Linda Thomas-Greenfield (1952- )

Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the new United States Ambassador to the United Nations, a Cabinet-level post in the President Joseph Biden Administration. Born in Baker, Louisiana circa 1952, Linda Thomas-Greenfield graduated from a segregated high school in 1970. The first in her family to graduate from … Read MoreLinda Thomas-Greenfield (1952- )

Walter Charles Carrington (1930-2020 )

Walter Charles Carrington served as the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Senegal from 1980 to 1981, and to Nigeria from 1993 to 1997. He married Arese Ukpoma, a Nigerian physician, and has lived in three Nigerian cities since the late 1960s. Carrington was … Read MoreWalter Charles Carrington (1930-2020 )

St. Benedict the Moor (1526-1589)

Benedetto Manasseri, an Italian of African descent, was born near Messina, Italy to Cristoforo and Diana Manasseri in 1526. His parents, captured as slaves from Africa in the early 16th century, were brought to San Fratello, near Messina.  They converted to Catholicism and, due to … Read MoreSt. Benedict the Moor (1526-1589)

Robert “Bobby” Waltrip Short (1924-2005)

Recording artist and three-time Grammy award nominee Bobby Short, a self-taught piano prodigy during his childhood, was regarded as the quintessential sophisticated cabaret and supper-club vocalist and piano player of his time.  Short, who learned to play piano by ear at the age of four, … Read MoreRobert “Bobby” Waltrip Short (1924-2005)

Manning Marable (1950-2011)

William Manning Marable was an influential social commentator, writer, and professor of political science, public affairs, history, and African American studies.   He was born on May 13, 1950 in Dayton, Ohio to James and June Morehead Marable. Previously married twice, he married anthropologist Leith Mullings … Read MoreManning Marable (1950-2011)

Russell Carrington Wilson (1988- )

On February 2, 2014, 26-year-old Russell Carrington Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks football team to a Superbowl Championship over the Denver (Colorado) Broncos in Superbowl XLVIII.  Wilson, in only his second year with the Seahawks, became the second African American quarterback (after Doug Williams) to … Read MoreRussell Carrington Wilson (1988- )

Dr. Cornelius Golightly (1917-1976): The Life of an Academic and Public Intellectual

  Cornelius Golightly at a Detroit School Board Meeting, Courtesy of the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University In the following article Michigan State University professor John McClendon explores the remarkable life of  little known early 20th century black intellectual Cornelius Golightly. Philosopher, teacher, … Read MoreDr. Cornelius Golightly (1917-1976): The Life of an Academic and Public Intellectual

St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1869- )

St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the first African American church in Wisconsin, was founded in Milwaukee as the First African Methodist Episcopal Church by Ezekiel Gillespie and seven other men and women. Gillespie desired to establish a “Church of Allen,” referring to Richard … Read MoreSt. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1869- )