Eric

Stephen Smith was one of the wealthiest Afrian-Americans in the United States. He was born in Columbia, Pennsylvania, and went on to build an empire that included the Smith, Wipper and Company Lumber and Coal yard. He was a leading agent on the Underground Railroad when he was living in Columbia. In 1867, he donated [...]

In 1890, the woman suffrage movement began, black and white women fought together for the same goal — enfranchisement of women. But as the movement gained popularity, African American women found themselves being marginalized. African American women soon found themselves fighting against sexism and racism at the same time. This was a fight that continued [...]

Maulana Ron Karenga is an Afro-American author, political activist, convicted felon, and college professor best known as the creator of Kwanzaa. Karenga was active in the Black Power movement in the 1960s and 1970s and founded the black nationalist group Us Organization which remains active to this day promoting the philosophy of Kawaida. Kawaida is [...]

  Unfortunely this is part of our history; I feel like people need to know there are still minstrels in entertainment today but without the paint. So, before Lil Wayne and BET, in the 1840s and 50s, William Henry Lane and Thomas Dilward became the first African Americans to perform on the minstrel stage. All-black [...]

Alexander Miles was an African-American inventor who was best known for being awarded a patent for an automatically opening and closing elevator door design in 1887. In 1884, Miles built a three-story brownstone building at 19 West Superior Street in Duluth. This area became known as the Miles Block. It was at this time that [...]

John Casor was a black man who lived in Northampton County in the Virginia Colony in the mid 17th Century. He was an indentured servant to a man named Anthony Johnson. Their story is intertwined, and the importance of Casor’s story is inextricable from Johnson’s. After fifteen years of service, John Casor tried to transfer [...]

Phillis Wheatley was enslaved at the age of eight, is widely known as the first African-American woman in United States history to have her poetry published. Constant themes in Wheatley’s poems are death, religion, and the struggle of Blacks in the U.S. Wheatley also composed many poems that are a type of tribute to admirable [...]

Jupiter Hammon was a Black poet who became the first African-American published writer in America when a poem appeared in print in 1760. Hammon was a devout Christian, and is considered one of the founders of African American literature. On September 24, 1786, He expressed his views on slavery when he delivered his “Address to [...]

Fela Kuti was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, and human rights activist. The musical style performed by Fela which is a complex fusion of Jazz, Funk (especially the music of James Brown), Ghanaian/Nigerian High-life, psychedelic rock, and traditional West African chants and rhythms. Afrobeat also borrows heavily from the native [...]

Nat King Cole was musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first African Americans to host a television [...]

Jack Johnson nicknamed was the “Galveston Giant”, was an American boxer, the second African American Boxing Champion, and the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion. He held the title from 1908 to 1915. His boxing record is: 73 Wins (40 knockouts, 30 decisions, 3 disqualifications), 13 Losses (7 knockouts, 5 decisions, 1 disqualification), 10 [...]

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