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- )
Established on June 7, 1844, Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church of New Haven, Connecticut, is the third oldest black Episcopal Church in the United States. Born of the righteous indignation of its founding members over continuing acts of racial discrimination meted out by the white vestry … Read MoreSaint Luke’s Episcopal Church, New Haven, Connecticut (1844- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Jazz trumpeter Thomas “Tommy” Ladnier was born in Florenville/Mandeville, Louisiana on May 28, 1900. His father was Alfred Ladnier and his mother Willie Williams Ladnier. He played in local bands beginning in 1914 and one of his teachers was trumpeter Bunk … Read MoreThomas James Ladnier (1900–1939)
Cornel West is one of the most recognizable and preeminent intellectuals of his generation. West has authored 19 books and edited another 13. He is best known for his book Race Matters (1994) and in his role as a public intellectual. West graduated Magna Cum … Read MoreCornel Ronald West (1953- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Ruth Alice Lucas, who overcame race and sex barriers back in 1968 by becoming the first African American woman to be promoted to the rank of full colonel in the United States Air Force, was born in Stamford, Connecticut on November … Read MoreRuth Alice Lucas (1920-2013)
Over a long distinguished career Kermit Moore has been a cellist of outstanding acclaim, an orchestra conductor, composer, teacher, and mentor. Through these activities in classical music he has been successful in breaking down racial and social barriers. Moore was born in Akron, Ohio on … Read MoreKermit Moore (1929-2013)
Thomas Nelson Baker Sr. was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in philosophy. He was a writer, orator, ethicist, and advocate for a positive black cultural identity. Baker was born a slave on August 11, 1860 to Thomas Chadwick and Edith Nottingham Baker … Read MoreThomas Nelson Baker Sr. (1860-1940)
In June 1981, Audre Lorde gave the keynote presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference, Storrs, Connecticut. Her presentation appears below. Racism. The belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance, manifest and implied. Women … Read More(1981) Audre Lorde, “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism”
Howard Drew at the 1912 Olympics Image Ownership: Bain News Service (Fair Use) Howard P. Drew, schoolboy Olympian, original “World’s Fastest Human,” scholar, soldier, lawyer, first African American judge in Connecticut, was born to David and May Drew in Lexington, Virginia on June 28, 1890. … Read MoreHoward Porter Drew (1890–1957)
Beginning in the 1970s, Barbara Smith broke new ground as a black feminist, lesbian, activist, author, and book publisher of women of color. She and her twin sister, Beverly Smith, were born on December 16, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio. Their mother, Hilda Smith, maternal grandmother, … Read MoreBarbara Smith (1946- )
