Concert Pianist, composer, conductor, pedagogic Nelson Hall was born on February 11, 1954, in Marianao, Cuba, to Selvin Hall, a choral conductor from Manzanillo, Cuba, and Elsa Fortun Hall from Placetas, Cuba. He has two siblings, Merari and David. Hall, an intelligent artistically child, began … Read MoreNelson Hall (1954 – )
Opera composer, librettist, composer, violinist, pedagogic, and activist Daniel Bernard Roumain was born on May 3, 1971 in Skokie, Illinois. He was reared, however, in Margate, Florida, His parents are Haitians, and he has one son, Zachary. Roumain began playing the violin at the age … Read MoreDaniel Bernard Roumain (1971 – )
Lt. Commander Brenda Evette Robinson, the first African American female pilot in the United States Navy, understood at an early age the sky’s the limit. In 1961 when she was in Kindergarten, her teacher sent home a note that expressed concern about “Brenda’s desire to … Read MoreBrenda E. Robinson (1956- )
Sloane Stephens is an American tennis player, born in Plantation, Florida on March 20, 1993. Her father John played for the New England Patriots, and her mother Sybil (Smith) was the first woman to be named a first team All-American swimmer in Division one history. … Read MoreSloane Stephens (1993- )
Alonzo Smith “Jake” Gaither, football coach, was born April 11, 1903 in Dayton, Tennessee to teacher Florence Kyle Gaither and AME minister Jefferson Davis Gaither. Gaither attended Knoxville College, Knoxville, Tennessee in 1919 as a high school freshman and graduated with a B.A. in 1927. … Read MoreAlonzo Smith “Jake” Gaither (1903-1994)
On September 16, 1928, the Okeechobee Hurricane or Hurricane San Felipe Segundo, one of the most devastating tropical cyclones in Florida’s weather history and one of the ten most intense hurricanes to hit the United States mainland, came ashore near Palm Beach, Florida. It began … Read MoreOkeechobee Hurricane of 1928
In 1941 the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the construction agent for the War Department, maintained construction battalions that were deemed less valuable than units in other Army branches. Coupling this practice with the racial beliefs dominant in the Jim Crow South, it … Read MoreThe 97th Engineering Regiment (1941-1948)
Concert musician Calvin Edouard Ward was born on February 10, 1925, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Effie Elizabeth Crawford Ward, a graduate of Spelman Seminary for Women and Girls. His father, Jefferson Sigman Ward, a World War I Veteran, graduated from the Haynes Institute in Augusta, Georgia. … Read MoreCalvin Edouard Ward (1925-2018)
In their latest book on the Black soldiers who helped build the Alcan Highway during World War II, authors Christine and Dennis McClure encountered a story of injustice in the frigid north. See a description of their new book, A Different Race, to get a … Read MoreInjustice in Alaska Territory: The World War II Court-martial of Ten Black Soldiers Who Helped Build the ALCAN Highway
Fred “Curly” Neal was a basketball legend for the world famous Harlem Globetrotters and became a global icon while representing the sport around the world. During his 22-year career with the Harlem Globetrotters, Neal played more than 6,000 basketball games in 97 countries. He adopted … Read MoreFred “Curly” Neal (1942-2020)
