Heritage
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.
The Forgotten Voices of Race Records: Pullman Porters, the Rev TT Rose, and the ‘Man with a Clarinet’
The Pullman Porters, the Rev TT Rose, and the ‘Man with a Clarinet’ — In the 1920s, many black musicians were exploited by record companies, and faded into anonymity. Here are some of their stories.
From Ministry to Muckraking: The Biblical Basis for Investigative Reporting
More than a dozen years ago I was a finalist for a reporting job at a small newspaper. All I needed to do was survive an interview with the top editor. The other editors warned me, saying their boss took perverse pleasure from smashing the hopes of naive reporters. I...
Columbia U Protests 50 Years Ago Offer Insight for Today’s Activists
The 1968 protests at Columbia University led the institution to abandon a gym project that residents considered racist and cut off its defense work – and generated worldwide attention in the process.
Confederate monuments to get slavery, civil rights context
Three Confederate monuments on the North Carolina Capitol grounds will feature signs with historical context about slavery and civil rights, along with a monument honoring African-Americans.
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan dies at age 80
Kofi Annan, one of the world’s most celebrated diplomats and a charismatic symbol of the United Nations who rose through its ranks to become the first black African secretary-general, has died. He was 80.
#IdaPledge Makes History in Honor of Ida B. Wells
How grassroots support and social media made a monumental difference in honoring her legacy.
New coalition seeks sainthood for five African-Americans
The founders of two religious orders and an African-American priest who had to train in Rome because no U.S. seminary would accept him are among five candidates being supported for sainthood by a new coalition of black Catholic organizations.
African rhythms, ideas of sin and the Hammond organ: The evolution of gospel music
A choir sings traditional gospel music. Staff Sgt. Bernardo Fuller The enslaved Africans who first arrived in the British colony of Virginia in 1619 after being forcefully removed from their natural environments left much behind, but their rhythms associated with...
Mysterious missing parts of Malcolm X’s autobiography found
For decades, a burning question loomed over a towering 20th-century book: “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”: What happened to the reputedly missing chapters that may have contained some of the most explosive thoughts of the African-American firebrand assassinated in 1965?
Civil rights legend Meredith says he’s on a mission from God
Meredith aims to confront what he sees as society’s “breakdown of moral character” by encouraging people to live by the Ten Commandments.
Rosa Parks family house set for auction
The house where Rosa Parks sought refuge after fleeing the South amid death threats is scheduled for auction next week with a minimum bid of $1 million.
Tracing Mandela’s footsteps 100 years after his birth
Follow in Mandela’s footsteps from the villages where he was born and raised, to the Soweto township where he became an anti-apartheid leader, to Robben Island where he was imprisoned for years.
Feds Reopen Emmett Till Case
Last year, the 1955 case came to light again when Till’s accuser, Carolyn Bryant Donham, admitted that she lied in her testimony about the brutal beating and murder of the 14-year-old Chicago boy.
When gospel sermons came on the phonograph
The first truly African-American musical form, the “Spirituals,” took shape in the 17th and 18th centuries within the generations of slaves born into the tough American experience. Music was a daily part of their survival and sustenance. Spirituals were sung “a...
Hidden figures: How black women preachers spoke truth to power
Each semester I greet the students who file into my preaching class at Howard University with a standard talk. The talk is not an overview of the basics – techniques of sermon preparation or sermon delivery, as one might expect. Outlining the basics is not...
Powerful Stories Hidden in Abandoned Cemeteries
African-American cemeteries across the country have largely been neglected, their powerful histories obscured by weeds, debris and, as much as anything, the passage of time.