Lusia “Lucy” Harris, a former American basketball player, is considered to be one of the pioneers of women’s basketball. She played for Delta State University in Mississippi and won a silver medal with the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic Games … Read MoreLusia Harris (1955- )
Lynn Whitfield is an American actress and producer. Whitfield is best known for her performance as Josephine Baker in the HBO biographical drama film, The Josephine Baker Story (1991), where she won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries and a … Read MoreLynn Whitfield (1953- )
Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne was an early twentieth century African American blues musician from Greenville, Alabama. Payne was most famous as the older mentor of country music superstar Hank Williams. Rufus Payne was born on February 4, 1884, in Lowndes County, Alabama. His family moved … Read MoreRufus “Tee Tot” Payne (1884-1939)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Ishmael Flory was a civil rights activist, trade union organizer, and Communist Party (CPUSA) leader in Illinois. Flory was born on July 4, 1907, the youngest of nine children to Samuel and Leola Hancock Flory in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In 1918 … Read MoreIshmael Flory (1907–2004)
Jewel Limar Prestage was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in political science at an American university. Prestage was born on August 12, 1931, in Hutton, Louisiana, to Brudis Leroy Limar Sr. and Sallie Bell Johnson Limar. At a young age, her family … Read MoreJewel Limar Prestage (1931-2014)
1140 Royal Street, New Orleans, Site of the LaLaurie “Image Ownership: Public Domain” The LaLaurie Mansion, located at 1140 Royal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, is famous as the site of the torture and murder of a number of enslaved people owned by Marie Delphine Macarty … Read MoreThe LaLaurie Mansion 1832
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Preston Taylor was an African American businessman, minister, and philanthropist, who, by the early twentieth century, was considered one of the most influential leaders of Nashville, Tennessee’s black community. Taylor created Greenwood Cemetery, the second oldest African American cemetery in Nashville, … Read MorePreston Taylor (1849–1931)
Marcenia Lyle “Toni” Stone Alberga was the first of three African American women to play professionally in the Negro Leagues. She was born on July 17, 1921, in Bluefield, West Virginia. Her parents, Willa and Boykin Stone, moved the family to St. Paul, Minnesota, when … Read MoreToni Stone (1921-1996)
Mary Edmonson (1832–1853) and Emily Edmonson (1835–1895) were enslaved African Americans who became prominent in the United States abolitionist movement after gaining their freedom. On April 15, 1848, they were among the 77 slaves who tried to escape from Washington, D.C. to New Jersey on … Read MoreThe Edmonson Sisters (1832–1895)
The Pearl Incident in 1848 was the single largest recorded escape attempt by enslaved people in United States history. On April 15, 1848, 77 slaves attempted to flee Washington, D.C. by sailing away on a schooner called The Pearl. They planned to sail south along … Read MoreThe Pearl Incident, 1848
