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Martin Luther King Jr. Facts Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. King, a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s.  Among his many efforts, King headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Through his activism and inspirational speeches he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the United States, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among...

Dick Gregory was a pioneering comedian and civil rights activist who took on race with layered, nuanced humor during the turbulent 1960s. “I've always been insulted when people tell me that my humor has done a lot for race relations. I never thought comedy did anything but make uncomfortable people feel comfortable.” —Dick Gregory Who Was Dick Gregory? Dick Gregory was born in 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri. Gregory got his big break performing as a stand-up comedian at the Playboy Club in the early 1960s. Known for his sophisticated, layered humor that took on racial issues of the day,...

  Dr. Claud Anderson is president of PowerNomics Corporation of America, Inc. and The Harvest Institute, Inc. PowerNomics is a company that publishes his books and produces the multimedia presentations in which he explains his concept, PowerNomics. PowerNomics is a package of principles and strategies that explain “race” and offer a guide for Black America to become a more self-sufficient and economically competitive group in America. Dr. Anderson's book, PowerNomics: The National Plan to Empower Black America, incorporates and reflects his past experiences: his academic research, business experience, both as an owner and a capital provider, and his varied political...

“The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician.” —Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo," "Pops" and, later, "Ambassador Satch," was born on August 4, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana. An all-star virtuoso, he came to prominence in the 1920s, influencing countless musicians with both his daring trumpet style and unique vocals. Armstrong's charismatic stage presence impressed not only the jazz world but all of popular music. He recorded several songs throughout his career, including he is known for songs like "Star Dust," "La Vie En Rose" and "What a Wonderful World." Armstrong died at his home in...

“People do not retire. They are retired by others.” —Duke Ellington Duke Ellington was born April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C. A major figure in the history of jazz music, his career spanned more than half a century, during which time he composed thousands of songs for the stage, screen and contemporary songbook. He created one of the most distinctive ensemble sounds in Western music and continued to play what he called "American Music" until shortly before his death in 1974. Early Life Born on April 29, 1899, Duke Ellington was raised by two talented, musical parents in a middle-class...

“When you leave the theater, it feels like you're leavin' the real world and the fake world is out here in the street, where nobody knows anybody else.” —Eubie Blake Born in Maryland on February 7, 1887, Eubie Blake went on to become a revered ragtime pianist and composer for American musicals. He entered into a partnership with singer-songwriter Noble Sissle in 1915; the two would work together on the 1921 musical Shuffle Along, featuring the mega-hit "I'm Just Wild About Harry." Blake composed hundreds of songs and received many accolades for his work. He died in Brooklyn, New York,...

“I've always felt that the blues deal with an epoch in our history, and coming from the same people that gave us the spiritual, they reflected a nominal freedom. All the blues that I've written are either historic or folklore or folksong.” —W.C. Handy W.C. Handy was born on November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama. He played with several bands and traveled throughout the Midwest and the South, learning about the African-American folk music that would become known as the blues. Handy later composed his own songs—including "St. Louis Blues," "Memphis Blues" and "Aunt Hagar's Blues"—which would help popularize the...

Na’im Akbar is a Bestselling Author, Here Are Some Of His Books. "Black People in America have a much greater inner power than they realize, but they must re-discover themselves in order to use it." Dr. Na'im Akbar has been acclaimed by Essence Magazine as "one of the world's preeminent Psychologists and a pioneer in the development of an African-centered approach in modern psychology." Akbar has served as Associate Professor at Norfolk State University, was Chairman of the Morehouse College Psychology Department and is currently on the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida....

  On May 2, 2013, the FBI placed Assata Shakur, now living in Cuba, on its Most Wanted Terrorists list, which has included the likes of Osama Bin Laden and other Al Quaeda figures, some of whom were executed by drones. This was the day after the State Department was due to release its list of terrorist countries from which Cuba was widely expected to be removed, as even the Miami Herald reported. Release of that list has been postponed and the State Department has asserted Cuba will remain on it, handing a victory to the exiled Cuban plantocracy and...

Because he’s saving hip-hop while handling his business  1969- If hip-hop had a Mount Rushmore, there are three men whose faces would be chiseled in granite: The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur and Jay Z. Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac were both killed in their mid-20s. Jay Z is now 47. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to be the best, but that’s what he became. Hov got flow though he’s no Big and Pac, but he’s close / How I’m ‘posed to win, they got me fightin’ ghosts, he rapped on New York City’s Hot 97 radio station in 2006, the same year...

Because he is the King of Pop 1958 – 2009 It seems fate itself set the stage for Michael Jackson. When the musical wunderkind was born in 1958, television was in its experimental age, Billboard Magazine had just premiered its Hot 100 singles chart and the recording industry was planning the 1959 premiere of an awards show called The Grammys. Over a career spanning five decades, Jackson would bend all these emerging cultural forces to his will. He arrived on the world stage at age 11, having already sacrificed his youth performing at venues around his Indiana hometown of Gary....

