It is hard to argue that Jack Daniel’s hasn’t become the most famous brand of whiskey in the world. However, this may have never happened without the work of a black slave named Nathan “Nearest” Green. While he was a key figure in forming the … Read MoreNathan “Nearest” Green (c.1820-?)
Lovett Huey Fort-Whiteman was an American political and civil rights activistand member of the Communist International. He is regarded as the first American-born black Communist and first African American to attend a Comintern training school in the Soviet Union. Fort-Whiteman organized the Communist Party-affiliated American Negro Labor Congress and was labeled by Time magazine as … Read MoreLovett Fort-Whiteman (1889-1939)
The King Assassination Riots were a series of more than 100 cases of civil unrest that occurred in the wake of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This turmoil was apparent throughout the nation as racial tensions rose to a volatile level. Different degrees of unrest … Read MoreThe Martin Luther King Assassination Riots (1968)
The novelist William Edward Demby Jr. was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Christmas day, 1922, to William and Gertrude Demby. He was raised in their family of seven children in the Fairywood district of Pittsburgh’s West Side. The family moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, shortly after Demby’s graduation … Read MoreWilliam Demby (1922-2013)
Born in Pelham, Georgia, on July 6, 1954, Donnie L. Cochran was one of the nine sons of farmers Isaac C. Cochran and Addie B. Cochran. As a child he was fascinated by planes flying close to his home and became increasingly committed to becoming a pilot and … Read MoreDonnie Lee Cochran (1954- )
Ishmael Reed is an African American poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, songwriter, cartoonist, editor, publisher, lecturer and public media commentator. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on February 22, 1938, he grew up in Buffalo, New York, after his mother Thelma Coleman moved there during the Great Migration of World War II. When his mother married Bennie Reed, Ishmael … Read MoreIshmael Reed (1938- )
Born in 1842, in Williamson County, Tennessee, Green I. Currin (sometimes referred to as G.I. or Jacob Curran) was the first African American to serve in the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature, winning election to its inaugural session in 1890. During the territorial period, Currin also served as a U.S. deputy marshal … Read MoreGreen I. Currin (1842–1918)
David L. Lewis is a twice Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. He was born on May 25, 1936 in Little Rock, Arkansas to John Henry Lewis, Sr., a Yale Divinity School graduate and college president, and the former Alice Urnestine Bell, a public school math teacher. He … Read MoreDavid Levering Lewis (1936- )
Four-star general and precision flier Lloyd W. Newton was born December 24, 1942 in Ridgeland, South Carolina, the fourth of seven children of John H. Newton, a farmer, and Annie Newton. Finishing Jasper High School in Ridgeland, he majored in mechanical engineering at Tennessee State … Read MoreLloyd Warren Newton (1942- )
At a time when educated, skilled, and ambitious African Americans were systematically excluded from even middle management positions in large white-controlled businesses, for decades Charles H. Dodge remained one of the extremely rare persons in the nation to occupy a high ranking corporate position in … Read MoreCharles H. Dodge (1868-1942)
