Nancy Green  (March 4, 1834 – August 30, 1923 [1] [2] ) was a storyteller, cook, activist, and the first of several  African-American  models hired to promote a corporate trademark as " Aunt Jemima ". [3] Biography Green was born into  slavery  on March 4, 1834, near  Mount Sterling  in  Montgomery County, Kentucky . [4]  She was hired in 1890 [5]  by the R.T. Davis Milling Company in  St. Joseph, Missouri , to represent "Aunt Jemima", an advertising character named after a song from a  minstrel show . [3]  Davis Milling had recently acquired the formula to a ready-mixed, self-rising pancake flour from  St. Joseph Gazette  editor  Chris L. Rutt  and Charles Underwood and were looking to employ an African-American woman as a  Mammy archetype  to promote their new product. [6]  In 1893 Green was introduced as Aunt Jemima at the  World's Columbian Exposition  held in...

three sculptures representing two rappers and a DJ who made a major impact on the hip-hop scene called "A Cypher in Queens."  The works feature busts atop renditions of stacked speaker boxes. Three dearly departed masters of hip-hop are living on at the Queens Public Library. artist Sherwin Banfield‘s trio of sculptures called "A Cypher in Queens" will take up residence at the Central Library in Jamaica. The 9-foot-tall sculptures offer markers for fans and the Queens community to recognize, honor and celebrate three late examples of borough’s talent. DJ Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C. was killed in 2002, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Call Quest died in 2016 from complications from diabetes, and Prodigy of Mobb Deep died after battling sickle cell anemia in 2017 .

John Witherspoon January 27, 1942 – October 29, 2019) was an American actor and comedian who performed in various television shows and films. He played Willie Jones in the Friday series,[1] and starred in films such as Hollywood Shuffle 1987, Boomerang 1992, The Five Heartbeats 1991, and Vampire in Brooklyn 1995. In addition, Witherspoon made appearances on television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994), The Wayans Bros. 1995–1999), The Tracy Morgan Show 2003, Barnaby Jones 1973, The Boondocks 2005–2014, and Black Jesus 2014–2019.He wrote a film, From the Old School, in which he played an elderly working man who tries to prevent a neighborhood convenience store from being developed into a strip club.

Frank Isaac Robinson (born December 28, 1938), known in his early musical career as Sugar Chile Robinson, is an American jazz pianist and singer. A Detroit native, Robinson became famous as a child prodigy in the mid-1940s.

Thornton was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", in 1952,[3] which was written for her. It became Thornton's biggest hit, selling over 500,000 copies and staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1953.[4] According to New York University music professor Maureen Mahon, "the song is seen as an important beginning of rock-and-roll, especially in its use of the guitar as the key instrument".[5] Thornton's other recordings include her song "Ball and Chain", made famous in the late 1960s by Janis Joplin. Though later recordings of her songs by other artists sold millions of copies, she was denied royalties by not holding the publishing copyrights to her creativity. Thornton died of a heart attack and liver disorders, penniless in a boarding-house in Los Angeles, California, and was buried in a shared pauper's grave. In 2024, Thornton was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in th...

Legendary and award-winning actress  Diahann Carroll  —widely known for her trailblazing TV show  Julia , as well as her roles on  Dynasty  and  Grey’s Anatomy  —   died of cancer Friday in Los Angeles, her daughter, Susan Kay, confirms to PEOPLE. She was 84. Born Carol Diahann Johnson to subway motorman John and nurse Mabel Johnson in the Bronx, New York, Carroll grew up in Harlem, where her family moved when she was an infant. Carroll started her career at 15, modeling for  Essence  magazine but her heart was in performing: “I always knew I had to do something that was in front of an audience,” Carroll told PEOPLE in 2008. After graduating from New York’s High School of Music and Art, she briefly attended New York University to study child psychology. Those plans changed in 1954 when she won $3,000 on a TV talent show called  Chance of a Lifetime . Singing engagements at prominent New Yor...

John Rogan was born in  Hendersonville ,  Tennessee , on February 16, 1868. He was the son of the former  slave  William Rogan, as the fourth of twelve children. John began to grow very rapidly at the age of 13, [1]  leading to  ankylosis  (abnormal rigidity of the skeletal joints). By 1882, he could not stand or walk. Although he could not perform physical labor due to his condition, Rogan made a living by selling portraits and postcards at a train station. An 1897 article in the  Kansas City Journal  mentions that a number of his drawings were published. Despite his success in this regard, he declined all offers to join carnivals and  sideshows . By 1899, he had grown to a height of 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) and often appeared in newspapers, referred to as the "negro giant". He used a cart like a  wheelchair ; it was pulled by  goats . He was always the center of attention, often noted for his deep voice and pl...

C.T. Fletcher  (born June 8, 1959) is an American powerlifting  vlogger , media personality, actor, personal trainer, and former powerlifter and bodybuilder. He is a three-time World Bench Press Champion and three-time World Strict Curl Champion. [1] [2] [3] [4] [ Biography Fletcher was born in  Pine Bluff, Arkansas  on June 8, 1959, the son of Walter and Ogie Rea Fletcher. He has an older brother, Walt. During the time of his birth, his father was a field worker and his mother was a housewife. Approximately one year after his birth, he and his family moved to  Watts, California  and later to  Compton, California , where he resided during his youth. He grew up with an abusive father who at the time was preaching in a four-car garage. When he began junior high, they had moved to  Lakewood, California , where his father invested in his own church. At age 12, Fletcher acquired a job at a gas station. [6]  In 1977, aged 18, he joined the...