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]
Our History
Our History Archives
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]
The Milwaukee Times Celebrates Women in the Military
March 18, 2021
Major Michele Carter served her country through the Army Reserve AND THEN in the Army National Guard. Now firmly entrenched in her civilian career as the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Chief at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), US Army veteran Michele Carter served 23 years of enlisted and commissioned military service in the… [Read More]
The History of the Black Newspaper
February 25, 2021
The history of the Black newspaper in the United States is as rich and long as our own. They have served to tell the story of our Black history in our own words, by our own people. They have been our voice in times when it seemed we had none, and have presented a positive… [Read More]
Great Names in Milwaukee’s Black Press
February 25, 2021
FOUNDERS & PUBLISHERS The Late Nathan Conyers, Founder, The Christian Times and The Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper Dr. Mary Ellen Shadd-Strong, Publisher, Milwaukee Community Journal Patricia Pattillo, Founder, CEO and Publisher, Milwaukee Community Journal Robert J. Thomas, Co-founder, Milwaukee Community Journal Jerrell Jones, Publisher, Milwaukee Courier Linda Jackson-Cocroft, Publisher, Black Women 50+ Lynda Jackson Conyers,… [Read More]
Henrietta Lacks: A Black history legacy of giving as told by Jeri Lacks
February 25, 2021
By: Jeri Lacks-Whye, granddaughter of Henrietta Lacks You’ve seen this iconic photo of beautiful Henrietta with her hands on her hips, a broad smile and eyes that seem to say “LOVE.” Henrietta Lacks is a name now known and revered, for hers is a life that keeps on giving. In this month of Black History… [Read More]
