During an April 1890 interview with Woman Inventor, a short-lived publication that brought attention to women inventors and the issues they faced, Ellen F. Eglin spoke...
Space sickness, this is called, is a serious problem for many astronauts, one that aerospace psychophysiologist Patricia S. Cowings (1948 –) studies extensively and is helping...
James Van Der Zee (1886–1983) would have two careers in photography: locally, as Harlem’s photographer during the 1920s and 30s, and nationally, when his works from...
The likes of Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, and Florence Mills brought talent to the stages of theaters in Harlem and beyond. Publishing houses, particularly Alfred A....
A leading Harlem Renaissance painter, Aaron Douglas’ artistic interests in modernism and African art fueled his artistic style. His works are a blend of Art Deco...
Alexandre Dumas wrote plays, both comedies and dramas. Scholars describe his writing as having a “heavy emphasis on plot; his primary skill as a writer consisted...
Fort Mose was the first free Black settlement in what is now the United States, and the only one known to have been sponsored by a...
It was a King supporter who smuggled the nearly 7,000 written words, handing them over to King’s lawyers. The letter was then transcribed and printed partially...
It was during a trip to Europe that Williams met Leopold, a German prince who became the first king of the Belgians. Leopold spoke highly of...
In Wilmington, N.C., slaves celebrated ‘Jonkonnu’ a contraction of the name John Kunering. Dressed in costumes, the enslaved people went from house to house singing, dancing,...
Some people think of Kwanzaa as an alternative to Christmas, referring to it as Black Christmas. Karenga writes that Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, but...
It was during the early 1960s that Malcolm confirmed rumors about Muhammad’s adulterous affairs with women and girls in the Nation. Although he respected the order,...
Jim Burch was also inducted into eight different halls of fame, including the CIAA John B. McLendon Jr. Hall of Fame (February 2019). To recognize the...
Devices used to deter voters included literacy tests and poll taxes, a fee that must be paid by Blacks in order to vote. And Mississippi led...
Via jobs as military assistant to high-level government officials and a stint as national security adviser to then-President Ronald Reagan, Powell rose quickly through the ranks....
Two Black performers left the event that night with Grammys in hand: Ella Jane Fitzgerald (1917–1996) for Best Vocal Performance, Female, and Best Jazz Performance, Individual;...
Dorothy Lee Bolden’s first experience with domestic work was at the age of nine where she earned $1.25 per week. Alabama-born Bolden (1923–2005), alongside her mother,...
The Multicultural Children’s Bookstore celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. day along with thousands of others around the country. The occasion kicked off the bookstore’s own January...
Many historical accounts of war exclude women. The word “soldier” brings to mind immediately a male figure in uniform. Yet by definition soldier refers to anyone,...
The discriminatory laws and practices of the Jim Crow era made traveling by car a dangerous experience for Black families. Travelers were denied access to basic...
Cudjo Lewis (born Oluale Kossola) was from Guinea, West Africa. The documented stories of his Middle Passage journey on the ship Clotilda in 1860, years of...
Many consider the term “Aunt Jemima” disparaging and offensive, stereotyping Black women as subservient. But Nancy Green (1834–1923), the living trademark for Aunt Jemima’s self-rising flour,...
The year was 1848. A Dahomeyan army of fearless Amazon warriors besieged Oke-Odan, a Nigerian village inhabited by the Egbado. Lives were lost; many were stolen...
Wyoming seemed an unlikely place for African Americans to build a community, especially at the turn of the 20th century. At that time, Blacks were considered...
It was autumn, 1781. A combined American force of Colonial and French troops had laid siege to the British Army at Yorktown,Va. This battle was the...