“Image Ownership: Flacourtphile (CC BY-SA 4.0)” Rodney D. Bennett is the current president of the University of Southern Mississippi. He is the institution’s tenth president and the first African American president of a predominantly white college or university in Mississippi. His presidency was announced February … Read MoreRodney D. Bennet ( 1966- )
John Hanks Alexander is best known as the second African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point after Henry Ossian Flipper. Alexander was born on January 6, 1864 in Helena, Arkansas, to James and Fannie Alexander, who were both born … Read MoreJohn Hanks Alexander (1864-1894)
Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church of Natchez, Mississippi traces its origins as far back as 1837 in a shared legacy with First Baptist Church and later Wall Street Baptist Church, two predominantly white congregations in Natchez in 1850. It is however recognized as the oldest … Read MoreRose Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Natchez, Mississippi (1854- )
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was an interracial, all-female jazz band active for 12 years, from 1937 to 1949. The band began at the Piney Woods Country Life School, established in 1909 to train black children in central Mississippi. The original members of the Sweethearts … Read MoreInternational Sweethearts of Rhythm Jazz Band (1937-1949)
Richard Durham’s Destination Freedom radio program, which aired on WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois from June 27, 1948 until its cancellation in August of 1950, was unlike anything else being broadcast over the airwaves. For over two years audiences tuned in every Sunday morning and were … Read MoreRichard Durham (1917-1984)
Cornelius Golightly at a Detroit School Board Meeting, Courtesy of the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University In the following article Michigan State University professor John McClendon explores the remarkable life of little known early 20th century black intellectual Cornelius Golightly. Philosopher, teacher, … Read MoreDr. Cornelius Golightly (1917-1976): The Life of an Academic and Public Intellectual
Act of August 30, 1890, ch. 841, 26 Stat. 417, 7 U.S.C. 322 et seq. Chap. 841.–AN ACT To apply a portion of the proceeds of the public lands to the more complete endowment and support of the colleges for the benefit of agriculture and … Read More(1890) Second Morrill Act
American television broadcaster Robin René Roberts is the anchor of Good Morning America, an ABC morning news show broadcast from its studios in New York, New York. In December 2013, she quietly came out as a lesbian in a Facebook post that acknowledged her long-time … Read MoreRobin René Roberts (1960- )
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)
Alexis Herman, US Secretary of Labor, political activist, civic leader, social worker, and entrepreneur, was born on July 16, 1947 in Mobile, Alabama to politician Alex Herman and educator Gloria Caponis. Herman graduated from Heart of Mary High School in Mobile in 1965 and enrolled … Read MoreAlexis Margaret Herman (1947- )
