Born January 25, 1959 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, Jean-Léonard Touadi, one of 10 children of a civil servant, immigrated to Italy in 1979 where he became a journalist, university lecturer, the author of several books, and a pioneering politician. A devout Roman Catholic … Read MoreJean-Léonard Touadi (1959- )
Saint Peter Claver (Mission) Church was the first African American Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas. The church was built by Irish-born Margaret Mary Healy Murphy, the widow of John Bernard Murphy, who was the mayor of Corpus Christi from 1889 to 1884. Margaret Mary … Read MoreSaint Peter Claver Church, San Antonio, Texas (1888- )
Holy Cross Catholic Church, the first church for African American Catholics in Corpus Christi, Texas, was organized before the parish obtained a physical building. Before African Americans in that area had a church, they attended Saint Patrick’s Church, and some joined the Mexican Church, Our Lady of … Read MoreHoly Cross Catholic Church, Corpus Christi, Texas (1914- )
St. Maurice is commemorated throughout churches in modern Germany as a black African dressed as a Roman Solider. That depiction originated with the renowned statue in the Cathedral of St. Catherine and St. Maurice in Magdeburg, Germany. However, according to some historical authorities, he was … Read MoreSt. Maurice (ca. 250-ca. 287)
The St. Martin De Porres Club was founded in 1947 by Father John P. Markoe, S.J., a priest, and Creighton University students interested in local civil rights issues in Omaha, Nebraska. Father Markoe was assigned to St. Benedict the Moor Parish at 2423 Grant Street … Read MoreSt. Martin De Porres Club (1947- )
Ursula Burns, Chief Executive Officer of Xerox, began life in a lower east side housing project in New York City. Burns was born on September 20, 1958 to a single mom. She was sent to Catholic school as a child to get the best education … Read MoreUrsula Burns (1958- )
Author George Jackson is best known for his memoir Soledad Brother, containing the letters that he wrote from prison between 1964 and 1970. George Lester Jackson was born on September 23, 1941, on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. The second of five children, Jackson’s … Read MoreGeorge Jackson (1941-1971)
The Spanish colony of Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) would be the target of aggression from its Hispaniola neighbor, French-ruled Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), in the early nineteenth century culminating in a twenty-two year occupation which would have long term consequences for both nations. Haitian … Read MoreHaitian Invasions and Occupation of Santo Domingo (1801-1844)
Xavier University is a private, four-year coeducational historically black university located in New Orleans, Louisiana; the campus is located one mile from downtown New Orleans. Xavier University is the only historically black college or university (HBCU) affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Xavier was founded … Read MoreXavier University [New Orleans] (1915- )
Samora Machel, the first president of independent Mozambique, was born on September 29, 1933, in the village of Chilembene, in the Gaza Province of Mozambique. He was of the Shangana ethnic group and was born into a family of farmers. Machel attended a Catholic mission … Read MoreSamora Moises Machel (1933-1986)
