Four-star general and precision flier Lloyd W. Newton was born December 24, 1942 in Ridgeland, South Carolina, the fourth of seven children of John H. Newton, a farmer, and Annie Newton. Finishing Jasper High School in Ridgeland, he majored in mechanical engineering at Tennessee State … Read MoreLloyd Warren Newton (1942- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Isaiah Mays, a Buffalo Soldier awarded the Medal of Honor in 1890 for his actions during the Wham Paymaster Robbery, was born as a slave in Carters Bridge, Virginia, on February 16, 1858. Very little is known about his life other … Read MoreIsaiah Mays (1858-1925)
Image Ownership: Public domain Lisa Deshaun Leslie is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Sparks in the Women’s Basketball Association (WNBA) for her twelve-year career from 1997 to 2009. She is a two-time WNBA champion, three-time WNBA MVP, and … Read MoreLisa Deshaun Leslie (1972- )
Black Lives Matter Protesters at Bernie Sanders Rally, Seattle, August 8, 2015 “Image Ownershp: Public Domain” Black Lives Matter was created by three community organizers—Alicia Garza in Oakland, California; Patrice Cullors in Los Angeles, California; and Opal Tometi in Phoenix, Arizona—as a response to the … Read MoreBlack Lives Matter, Seattle Chapter (2014– )
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Georgia Ann Hill Robinson became the first black female police officer to work for the Los Angeles (California) Police Department (LAPD)—and possibly the first in the country—in 1916. Months before 15 percent of the police force of the United States would … Read MoreGeorgia Ann Hill Robinson (1879–1961)
92nd Infantry Division in Combat in Italy, 1944 Image Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense The 92nd Infantry Division, a military unit of approximately fifteen thousand officers and men, was one of only two all-black divisions to fight in the United States Army in … Read More92nd Infantry Division (1917–1919, 1942–1945)
Joe Gans and Oscar Nelson Before the “Fight of the Century” at Goldfield, Nevada, Labor Day, 1906 "Image Ownership: Public Domain" Joe Gant, who was given the name Gans by the press, became the first American and African American to hold a world boxing title … Read MoreJoe “Gans” Gant (1874–1910)
Robert Browning Flippin was an important community leader and racial activist in San Francisco beginning in the 1930s through the 1950s. He was also the first African American parole officer at the California State Prison at San Quentin. The son of the black physician George … Read MoreRobert Browning Flippin (1903–1963)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" In the article below, Syracuse University historian Herbert Ruffin explores the rapid rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement as the most recent development in the ongoing struggle for racial and social justice in the United States. In the summer of … Read MoreBlack Lives Matter: The Growth of a New Social Justice Movement
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Ernest Withers, a highly accomplished photographer, was born on August 7, 1922, in Memphis, Tennessee to parents Arthur Withers, a mailman and Pearl Withers, a school teacher, both from Marshall County, Mississippi. Mr. Withers’ collection, which spans over 60 years of … Read MoreErnest Withers (1922-2007)