The Niagara Movement, founded in 1905, pioneered the early 20th-century fight for African American civil rights. It set forth a bold and uncompromising vision for equality, advocating for African Americans’…
Category: Historical Figures
Andrew “Rube” Foster, aka “Father of Black Baseball”
Andrew “Rube” Foster was born in Calvert, Texas on September 17, 1879. His journey from a talented pitcher to a visionary league organizer is a testament to his enduring legacy.…
Remembering The Life of Dr. J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., African American Nuclear Physicist of the Manhattan Project
Let us remember the remarkable life of J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., a pioneer in nuclear physics. Born on November 27, 1923, in Chicago, Wilkins’ academic journey began early, earning his…
The 6888th Central Postal Battalion, Six Triple Eight. “No mail, no morale.”
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion comprised entirely of African American women, faced discrimination and adversity head-on while delivering an essential service to WWII troops overseas. In the early 1940s,…
Charles Jackson French, The Human Tugboat
The U.S. Navy will honor World War II hero Charles Jackson French, a Black cook aboard the USS Gregory during the Battle of Guadalcanal, by naming a new Arleigh Burke-class…
Booker T. Spicely, A Victim of Jim Crow Violence
In 1944, Booker T. Spicely, a Black Army private stationed at Camp Butner, clashed with a white bus driver, Herman Council, over seating segregation. The confrontation ended when Council shot…
Blind Tom Wigging, Musical Prodigy Who Suffered Exploitation At The Hands Of Those Who Enslaved Him
Thomas Greene Wiggins, known as “Blind Tom,” was a musical prodigy born into slavery. Despite his blindness and autism, his musical talent was revealed early, as he echoed sounds and…
George Latimer and The Fugitive Slave Act
George Latimer was born into slavery in Virginia, but he managed to escape to Massachusetts in 1842. However, in 1848, he was recaptured in Boston. Latimer was faced with the…
Remembering Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells, a remarkable figure in American history, was born during slavery in 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Wells’ parents and one brother succumbed to yellow fever. After these…
Joseph Hayne Rainey, First African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives.
Joseph Hayne Rainey was born into slavery on June 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, Joseph Rainey, like many other enslaved individuals, saw…