolina, a “Death to the Klan” rally and march organized by the Communist Workers Party which was previously known as the Workers Viewpoint Organization (WVO), was planned to occur in Morningside Home, a predominantly black housing project. During … Read MoreGreensboro Massacre (1979)
In 1977 Ethiopia and Somalia engaged in a brief territory conflict over the Ogaden region situated between and claimed by both nations. This conflict however held significance greater than most territorial disputes because Ethiopia was backed by the Soviet Union and Somalia was supported by … Read MoreEthiopian-Somali War Over the Ogaden Region (1977–1978)
Coming from the biological term symbiosis, meaning the interdependence of different species, the Symbionese Liberation Army was a radical leftist revolutionary organization that sought to unify all left-wing struggles under one banner. The Berkeley, California-formed group of mostly upper middle class, educated young whites, led … Read MoreThe Symbionese Liberation Army (1973-1975)
Robert Browning Flippin was an important community leader and racial activist in San Francisco beginning in the 1930s through the 1950s. He was also the first African American parole officer at the California State Prison at San Quentin. The son of the black physician George … Read MoreRobert Browning Flippin (1903-1963)
“Image Ownership: Rollin Riggs” D’Army Bailey, founder of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis Tennessee, was a political and civil rights activist whose career spanned over half a century. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 29, 1941, Bailey was one of three children … Read MoreD’Army Bailey (1941-2015)
Communist Party Leaders: Claudia Jones, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Pettis Perry & Betty Gannet, ca. 1951 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” U.S. Communist Party leader Pettis Perry was born on January 4, 1897, on a tenant farm near Marion, Alabama. His mother died when he was a … Read MorePettis Perry (1897-1965)
