By Gillian Brockell “We captured three Negro soldiers, the first we had seen,” Private Byrd Willis wrote on May 8, 1864. “They were taken out on the road side and shot and their bodies l
Tag: African American history
What Do You Know About “Moms” Mabley?
Loretta Mary Aiken (March 19, 1894 – May 23, 1975), known by her stage name Jackie “Moms” Mabley, was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Mabley began her care
Black Mortgage Applicants with Almost Highest Income Approved at Same Rate as White Applicants with Lowest Income
By Shawn Donnan, Ann Choi, Hannah Levitt, and Christopher Cannon March 11, 2022 Nationwide, only 47% of Black homeowners who completed a refinance application with Wells Fargo in 2020 were app
HARRIET TUBMAN KEPT PUSHING FOR CHANGE AFTER THE ‘RAILROAD’
By Starlight Williams, Associate Editor Thursday, March 10, 2022 In her nine decades (she died on this day in 1913), Tubman (pictured in 1878) became the first U.S. woman to lead an armed military
Cathay Williams, Soldier for Life
Soldier For Life Cathay Williams was the first documented black woman to enlist in the U.S. Army. Williams was born a slave in Missouri in 1844. She served as an Army cook during the Civil Wa
Ann Lowe, Black Designer Of Jackie Kennedy’s Wedding Dress, Finally Getting Long Overdue Recognition
By Paula Ebben February 17, 2022 at 11:20 pm BOSTON (CBS) – It was Newport, September 1953. The centerpiece of the wedding of Jacqueline Bouvier and Senator John F. Kennedy was a dress
Lucy Higgs Nichols
Lucy Higgs Nichols was born into slavery in Tennessee, but during the Civil War, she managed to escape and found her way to the 23rd Indiana Infantry Regiment which was encamped nearby. She stayed
National Veterans Memorial and Museum
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. They overcame prejudice and segregation to become one of the most respected fighter groups i
Nikole Hannah-Jones surreptitiously quoted MLK to show how radical some would find him today
(the Washington Post catches up to the story) By Lateshia Beachum 1/19/22 After Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones used the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words in a s
MLK Day
Trivia Quiz: Black History
How much do you know about African American leaders and events? by Kenneth Terrell and AARP Staff, Updated June 17, 2021 Go HERE for the quiz. Black History Trivia Quiz (different questions) 25&n
The Boondocks – MLK Speech
More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation.
By Julie Zauzmer Weil, Adrian Blanco and Leo Dominguez 1/10/22 From the founding of the United States until long after the Civil War, hundreds of the elected leaders writin
Zora Neale Hurston
Novelist, folklorist, dramatist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston wrote in her memoir, Dust Tracks on a Road, that she was born on January 7, 1891, in Eatonville, Florida,
Sidney Poitier, First Black Man to Win Best Actor Oscar and a Titan of Cinema, Dead at 94
By Alynda Wheat (@AlyndaWheat) Updated January 07, 2022 10:57 AM Poitier died Thursday evening. With a staggering list of accolades, including an Academy Award, a Presidential Medal of Fr