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Faces of Black Excellence
Five remarkable facts about Emmet Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, you should know
Mamie Till-Mobley was considered the godmother of the civil rights movement in the mid-1900s. She devoted herself to fighting racial injustice after the gruesome murder of her 14-year-old son in 1955. Emmet Till was accused of allegedly sexually harassing Carolyn Bryant, a white shopkeeper in Money, Mississippi. The world soaked in the barbaric details of…
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Big Bill Tate, the heavyweight boxer who used the rings to get jobs for 2,600 black workers
Heavyweight champion, Big Bill Tate, was among the many fortunate African Americans who had...
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How self-taught black artist, Robert S. Duncanson, became the best landscape painter of the West in the mid-1800s
Courage, dexterity, profound cultures, and influential leaders; when it comes to black history,...
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Meet George Boyer Vashon, the first black lawyer in New York and graduate of Oberlin College before slavery was abolished
Black educator and abolitionist, George Boyer Vashon, gained recognition in his lifetime as...
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Howard University’s all-black swim team makes history
The Howard Bison, the only all-Black team in collegiate swimming, has become the first all-Black swim and dive team to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine. The sports magazine began covering...
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Interesting facts about how the son of Frederick Douglass built the first black municipality in Maryland
When Charles Douglass and his wife Laura decided to visit the Bay Ridge Resort on the Chesapeake Bay in 1890 to enjoy the sea breeze, it did not occur to them that the color of their skin could be a reason...
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The extraordinary story of Hallie Brown, who visited plantations to teach Black children denied education during slavery
Every person of African descent with links to slavery has their own narrative. For educationist Hallie Quinn Brown, her parents, Thomas Arthur Brown and Frances Jane Scroggins were former slaves. Her father...
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Overlooked no more: Richard Henderson, the former slave who provided refuge for 500 fugitives on the Underground Railroad
Richard Henderson came to Meadville in 1824, becoming the first permanent Black resident there. He had escaped from his owner at the age of 15. He did not take this dangerous expedition alone. He escaped...
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Ghanaian teen becomes youngest Ph.D. student at U.S. university
When at the age of 13 she gained admission into the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), one of the premier universities in the West African nation of Ghana, Ruth Ama Gyan-Darkwa...
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How famed painter Edwin Harleston used his portraits to challenge systemic prejudice against Blacks
The journey of African-American painter Edwin Harleston began when he married photographer Elise Forrest in 1920. His wife shaped a long-held pursuit of rewriting the narrative about African Americans....
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The inspiring story of Adama Ndiaye, who left her banking career in Europe to make clothes in Africa
Since childhood, Adama Ndiaye had always dreamt of becoming a fashion diva. But her father wanted her to pursue higher education and get a stable job. In school, she read economics and banking, which landed...
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How Benjamin Bradley sold his history-changing invention to purchase his freedom
Benjamin Bradley shocked his cohorts and owner when he built a steam engine out of a gun barrel, steel and pewter, among other materials. Awed by his brilliance, his owner arranged for him to serve as...
