Olivier Le Jeune: First recorded Black person in Canada
In 1628, the first Black person known to have lived in Canada was a native of Madagascar. He was kidnapped and sold between the ages...
Author : Uchenna Edeh
The Chicago Defender: The most influential Black weekly newspaper in America
The Chicago Defender was the United States’ most influential Black weekly newspaper by the advent of World War I, with more than two thirds of...
Sugar Ray Robinson: “Pound for pound” the best boxer in history
Sugar Ray Robinson is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and by...
Hubert Henry Harrison: Foremost Pioneer of Harlem Radicalism
Born April 27, 1883, in Concordia, St. Croix, Danish West Indies, Hubert H. Harrison was a brilliant and influential writer, orator, educator, critic, and political...
Vernon Johns: “Father of the Civil Rights Movement”
Vernon Johns (April 22, 1892 – June 11, 1965) was the visionary Baptist preacher in segregationist Montgomery, Alabama who, in the early 1950s, helped ignite...
The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
[dropcap size=small]M[/dropcap]artin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was staying at the Lorraine Motel in Room 306. Around...
John Willis Menard: The First African American elected to Congress
John Willis Menard, an African American journalist, civil rights leader, editor, and poet became the first African American elected to Congress, but was not seated...
Gil Scott-Heron: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Gil Scott-Heron was the African American poet, novelist, musician, and songwriter known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s....
Jeremiah “Jerry” Alvin Jones: Black Canadian War Hero
Jeremiah “Jerry” Alvin Jones (March 30, 1858 – November 23, 1950) was an African Canadian soldier who served in World War I. He was apparently...
Pearl Bailey: Legendary Vaudeville, Broadway and Hollywood Performer
Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918–August 17, 1990) was an African American singer and actress whose career spanned nearly fifty years in all forms of...