Tag: United States – Mississippi

Russia’s Black Entertainment Empresario: The Remarkable Saga of Fyodor Fyodorovich Tomas (Frederick Bruce Thomas)

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)

William Tecumseh Vernon (1871-1944)

Image Ownership: Public Domain William Tecumseh Vernon was an African Methodist Episcopal bishop, educator, and university administrator who was born in Lebanon, Missouri on July 11, 1871.  His parents were Rev. Adam Vernon, a former slave, and Margaret (née Hooker) Vernon.  He attended Lincoln University … Read MoreWilliam Tecumseh Vernon (1871-1944)

Telling Carl Maxey’s Story: Understanding the Fighter in the Ring and the Courtroom

In the account below, Jim Kershner, author, historian, and longtime journalist for the Spokesman-Review, Spokane’s major daily newspaper, discusses what led him to the story of Carl Maxey, one of Washington State’s key 20th century civil rights figures, and the challenges he encountered while writing … Read MoreTelling Carl Maxey’s Story: Understanding the Fighter in the Ring and the Courtroom

Joseph William “Pinetop” Perkins (1913–2011)

Image Courtesy of Carl Lender (CC BY-SA 2.0) Delta blues and boogie-woogie piano master Willie “Pinetop” Perkins was born on the Honey Island plantation near Belzoni, Mississippi on July 7, 1913.  During his career, Perkins played with some of the best known blues and rock … Read MoreJoseph William “Pinetop” Perkins (1913–2011)

Fighting for Freedom on Both Sides of the American Revolution

Alan Gilbert, University of Denver political scientist and anti-racist activist, is the author of Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence, one of the few works that examines the free and enslaved blacks who joined the American Patriots and the … Read MoreFighting for Freedom on Both Sides of the American Revolution

Benjamin Todd Jealous (1973- )

Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 3.0) Civic leader, activist and journalist Benjamin Jealous is the seventeenth president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). With his appointment to the position in 2008, 35-yar-old Jealous became the youngest person to … Read MoreBenjamin Todd Jealous (1973- )

Republic of New Africa (1968- )

The Republic of New Africa (RNA) is a black nationalist organization that was created in 1969 on the premise that an independent black republic should be created out of the southern United States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, which were considered “subjugated … Read MoreRepublic of New Africa (1968- )