Cicely Tyson, 96, Has Passed Away

Castries, St. Lucia (1650 - )

Castries, capital of St. Lucia, is also the largest city on the island. The latest estimates show its population as about 20,000. St. Lucia with a total population of 163,362 (July 2014 est.) is part of the Windward Islands chain which forms the boundary between the Atlantic Ocean and the

fave

Source: Black Past

Feb

22

1979

Football star Earl Campbell born

Football star Earl Campbell was born in Tyler, Texas.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

29

1955

Sammy Davis Jr., dies

Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, singer and world class entertainer dies in Beverly Hills, California at age 64. Davis, born in Harlem, was a member of the popular and notorious Hollywood Rat Pack. He also held starring roles in a host of Broadway musicals and motion pictures.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

May

16

1990

Dinah Washington

Dinah Washington was a popular singer from the 1950s who sang jazz, blues, R&B and pop. Her birth name was Ruth Lee Jones. She was born on August 29, 1924 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and moved to Chicago at a very young age. Her first exposure to music stemmed from the church, where she learned to

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Aug

29

1924

African American and Black History Blog

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Hendrix, Jimi (1942-1970)

Legendary self-taught, left-handed guitarist Jimi Hendrix was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, the son of Lucille Jeter Hendrix and Al Hendrix. Jimi grew up in poverty but he loved science fiction, art, nearby Lake Washington and music, especially the R&B masters, Chuck Berry and Ray

fave

Source: Black Past

Sep

18

1970

Bradley, Tom (1917-1998)

Thomas J. “Tom” Bradley, five-term Mayor of Los Angeles and the first major black candidate for Governor of California, was born in Calvert, Texas, on December 29, 1917, the son of Lee Thomas Bradley, a railroad porter, and Crenner Bradley, a maid. He was the grandson of former

fave

Source: Black Past

Sep

30

1998

Fort, Syvilla (1917-1975)

Syvilla Fort, born on July 3, 1917 in Seattle, was a professional dancer in the 1930s and early 1940s and prominent dance instructor in New York City for three decades between 1948 and 1975. Her dance style, which combined African, Caribbean, and American rhythms, influenced hundreds of

fave

Source: Black Past

Nov

8

1975

From Finland to “Not in My Neighborhood”: Antero Pietila's Journey To and Through Racially Divided America

In the article below Antero Pietila, longtime reporter for the Baltimore Sun, describes his arrival as a Finnish immigrant in the United States as the nation was being convulsed by the Civil Rights Movement. Pietila describes his initial introduction into the nations racial dilemma through Harlem

fave

Source: Black Past

Williams, Vanessa (1963- )

Vanessa Lynn Williams was born in Tarrytown, New York on March 18, 1963. She is the daughter of Helen and the late Milton Williams who were music teachers. She has a younger brother, Christopher, who is also an actor. Williams was the first African American woman to win the Miss America title on

fave

Source: Black Past

Thomas L. Jennings -- 1st Black male patent holder

A tailor living in New York City, NY Invented a method for the dry cleaning of clothes U.S. Patent 3306X (March 3, 1821)

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Mar

3

1821

African American History

African American history entails the American history with regard to black ethnic group that formed its root in America after being enslaved by the whites in their homeland. The heinous tradition of holding blacks in captivity and enslaving them began in the mid 16th century and lasted till

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Jan

1

1863

Lincoln Motion Picture Company

African American audiences were generally ignored by the major motion picture studios in the first two decades of the 20th Century. Nonetheless, demand for films aimed at black theaters in both the South and larger Northern cities prompted the formation of several “black” motion picture

fave

Source: Black Past

Walt Frazier

Walter Frazier is a retired professional NBA player who played for the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. He was born on March 29, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia and was the eldest of nine children. An exceptional athlete since childhood, Frazier was the star of the football, baseball and

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Mar

29

1945

Lil’ Bow Wow

Name at birth: Shad Gregory Moss

fave

Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Campbell, Clive/DJ Kool Herc (1955- )

