Mandarin lessons added to curriculum of school in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, thanks to Taiwan

Akon

Akon is an American Hip Hop artist who has produced several platinum albums, appeared in television and film roles, received several Grammy nominations and owns two record labels. He was born Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Bongo Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam in St. Louis, Missouri on April

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Source: Black History Resources

Apr

16

1973

Miles Davis

Miles Dewey Davis III was a famous American jazz musician. He was born on May 26, 1926 to a wealthy African American family in Alton, Illinois. His father was a dentist who also owned a ranch in Arkansas. Davis developed an appreciation for music at an early age after listening to gospel music at

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Source: Black History Resources

May

26

1926

Ice T

Tracy Marrow, better known as Ice T is mostly celebrated for his rap songs concerning street life & violence. He has been an influential figure for the gangster rap genre. Highly controversial songs such as Cop Killer brought much fame to Ice T. He also pursued a career in acting, his most

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Source: Black History Resources

Feb

16

1958

Rangel, Charles Bernard (1930- )

Democratic representative of New York City, Charles Bernard Rangel, first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970, is now one of the longest serving members of Congress. Rangel was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1930. He attended De Witt Clinton High School but dropped out in 1948

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Source: Black Past

Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American singer and actress. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 12, 1981 to Darnell Donnerson and Samuel Simpson. She started singing in her church choir as a child and also performed in community theatre. She graduated from high school in 1999 and enrolled at

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Source: Black History Resources

Sep

12

1981

Howell, Abner Leonard (1877-1966)

Abner Leonard Howell was a star athlete in Utah whose accomplishments went largely ignored during the peak of his football career because of his

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Source: Black Past

Aug

9

1877

Telling Secrets, Spying Freedom: A Novel Account of Mary Bowser's Civil War Espionage

In the following account historian and novelist Lois Leveen describes how she came to write her critically acclaimed novel, The Secrets of Mary Bowser, the account of a black woman who served as a Union spy in the Confederate White House during the American Civil

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Source: Black Past

Muhammad, Khalid Abdul (1948-2001)

Khalid Abdul Muhammad was an African-American activist, a one-time member of the Nation of Islam and national chairman of the New Black Panther Party. Muhammad was born Harold Moore Jr. on January 12, 1948, to Harold Moore Sr and Lottie B. Moore in Houston, Texas. Moore’s Aunt, Carrie Moore

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Source: Black Past

Angela Davis

Angela Yvonne Davis is a political activist, author, teacher and feminist. She was born on January 26, 1944 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her neighborhood was known for racial tensions and conflict, and Davis attended an all black elementary school. Her mother was an active member and organizer of the

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Source: Black History Resources

Jan

26

1944

Bluford, Guion Stewart, Jr. ["Guy"] (1942- )

Guy Bluford, a member of the SDS-8 space shuttle Challenger crew in 1983, was the first African American in space. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bluford was interested in math and science and knew he wanted to work in aerospace engineering before graduating high school. His high school

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Source: Black Past

Aug

30

1983

James, Charles A. (1922- )

Ambassador Charles A. James was born in 1922 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he attended public schools. After high school, James enrolled at Westchester State Teachers College in Pennsylvania (now Westchester University) where he studied for one year before

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Source: Black Past

Sep

16

1976

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is an American basketball superstar who plays the shooting guard position for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia to Joe and Pamela Bryant. Joe Bryant was also a basketball player who played with the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Diego Clippers, and the

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Source: Black History Resources

Aug

23

1978

DaMarcus Beasley

DaMarcus Beasley is a retired professional soccer player. He was born on May 24, 1982 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He played soccer in high school and also participated in the 1999 under 17 soccer World Cup held in New Zealand. His outstanding performance won him the prestigious silver ball award for

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Source: Black History Resources

May

24

1982

Mines, Janie L. (1958- )

Janie L. Mines, the first African American woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy, was born in Aiken, South Carolina, in 1958. Her father, Reverend William L. Mines, was a Minister at Rock Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Aiken, South Carolina. Her mother was Daisy Sheppard

