History Club Harlem was founded in 1935 by Leroy "Pop" Williams on the site of a dance hall called Fitzgerald's Auditorium.[a] Williams was a medical student at University of Pennsylvania when he managed to acquire enough money to buy Fitzgerald's; he left college after becoming the owner of the nightclub.[2] Williams gave the new nightclub the name of the Manhattan neighborhood because "a lot of black people live there".[3][4] The district, known as "Kentucky Avenue and the Curb", had become the home for African Americans in the racially segregated city since the end of World War I.[5] The new nightspot joined other popular black entertainment venues in the district such as Grace's Little Belmont, the Wintergarten, and the Paradise Club.[5] Along with Harlem's Cotton Club, it was a place for the moneyed set to enjoy an evening of African-American entertainment.[6] When the club opened in 1935, there were slot machines along...

Katherine Johnson  -- the mathematician portrayed by  Taraji P. Henson  in the Oscar-nominated film "Hidden Figures" -- has died. NASA announced the pioneering figure died Monday. It was her groundbreaking math work that helped calculate the trajectories for  Alan Shepard 's history-making journey in space. She was also the one who gave the go-ahead for  John Glenn 's mission into orbit

Priscilla Taylor, an African American woman truck driver serving in the Women's Army Corps. 

Flemming invented a guitar he called the "Euphonica" that he believed would produce a louder and more resonant sound than a traditional guitar. The U.S. Patent Office granted Flemming a patent (no. 338,727) on March 30, 1886. He also received a Canadian patent (no. 26,398) on April 5, 1887. Flemming then went into business for himself, building and demonstrating his musical instruments from a storefront on Washington Street in Boston. After 1900, Robert Flemming retired to his home in Melrose, Massachusetts, where he continued to give lessons and perform at various functions. In 1907, he composed a "National Funeral Hymn" dedicated to the Grand Army of the Republic A member of the Grand Army of the Republic Post no. 30 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robert Flemming died in February 1919.

The Sylvers , (known as  The Little Angels  in their early years), were an American R&B/Soul family vocal group from  Watts, Los Angeles ,  California . The Sylvers were one of the most popular acts during the 1970s, recording the hit singles "Fool's Paradise", " Boogie Fever " and " Hot Line ". Prior to becoming the Sylvers, the four eldest members (Olympia, Leon, Charmaine, and James) recorded as the Little Angels, appearing on shows such as  Make Room for Daddy  and  You Bet Your Life , and opening for such acts as  Johnny Mathis  and  Ray Charles . During this time, two singles were released: "Santa Claus Parade" b/w "I'll Be a Little Angel" on  Warwick Records (United States)  and "Says You" b/w "Olympia" on  Capitol Records .

Esther Denise Scott  (April 13, 1953 – February 14, 2020) was an American actress. Scott began her career as voice actress on  Star Wars: Ewoks , before appearing on television shows including  Beverly Hills, 90210 ,  Full House ,  Party of Five ,  Ellen ,  The Steve Harvey Show , and  Sister, Sister

Sarah Rector, also known as Sarah Rector Campbell and Sarah Campbell Crawford, (March 3, 1902 – July 22, 1967) was an American oil magnate since childhood. Under the Treaty of 1866, due to birthright as a Black grandchild of Creek Indians born before the American Civil War, she inherited land. It was surprisingly discovered oil-rich and produced over US$300 (equivalent to $9,800 in 2023) per day, so she was known as the "Richest Colored Girl in the World".