Because he kept hope alive and made the White House real 1941- Jesse Jackson laid the foundation for electing a black president, one of the signature achievements of the 21st century. Jackson’s are the biggest shoulders that Barack Obama stands on. This is not conventional wisdom, but it is true. It begins with Jackson’s decision to run for president himself in 1984, widely seen then as an act of symbolism and hubris. Black leaders had been discussing for years what it would take to seriously compete for the highest office in the land, to build on what Shirley Chisholm did...

Because she inspired generations of proud black Southern artistry  1891 – 1960 Recently, Salvage the Bones author and Fire This Time editor Jesmyn Ward published an essay rejoicing in the visibility and celebration of Southern blackness and the fact that it had made its way to television in the form of Atlanta and Queen Sugar. Ward is a Mississippian who drank in the words of Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker because they spoke to her existence, and she, like so many other black Southern artists and writers, owes a debt of gratitude to Hurston. Long before Andre 3000 took...

Because no one can match his genius  1942 – 1970 For decades, a belief has taken hold among guitarists — to prove your ability, you must pay homage to Jimi Hendrix. He was hailed by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as “the most gifted instrumentalist of all time.” Hendrix’s virtuosity looms so large that many guitarists still vainly attempt to emulate him. Just as whiz-kid classical pianists flaunt their chops by interpreting Mozart, so have guitarists such as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Prince and John Mayer felt the need to perform Hendrix classics such as “Hey Joe,”...

Because hers is a title well-earned: The Queen of Soul  1942- Curtsies are absolutely appropriate. Aretha Franklinis undisputed when it comes to pouring gospel-inflected, bluesy wails of love-gone-wrong lyrics over country-fried–yet-pop tracks. She plucked her Pentecostal pipes from the pulpit and applied them to a secular sound, giving us Sunday morning righteousness on any given Saturday night. Fifty years ago, the daughter of popular Detroit Baptist minister C.L. Franklin scored a No. 1 hit with her remake of Otis Redding’s Respect, a song with a bit of a double entendre that helped soundtrack the civil rights movement. In 1967, when...

Because ‘in death as in life, he is the embodiment of jazz’ 1899 – 1974 Just as soul music and Motown provided the aspirational soundtrack for the 1960s civil rights movement, swing music furnished the upwardly-mobile score for the mid-1900s Harlem Renaissance. And of all the formidable bandleaders of the era, Edward “Duke” Ellington towered over the competition like a musical Everest. Where Count Basie, Benny Goodman and competing bandleaders favored high-stepping songs with hard-swinging arrangements, Ellington tunes such as “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good),” “In a Sentimental Mood,” and “Black and Tan Fantasy” seem mysterious by...

Because he observed the multifaceted nature of African-Americans 1868 – 1963 In the introduction to The Souls of Black Folk, published in 1903, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois wrote that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of color line.” Though this prophetic remark is perhaps his most indelible, in a career spanning over a half-century until his death in 1963, Du Bois possessed the most perpetual voice on race in American history. Attentive to both sides of the color line, Du Bois provided the most cogent explanation why whites to this day rebuff interracial political alliances even...

Because his voice rose from the horror of slavery to challenge the denial of black humanity 1818 – 1895 A slave. A free person among slaves. A free person who must still fight for full emancipation. Every black person who has called America home has existed in one of these three states. Frederick Douglass endured them all and spoke to these unique human conditions while demanding complete black inclusion in the American experiment. With his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, published in 1845, Douglass provided arguably the most influential slavenarrative. Born in Maryland in 1818, the son...

Because before ‘Yes We Can’ there was ‘Unbought and Unbossed’  1924 – 2005 When thinking about how contentious things are in Congress today, imagine being the sole black female congresswoman nearly 50 years ago, at the height of the civil rights movement. Shirley Chisholm was relentless in breaking political barriers with respect to both race and gender. She was a pioneer. In 1968, Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, representing New York’s 12th District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. As both a New York state legislator and a congresswoman, Chisholm championed the rights...

Because before ‘Yes We Can’ there was ‘Unbought and Unbossed’  1924 – 2005 When thinking about how contentious things are in Congress today, imagine being the sole black female congresswoman nearly 50 years ago, at the height of the civil rights movement. Shirley Chisholm was relentless in breaking political barriers with respect to both race and gender. She was a pioneer. In 1968, Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, representing New York’s 12th District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. As both a New York state legislator and a congresswoman, Chisholm championed the rights...

Because without Basquiat, there’d be no graffiti. Without Basquiat, there’d be no Banksy. Get it? ARTISTb. 1960 – 1988 Eight short years. That’s how long it took Jean-Michel Basquiat to secure his legacy as an art world prodigy. He died at the age of 27 from a heroin overdose, leaving behind paintings, drawings and notebooks, many of which explored themes of counterculture American punk, the urban plight of the African diaspora, improvisational jazz music and the vagaries of fame during the Ronald Reagan-era 1980s. Born to a Haitian father and Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat dropped out of high school and...

