Louis Allen, an American farmer and logger, was murdered on January 31, 1964, because of his efforts to vote in Amite County, Mississippi. Allen was born on April 25, 1919, to unnamed parents in Amite County, Mississippi. He served in the United States Army during World War II. After the war, Allen returned to Mississippi, where he worked as a […]

Christian Uzoma Onyeji Sr., a composer, ethnomusicologist, and pianist, is deeply dedicated to promoting classical music drawn from Nigerian-based content and methodology. Born on August 15, 1967, in Imo State, Nigeria, he carries on the musical legacy of his paternal grandfather, an Igbo master Oja (wooden flute) performer at traditional Igbo ceremonies. Onyeji received a Diploma in Music Education in […]

On August 7, 2022, Francia Márquez became the first Black woman to be elected Vice President of Colombia. The following year, she was also sworn in as Minister of Women and Equality in the Cabinet of Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Marquez, a noted social activist for Afro-Colombians, feminist, poet, singer, and promoter of climate justice, is from El Cauca, Yolombó, […]

Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old African American resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was fatally shot by Officer Christopher Schurr of the Grand Rapids Police Department during a scuffle between the two in Grand Rapids. Born on February 6, 1966, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lyoya was the oldest of Peter and Dorcas Lyoya’s six children. Lyoya was a dancer […]

Mary Smith Kelsey Peake, a pioneering educator, is one of few African American women to have a school, The Mary Peake Center of Hampton Public Schools, and a street, the Mary Peake Boulevard, named in honor due to her work as the first teacher for the newly freed slaves in Fortress Monroe, Virginia. In collaboration with the American Missionary Association […]

Benjamin Franklin Kelly made history on September 19, 1953, when he became the first African American to play at an all-white college in Texas, San Angelo College (later Angelo State University, ASU). His San Angelo College debut came eight months before the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine. On that historic […]

Joseph “Joe” Pierre Torry is an actor and comedian. He was born on September 28, 1965, to Robert Torry and Rebecca Torry in Saint Louis, Missouri. Torry attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and Broadcast Journalism. While at Lincoln, Torry joined Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. After college, Torry […]

The Oriental Opera Company (OOC), established in 1892, was one of the nation’s first all-African American opera and classical music dramatic ensembles. It was founded by Michael Graffe, a white philanthropist from Syracuse, New York. Graffe, who financed the Opera Company for its first year, aimed to demonstrate globally that African Americans had the ability and expertise to sing, interpret, […]

On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified by the Congress of the United States, abolishing slavery. This pivotal moment also saw the birth of Walden University, named in honor of John Morgan Walden, the thirty-fifth Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church from Lebanon, Ohio, and corresponding secretary of the Western Freedman’s Aid Commission and the Methodist Freedman’s Aid […]

John Thomas Salley is a former National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball star, television and motion picture actor, and a major figure in the emerging U.S. cannabis industry. Salley was born on May 16, 1960, to Quille Salley and Mazie Salley in Brooklyn, New York. Salley attended Canarsie High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he played for the high school […]