The Black Arts Movement was the name given to a group of politically motivated black poets, artists, dramatists, musicians, and writers who emerged in the wake of the Black Power Movement. The poet Imamu Amiri Baraka is widely considered to be the father of the … Read MoreThe Black Arts Movement (1965-1975)
The Black Belt Republic was a proposed black autonomous state in the American Deep South proposed by African American communists and for a time endorsed by the Soviet Union and the international communist community. The Black Belt itself is a crescent shaped band of predominately … Read MoreBlack Belt Republic (1928-1934)
Assata Olugbala Shakur—political activist, author, fugitive, and step-aunt of the famed, slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur—was born JoAnne Deborah Bryon on July 16, 1947 in New York City, New York. Following her parents’ divorce in 1950, she moved with her mother and maternal grandparents to … Read MoreAssata Olugbala Shakur (1947- )
Actor Samuel Leroy Jackson was born on December 21, 1948 in Washington, D.C. to factory worker Elizabeth Jackson. His father abandoned his mother shortly after Jackson’s birth and then died of alcoholism. Jackson and his mother moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they lived with her … Read MoreSamuel L. Jackson (1948- )
Actor, singer, comedian, and musician, Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop in Terrell, Texas on December 13, 1967. He was adopted by his maternal grandparents Mark and Estelle Tolley after his parents’ divorce when he was still an infant. His grandmother introduced him to … Read MoreJamie Foxx (1967- )
Image Courtesy of the San Francisco Public Library San Francisco civil rights activist Tracy Sims, now Tamam Tracy Moncur, was born in 1945 in Oakland, California. Sims moved to San Francisco with her mother and brothers when she was in high school. She later married … Read MoreTracy Sims (1945- )
The Arusha Declaration, which was passed on January 29, 1967, summarized Tanzania’s commitment to socialism and the significant role that it was to play in the country’s development. The document was originally written by Julius K. Nyerere, who served as the first president of Tanzania … Read More(1967) The Arusha Declaration
Wayne Brady, comedian, singer, actor, and television personality, was one of the first African Americans to host a daytime game show. Brady became host of Let’s Make a Deal in October 2009. Wayne Brady was born on June 2, 1972 in Orlando, Florida. As a … Read MoreWayne A. Brady (1972- )
Abram Lincoln Harris, Jr., the grandson of slaves, was the first nationally recognized black economist. Harris was highly respected for his work that focused primarily on class analysis, black economic life, and labor to illustrate the structural inadequacies of race and racial ideologies. Harris’s major … Read MoreAbram Lincoln Harris Jr. (1899-1963)
Peter Abrahams Image Ownership: Public Domain Twentieth century African novelist and journalist Peter Henry Abrahams was born in Vrededorp (near Johannesburg), South Africa, on March 19, 1919. Abrahams’ father, James Henry Abrahams Deras was the son of former Ethiopian landowners who had taken him across … Read MorePeter Abrahams (1919–2017)
