Legendary dancer, choreographer, and actor Carmen de Lavallade came to prominence in the early 1950s when black artists came into their own in the world of American dance on Broadway, in film, and on television. De Lavallade was born on March 6, 1931, in Los … Read MoreCarmen Paula de Lavallade (1931- )
In 1951 Janet Collins became the first black prima ballerina to perform with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York City, New York. As such she broke one of the last major color barriers in classical ballet. Janet Collins was born on March 2, 1917 … Read MoreJanet Faye Collins (1917-2003)
A small beach resort community in the city of Manhattan Beach, California, Bruce’s Beach was once owned by and operated for African Americans with no opportunities to vacation at white resorts due to segregation. Bruce’s Beach was one of the few beaches in Southern California … Read MoreBruce’s Beach, Manhattan Beach, California (1920- )
George Duke was a musician who covered a number of genres including bebop, R&B, jazz fusion, funk, and alternative rock. As performer, arranger, composer, producer, and educator for five decades, he worked with a wide variety of performers and among his many achievements was his … Read MoreGeorge Duke (1946-2013)
Assata Olugbala Shakur—political activist, author, fugitive, and step-aunt of the famed, slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur—was born JoAnne Deborah Bryon on July 16, 1947 in New York City, New York. Following her parents’ divorce in 1950, she moved with her mother and maternal grandparents to … Read MoreAssata Olugbala Shakur (1947- )
Former professional football player Warren Harold Moon is best known as one of the earliest African American quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL). In 2006 he was the first black quarterback inducted into the National Football League Hall of Fame. During the 1989 season, … Read MoreHarold Warren Moon (1956- )
Paris K.C. Barclay is an award-winning American television director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. In 2013, he broke new ground when he was named President of the Directors Guild of America, making him the first out gay male and the first African American to hold … Read MoreParis K.C. Barclay (1956- )
In the account below historian Lorraine McConaghy uses the story of black sailor Robert Shorter to indicate that while the Civil War freed nearly four million slaves, it also set in motion the status decline of antebellum African American seamen. The eleven years Robert Shorter … Read MoreEleven Years in the U.S. Navy: The Strange Saga of Robert Shorter
In 1852, California legislators passed a harsh fugitive slave law that condemned dozens of African American migrants to deportation and lifelong slavery. Historian Stacey L. Smith examines the legal travails of three accused fugitive slaves to illuminate the social relations of slavery in gold rush … Read MorePacific Bound: California’s 1852 Fugitive Slave Law
Ice-T, pioneering West Coast rapper, singer and actor, was born Tracy Marrow in Newark, New Jersey to Solomon and Alice Marrow on February 16, 1958. The Marrows were a working-class African American family who lived in the predominantly white town of Summit, New Jersey, where … Read MoreTracy Lauren “Ice-T” Marrow (1958- )
