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Donald McEachin is the co-founder of the law firm McEachin & Gee and a U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 4th congressional district. Aston Donald McEachin was born on October 10, 1961 to Ivan Benton McEachin, Jr. and Edna McEachin in Nuremberg, Germany. The Army artillery officer … Read MoreDonald McEachin (1961- )

Niara Sudarkasa, born Gloria Albertha Marshall, was an accomplished scholar, educator, and cultural anthropologist. She was born in August. 14, 1938, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Rowena Marshall. Her mother and maternal grandparents, a farmer and a housewife, who migrated from the Bahamas, raised her … Read MoreNiara Sudarkasa (1938-2019)

In the five years following the Civil War, the U.S. Congress passed and the states ratified the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. These amendments permanently ended slavery and granted African Americans access to civil rights and suffrage as citizens of the United … Read MoreThe Enforcement Act of 1870 (1870-1871)

Clara Belle Drisdale, the first African American to graduate from New Mexico State University, was born to sharecroppers Isaac and Carrie Melinda Moppins Drisdale in LaGrange, Texas on October 29, 1885. She was first educated in a one room country school house near LaGrange but … Read MoreClara Belle Drisdale Williams (1885-1994)

Dr. Warren Elliott Henry enjoyed a long and influential career in the field of physical chemistry, working in the public and private sectors and in academia. His areas of expertise included radar technology and solid-state physics. Henry conducted experiments on magnetism as well as metallurgy, … Read MoreWarren Elliott Henry (1909-2001)

Marcel Pliat was one of several French nationals who served in the Russian Imperial Army during World War I but he was the only black man to serve in the Russian Imperial Air Force. Pliat was born in French Polynesia (now Tahiti) around 1890. His … Read MoreMarcel Pliat (ca. 1890-1917?)

In the following article independent historian Charles Kastner describes the 1944-1945 tour of Alberta Hunter and the Rhythm Rascals who became the first black USO performing unit to Visit the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. The China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of World War Two, was … Read MoreAlberta Hunter and the Rhythm Rascals in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II

Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi was a loyal Sahabah (companion) to the Prophet Muhammad and thus one of the earliest converts in the newly-emerging religion of Islam. He was also the first mu’azzin (prayer caller) in the Muslim faith. Rabah is the first person of known … Read MoreBilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi (580-640)

Ray Douglas McDonald was a running back who played for the Washington Redskins in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons, 1967 and 1968. McDonald was also one of the first gay athletes in the NFL. Ray McDonald was born on May 7, 1944 … Read MoreRay Douglas McDonald (1944-1993)