1924 – 1987 Because he embraced the responsibility to be a voice of his nation James Baldwin knew it was his job to reveal the truth. The truth about his race. The truth about his country. The ugly truths of racism, poverty and inequality that plagued the United States during his lifetime — and that continue even now, 29 years after his death. He confronted American racism with fearless honesty and courageously explored homosexuality through his literature and in his life. And he did it with style. His brilliant prose combined his own experience with the best — and worst...

Proof that visibility is not necessary to make an impact, Ella Baker is one of history’s lesser-known civil rights heroes, yet one of the most important. If Martin Luther King Jr. was the head of the civil rights movement, Ella Baker was its backbone. Born on Dec. 13, 1903, in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in North Carolina, Baker cultivated her passion and desire for social justice at a young age. Her grandmother, who was a slave, once told her a story of being whipped for refusing to marry a man of her slave owner’s choosing — fueling Baker’s desire for...

Marcus Garvey was a proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, inspiring the Nation of Islam and the Rastafarian movement.   “Hungry men have no respect for law, authority or human life.” —Marcus Garvey BIO Born in Jamaica, Marcus Garvey was an orator for the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. Garvey advanced a Pan-African philosophy which inspired a global mass movement, known as Garveyism. Garveyism would eventually inspire others, from the Nation of Islam to the Rastafari movement. Early Life Social activist Marcus Mosiah Garvey,...

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. She was an author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist. She was best known for her seven autobiographical books: Mom & Me & Mom (Random House, 2013); Letter to My Daughter (Random House, 2008); All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (Random House, 1986); The Heart of a Woman (Random House, 1981); Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (Random House, 1976); Gather Together in My Name (Random House, 1974); and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Random House, 1969),...

  Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. January 17, 1942 – 3 June 2016) was an Olympic and World Champion boxer, who also had a unique personality, based on self-belief and strong religious and political convictions.  In 1999, Ali was crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated. He won the World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times and won the North American Boxing Federation championship as well as an Olympic gold medal. “I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest. Not only do I knock ’em out, I pick the round. “ – Muhammad Ali Ali was born in Louisville,...

   The birth of Robert Abbott in 1870 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American news businessman and lawyer. His parents were former slave captives on St. Simon's Island, Georgia. Abbott studied at Claflin University, Hampton Institute, and Kent Law School in Chicago. He received his law degree in 1899, and was told that he was "too dark" to practice law in America. Unfortunately, Robert Sengstacke Abbott found it difficult to support himself as a lawyer. He became convinced that he could defend his people in public print better than he could in a courtroom, so...

Angela Davis is an activist, scholar and writer who advocates for the oppressed. She has authored several books, including Women, Culture & Politics. Synopsis Angela Davis, born on January 26, 1944, in Birmingham, Alabama, became a master scholar who studied at the Sorbonne. She joined the U.S. Communist Party and was jailed for charges related to a prison outbreak, though ultimately cleared. Known for books like Women, Race & Class, she has worked as a professor and activist who advocates gender equity, prison reform and alliances across color lines Early Life Writer, activist and educator Angela Davis was born on...

"In practice it is possible to determine directly the skin colour and hence the ethnic affiliations of the ancient Egyptians by microscopic analysis in the laboratory; I doubt if the sagacity of the researchers who have studied the question has overlooked the possibility." --Cheikh Anta Diop Books: Civilization or Barbarism,  The Cultural Unity of Black Africa,  Precolonial Black Africa and more. Cheikh Anta Diop, a modern champion of African identity, was born in Diourbel, Senegal on December 29, 1923. At the age of twenty-three, he journeyed to Paris, France to continue advanced studies in physics. Within a very short time,...

Dr. Amos N. Wilson (February 23, 1941 – January 14, 1995) was an African-American theoretical psychologist, social theorist, Pan-African thinker, scholar and author

Books: Amiri Baraka - eBook SuperPack, Black Music by Amiri Baraka and more. The dramatist, novelist and poet, Amiri Baraka is one of the most respected and widely published African-American writers. With the beginning of Black Civil Rights Movements during the sixties, Baraka explored the anger of African-Americans and used his writings as a weapon against racism. Also, he advocated scientific socialism with his revolutionary inclined poems and aimed at creating aesthetic through them. Amiri Baraka’s writing career spans over nearly fifty years and has mostly focused on the subjects of Black Liberation and White Racism. Today, a number of...

Writer Alexander Murray Palmer "Alex" Haley was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Haley's first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, published in 1965, a collaboration through numerous lengthy interviews with the subject, a major African-American leader. Born: August 11, 1921, Ithaca, NY Died: February 10, 1992, Seattle, WA Children: Cynthia Haley, Lydia Haley, William Alex Haley Spouse: Myra Lewis (m. 1977–1992), Juliette Collins (m. 1964–1972), Nannie Branch (m. 1941–1964) Quotes In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. Anytime you...