Howard Nathaniel Lee made history in 1969 as the first African American to be elected mayor of any majority-white city in the South. Lee was born on July 28, 1934, in Lithonia, Georgia, to sharecroppers Howard Lee and Lou Temple who had six other children. Lee attended Flat Rock Church School near Lithonia, which was founded by his mother in […]

Abigail Noel FISHER, Petitioner v. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN et al. No. 11-345. Supreme Court of United States. Argued October 10, 2012. Decided June 24, 2013. Bert W. Rein, Washington, DC, Petitioner. Gregory G. Garre, Washington, DC, for Respondents. Donald B. Verilli, Jr., for the United States as amicus curiae, by special leave of the Court, supporting the Respondents. […]

MILLIKEN, GOVERNOR OF MICHIGAN, ET AL. v. BRADLEY ET AL. No. 73-434. Supreme Court of United States. Argued February 27, 1974. Decided July 25, 1974.[*] CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT. Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General of Michigan, argued the cause for petitioners in No. 73-434. With him on the brief were Robert A. […]

Black students remain significantly underrepresented in engineering. Tara Moore/DigitalVision via Getty Images Diversifying the science, technology, engineering and math fields has long been a top priority of many universities and tech companies. It’s also a goal of the National Science Foundation, the biggest funder of university-led research and development in the U.S. But in the field of engineering, at least, […]

First graders led the desegregation of New Orleans’ public schools in November 1960. Bettmann via Getty Sixty-four years ago this November, public schools in New Orleans began to desegregate. School buildings once designated as “white” opened their doors to Black students. The integration process, which deeply divided the city, was led by four first-grade girls. Tessie Prevost, Leona Tate and […]

fizkes/Shutterstock Students at UK universities are less likely to get a top degree – a first or 2:1 – if they are from an ethnic minority. This is known as the race or ethnicity award gap. It is measured by comparing the proportion of white undergraduates who recieve a top degree with the proportion of students of colour who do […]

Francine Gálvez, a multi-talented actress, journalist, and newscaster, holds the distinction of being the first Black woman to anchor a news program in Europe. That achievement came when she took on the role at Televisión Española (TVE) as anchor of the weekend edition of Telediario (TV Everywhere network/ authenticated streaming) in Spain in 1990. Born as Francine Nicolasa Gálvez Djouma […]

The John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, on two and a half acres at the intersection of the African American community of Greenwood (Black Wall Street) and downtown Tulsa, is one of the most unusual parks in the United States. Situated in Tulsa, which currently has a population of 70,000, including 9,000 African American residents, the Park recalls one of the […]

Wilmont A. Barclay, a professional escape artist, mind reader, and hypnotist, was one of the most successful Black magicians of the early 20th Century. Barclay was born in St. Andrew Parish (now the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation), Jamaica, West Indies, on February 28, 1877. He was also known as “Professor Maharajah,” a stage name that reflected the exoticism and […]

Six-foot-eight NBA Superstar legend Connie Hawkins, one of the first basketball players capable of swooping and soaring in flights to the hoop, was born Cornelius Lance Hawkins on July 17, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. A playground legend, he was dunking at the age of 11, inspired and encouraged by his blind mother, Dorothy Hawkins, and his father, Isaiah Hawkins. […]