Kenneth “Kenny” Alexander, the first African American mayor of Norfolk, Virginia was born in that city on October 17, 1966. Alexander attended local schools graduating from Lake Taylor High School in 1985. After graduation he attended Brightpoint Community College (formerly John Tyler Community College) earning an associate degree in mortuary science. He then received a bachelor’s degree in political science […]

Altadena, California, has one of California’s oldest and most affluent middle-class Black neighborhoods. That neighborhood was affected by the 2025 Eaton Canyon fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes across the entire Altadena community. Before the fire, Altadena was known for its cozy bungalows and elegant craftsman homes along tree-lined streets, as well as its scenic hiking and equestrian trails. […]

Contralto, pianist, pedagogist, administrator, and advocate Lulu Vere Childers had a profound impact on African American Spirituals and European classical music.  Childers was the seventh child of 12 born in Dry Ridge, Kentucky, on February 28, 1870, to former enslaved parents, Alex Childres and Eliza Butler Childers originally from New Orleans, Louisiana.  Lulu’s siblings were Agnes A. Childers, Della A. […]

James Robert Ford was a politician, businessman, and the first African American mayor of Tallahassee, Florida. That election also made him the first Black mayor of a US state capital city. Ford was born on December 1, 1925, to unnamed parents in Leon County, Florida. He attended segregated schools and then Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, where he earned […]