. Jeannette Dubois [1]  (August 5th, 1945 [2] [3]   ;  – February 18, 2020 [4] ) , known professionally as  Ja'Net DuBois ,  Ja'net DuBois , [3]  and  Ja'Net Du Bois , was an American actress, singer–songwriter and dancer. DuBois was best known for her portrayal of  Willona Woods , the neighborhood gossip maven and a friend of the Evans family on the sitcom  Good Times , which originally aired from 1974 to 1979. DuBois additionally co–wrote and sang the theme song "Movin' on Up" for  The Jeffersons , which originally aired from 1975 until 1985. [8]

Frederick McKinley Jones  (May 17, 1893 – February 21, 1961) was an African-American inventor, entrepreneur, winner of the  National Medal of Technology , and an  inductee  of the  National Inventors Hall of Fame . [1]  His innovations in  refrigeration  brought great improvement to the long-haul transportation of perishable goods. [2]  He cofounded  Thermo King . [1]

Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr.  (March 4, 1877 – July 27, 1963) was an  African American inventor  and businessman as well as an influential political leader. His most notable inventions were the three position  traffic signal  and  smoke hood . Morgan also discovered and developed a chemical hair-processing and straightening solution. He created a successful company based on his hair product inventions along with a complete line of hair-care products.

Matthew A. Cherry, the  inventor  of the tricycle, was born on February 5, 1834 in  Washington, D.C . While not much is known about his early life, it is evident that he had a passion for revolutionizing transportation. He is known for his improvement on the velocipede, followed by his invention of both the tricycle and the streetcar fender. Cherry prefaced his inventions with a great improvement on the velocipede. A precursor to the modern-day bicycle, this vehicle consisted of a metal seat frame with wheels attached. The riders were able to transport themselves quickly by moving their feet along the ground to propel the frame. Before pedals, this was quite a fast way to travel around town. Cherry’s model of the velocipede was an improvement on past versions, and eventually his model evolved into the tricycle, which is still used today. In May 1888, Cherry received his patent for the tricycle. Even today, tricycles are the choice of transportation for many as...

BG  Charles E. McGee  (born December 7, 1919) is a retired American  fighter pilot  and one of the last living members of the  Tuskegee Airmen . He was a career officer in the  United States Air Force  for more than 30 years and flew a three-war total of 409 combat missions in  World War II , the  Korean War , and the  Vietnam War , one of the highest combat totals and longest active-duty careers by any Air Force fighter pilot in history

Former student-athlete and longtime Commodore to lead Vanderbilt Athletics as first female athletic director Candice Storey Lee, a dedicated member of the Commodore family, will be the university’s first female athletic director and the first African American woman to head a Southeastern Conference athletics program

Rocky Johnson [4]  (born  Wayde Douglas Bowles ; [5]  August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) [1]  was a Canadian  professional wrestler . During his wrestling career, he became a  National Wrestling Alliance  (NWA) Georgia Champion and a NWA Southern Heavyweight Memphis Champion, as well as winning many other championships. Along with his partner  Tony Atlas , Johnson was part of the first  black  tag team to win the  World Tag Team championship  in the  World Wrestling Federation  (WWF). [6]

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...

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Emily Perez Born in Heidelberg, West Germany, of African American and Hispanic parents in a U.S. military family, she graduated from Oxon Hill High School in Maryland, where she ranked among the top-10 students in her class. In July 2001, after graduation from high school, Perez entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. There she was an exemplary student and talented track athlete, becoming the highest-ranking African-American female cadet in the history of West Point. Following graduation from West Point in 2005, she was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. Perez was killed in action on September 12, 2006, while leading a convoy through Al Kifl, Iraq, a mission for which she had volunteered. She was the first female African-American officer in US military history to die in combat. Death Grave of Emily Perez, West Point Cemetery (2013) Perez was deployed to Iraq in December as ...

Dangerfield newby Born into slavery in Fauquier County, Virginia, Newby married a woman also enslaved. Newby's father was Henry Newby, a landowner in Fauquier County. His mother was Elsey Newby, who was a slave, owned not by Henry, but by a neighbor, John Fox. Elsey and Henry lived together for many years and had several children, although interracial marriage was illegal in Virginia. Dangerfield was their first child. Dangerfield Newby, his mother and his siblings were later freed by his father when he moved them across the Ohio River into Bridgeport, Ohio. John Fox, who died in 1859, apparently did not attempt to retrieve Elsey, Dangerfield, or any of his siblings.[2] Dangerfield's wife and their seven children remained in bondage.[3] A letter found on his body revealed some of his motivation for joining John Brown and the raid on Harpers Ferry. Dangerfield Newby's wife, Harriet Newby, was the slave of Jesse Jennings, of Arlington or Warrenton, Virginia. She and her chi...

