Mt. Pisgah African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Elsinboro, New Jersey, is the oldest African American church in the state. It is also the oldest continuously operating Black church in the United States. The church was officially founded in 1754 by Rueben Cuff, the son … Read MoreMt. Pisgah African Methodist Episcopal Church, Elsinboro, New Jersey (1754- )
Eddie Gardner Crossing the Mississippi River at St. Louis, 1929 “Image Courtesty of Charles Kastner” In the following account, sports historian Charles Kastner describes the remarkable athletic career of Eddie “the Sheik” Gardner of Seattle, Washington. Gardner was arguably the greatest ultramarathoner in Pacific Northwest … Read MoreEddie “the Sheik” Gardner: An Ultramarathoning Legend and Unsung Hero in the Struggle for Racial Equality in America.
Bishop William Paul Quinn was the fourth Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He was instrumental in establishing several AME churches in U.S. midwestern states during the pre-Civil War period. His work for the Black Methodist community was highly regarded. That work included … Read MoreWilliam Paul Quinn (1788-1873)
Gail Fisher was already a popular model in African American newspapers and magazines, as well as a theater actress when, in the late 1950s, she starred in The New Girl in the Office, a film about integrating a hitherto all-white office staff of a white-owned … Read MoreGail Fisher (1935-2000)
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)
Located on the long stretch of the Atlantic City, New Jersey, shoreline just south of downtown, Chicken Bone Beach was designated as the exclusively African American section of beach around 1900. It remained a blacks only beach until the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed. … Read MoreChicken Bone Beach, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1900- )
Assata Olugbala Shakur—political activist, author, fugitive, and step-aunt of the famed, slain hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur—was born JoAnne Deborah Bryon on July 16, 1947 in New York City, New York. Following her parents’ divorce in 1950, she moved with her mother and maternal grandparents to … Read MoreAssata Olugbala Shakur (1947- )
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)
Jason Collins, a National Basketball Association center, made history in May 2013 by becoming the first professional athlete in a major American team sport to reveal his homosexuality in an interview which appeared in Sports Illustrated magazine. The oldest by eight minutes, Jason and his … Read MoreJason Paul Collins (1978- )
Cornel West is one of the most recognizable and preeminent intellectuals of his generation. West has authored 19 books and edited another 13. He is best known for his book Race Matters (1994) and in his role as a public intellectual. West graduated Magna Cum … Read MoreCornel Ronald West (1953- )
