Category: History

Edgar Amos Love was an American bishop with the Methodist Episcopal Church and cofounder of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Love was born on September 10, 1891, to Julies C. Love,…

Sharon Y. Bowen, the first Black woman to head the New York Stock Exchange, was born on July 23, 1956, in Chesapeake, Virginia, to Leverta Wilson and Allen Dosher Bowen,…

Louis Allen, an American farmer and logger, was murdered on January 31, 1964, because of his efforts to vote in Amite County, Mississippi. Allen was born on April 25, 1919,…

Charles Smith, a visual artist, historian, activist, and minister, was born on November 11, 1940, to Bertha Mary Smith and an unnamed father in New Orleans, Louisiana. His early life…

Joseph “Joe” Pierre Torry is an actor and comedian. He was born on September 28, 1965, to Robert Torry and Rebecca Torry in Saint Louis, Missouri. Torry attended Lincoln University…

Benjamin Franklin Kelly made history on September 19, 1953, when he became the first African American to play at an all-white college in Texas, San Angelo College (later Angelo State…

Mary Smith Kelsey Peake, a pioneering educator, is one of few African American women to have a school, The Mary Peake Center of Hampton Public Schools, and a street, the…

The Oriental Opera Company (OOC), established in 1892, was one of the nation’s first all-African American opera and classical music dramatic ensembles. It was founded by Michael Graffe, a white…

John Thomas Salley is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball star, television and motion picture actor, and a major figure in the emerging U.S. cannabis industry. Salley was born…

On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified by the Congress of the United States, abolishing slavery. This pivotal moment also saw the birth of Walden University, named in…