Quiet Fire, a reggae, Latin jazz, and R&B ensemble which emerged as one of the premier groups in the U.S. Virgin Islands, was founded by teenagers attending Croix Central High and St. Joseph’s Catholic high schools on St. Croix Island. They began as the Soul … Read MoreQuiet Fire (1967-2021)
Pontus Carlsson has been competing in chess matches since age 5 and he is currently a chess Grandmaster. His improbable journey to chess stardom started in 1985 when as a toddler he was adopted from an orphanage in Cali, Colombia, South America by Ingvar Carlsson, … Read MorePontus Carlsson (1982- )
Few people realize that the percentage of people of African ancestry in the South American nation of Colombia (7%) is slightly more than half the percentage of people of African ancestry in the United States (13%). Yet we know even less about the origins of … Read MoreLadinos and Bozales: A Brief Early History of Africans in Colombia: 1500-1800
Fred Hutcherson Jr. was the first African American aviator to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Born in Evanston, Illinois, on July 6, 1912, he was the oldest son of Fred Hutcherson Sr., a mechanic and grocery store owner, and Orain, a homemaker. His father supported … Read MoreFred Hutcherson Jr. (1912-1962)
Juan José Nieto Gil, a Colombian politician, writer, and army general was the first president of African descent in Colombia. Nieto Gil was born on June 24, 1805, in Loma del Muerto, Colombia to Tomás Nicolás Nieto and Benedicta Nieto. He had three siblings, Francisca … Read MoreJuan José Nieto Gil (1805-1866)
Apolinar Salcedo is a blind attorney and a former mayor of the city of Cali, Colombia, population 2.3 million. He was born in El Cerrito, Colombia, on February 22, 1955, the son of Luis Alfonso Salcedo, a cane cutter and tanner, and Zoraida Caicedo, a washerwoman. At age six he … Read MoreApolinar Salcedo Caicedo (1955- )
Late 20th Century drug lord Ricky Donnell Ross was born on January 26th, 1960 in Troup, Texas. He is better known as “Freeway Rick,” the convicted drug trafficker turned philanthropist who established himself as kingpin in the 1980’s. Ross grew up in Los Angeles, California, moving there in 1963 … Read MoreFreeway Rick Ross (1960- )
Rayful Edmond III was born on November 26, 1964 in Washington, D.C. to Rayful Edmond, Jr. and Constance “Bootsie” Perry. Both of his parents worked for the U.S. government but were also drug dealers on the side in their Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Near Northeast. Rayful was … Read MoreRayful Edmond (1964- )
María Isabel Urrutia Ocoró, Olympic champion weightlifter and politician, was born in Calendaria, Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on March 25, 1965. Her mother, Nelly, was a homemaker and her father, Pedro Juan, was an industrial mechanic. Sources differ, but Urrutia had at least … Read MoreMaría Isabel Urrutia Ocoró (1965- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Human rights activist and political scientist Marcia Alexandra Santacruz Palacios was born in Puerto Tejada, northern Cauca, Colombia, an area exploited by mining companies and whose largely poor Africa-descended population has resided for four centuries alongside indigenous peoples. Aware of the … Read MoreMarcia A. Santacruz Palacios (1977–)
