Willie Dixon was a pioneering Chicago blues musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, producer, and philanthropist. He was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1915 to Anderson Bell and Daisy Dixon, was married to Marie Booker, and had 12 children (five with wife Marie, and seven with Eleanora … Read MoreWilliam James [“Willie”] Dixon (1915-1992)
Kanye West, rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur was born in Atlanta, Georgia on June 8, 1977 to Donda and Ray West. Donda was an English professor, and Ray, a former Black Panther, was an award winning photojournalist. West’s parents divorced when he was three, and … Read MoreKanye West/Kanye Omari West (1977- )
Alvin J. Boutte Sr., co-founder and past chairman and CEO of Independence Bank (at one time America’s largest black-owned bank), was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on October 10, 1929. He was the youngest of 10 children. His mother Adorea Darensbourg Boutte was a seamstress, and his … Read MoreAlvin J. Boutte Sr. (1929-2012)
In the following article historians Bruce Glasrud and Cary Wintz discuss their new book, The Harlem Renaissance in the American West which argues that the literary and artistic outpouring by African Americans during the third decade of the 20th Century was a national phenomenon which … Read MoreThe Harlem Renaissance in the American West
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)
Jack L. Cooper is widely acknowledged as the first African American radio broadcaster. Cooper, born in Memphis, Tennessee on September 18, 1888, was the youngest of 10 children. He was raised in a poor, single-parent home, and, at the age of 10, quit school and … Read MoreJack Leroy Cooper (1888-1970)
Influential educational leader Freeman A. Hrabowski III has occupied many roles in his life, as a child civil rights activist in the 1960s, as professor, as university president, as philanthropist, and as consultant. He was born on August 13, 1950 in Birmingham, Alabama to parents … Read MoreFreeman A. Hrabowski III (1950- )
Yale University literature scholar and historian Vladimir Alexandrov introduces The Black Russian— his new biography of a forgotten African American who led an extraordinary life in Russia and Turkey at the beginning of the twentieth century. The story of this book began six years ago, … Read MoreRussia’s Black Entertainment Empresario: The Remarkable Saga of Fyodor Fyodorovich Tomas (Frederick Bruce Thomas)
John Francis Wheaton was a late 19th Century and early 20th Century lawyer and a politician. Wheaton ran for elective office in three states and was the first African American to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives. John Francis Wheaton was born on May … Read MoreJohn Francis Wheaton (1866-1922)
In the following article, American University political scientist James A. Thurber, a leading authority on presidential and congressional politics, describes the effort of President Barack Obama to change one part of the culture of Washington, the influence of lobbyists. Candidate Obama made that reform a … Read MoreHas President Obama Changed the Way Washington Works?
