The Black Arts Movement was the name given to a group of politically motivated black poets, artists, dramatists, musicians, and writers who emerged in the wake of the Black Power Movement. The poet Imamu Amiri Baraka is widely considered to be the father of the … Read MoreThe Black Arts Movement (1965-1975)
John Roxborough is best known as the manager of Joe Louis, the heavyweight champion of the world from 1937 to 1949. For more than two decades Roxborough served as Louis’ partner, adviser, and mentor. Roxborough, a former basketball player turned professional gambler, often helped youth … Read MoreJohn W. Roxborough (1892-1975)
The Gotham Hotel in Detroit, Michigan was an example of the intersection between legitimate business and illicit enterprise in the Jim Crow era. The hotel was originally founded to provide a social and business center for local black professionals and a place of accommodation for … Read MoreGotham Hotel, Detroit, Michigan (1943-1963)
The Second Baptist Church of Detroit, located in the Greektown district of downtown Detroit, is the oldest African American congregation in Michigan and, according to some sources, the Midwest. The church has been active in struggles for freedom and equality since its founding in 1836 … Read MoreSecond Baptist Church of Detroit (1836- )
Larry Steele’s touring production review, Smart Affairs, was the largest black entertainment touring group in the United States from the 1940s through the early 1960s. Steele’s review, headquartered in Atlantic City, New Jersey, featured up to 40 entertainment acts. The revue performed in major venues … Read MoreLarry Steele’s Smart Affairs (1946-1971)
Woodland Park, Michigan was a small resort established by Marion E. Auther, a black Ohio businessman and leading salesman for the Idlewild Resort Company, the same company that developed the much more famous Idlewild resort. Woodland Park began when the Brookings Lumber Company sold the … Read MoreWoodland Park, Michigan (1921- )
Donald Byrd (Donaldson Toussaint L’Ouverture Byrd II) was born on December 9, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan; his father was amateur musician and Methodist minister D.T. Byrd. He attended Cass Technical High School, had a stint in the US Air Force, graduated from Wayne State University, … Read MoreDonald Byrd (1932-2013)
Far better known as a popular and versatile actor in Italy and parts of Europe than in his native country, the United States, John Kitzmiller was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, on December 4, 1913, one of two children of John B. and Mary E. … Read MoreJohn Kitzmiller (1913-1965)
Larry Everston Brownlee, Jr., one of six children, was born on November 24, 1972 in Youngstown, Ohio. His father, a General Motors plant worker who was also choir director at Phillips Chapel Church of God in Christ, commanded his son to perform so often that … Read MoreLawrence E. Brownlee Jr. (1972- )
In 1926 Violette Neatley Anderson became the first African American female attorney admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Anderson was born on July 16, 1882 in London, England to Richard and Marie Neatley. The family immigrated to the United States and settled in … Read MoreViolette Neatley Anderson (1882-1937)
