Tupac Shakur, the son of two Black Panther members, William Garland and Afeni Shakur, was born in East Harlem, New York on June 16, 1971, and named after Jose Gabriel Tupac Amaru II, an 18th century political leader in Peru who was executed after leading … Read MoreTupac Shakur (1971-1996)
Jack Johnson, the first African American and first Texan to win the heavyweight boxing championship of the world, was born the second of six children to Henry and Tiny Johnson in Galveston on March 31, 1878. His parents were former slaves. To help support his … Read MoreJack Johnson (1878-1946)
Dorothy Dandridge, born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, was a superb actress, singer and dancer who became a national and international star, and the first African American female actor nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Actress (Carmen Jones) and later a … Read MoreDorothy Dandridge (1922-1964)
Joe Louis Barrow, known popularly as Joe Louis, was the second African American heavyweight boxing champion in the 20th Century. Louis was born on May 13, 1914 in Chambers County Alabama to sharecropper parents Monroe and Lilly Reese Barrow. He was the seventh of eight … Read MoreJoe Louis [Barrow] (1914-1981)
Dr. W.H.C. Stephenson, the first black doctor in Nevada, practiced medicine in Virginia City, Nevada, during the heyday of the Comstock Lode. Born in Washington, D.C., he lived in Pennsylvania and California prior to Nevada. He was trained at one of the Eclectic Medical Institutes … Read MoreW.H.C. Stephenson (1825-circa 1873)
February 2, 1848 In the name of Almighty God The United States of America and the United Mexican States animated by a sincere desire to put an end to the calamities of the war which unhappily exists between the two Republics and to establish Upon … Read More(1848) Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Microbiologist James Monroe Jay was born in Fitzgerald, Georgia on September 12, 1927. Following service in the U.S. Army during World War II he earned his bachelor’s degree at Paine College (cum laude), then his master’s in 1953 and Ph.D. in bacteriology and biochemistry at … Read MoreJames M. Jay (1927-2008)
Sarann Knight was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma on July 22, 1920, to parents of mixed African American and Native American ancestry. She migrated to Las Vegas in 1942, settling with her husband, Luther Walker, in the Westside African American community. Preddy first sought employment on … Read MoreSarann Knight-Preddy (1920-2014)
The Moulin Rouge opened in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1955 and became the first racially integrated hotel-casino in the city. The new casino, built by white businessmen, attracted a sizable number of African American entertainers who realized they no longer would have to stay in segregated … Read MoreMoulin Rouge
