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2000/2001/2002/2003/2004/Most Recent Articles
12/29/03 - Harlem Renaissance
The movement of Southern blacks to Northern cities, the emergence of radical thought, and the publication of black magazines, set the stage for the creation of the great literature and art that was produced during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
12/22/03 - Phillis Wheatley
Kidnapped from Africa and sold to a Boston family to work as a servant, Phillis Wheatley’s intellect left a profound impression on her owners. Instead of training her to be a servant, they educated her. By the time that she was twenty, she published a book of poems that received international notoriety.
12/15/03 - Marjorie Stewart Joyner
Concerned about women’s beauty, Marjorie Stewart Joyner became the first African American woman to receive a patent when she invented a permanent wave machine that allowed hair to stay set for several days.
12/08/03 - W.E.B. Du Bois
Considered one of the most influential black intellectuals of the 20th century, W.E.B. Du Bois encouraged intellectual development, economic independence, and helped found the NAACP. In his early career he experienced great success, but as his views moved toward Black Nationalism and socialism, support for his ideas waned. By the end of his life he had renounced his United States citizenship and moved to Ghana.
11/24/03 - Martin Luther King, Jr
Intelligent, dedicated, charismatic, and religious, Martin Luther King, Jr. had what it took to inspire the conscience of the American public. He appealed to the moral sense of Americans, and after years of leading blacks in nonviolent protest and direct action, his leadership helped to desegregate the South.
11/10/03 - Asa Philip Randolph
Black labor movement leader, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and later a key figure in the civil rights movement, Asa Philip Randolph believed that the key to black progress rested in the black working class. Thus, throughout most of his life he worked to help the black working class and sought to end discrimination.
10/27/03 - Arthur Ashe
Not just a Tennis Hall of Fame recipient, Arthur Ashe was also an advocate of justice, an author, and was instrumental in helping to form the Association of Tennis Professionals.
10/20/03 - George Washington Carver
Agricultural chemist, George Washington Carver is most known for his numerous inventions for the use of peanuts, but he was also responsible for many other discoveries. Despite his hundreds of inventions, he only patented three. Thus, making his inventions freely available to everyone.
10/13/03 - Marcus Garvey
Jamaican born nationalist leader, Marcus Garvey, quickly rose in popularity during the World War I era. But without the support of his ideology by black leaders, the failure of his economic enterprises, and criminal allegations of fraud, his popularity was brief.
10/06/03 - Freedmen's Bureau
Inadequate funds and less than zealous advocacy plagued the progress of the Freedmen’s Bureau. While advancement was made with the establishment of schools, one of the bureau’s biggest failures was its inability to distribute abandoned land to freedmen.
09/29/03 - Reconstruction
After slaves were freed, Reconstruction brought great hope for change in the South. For over ten years gains were made. Schools were created, teachers were trained, and black politicians were elected into office. However, as quickly as these gains had come, they vanished.
09/22/03 - Jessie Redmon Fauset
Harlem Renaissance writer Jessie Redmon Fauset’s career was short, but it was one that produced several notable novels.
09/15/03 - Malcolm X
Malcolm X was initially known for his controversial stance on racial separatism, but it was his later advocacy of integration and world brotherhood that has spurred his legacy.
09/01/03 - Lena Horne
Elegant, sophisticated, glamorous, and a uniquely talented singer, Lena Horne became one of the most popular entertainers of her time. She was known not only for her singing style, but also for her refusal to accept roles that promoted racial stereotypes.
08/18/03 - Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood
Marshall is most known for serving as the first black United States Supreme
Court Justice, but prior to his career on the bench, he successful argued civil
rights cases on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP).
08/04/03 - Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
When four black college students sat in protest of Woolworth’s segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the time, it was unforeseen what impact their actions would have on the rest of the South. As the sit-in garnered national attention, the sit-in movement spread to other Southern cities, and led to the desegregation of numerous lunch counters.
07/21/03 - Bill Cosby
Emmy Award winner, Bill Cosby, has become one of America’s most successful performer’s who has amused audiences with his unique comic style and family friendly entertainment.
07/07/03 - Ralph Abernathy
Ralph Abernathy, one of the founders of the SCLC, was an active crusader for civil rights and a Baptist minister.
06/23/03 - Pinkster Festivals in 19th Century Albany, New York
While Pinkster was originally a Dutch holiday, by the nineteenth century, it became primarily a black celebration that was a combination of Dutch roots and African culture.
06/09/03 - Jackie Robinson
By playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson not only broke the color barrier of major league baseball, but he also used his position to speak out against the injustice of segregation.
05/26/03 - Countee Cullen
Countee
Cullen, one of the most notable poets of the Harlem Renaissance, enjoyed
considerable acclaim for his early poetry.
But after attention to his work waned, he settled into life as a junior
high teacher.
05/12/03
- The Orangeburg Massacre
What had started out as a protest for the desegregation of
Orangeburg’s only bowling alley, turned into what became known as the
“Orangeburg Massacre.” When it was all over, three protestors were dead and
27 had been injured.
04/28/03 - Mae Jemison
Dr. Mae Jemison made several accomplishments as an astronaut, among her claims to fame was becoming the first black female astronaut and the first black woman in space.
04/14/03 - Crispus Attucks
In what later would be called the Boston Massacre, Crispus Attucks became known for being the first to be killed in the American Revolution.
03/31/03 - James Meredith's Admission to Ole Mississippi
While James Meredith was not the first African American to apply and be denied admission to the University of Mississippi, his fate would be much different than the four before him. With the assistance of the NAACP, Meredith would eventually be admitted to the University of Mississippi and become its first black student.
03/17/03 - Bessie Blount
Read about physical therapist and inventor Bessie Blount who invented eating devices to help World War II amputees achieve independence.
03/03/03 - Nella Larsen: Harlem Renaissance Writer
Known for writing only two notable novels during the Harlem Renaissance, Nella Larsen became the first African American woman to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship.
02/17/03 - The Murder of Emmett Till
Fourteen-year-old Chicago resident, Emmett Till had little knowledge of the ways of the South. So when he spoke to a white female grocery clerk in Mississippi, he was unable to see that this act had put his life in serious jeopardy. A few days later, he was murdered.
02/02/03 - Michael Anderson
For Michael Anderson, being an astronaut was a life long dream. While he accomplished this, his life was cut short when he died on board the shuttle Columbia.
01/20/03 - Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers’ work for the Mississippi NAACP did not go unnoticed. He became a well-known civil rights advocate throughout Mississippi, and it was not until he was murdered that his name became familiar to the rest of America.
01/06/03 - Maria W. Stewart
At a time when American society relegated women to the domestic sphere, Maria W. Stewart immersed herself into the position of a public political activist. While her career in the public sphere was short, the effect of her presence could be seen as other women activists soon followed in the footsteps of the woman who became America's first black woman political writer.
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