Ertharin Cousin, a diplomat and leading advocate for ending global hunger, was born on May 12, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois to Anne Cousin, who worked in social services, and her husband Julius Cousin, who was a property owner and community development activist. Cousin grew up … Read MoreErtharin Cousin (1957- )
Dr. George Cleveland Hall, Chicago, Illinois African American physician and humanitarian was born on February 22, 1864, to John Ward Hall, a Baptist minister, and Romelia Buck Hall in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Dr. Hall eventually rose to head the Chicago Urban League and became vice-president of … Read MoreGeorge Cleveland Hall (1864-1930)
Jean-Baptiste Belley-Mars, who represented Saint-Domingue in the French National Convention in Paris in 1794, is widely credited with persuading that body to abolish slavery in France and its overseas colonies. Belley-Mars as a boy was kidnapped by slave catchers on the island of Goree near … Read MoreJean-Baptiste Belley-Mars (ca. 1747-ca. 1805)
George Albert Flippin, born in Point Isable, Ohio, in 1868, was a prominent athlete and physician in Nebraska, who broke racial barriers in collegiate football and medicine for African Americans. The product of an interracial marriage, George’s father, Charles Albert Flippin, had served as a … Read MoreGeorge Albert Flippin (1868-1929)
Octavius Valentine Catto was a prominent Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, activist, scholar, athlete, and military officer in the National Guard during the Civil War. Catto was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 22, 1839. His mother, Sarah Isabella Cain, a free woman, was a descendant of … Read MoreOctavius Valentine Catto (1839-1871)
Charles Harrison was one of the most prolific industrial designers of the twentieth century. One of only a handful of early African American industrial designers, he specialized in creating a variety of practical household goods emphasizing form and function. Harrison’s output of innovative consumer products … Read MoreCharles A. “Chuck” Harrison (1931–2018)
The Seattle Royal Giants was a semi-professional baseball team that played through the Pacific Northwest in the first half of the 20th Century. The Giants began in 1928 under the leadership of three former professional players in the Negro Baseball League, Elmer Wilson, Jimmy Claxton, … Read MoreSeattle Royal Giants (1928-1945)
Minister, civil rights activist, vocalist, Jesse Lee Douglas, Sr. was born August 19, 1930 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to William and Isabella Douglas, a Merchant Marine cook and a maid. He attended Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana and Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee before … Read MoreJesse L. Douglas, Sr. (1930- )
In the article below, Syracuse University historian Herbert Ruffin explores the rapid rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement in 2013 as the most recent development in the ongoing struggle for racial and social justice in the United States. In the summer of 2013, three … Read MoreBlack Lives Matter: The Growth of a New Social Justice Movement
“Image Ownership: World Economic Forum” Artist, urban planner, and activist Theaster Gates, born in Chicago, Illinois on August 28, 1973, has gained critical acclaim for his work which engages the Chicago community and urban environment. The youngest of nine siblings and only boy, Gates was … Read MoreTheaster Gates (1973- )
