Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States, in 1961 and subsequent years, in order to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960),[3] which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.[4] The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them. The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1961,[5] and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17.[6]

Prince Hall (c. 1735–1738—1807)[1] was an African American noted as an abolitionist for his leadership in the free black community in Boston and as the founder of Prince Hall Freemasonry. He lobbied for education rights for black children and was active in the back-to-Africa movement. Hall tried to gain New England’s enslaved and free blacks a place in Freemasonry, education and the military, which were some of the most crucial spheres of society in his time. Hall is considered the founder of “Black Freemasonry” in the United States, known today as Prince Hall Freemasonry. Hall formed the African Grand Lodge of North America. Prince Hall was unanimously elected its Grand Master and served until his death in 1807. Steve Gladstone, author of Freedom Trail Boston states that Prince Hall—known for his role in creating Black Freemasonry, championing equal education rights, and fighting slavery—"was one of the most influential free black leaders in the late 1700s."[2] There is c

Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (May 25, 1849 – June 14, 1908, age 59) was an African American musical prodigy on the piano. He had numerous original compositions published and had a lengthy and largely successful performing career throughout the United States. During the 19th century, he was one of the best-known American performing pianists. Although he lived and died before autism was described, he is now regarded as an autistic savant. Early life Wiggins was born on the Wiley Edward Jones Plantation in Harris County, Georgia. Blind at birth, he was sold in 1850 along with his enslaved parents, Charity and Domingo "Mingo" Wiggins, to a Columbus, Georgia, lawyer, General James Neil Bethune.[1] Bethune was "almost the pioneer free trader" in the United States and "the first [newspaper] editor in the south to openly advocate secession".[2] General Bethune renamed the child Thomas Greene Bethune or Thomas Wiggins Bethune (according to different sour

Macon Bolling Allen (born Allen Macon Bolling;[1] August 4, 1816 – June 11, 1894) is believed to be both the first African American licensed to practice law and to hold a judicial position in the United States. Allen passed the bar exam in Maine in 1844 and became a Massachusetts Justice of the Peace in 1848. He moved to South Carolina after the American Civil War to practice law and was elected as a probate court judge in 1874. Following the Reconstruction Era, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as an attorney for the Land and Improvement Association.

Yasuke (variously rendered as 弥助 or 弥介, 彌助 or 彌介 in different sources.[1]) (b. c. 1555–1590) was a black Samurai of African origin who served under the Japanese hegemon and warlord Oda Nobunaga in 1581 and 1582. Early life A Nanban group traveling in Japan According to Histoire Ecclesiastique Des Isles Et Royaumes Du Japon, written by François Solier of the Society of Jesus in 1627, Yasuke was likely from Portuguese Mozambique.[2] Solier's account may, however, have been an assumption as it was written so long after the event and there is no surviving contemporary account that corroborates it. A 2013 investigation by the light entertainment television program Discovery of the World's Mysteries (世界ふしぎ発見) suggested that Yasuke was a Makua named Yasufe.[3] This name seems to be derived from the more popular Mozambican name, Issufo.[4] This was not a highly journalistic investigation and the program provided little proof for their conclusions. The Makua didn't have any sign

Black Caesar (died 1718) was an 18th-century African pirate. For nearly a decade, he raided shipping from the Florida Keys and later served as one of Captain Blackbeard's, a.k.a. Edward Teach's, crewmen aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. He was one of the surviving members of Blackbeard's crew following his death at the hands of Lieutenant Robert Maynard in 1718. Caesar's Rock, one of three islands located north of Key Largo, is named in his honor,[1] and is the present-day site of his original headquarters. Biography according to legend Black Caesar, according to traditional accounts, was a prominent African tribal war chieftain. Widely known for his "huge size, immense strength, and keen intelligence", he evaded capture from many different slave traders. Caesar was finally captured when he and twenty of his warriors were lured onto a ship by a slave trader. Showing him a watch, the trader promised to show him and his warriors more objects which were &quo