DJ Kool Herc was the earliest major figure to emerge from the mid-70s Bronx, New York music scene that would eventually come to be known as Hip-Hop. Born Clive Campbell in Kingston, Jamaica, Herc immigrated to New York City and was exposed at an early age to both American and Jamaican musical

fave

Source: Black Past

Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance, term used to describe a flowering of African-American literature and art in the 1920s, mainly in the Harlem district of New York City. During the mass migration of African Americans from the rural agricultural South to the urban industrial North (1914–18), many who came to

fave

Source: Fact Monster - Black History

The Pan-African Congresses, 1900-1945

Pan-Africanist ideals emerged in the late nineteenth century in response to European colonization and exploitation of the African continent. Pan-Africanist philosophy held that slavery and colonialism depended on and encouraged negative, unfounded categorizations of the race, culture, and values of

fave

Source: Black Past

Goode, Malvin Russell (1908–1995)

Malvin Russell Goode was the first African American news correspondent for a major television network. Goode was born on February 13, 1908, in White Plains, Virginia, but his family moved to Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, when he was very young. Goode, the third of four boys and two

fave

Source: Black Past

Sep

26

1936

Michael Jackson

Born: 8/29/1958 Gary, IndianaDied: 6/25/2009 Los Angeles, CaliforniaMichael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. Called the King of Pop, his contributions to music and dance, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Willie D. Burton

Willie D. Burton becomes the first African American to win the Oscar for sound, for the movie Bird.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

11

1988

Jones, Bill T. (1952- )

Bill T. Jones, Artistic Director/Co-Founder/Dancer/Choreographer of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company was born on February 15, 1952 in Bunnell, Florida. Jones’ prolific career as a choreographer has brought him international acclaim. Awards include: 2007 Tony Award for his choreography in

fave

Source: Black Past

Feb

15

1952

Death of Bishop R. C. Lawson

Bishop R. C. Lawson died July 2, 1961 in New York

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Jul

2

1961

Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is an American rap singer and producer who is sometimes referred to as the most influential rap producer of all time. Dre was born Andre Romelle Young on February 18, 1965 in Compton, California to Theodore and Verna Young, who were both singers. His parents separated when Dre was 3 years

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Feb

18

1965

New York Manumission Society opens a school forblacks in New York City, the Af

New York Manumission Society opens a school for blacks in New York City, the African Free School (schools are eventually transferred to city authorities).

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Jan

0

1787

New Constitution Banned Segregation

Louisiana voters approved new constitution and elected state officers, including the first Black lieutenant governor, Oscar J. Dunn, and the first Black state treasurer, Antoine Dubuclet. Article Thirteen of the new constitution banned segregation in public accommodation: All the persons shall

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Apr

16

1868

Latrell Sprewell

Latrell Fontaine Sprewell is a former NBA star who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was born on September 8, 1970 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Washington High School in Milwaukee where he played basketball. Between 1988 to

fave

Source: Black History Resources

Sep

8

1970

(1871) Senator Hiram Revels Calls For The End Of Segregated Schools

Hiram Rhodes Revels (1827-1901) of Mississippi was the first African American to serve in the United States Senate when he filled the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis. Revels served just over a year from February 25, 1870, to March 13, 1871. During an 1871 Senate debate over school segregation in

fave

Source: Black Past

Pitre, Clayton (1924- )

Clayton Pitre is a long time Seattle, Washington-based community activist, former Chief Housing Developer for the Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP), and a retired Montford Point

fave

Source: Black Past

The first African American magazine, Mirror of Freedom, begins publication in Ne

The first African American magazine, Mirror of Freedom, begins publication in New York City.

fave

Source: Blackfacts.com

Aug

30

1838

BlackFacts Details

Cicely Tyson, 96, Has Passed Away

Arts Facts

Washington DC Facts

Cuisine Facts

Spirituality Facts

28 Unknown Facts: Black History

Women Facts