The Girl Scouts of America began as an all-white organization in Savannah, Ga., in 1912.  Five years later, in 1917, the troop introduced its first African American girl scouts, possibly in the New York area. This positive change led to the integration of more scout troops in 1950, 14 years before the Civil Rights Movement. It forged the creation of a Native American troop in 1921, followed by a Mexican American girl troop. In the late 1930’s, the first southern region African American Dixie troop was formed. In the archives of the Girls Scouts of America, there is a photo of both black and white girl scouts at Camp Indian Run in Philadelphia, 1941. With an eye for diversity, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described the Girl Scouts as “a force for desegregation” in 1956. In1969, Dr. Dorothy B. Ferebee served as the first black vice president of Girl Scouts USA. Then Dr. Gloria Scott was chosen as their first black president in 1975. Dr. Scott was a Texas native and ...

A Georgia mother has been arrested and charged with murder after she allegedly left her 1-year-old in a hot car while she got her hair done at a salon. The mom also  faces additional charges  of child cruelty and concealing the death of Skylar Fowler. The toddler died on June 15. She was found dead in an Emory University Hospital parking garage in Atlanta. According to an arrest warrant, the mother left the air conditioner running whil she was in the salon, but she returned and the car had died. When emergency crews arrived, the child had died.

The Golden Thirteen  were the thirteen African American  enlisted  men who became the first  African American  commissioned and warrant officers in the  United States Navy .

Anthony Bowen Rev. Anthony Bowen  (1809-1872), was a civic leader among the African-American community in Washington, D.C., and the first African-American employee of the United States Patent Office. Both the Anthony Bowen YMCA and Anthony Bowen Elementary School in Washington, D.C., are named in his honor. BornOctober 8, 1809 Prince George's County, Maryland Died1871 (aged 61–62) Washington, DCOccupationUnited States government employee Born a slave on October 8, 1809, in Prince George's County, MD, on the estate of William Bradley, he was one of four children of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Bowen. In 1826, he bought his freedom and started the first black YMCA. He moved to the Southwest Section of Washington. [1] Despite having no formal education, Bowen was able to become a clerk in the United States Patent Office. He started as a laborer, moving up to messenger before being named to a clerkship. [1] In addition to his work, Bowen was a leader of the community. His ho...

Thomas Mundy Peterson Thomas Mundy Peterson  (October 6, 1824 – February 4, 1904) of  Perth Amboy, New Jersey was the first  African-American  to  vote  in an  election  under the just-enacted provisions of the  15th Amendment  to the  United States Constitution . His vote was cast on March 31, 1870. [1] [2] Thomas Mundy Peterson  BornOctober 6, 1824 Metuchen, New Jersey DiedFebruary 4, 1904 (age 79) Perth Amboy, New Jersey Known forThe first African American to vote in the United States after the passage of the 15th Amendment BiographyEdi He was born in  Metuchen, New Jersey . His father, also named Thomas, worked for the Mundy family. He was a slave and his mother, Lucy Green, was a slave of Hugh Newell (1744–1816) of Freehold Township, New Jersey. Thomas was  manumitted  at age 21 by Newell's will. He was a  school  principal between 1870 and 1878 and a general handyman i...

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. 1735/8 – December 7, 1807 was an American abolitionist and leader in the free black community in Boston. He founded Prince Hall Freemasonry and lobbied for education rights for African American children. He was also active in the back-to-Africa movement

Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (May 25, 1849 – June 14, 1908) was an American pianist and composer. He had numerous original compositions published and had a lengthy and largely successful performing career throughout the United States. During the 19th century, Wiggins was one of the best-known American performing pianists and one of the best-known Black musicians.

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 in...