A Brief History of Black Names, From Perlie to Latasha
A scholar disproves the long-held assumption that Black names are a recent phenomenon.
Posts tagged: Black History Month
Who Was the First Black Child To Go To an Integrated School?
School integration is often thought of as something that took place in the 1960s. But the first Black student to desegregate a school by court order was an Iowa girl named Susan Clark in 1868.
The Embrace: A Visit to the New Martin Luther (and Coretta!) King Statue on the Boston Common
On a beautiful snowy Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in Boston, we went to the Boston Common to see the new tribute to Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott …..
Shirley Chisholm, Unbought and Unbossed
Shirley Chisholm, unbought and unbossed. Has there been a better political slogan this side of “I Like Ike“? No, there hasn’t. I had always thought the “unbought and unbossed” reference …..
Martin Luther King Pushed for Global Justice, Not Just Civil Rights at Home
MLK’s vision for nonviolence included abolishing what he called triple evils – racism, poverty and militarism – and his anger at the Vietnam War led him to push for a broader agenda.
What (and Who) Should Replace Confederate Statues?
The likes of Richard T. Greener should replace memorials to Confederates. He was a groundbreaking Black professor at the University of South Carolina.
From MLK to Sen. Warnock, Ebenezer Baptist Church Has Been a Seat of Black Power for Generations in Atlanta
For Black History Month, a look at a church that has played a vital role in America’s civil rights struggle. It was the spiritual home to MLK, to the generations that shaped the vision of the late civil rights leader, and now to Sen. Raphael Warnock.
They Killed Malcolm X
Malcolm X was murdered 55 years ago, on February 21, 1965. He had just begun speaking on stage in the Audubon Ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in New York when …..
Black History Month: How African-American GIs of WWII Fought for Democracy Abroad and Then at Home
When war broke out, black Americans fought in segregated units to serve their country. The breath of freedom they experienced in Europe flamed the fight for equality when they returned home.
Meet Susan Clark, the First Black Child to Go to a Desegregated School
The first African-American child who won court approval to attend a whites-only school was Susan Clark in Muscatine, Iowa in 1868.
Women’s History Month Profile: Jessie Simmons Fought for Years Simply to Get a Teaching Job in Michigan
Guest post by Valerie Hill-Jackson, Texas A&M University/The Conversation Jessie Dean Gipson Simmons was full of optimism when she and her family moved from an apartment in a troubled area …..
Jackie Robinson, Happy 100th Birthday!
Happy 100th birthday to Jackie Robinson, one of the true American heroes of the 20th century. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, a racist barrier so strange and …..
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Vision of Love Still Matters
[Editor’s note: The following guest post was originally published by our friends at The Conversation.] By Joshua F.J. Inwood, Penn State University 2017 was a year of increased conflict in the United …..
Black History Month: Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, America’s first black singing superstar
In the 19th century, critics and audiences thought blacks were incapable of singing as well as their white, European counterparts. Greenfield forced them to reconcile their ears with their racism.
Black History Month: Allison Davis, pioneering scholar of racism
His landmark contributions to anthropology have faded from memory, despite real-world policy impact during the mid-20th century. He was the first African-American full-time professor at a predominantly-white university, and his research was cited in Brown v. Board of Education.
The Story of Black History Month
How did Black History Month get started? Mostly thanks to Carter G. Woodson. Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915. Until …..
Happy Birthday, Rosa Parks!
American civil rights icon Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She made her mark in history in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, when she refused to …..
Black History Month Biographies
See the faces that changed America — and the world.
Dorie Miller Biography: New!
One of the first American war heroes of World War II was an African-American named Doris Miller. Heard of him?
Paul Cuffe Biography: New!
For Black History Month, we have a featured biography of Paul Cuffe — the Massachusetts mariner who was the richest African American of his time.
Black History Month: Mae C. Jemison
Mae Jemison is not exactly a famous name. But she was the first black woman in outer space. Think about how tough you have to be for that.
Black History Month: W.E.B. Du Bois
Meet prolific writer and editor William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. He had a topsy-turvey relationship with the NAACP, he was tried for being a foreign agent and he died in Africa.
Black History: Odetta
In honor of Black History Month, we’ve added another activist-entertainer to our files: Odetta, the folk singer who came to fame in the 1960s for her powerful voice in protest songs.
In the History of ‘African-American’
This week there was an anniversary in the history of the American anti-slavery movement of the 19th century. A minor piece by the great abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, in his publication The Liberator, made a suggestion that at the time that seemed trivial to white Americans, yet his advice eventually worked its way into our daily language.
The History of Black History Month
February of 2011 will be National African American History Month, as proclaimed by the president. President Barack Obama issued the proclamation yesterday, following a tradition started in 1976 by President …..
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the White House’s Awkward Embrace
Here’s a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., one said to be the last before he was killed:
Bessie Coleman, You Wonderful Aviator, Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday to Bessie Coleman, who was born on this day in 1892.With Black History Month coming up, it’s only natural to toss Coleman an extra salute. She was a rare bird.