The tale of George and Willie Muse, albino brothers living in the rural South during the late 1800s, is stirring. According to accounts, the brothers were kidnapped as boys, sold off to a local carnival sideshow and paraded around the country. The Muse brothers were a rarity: Black albinos would be a lucrative attraction for a carnival with a so-called “human oddities” segment. According to a report by The Roanoke Times, the brothers were tricked by a bounty hunter working for a sideshow promoter and taken away from their mother. The man told the brothers that their mother was dead. In the circus, the dreadlocked brothers were first said to hail from “a colony of sheep-headed people.” The brothers learned to play guitar and mandolin, which became a feature of their act. Showman Al G. Barnes then promoted them as White Ecuadorian cannibals. The Muse brothers traveled with Barnes all across the country and into Canada. Amazingly, they were never paid for their work and it was rumored t

Reese's long career began as a singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You Know?". In the late 1960s, she hosted her own talk show, Della, which ran for 197 episodes.[1][2] She also starred in films beginning in 1975, including playing opposite Redd Foxx in Harlem Nights (1989), Martin Lawrence in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Elliott Gould in Expecting Mary (2010). She achieved continuing success in the television religious supernatural drama Touched by an Angel (1994–2003), in which Reese played the leading role of Tess. Early years Della Reese was born Delloreese Patricia Early on July 6, 1931, in the historic Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, to Richard Thaddeus Early, an African American steelworker, and Nellie (Mitchelle), a Native American cook of the Cherokee tribe.[3][4][5] Her mother had had several children before Reese's birth, none of whom lived with her; hence, Reese grew up as an only child. At six years old

Antoine Dominique Domino Jr .[4] was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, the eighth and final child of Antoine Caliste Domino (1879–1964) and Marie-Donatille Gros (1886–1971). The Domino family was of French Creole background. Louisiana Creole was his first language. Antoine was born at home with the assistance of his grandmother, a midwife. His name was initially given as Anthony on his birth certificate but was later corrected.[5] His family had newly arrived in the Lower Ninth Ward from Vacherie, Louisiana.[6] His father was a violin player.[7] He attended the Louis B. Macarty School for less than four grades, leaving to start work as a helper to an ice delivery man.[4] Domino learned to play the piano from his brother-in-law, the jazz guitarist Harrison Verrett,[1][8] while studying shipping management at his local community college. The artist was married to Rosemary Domino from 1947 until her death in 2008 and was the father of eight children.[9] Even after his success

Early Life Born and raised in Florida​, he grew up in the neighborhood of Miami Gardens. [3]​ He was a motherless boy who was mostly raised by his aunt and uncle - Cowanda Jones-Johnson, and Richard Johnson. [4]​When he was 5 years old, his mother passed away leaving for his aunt and uncle to rear little La David Johnson. [5]​ Some of the things that he enjoyed as a little kid were doing tricks w ith his bicycle and befriending people in the neighborhood. He was remembered as being called "wheelie King" for the way that he would ride his bike and do tricks with only one wheel. [6]​ He is a graduate of Carol City High School​. [7]​ Education   LaDavid studied to obtain his Automotive Service Technician certificate from ATI Career Training Center. [8]​ work During his teenage years, it is said that he managed a hot dog cart he worked very hard to maintain. [9]​ He was also a Walmart​ employee for the produce LaDavid Johnson rides his bike. department. [10]​ Marriage On Augus

Stevie Williams (born December 17, 1979) is an African American professional skateboarder and was included in the twenty-seventh position of the "30 Most Influential Skaters of All Time" list that was compiled byTransworld Skateboarding in late-2011.[2] Early lifeEdit Williams grew up in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, United States (US), and started skateboarding at the age of eleven.[3] It was during the period when Williams began skateboarding that the term "dirty ghetto kids" first emerged, as the title was applied to Williams and his friends.[4] At the age of fourteen, Williams left Philadelphia to hitchhike toCalifornia, US.[5] Professional skateboardingEdit At the age of 12 years, Williams and his group of friends met Jeff Pang, a skater who was with the Element brand at the time. Williams asked Pang how he could become an Element team member and subsequently filmed a video part for the 1994 Element video Fine Artists Vol. 1, in which he was named "Lil

