In the following article, Dr. Gary B. Nash, Director, National Center for History in the Schools and Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Los Angeles, describes his new book, Forbidden Love: The Hidden History of Mixed-Race America. His book provides a counter … Read MoreCrossing Boundaries of Race, Crossing Boundaries of Love
African American cowboy and rodeo rider Jesse Stahl set the standard of performance in saddle bronc riding that continues to this day. Stahl was a topnotch horseman, a first-class gentleman, and a cowboy who was regarded by many who saw his performances as larger than … Read MoreJesse Stahl (ca. 1879-1935)
In the following article Professor Malik Simba, an historian at California State University, Fresno describes his professional and personal odyssey that led to the writing of his book, Black Marxism and American Constitutionalism: From the Colonial Background through the Ascendancy of Barack Obama and the … Read MoreA Marxist Scholar Analyzes the American Legal System
Pitcher Juan Antonio Marichal, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco (California) Giants from 1960 to 1973, was first Dominican-born baseball player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Marichal, nicknamed “The Dominican Dandy,” was born on October 20, 1937 in … Read MoreJuan Antonio Marichal (1937- )
Carmen McRae, a jazz singer and songwriter, was born on April 8, 1920 in Harlem, New York. Her father Osmond Llewelyn McRae was born in Santa Cruz, Jamaica in 1891; he moved from Jamaica to Costa Rica to Cuba and then to New York City, … Read MoreCarmen McRae (1920-1994)
David Harold Blackwell, mathematician and statistician, was the first African American to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1965) and is especially known for his contributions to the theory of duels. Blackwell was born on April 24, 1919, to a working-class family in … Read MoreDavid Harold Blackwell (1919-2010)
Dexter Gordon was a pioneering jazz saxophonist who made a career of expertly blending rhythm and romance on the bandstand and the silver screen. Nicknamed “Long Tall Dex” for his 6-foot 5-inch frame, the Los Angeles, California native was born on Feb. 27, 1923. Gordon’s … Read MoreDexter Gordon (1923-1990)
Leonard Reed, noted dancer and entertainment businessman, co-created the famous Shim Sham Shimmy tap routine that has been replicated for centuries by tappers the world over. He was also associated with Joe Louis (1914-1981) during the heavyweight boxer’s efforts to break down golf’s color barrier. … Read MoreLeonard Reed (1907-2004)
Soon after he was named chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Stokely Carmichael began to tout the slogan and philosophy of Black Power. In the speech below he explains Black Power to an audience at the University of California, Berkeley. It’s a privilege … Read More(1966) Stokely Carmichael, “Black Power”
In 1957 Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was next to Rev. Martin Luther King, the most recognized civil rights leader in the nation. In October of that year he addressed the Commonwealth Club of California … Read More(1957) Roy Wilkins, “The Clock Will Not Be Turned Back”
