Sultry soulful vocalist, lyricist, composer, actor, and activist Oleta Adams was born on May 4, 1953 in Seattle, Washington, and began piano lessons at seven. When she was 11, her family moved to Yakima where she sang in the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church choir, where her father was the pastor. In addition, Adams was the piano accompanist for the church […]

In the article below historian Amy Sommers describes the February 1936 meeting of Howard Thurman in India with Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of that nation’s non-violence campaign for political independence from Great Britain. She argues that the meeting influenced Thurman’s views on the subject and his subsequent sharing of those views with the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in […]

Yewubdar Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou was an Ethiopian nun and musician. Her music reflected a life that experienced a number of unexpected moves as well as a devotional commitment to Christian orthodoxy. Yewubdar was born in Addis Ababa December 12, 1923 to Kessaye Yelemtu, relative of Empress Menen, and Kintiba Guèbrou, a governor to multiple provinces in Ethiopia. She and her […]

The African-American animator and director Frank Cavalier Braxton Jr. was born on March 31, 1929, in Los Angeles, California to Frank Cavalier Braxton from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mignon A. Callaway Braxton from Atlanta, Georgia. Frank had a gift and talent for drawing and painting as a child and was often seen with a sketch pad and pencil in hand. He […]

Prolific David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter, was an enslaved artist born on a plantation in North Carolina in 1801. He toiled the soil and labored on several plantations and, over the course of his lifetime, was sold or traded by a number of plantation owners. Many of his family members were also separated from him through this […]

The grandson of formerly enslaved people, Walter Franklin Anderson, classical pianist, organist, composer, jazz musician, community activist, and academician, was born on May 12, 1915, in segregated Zanesville, Ohio. Walter was the sixth of nine children of humble beginnings. Information regarding his parents is not available. Anderson, a child prodigy, began piano studies at age seven, and by 12, he […]

Flip Wilson was the first African American to host a hit variety series on television.   The Flip Wilson Show aired from 1970 to 1974 and in addition to high ratings, Wilson won two Emmy Awards, one was for Outstanding Variety Series and the other for Outstanding Writing Achievement.  He also won the Golden Globe Award.  The Flip Wilson Show was […]

Byron Allen (Folks) is an American businessman, television producer, and comedian, born in Detroit, Michigan on April 22, 1961. He is married to Jennifer Lucas and the couple have three children. His media company, Entertainment Studios, owns assets in television production, broadcasting, film production, and digital media. Byron Allen Folks was born in Detroit to Carolyn and Alvin Folks. After […]

In a sport historically defined as elitist and white, Privel Hinkati, born in Caen, France, and dual citizen of Benin, pushed past stigma and became one of only a handful of Black athletes (and the first from Benin) in history to compete in the sport at its highest level. Privel began rowing in 2003, discovering the sport while on vacation. […]