Heritage
Rev. James Lawson recommended for Congressional Gold Medal
The Rev. James Lawson, a United Methodist minister known for his advocacy of nonviolence in the civil rights era and beyond, has been recommended for a Congressional Gold Medal.
African-American GIs of WWII: Fighting for democracy abroad and at home
Until the 21st century, the contributions of African-American soldiers in World War II barely registered in America’s collective memory of that war.
Marie Maynard Daly: The first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry
Daly made important scientific contributions to the study of cardiovascular disease.
How World War I sparked the artistic movement that transformed black America
With Africa as a source of inspiration, a “New Negro” emerged out of the ruins of the Great War – not broken and disenchanted, but possessed with a new sense of self, one shaped from bold, unapologetically black models.
Author Ntozake Shange of ‘For Colored Girls’ fame has died
Playwright, poet and author Ntozake Shange, whose most acclaimed theater piece is the 1975 Tony Award-nominated play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf,” has died.
Forgotten black scholar studied – and faced – structural racism in the 1940s
Allison Davis and his wife Elizabeth Stubbs Davis were among the first black anthropologists in the country. Bringing their experiences on the wrong side of the color line to mainstream social science, they made landmark contributions.
Desegregating blood: A civil rights struggle to remember
Until 1950 the Red Cross segregated blood. It was thousands of African-Americans during World War II who forced the Red Cross to include them as donors and helped pave the way for activism of the 1960s.
How African American folklore saved the cultural memory and history of slaves
All over the world, community stories, customs, and beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation. This folklore is used by elders to teach family and friends about their collective cultural past. And for African Americans, folklore has played a particularly important part in documenting history too.
‘Coming of Age in Mississippi’ still speaks to nation’s racial discord, 50 years later
Does Anne Moody’s memoir represent how far we’ve come as a society. Or is it a stark reminder of how far we need to go?
America’s always had black inventors, even when excluded from patents
Though U.S. patent law was created with color-blind language to foster innovation, the patent system consistently excluded black inventors born or forced into American slavery from recognition.
Marlin Briscoe reflects on days as pioneering quarterback
Marlin Briscoe didn’t want to be pigeonholed simply because of stereotypes against black men. He was a star quarterback in college, and he believed he had the talent, intelligence and leadership skills to be one in the pros.
The Danger of ‘Casually Forgetting’ Racial Violence
Southwest Virginia has casually forgotten the racial violence at its heart, as if this ugly history never happened.
Arthur Mitchell, pioneering black ballet dancer, dies at 84
Arthur Mitchell broke barriers for African-Americans in the 1950s as a ballet dancer with the New York City Ballet and went on to become a driving force in the creation of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Unraveling the Hidden Black History of Appalachian Activism
Placing Black people in Appalachia’s history is not simply a matter of recognizing diversity. Rather, it forces a different angle, a truer way of seeing the region and its relationship to the South and the United States.
Memorial service marks anniversary of ’63 church bombing
The four girls killed when a bomb placed by Ku Klux Klan members ripped through a Birmingham church in 1963 were remembered in a Saturday memorial service on the 55th anniversary of the deadly attack.
The story of Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, America’s first black pop star
When Greenfield appeared on the scene, she shattered preexisting beliefs about artistry and race.
Vermont town honors the nation’s first ordained black minister
More than 220 years after the first ordained black minister in the U.S. became a pastor in a small, predominantly white community in Vermont and preached about brotherly love, freedom and unity, people there are honoring his life and work with an historic marker.
Ties between urban horsemen, Mennonites bolster old trade
At an inner-city stable in one of the grittiest areas of Baltimore, a vanishing breed of urban horsemen prepares for its weekly visit to Pennsylvania Dutch country, where Mennonite farmers are helping to carry on a merchant tradition handed down through generations of African-American families.