Dorothy Dandridge: The Iconic Leading Actress
“America was not geared to make me into a Liz Taylor, a Monroe, a Gardner.” ~Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Dandridge was the first African-American woman to...
Category : History Makers
George Poage: The first African-American athlete to win a medal in the Olympic Games
George Coleman Poage was the first African-American athlete to represent the United States in the Olympic Games, winning two bronze medals at the 1904 games...
Carlota: Heroine of Cuba
“There was a militarily gifted and exceptionally daring woman in the front line: Carlota, of Lucumbi origin…” In 1843, Carlota Lucumí, an enslaved African woman,...
Patricia E. Bath: World-famous Ophthalmologist
Patricia E. Bath discovered and invented the Laserphaco Probe, a new device for cataract surgery. Bath is also the first Black woman doctor to receive...
Fredrick L. McGhee: One of the founders of the Niagara Movement
Fredrick L. McGhee was a Black civil rights activist and one of America’s first African American lawyers. McGhee was born on October 28, 1861, in...
Mahalia Jackson: Queen of Gospel
Mahalia Jackson was gospel music’s first superstar and is considered the greatest gospel singer ever to live. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as...
Funmilayo Ransome Kuti: The Lioness of Lisabi
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, the mother of musical legend, Fela Kuti, was also a legend, herself. Known as the Lioness of Lisabi, she was a Nigerian teacher,...
Paul Bogle: Leader of the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion
Paul Bogle is one of Jamaica’s National Heroes, and leader of the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion, an event that transformed the political system of the...
James A. Bland: Composer of the great minstrel show tunes
James Alan Bland was an African-American musician and composer who was known as The World’s Greatest Minstrel Man. Bland wrote songs about the American South...
Bobby Seale: Co-Founder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense
Bobby Seale is an African-American political activist and co-founder and national chairman of the Black Panther Party. The son of a carpenter, Seale was born...