Bass Reeves would become the first black U.S. Deputy Marshall, born to slave parents in Arkansas in 1838. Owned by William Reeves, he took on his owners last name and worked alongside his parents beginning as a water boy before he was old enough to work in the field. Reeves’ height and statue set him […]
Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar in 1940 for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, she accepted the award in tears as ‘a credit to her race’ during the segregation era. Although she was an Oscar award winner segregation laws forced her to sit away from her […]
Making President’s Day Relevant to Black History Month This presidents’ day I’d like to take the time to reflect on Black presidential candidates in American history. Only recently has it been possible to see a Black man in the oval office, prior to Barack Obama the face of the president has always been white, but […]
During my recent trip to Las Vegas on a walk back from Cesar’s Palace I’d stoped inside of White Castle to satisfy nighttime dinner cravings. While waiting in line I struck up conversation with a girl around my age who was standing in front of me. I’d inquired about what school she went to, “I […]
The Congress of Racial Equality (Core) was established in Chicago in 1942 on the University of Chicago campus. It was founded on the theme of change, on the basis of instilling change through nonviolent techniques. In 1955 CORE went to the South to provide nonviolence training to demonstrators there during the time of the Montgomery […]
Being black and being a woman is a difficult combination to navigate in the world, but within the United States especially. Historically, here there has always been a lack of unity in African American organizations which stifles community progress. We can see this trend today in the way that several groups with similar missions make […]
The National Negro League (NNL) was established on this day in 1920 by Rube Foster. When baseball was first organized in the UnitedStates with the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869 there were a few blacks players that played alongside whites but their careers were short-lived. In order for Black players to receive the recognition that […]
Abe didn’t do Shit Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is today, American culture takes time to celebrate him as a president and for his part in civil rights. But I’m not mistaken, Lincoln has never been our hero. Lincoln did not have a passion for the lives and treatment of Blacks, his presidential slogan wasn’t to free […]
Who is Shirley Chisholm? While watching one of the many tag videos on YouTube I was pleasantly surprised by the Black History theme of one that circled around playing the game, “Black Card Revoked”. The game quizzed players on Black history and culture. Some of the questions were silly while others were serious, of the […]
Hiram Rhodes Revels was born to free parents, his father a Baptist preacher and Scottish mother in Fayetteville, North Carolina September 27, 1827. He was born in an era when educating Black children was illegal and he was forbidden from receiving state schooling as a mixed raced child. Later he was taught by a free […]