Comer Joseph Cottrell Jr.(December 7, 1931 - October 3, 2014) was an American entrepreneur most notable for founding Pro-Line Corp., a business that created the Curly Kit, which brought the Jheri curlhairstyle to the masses and made it easy to achieve at home. Personal lifeEdit He was born in Mobile, Alabama and died in Plano, Texas at age 82. He briefly attended the University of Detroitand served in the Air Force during theKorean War. VenturesEdit He founded Pro-Line Corp. in 1970.[1] It was originally based in Los Angeles. In 1979, he created the Curly Kit and in 1980, he moved the company toDallas.[2] Forbes Magazine called the Curly Kit "the biggest single product ever to hit the black cosmetics market." In 2000, he sold the company to Alberto-Culver for $75 million to $80 million.[3]With his brother, James, he turned Pro-Line into one of the most successful black-owned companies in the United States. In 1990, he purchased the campus ofBishop College and moved Paul

Frederick Douglas Patterson (born 1871-1932) was an American entrepreneur, the first African American to manufacture cars, and known for the Greenfield-Patterson automobile of 1915, built in Ohio. He later converted his business to the Greenfield Bus Body Company. While in college at Ohio State University, he was the first African American to play on its football team. He returned to Greenfield to join his father in his carriage business, which became C.R. Patterson and Sons. The younger man saw opportunity in the new horseless carriages, and converted the company in the early 1900s to manufacture automobiles, making 150 of them. Later he shifted to making buses and trucks, and renamed his company as Greenfield Bus Body Company. After Patterson's death in 1932, his son kept the business going through much of theGreat Depression, finally closing it in 1939. Early life and educationEdit Named after the noted abolitionist, Frederick Douglas Patterson was born in 1871 as the younges

Kevin Ferguson (February 8, 1974 – June 6, 2016), better known as Kimbo Slice, was a Bahamian-born Americanmixed martial artist, boxer and occasional actor. He became famous for mutual combat street fights which were spread across the Internet, leadingRolling Stone to call him "The King of the Web Brawlers".[2] Slice left the underground fighting scene and signed a professional contract with EliteXC in 2007. Slice competed in The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights,[3] where he lost in his first fight to series winner Roy Nelson. In his UFC debut, Slice defeated Houston Alexander in the The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights finale. From January 2015 until his death in June 2016, Slice was under contract to Bellator MMA.[4] Early life Ferguson was born in Nassau, Bahamas, but moved to the United States as a child, growing up in Cutler Ridge, Florida.[5] Ferguson was raised with his two brothers by mother[6]Rosemary Clarke.[7] He went to Bel-Air Elementary School,[5] where Ferguson

Fletcher is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. However, he has lived in Southern California for over 50 years. Fletcher grew up in a religious home, where his father, a Pentecostal preacher, routinely punished him. One lesson he did get from his strict upbringing, however, was a mental focus and toughness that enabled him to build an illustrious career in body building. However, despite his religious upbringing, Fletcher became involved in the streets of Compton, earning him a substantial amount of time in a correctional facility. This rough past has truly molded him to unleash in the gym. Fletcher’s physique, and attitude, changed significantly after undergoing an open heart surgery in 2005. He was weighing 260 pounds before the procedure, so he shed off 45 pounds to try and avoid the surgery. However, it did not work. He came out of the surgery weighing 190 pounds and recovered fully after about two years. While most people attribute steroids to his medical problems, CT believed

Barack Hussein Obama II(US i/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/;[2][3]born August 4, 1961) is an American politician serving as the 44th Presidentof the United States. He is the firstAfrican American to hold the office, as well as the first president born outside of the continental United States. Born inHonolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review. He was acommunity organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as acivil rights attorney and taughtconstitutional law at University of Chicago Law School between 1992 and 2004. He served three termsrepresenting the 13th District in theIllinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, andran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the United States House of Representatives in 2000 against incumbent Bobby Rush. In 2004, Obama received national attention during his campaign to represent Illinois in the United States Senate with his victory in the Marc