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Source: Black Past

Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade is a professional NBA player who plays for the Miami Heat. He was born on January 17, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois to Dwyane Sr. and Jolinda Wade. His parents separated when he was very young and Wade and his older sister Tragil initially went to live with their mother. She was financially

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Source: Black History Resources

Jan

17

1982

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

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Source: Black History Resources

Feb

18

1965

West, Allen (1961- )

In 2010, retired lieutenant colonel Allen West became the first black Republican to represent Florida in Congress since Rep. Josiah T. Walls, who served during Reconstruction. Congressman West was born on February 7, 1961 in Atlanta, Georgia to Herman and Elizabeth West. His father was a career

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Source: Black Past

Feb

7

1961

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

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Source: Black Past

Sep

18

1970

(1884), Alexander Crummell, “Excellence, an End of the Trained Intellect”

In an address to women of the graduating class of the Colored High School in Washington, D.C. on June 6th 1884, Rev. Alexander Crummell urges them to put their intellect and their education in the service of racial advancement. The address appears

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Source: Black Past

Thomas-Greenfield, Linda (1952- )

Born in Baker, Louisiana circa 1952, Linda Thomas-Greenfield graduated from a segregated high school in 1970. The first in her family to graduate from high school, Thomas-Greenfield saw the local Peace Corps training center, which trained volunteers for work in Somalia and Swaziland, as influencing

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Source: Black Past

Aug

6

2013

Warren Moon

Warren Moon is a retired football player, who played for the Canadian and American football leagues. He was born in Los Angeles, California on November 18, 1956 and was the only brother of 6 sisters. His father was a laborer who died of liver disease when Warren was a young child and his mother was

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Source: Black History Resources

Nov

18

1956

Xavier University [New Orleans] (1915- )

Xavier University is a private, four-year coeducational historically black university located in New Orleans, Louisiana; the campus is located one mile from downtown New Orleans. Xavier University is the only historically black college or university (HBCU) affiliated with the Roman Catholic

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Source: Black Past

Freeman, Joseph (1953– )

In 1978 Joseph Freeman became the first man of African ancestry to be granted the priesthood after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that any male could be ordained, regardless of race or color. Freeman was born July 24, 1953, in Vanceboro, North Carolina, to Rose Lee Smith

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Source: Black Past

Taylor, John Baxter, Jr. (1882-1908)

The first African American to win an Olympic Gold Medal, John Baxter Taylor was born November 3, 1882, in Washington, D.C. He attended Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he ran track and was the only African American on the team. After graduating from high school in

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Source: Black Past

Dec

2

1908

W.E.B. Du Bois died

W.E.B. Du Bois (95), scholar, protest leader and a founder of the NAACP, died in

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Aug

27

1963

Baca, Susana (1944- )

Susana Baca, recording artist and the first Afro-Peruvian to sit as a Cabinet Minister, was born in 1944 in Chorrillos, a seaside district of Lima, Peru, to a working class family. Her father was a chauffeur and her mother worked as cook and laundress for upper class families. Baca began singing at

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Source: Black Past

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg is an American rapper who is famous for his gangster image and rap meets reggae style of music. He was born Calvin Broadus on October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California to Beverly Broadus and Vernall Varnado. His father was a war veteran and singer, who was rarely present in his

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Source: Black History Resources

Oct

20

1971

Langston University (1898-- )

In March 1897 the Oklahoma Territorial Legislature created a land grant college to train African American teachers, calling it the Colored Agricultural and Normal University. Classes opened in the fall of 1898 in a church in the town of Langston. Langston had been founded in 1890 as part of an

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Source: Black Past

Henry Louis Gates

Henry Louis Gates Jr. was born in September 16, 1950 in West Virginia and excelled in studies from an early age, regardless of his underprivileged family background. Graduating from high school as valedictorian in 1968, Gates attended a local college before enrolling in Yale University from where

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Source: Black History Resources

Sep

16

1950

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffery Jordan is an American basketball legend who played for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards for 15 seasons. Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. In high school he played baseball, football, and basketball. When he

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Source: Black History Resources

Feb

17

1963

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