June is the recognition of LGBTQ History Month. It is a subject is schools not as well covered as Black History Month, it is still a history that is very rich and diverse. Today, people like Laverne Cox, Andrea Jenkins, Phill Wilson and Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot are bringing increased visibility as openly LGBTQ,… [Read More]
Our History
Our History Archives
‘I Have A Dream’ – address at The March on Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963
January 20, 2022
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope… [Read More]
The commanders: Admirals and generals in the United States military
October 21, 2021
On October 25, 1940, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., was appointed Brigadier General in the United States Army by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, becoming the first African American general in the history of the United States Military. Since then nearly 400 other African American women and men have been appointed to that rank. The highest rank… [Read More]
Milwaukee lynching victim George Marshall Clark receives headstone after 160 years
September 16, 2021
Nearly two centuries after he was brutally lynched, the City of Milwaukee is remembering the life of George Marshall Clark with a monument to ensure his story is not forgotten. “I think this is needed. And it’s about time,” said artist Tyrone Randale, Jr. Clark was only 22 years old when his life was cut… [Read More]
Remembering the 58th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
September 9, 2021
Say their names: Addie Mae Collins, 14 Denise McNair, 11 Carole Robertson, 14 Cynthia Wesley, 14 On September 15, 1963, a bomb exploded during Sunday morning services in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL, killing four young girls. With its large African American congregation, the 16th Street Baptist Church served as a meeting… [Read More]
Black Music Month: The Great Men of Jazz
June 24, 2021
In our June 10 issue we celebrated Black Music Month by spotlighting the ‘Great Ladies of Jazz.’ This week it’s the men’s turn as we look at 15 Jazz legends that forever changed the face of music. Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong, nicknamed “Satchmo”, “Satch”, and “Pops”, was an American trumpeter and vocalist who is… [Read More]
Seventeen LGBTQ+ Black pioneers who made history
June 24, 2021
From 1960s civil rights activist Bayard Rustin to Chicago’s first black female and lesbian mayor, Lori Lightfoot, black LGBTQ Americans have long made history with innumerable contributions to politics, art, medicine and a host of other fields. “As long as there have been black people, there have been black LGBTQ and same-gender-loving people,” David J…. [Read More]
This Week in Black History
June 17, 2021
June 17. 1775 – Minuteman Peter Salem Fights In The Battle Of Bunker Hill. June 18, 1863 – The 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry attacks Fort Wagner, S.C. June 19, 1865 – Blacks in Texas are notified of Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863. “Juneteenth,” marks the event. June 20, 1953 – Albert W. Dent of… [Read More]
The History of Our First African American Mayors
April 15, 2021
By Tann vom Hove, Senior Fellow, City Mayors Research* Black Americans have become instrumental in US local government December 2020: It is thought that America’s first elected black mayors were Pierre Caliste Landry from Donaldsonville in southern Louisiana and Stephen Swails from Kingstree, South Carolina. Both men were elected in 1868, the year the 14th… [Read More]
This Week in Black History
April 8, 2021
April 8, 1974 – Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron hits 715 home run, surpassing Babe Ruth as the game’s all-time home-run leader. April 9, 1898 – Paul Robeson, actor, singer, activist, born. April 10, 1947 – Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson becomes first African American to play major league baseball. April 11, 1966 – Emmett Ashford… [Read More]
