Ferdinand Q. Morton, political leader, attorney, and baseball commissioner, was born to two former slaves named Edward James Morton and Mattie Shelton Morton on September 9, 1881, in Macon, Mississippi. His father moved their family to Washington D.C. in 1890 because he got a job … Read MoreFerdinand Q. Morton (1881-1949)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” The A. Philip Randolph Institute was founded by and named for labor leader Asa Philip Randolph, who was the longtime president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union. Randolph and his friend and fellow activist Bayard Rustin founded APRI in … Read MoreA. Philip Randolph Institute (1965- )
On February 7, 2013 prominent neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson became a nationally recognized political figure when he gave a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. that was critical of President Obama’s policies and particularly Obamacare when the President and First Lady Michelle … Read More(2013) Ben Carson’s Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast
In the speech below to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, on August 1, 1987, Clarence Thomas, then Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), makes the case that many African Americans have always embraced conservative values and thus their natural political home … Read More(1987) Clarence Thomas, “Why Black Americans Should Look to Conservative Politics”
“Image Courtesy of Michael Eric Dyson” On January 17, 2017, eighty-eight years after the birth of the most revered civil rights leader in the 20th Century, Georgetown University scholar, social activist, reverend, and best-selling author Michael Eric Dyson describes in his new book, Tears We … Read MoreTears We Cannot Stop: Michael Eric Dyson Explains Dr. Martin Luther King’s Legacy to Us Today
“Image Ownership: Melissa McClinton” Harold E. Pierce Jr. was an internationally renowned American dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon known as “The Father of Black Cosmetic Surgery.” He pioneered surgical techniques for the treatment of keloids, laminar dermal reticulotomy, hair transplants, cosmetic facial surgery, chemical facial peeling, … Read MoreHarold E. Pierce (1922–2006)
Dorothy Johnson Vaughan was a teacher who became a leading mathematical engineer in the first aerospace program with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and the first African American woman promoted to supervisor in the program. Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on … Read MoreDorothy Johnson Vaughan (1910-2008)
The Wormley House, ca. 1884 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” Just one block away from President’s Square, now Lafayette Square, in Washington, D.C. stood the Wormley House, one of the most prominent private hotels and social clubs of its time, and the only one owned by … Read MoreWormley House (1871–1893)
The Pearl Incident in 1848 was the single largest recorded escape attempt by enslaved people in United States history. On April 15, 1848, 77 slaves attempted to flee Washington, D.C. by sailing away on a schooner called The Pearl. They planned to sail south along … Read MoreThe Pearl Incident, 1848
Thurl Lee Bailey is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1983 to 1999 with the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves. Bailey has also been a broadcast analyst for the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah … Read MoreThurl Lee Bailey (1961– )
