Belmead is an historic plantation located near Powhatan, Virginia. The plantation’s main residence, a two-story Gothic revival style structure, was built about 1845 and designed by the architect Alexander Jackson Davis. In 1860, 124 enslaved people toiled on the plantation and over 130 were buried … Read MoreSt. Frances de Sales School (1896-1970); St. Emma Military Academy (1899-1972)
Political Scientist George James Fleming was born in Bassein Triangle, Christiansted, St. Croix, Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) on February 15, 1904 to parents Alexander Fleming and Ernestine Jackson Fleming. His primary education began at the Moravian Day School at the Centre Mission … Read MoreG. James Fleming (1904-1990)
The Sylvers, an R&B family vocal ensemble, was officially formed in the Watts section of Los Angeles, California in 1971. The four older siblings, however, had performed and recorded earlier as the Little Angels. The group members comprised singer Olympia Ann Sylvers, born October 13, … Read MoreThe Sylvers (1971-1985)
Rhythm and Blues singer Eddie Holman was born on June 3, 1946 in Norfolk, Virginia and introduced to the piano and guitar at the age of 2. In 1954, his family relocated to New York City and two years later Holman won first prize at … Read MoreEddie Holman (1946- )
Program Director of the James Webb Space Telescope project at NASA, Gregory Robinson, was a part of the historical event that took place on Christmas Day of 2021. Upon an Ariane 5 rocket at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, the $10 billion telescope … Read MoreGregory Robinson (1960- )
The history of West Indian immigration can be traced back to the 17th century when enslaved Africans from Barbados, Jamaica, and Antigua were brought to the British North American colonies to work on plantations. The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) sparked another wave of immigration with thousands … Read MoreWest Indian Immigration to the United States (1900- )
The first African American players in the National Basketball Association in the twentieth century all came into the league in 1950. They were Earl Francis Lloyd (Washington Capitols), Charles Henry Cooper (Boston Celtics), and Nathaniel Clifton (New York Knicks). They all began their college careers … Read MoreThe First Black Players in the NBA (1950)
Founded in Philadelphia in 1869, the Knights of Labor (KOL) was the largest, most important labor union in the 19th century United States. Unlike most unions (and predominantly white institutions) then, the KOL opened its membership to African Americans and women workers. Prior to the … Read MoreAfrican Americans and the Knights of Labor (1869-1949)
The 1619 project was a collection of essays, poems, and photos surrounding the origins of slavery and subsequent inequalities in the United States, published on August 14, 2019 in the New York Times Magazine, commemorating the 400th anniversary of first arrival of enslaved Africans to … Read MoreThe 1619 Project (August 14, 2019-)
In 1619, 12 years after the first permanent English colony was established at Jamestown, Virginia, a small cargo of enslaved Africans arrived at the colony at Comfort Point near present-day Hampton, Virginia. Until recently, historians had misconstrued the circumstances of how this human cargo came … Read MoreFirst Africans in the Jamestown Colony (1619)
