Marlin Oliver “The Magician” Briscoe was a football quarterback for the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). When the Denver (Colorado) Broncos drafted him in 1968, Briscoe became the first African American Quarterback in professional football to start on a football team. … Read MoreMarlin Oliver Briscoe (1945-2022)
Jacob Hudson Carruthers Jr. was a historian and educator. Carruthers was born on February 15, 1930, to unnamed parents in Dallas, Texas. The family relocated to Houston, Texas, where he attended Phyllis Wheatley High School. After graduating high school, he attended Samuel Huston College in … Read MoreJacob Hudson Carruthers Jr. (1930-2004)
Lena Lowery Sawner was Oklahoma’s first Black public school principal as well as its first female public school principal. She was also prominent in state and national Black educational organizations. Lena Lowery rose from humble beginnings. Her father, Julius Lowery was born in North Carolina … Read MoreLena Lowery Sawner (1874-1949)
Carmelo Kyam Anthony is an American Basketball Player. Anthony was born on May 29, 1984, to Carmelo Iriarte and Mary Anthony in Brooklyn, New York City. Anthony lived in the Red Hook housing projects in Brooklyn. His father died from cancer when he was two … Read MoreCarmelo Kyam Anthony (1984- )
The earliest evidence of African Americans as cattle herders (cowboys) in North America can be traced back to colonial South Carolina, where stock grazers from what is now Senegal in West Africa were specifically brought to that colony because of their unique skills. They were … Read MoreBlack Cowboys in the 19th Century West (1850-1900)
Post-Civil War cattle drives from Texas north to railroad depots in Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado were a necessary part of the American economy in the late 19th century. The nation’s growing demand for beef, coupled with the concentration of beef cattle in Texas, led that … Read MoreAfrican Americans on Western Cattle Drives (1867-1885)
Tag Team is a hip-hop/rap duo now living in Atlanta, Georgia but from Denver, Colorado. They are vocalist/pianist Cecil Glenn (DC the Brain Supreme) and percussionist/lyricist Steve “Rolln” Gibson. Glenn and Gibson met at the age of 17 in high school in 1993 and had … Read MoreTag Team (1990- )
The Dixie Hummingbirds, a gospel music group, was formed in 1928 in Greenville, South Carolina, by lyricist/vocalist/guitarist James B. Davis, (born June 6, 1916, in Greenville), when he was 12. He was assisted by Barney Parks (born August 17, 1916) and Claude A. Jeter (born … Read MoreDixie Hummingbirds (1928- )
Philip James Bailey, an eight-time Grammy Award-winning singer, composer, lyricist, and percussionist, was born on May 8, 1951, in Denver, Colorado, to Edward Alverna Bailey and Elizabeth Crossland. He attended Denver public schools, graduating from East High School in 1969. He then enrolled at the … Read MorePhilip Bailey (1951- )
The first African American mayor of Lawrenceville, Virginia, William H. Herrington, was born on August 15, 1950, in Hartsville, South Carolina, to Henry Herrington, a transportation worker from Darlington County, South Carolina, and Carrie Boyd Herrington, a housekeeper from Chester County, South Carolina. Herrington started … Read MoreWilliam H. Herrington (1950- )
