In 1619, 12 years after the first permanent English colony was established at Jamestown, Virginia, a small cargo of enslaved Africans arrived at the colony at Comfort Point near present-day Hampton, Virginia. Until recently, historians had misconstrued the circumstances of how this human cargo came … Read MoreFirst Africans in the Jamestown Colony (1619)
San Miguel de Gualdape is a former Spanish colony founded in 1526 by Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon. It was the third settlement in North America north of Mexico. In the early 1500s, Spaniards were conducting expeditions to the area now known as South Carolina and … Read MoreSan Miguel de Gualdape Slave Rebellion (1526)
Sir Guy was born Clarence Eugene Barron, on October 16, 1946 in a musical family in Norfolk, Virginia to Thelma Barron Cartwright and James Norfleet, Sr; reared by mother and stepfather, William “Bro. Bear” Cartwright in the segregated section of the city called Berkley-Campostella. He … Read MoreSir Guy/ Clarence Eugene Barron (1946-2010)
The Dixie Hummingbirds, a gospel music group, was formed in 1928 in Greenville, South Carolina, by lyricist/vocalist/guitarist James B. Davis, (born June 6, 1916, in Greenville), when he was 12. He was assisted by Barney Parks (born August 17, 1916) and Claude A. Jeter (born … Read MoreDixie Hummingbirds (1928- )
Michael Kenneth Williams was an American actor who was best known for playing the role of Omar Little in the HBO hit TV series The Wire. Williams was born on November 22, 1966 to a Bahamian mother, Paula Williams and an American father, Booker T. … Read MoreMichael Kenneth Williams (1966-2021)
Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs were an American Doo-Wop and Rhythm and Blues vocal group in the late 1950s and early 1960s best known for their number one hit song, “Stay”. Founding member Maurice Williams, was born April 26, 1938 in Lancaster, South Carolina and … Read MoreMaurice Williams and the Zodiacs (1959- )
Adah Isaacs Menken was an American actor and poet who performed in New York, San Francisco, London, and Paris and was widely known for her title role in the play Mazeppa, or the Wild Horse of the Tartary. She also wrote poems for magazines and … Read MoreAdah Isaacs Menken (1835-1868)
Historian Arnold H. Taylor was born in Regina, Northern Neck, Virginia, on November 9, 1929, to Isaiah Taylor and Tina Rebecca Clayton Taylor. His early education began in 1934 at Mount Olive Elementary School. However, after the school closed in 1936, he attended the Anna … Read MoreArnold H. Taylor (1929- )
The first African American mayor of Lawrenceville, Virginia, William H. Herrington, was born on August 15, 1950, in Hartsville, South Carolina, to Henry Herrington, a transportation worker from Darlington County, South Carolina, and Carrie Boyd Herrington, a housekeeper from Chester County, South Carolina. Herrington started … Read MoreWilliam H. Herrington (1950- )
Francis Lewis Cardozo was a minister, educator, and politician, who was born free in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 1, 1836. Cardozo was of mixed ancestry, as his father, Isaac Nunez Cardozo, was a Sephardic Jew, and his mother, Lydia Williams Weston, was a free … Read MoreFrancis Cardozo (1836-1903)
