The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was the first Black Greek letter organization on an intercollegiate level, and it celebrates its Founder’s Day this coming Sunday, December 4th. The “Seven Jewels” of the fraternity formed the organization in 1906 on the campus of Cornell University, and it has since spawned a star-studded list of notable members. […]
Richard Pryor is, without doubt, one of the most influential stand-up comics of all time and was an inspiration to Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Mike Epps and others. Pryor would have been 76 today after his life was cut tragically short in 2005. Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was born in Peoria, Ill. and raised […]
Colonel Abrams as one of dance music’s most influential pioneers. House and dance music fans from around the globe joined in mourning one of its most notable legends who died last week. Abrams was born in 1949 in Detroit, Mich., relocating to Manhattan at a young age with his family. Influenced by the Motown soul […]
The island nation of Cuba is both celebrating and mourning the death of longtime leader Fidel Castro this weekend, a mixed reaction to the loss of one of the world’s most controversial figures. While Castro is viewed as both a dictator or a revolutionary, one of the hallmarks of his rise to power was his […]
On Thanksgiving day in 1875, Alexander Crummell, founder of the American Negro Academy, made a historic speech called “The Social Principle Among a People and Its Bearing on Their Progress and Development.” His goal was for Blacks to reflect on racial progress in America on Thanksgiving Day. Crummell was born in New York in 1819, […]
Janie L. Miles made her mark on military history by becoming the first Black woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy. Miles went on to a stellar career in business after ending her time with the U.S. Navy. Born in 1958 in Aiken, S.C., the 1976 Aiken High School graduate and honor student […]
Agbani Darego became the first native African to be crowned Miss World on this day in 2001. While other African nation-based models have won the coveted title, the women were not of African descent. Ms. Darego was born December 22, 1983 in Lagos State, Nigeria, as one of eight children. After the passing of […]
The 89th annual National Bankers Association convention are meeting in Detroit Oct. 5 and 6th. The group is a collective of banking institutions owned by people and women of color. The convention will honor Grammy Award-winning record producer, valued Association member, and banking pioneer Don Davis, who operated Michigan’s first Black-owned and operated bank. Davis, […]
Lee Roy Young Jr. grew up in Texas hoping to join the elite Rangers Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Young’s boyhood dream came true on this day in 1988 when he was sworn in as a Texas Ranger. Young was born January 8, 1947 in Del Rio, Texas. Raised by his grandparents […]
Malvin R. Goode was a pioneer in broadcast journalism, becoming the first African-American news correspondent for a major television network on this day in 1962. Goode arrived at the pinnacle of his career later in life, but his accomplishment serves as a testament to the work ethic he developed in the steel mills of Pittsburgh. […]
