Soviet agricultural specialist and one of the first popularizers of turkey breeding in the USSR, George Tynes was born in 1908 into a large African American family in Norfolk, Virginia. His father was a Methodist minister, and his mother was Native American. His cousin was the famous American opera singer Margaret Tynes. In his youth, Tynes attended lectures by W.E.B. […]

Edward Lee “Too Tall” Jones, is a former professional football player best known for playing for the Dallas Cowboys his entire career. Jones was born on February 23, 1951, to Abbie Jones and Jack Jones in Jackson, Tennessee. Growing up, Jones attended Merry High School (Now Jackson Central-Merry Early College High School), where he played baseball, basketball, and football. After […]

Choreographer, dancer, and teacher Lorraine Graves was born Lorraine Elizabeth Graves on October 5, 1957, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Tommy E. Graves Jr., founder and CEO of Graves Funeral Home, and Mildred Odom Graves, a public school teacher. Lorraine had one brother, Tommy E. Graves III. They were reared in segregated Huntersville, Virginia. At an early age, her mother noticed […]

This editorial by BlackPast.org Board Chair Douglas Bender, addresses the ongoing challenge for survival faced by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It is a reminder of their importance to not just African American but to the entire United States. It feels as if thought there is an outright assault being launched against anything having to do with the progress […]

Politician, philanthropist, and investor Benoni Wilfred Urey is one of the wealthiest Liberians and the founder of Lonestar Cell Mobile telecommunication corporation (MTN), Liberia’s largest nationwide mobile network. Urey was born on June 22, 1957, in Careysburg Montserrado County, the Republic of Liberia to Daniel Urey, an agriculturist, and Emma Boyce Urey. Benoni, the eighth of eleven children, graduated in […]

Nashville Sit-ins Courtesy U.S. Library of Congress   It is a story of strivers and achievers, of resilience and grace, of unthinkable pain and unbelievable triumph. It is Black history, and it is disappearing before our very eyes. Removed from school curricula, pulled from library shelves, vanished from public memory. Consider recent headlines: • In Virginia, the governor sets up […]

U.S. Army Air Force World War II veteran Joseph Dubois Elsberry was the first Black fighter pilot to shoot down three German aircraft in a single mission. Elsberry was born on April 25, 1921, in Langston, Oklahoma. His father was Joseph Dean Elsberry, and his mother was Beulah Elsberry. Both parents were teachers. He had an older sister, also named […]

Her Honor Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh, Liberia’s first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was appointed in 2013. Sie-A-Nyene Gyapay Yuoh was born on June 26, 1956, in Montserrado County, Liberia, to Anthony Kle Yuoh and Maromini Worbor Kollie. She has 21 siblings: Wani Yuoh, Tibui “Blyden” Tidibuo Yuoh, Hne Yuoh, Wesseh Yuoh, Tabioh Yuoh, George Yuoh, Gbobi […]

In the following article, Collins Edigin, a historian at the University of Benin, describes the rule of the Obas of Benin, a continuous dynasty that began in the 13th Century and is one of the oldest in the world. The kingdom of Benin was one of the most important states of the forest region of West Africa. It was renowned […]

U.S. Army Air Force World War II veteran Edward Lucien Toppins was a fighter pilot credited with shooting down four German enemy fighter aircraft during aerial combat, a distinction shared with two other Tuskegee Airmen. Toppins was born in Mississippi on June 12, 1915. His mother was Martha Toppins, who worked in the clothing industry. He had three sisters: Henrietta, […]