Chang under fire from diaspora members

Zambia

Zambia, a landlocked country in south-central Africa, is about one-tenth larger than Texas. It is surrounded by Angola, Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. The country is mostly a plateau that rises to 8,000 ft (2,434 m) in the

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Douglass, Frederick (1817-1895)

Frederick Douglass was born into Maryland slavery in 1817 to a slave mother and a slave master father. Young Douglass toiled on a rural plantation and later in Baltimore’s shipyards as a caulker. Douglass, however, learned to read and soon sought out abolitionist literature that alleviated what he

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Source: Black Past

Jul

5

1852

Wright, Theodore Sedgwick (ca. 1797-1847)

Theodore Sedgwick Wright, prominent clergyman, antislavery leader, and reformer was thought to have been born in New Jersey in 1797. He attended the New York African Free School. With the help of New York Governor Dewitt Clinton, Arthur Tappan and others from Princeton Theological Seminary, he

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Source: Black Past

The Quest for Land and Freedom on Canada's Western Prairies: Black Oklahomans in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1905-1912

Many Canadians feel pride about their country’s role in the operation of the Underground Railroad, a well known part of racial history in North America. The secret anti-slavery network helped nearly fifteen thousand African Americans flee their bondage in the United States for freedom in Eastern

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Source: Black Past

May

31

1911

Logan, Rayford W. (1897-1982)

Leading 20th Century black historian Rayford Whittingham Logan was born on January 7, 1897 in Washington, D.C. to working class parents, Arthur C. and Martha Whittingham Logan. Rayford Logan spent his formative years in Washington, D.C. While in high school, he was taught by Carter

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Source: Black Past

Nov

4

1982

The Tuskegee Airmen on BlackPast.org

The film Red Tails which depicts the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, opened on the weekend of January 20-21 in theaters across the nation. BlackPast.org in support of the Seattle, Washington youth violence prevention program of THE SILENT WAR and other organizations which have vowed to use this

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Source: Black Past

From Finland to “Not in My Neighborhood”: Antero Pietila's Journey To and Through Racially Divided America

In the article below Antero Pietila, longtime reporter for the Baltimore Sun, describes his arrival as a Finnish immigrant in the United States as the nation was being convulsed by the Civil Rights Movement. Pietila describes his initial introduction into the nations racial dilemma through Harlem

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Source: Black Past

Elba, Idrissa Akuna “Idris” (1972– )

Idrissa Akuna “Idris” Elba is a British actor best known for his roles in The Wire and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. He has been nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in miniseries or Television Film which he won one and was nominated five times for a Primetime

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Source: Black Past

Sep

6

1972

Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman was the first female African American pilot. She was born on January 26, 1892 and was the tenth of thirteen children born to George and Susan Coleman in Atlanta, Texas. Her father was of Native and African American descent. She attended a small school which was four miles from her

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Source: Black History Resources

Jun

15

1921

“The Yellow Rose of Texas”: The Ironic Origins of a Popular Song

While many Americans are familiar with the song, The Yellow Rose of Texas, few know the story of Emily West, the African American woman who was the inspiration for its creation. In the excerpt below from a longer article that first appeared in 1996, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Source: Black Past

Mali

U.S. Department of State Background Note

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Gibbs, Mifflin Wistar (1823-1915)

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 17, 1823, Mifflin Wistar Gibbs apprenticed as a carpenter. By his early 20s he was an activist in the abolition movement, sharing platforms with Frederick Douglass and helping in the Underground Railroad. Black intellectual ferment of the era gave him

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Source: Black Past

Apr

17

1823

(1849) Charles Sumner, “Equality Before the Law: Unconstitutionality of Separate Colored Schools in Massachusetts”

In 1848 Benjamin Roberts filed a lawsuit against the city of Boston on behalf of his five year old daughter, Sarah, who was denied admission to schools in her neighborhood and instead assigned to the lone all-black school in the city. Two attorneys, Robert Morris, one of the first black lawyers in

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Source: Black Past

Feb

15

1793

Akon

Akon is an American Hip Hop artist who has produced several platinum albums, appeared in television and film roles, received several Grammy nominations and owns two record labels. He was born Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Bongo Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam in St. Louis, Missouri on April

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Source: Black History Resources

Apr

16

1973

Armatrading, Joan (1950-- )

Singer and songwriter Joan Armatrading, best known for her influential and eclectic music styles, ranging from soul, pop, and even reggae, was born on December 9, 1950 in Basseterre in Saint Kitts and Nevis. She lived there for seven years until her and her family relocated to

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Source: Black Past

Dec

9

1950

The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002)

The Sierra Leone Civil War was an armed conflict in the West African country of Sierra Leone from 1991–2002. The war began on March 23, 1991, when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under Foday Sankoh, with support of Liberian rebel leader Charles Taylor and his group, the National Patriotic

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Source: Black Past

Morris Brown College [Atlanta] (1885-- )

Established in 1881 and chartered by the State of Georgia in 1885, Morris Brown College is a private, liberal arts college located in Atlanta, Georgia. The school opened its doors on October 15, 1885 with 107 students and 9 teachers. Morris Brown College was founded by members of the African

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Source: Black Past

Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker was born in 1731 just outside of Baltimore, Maryland, the son of a slave. His grandfather had been a member of a royal family in Africa and was wise in agricultural endeavors.His father, Robert, was an African slave who purchased his freedom and his mother, Mary, was the daughter

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Source: Black History Resources

Fort Mose (Florida)

Established in 1738, Fort Mose was the first free black settlement in what is now the United States. Located just north of St. Augustine, Florida, Fort Mose played an important role in the development of colonial North

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Source: Black Past

The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed | An Online Reference Guide to African American History by Professor Quintard Taylor, University of Washington

Home

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Source: Black Past

Dobbs, Mattiwilda (1925- )

Mattiwilda Dobbs, an accomplished opera star, was born July 11, 1925 in Atlanta, Georgia. Although she was the fifth of six daughters and her father worked as a mail clerk, he was able to provide her and all of her sisters with a college education. Dobbs began singing and playing the piano as

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Source: Black Past

Mar

8

1954

Allen, Macon Bolling (1816-1894)

Macon Bolling Allen is believed to be the first black man in the United States who was licensed to practice law. Born Allen Macon Bolling in 1816 in Indiana, he grew up a free man. Bolling learned to read and write on his on his own and eventually landed his first a job as a schoolteacher where he

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Source: Black Past

Madam C.J. Walker

Madam C. J. Walker was born on December 23, 1867 in Delta, Louisiana, the daughter of Owen and Minerva Breedlove. Her parents were former slaves working as sharecroppers and both died when Sarah was a child. As a result, Sarah was forced to move from one household to another. At age seven, she

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Source: Black History Resources

Trévigne, Paul (1825-1908)

Creole New Orleans newspaper editor Paul Trévigne, thebiracial son of a Battle of New Orleans veteran, was born in New Orleans in1825. Trévigne was part of the free people of color community in Louisiana thatprotested racial injustice before the Civil War and helped establish Republicanpolitics in

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Source: Black Past

Patricia Bath

When Patricia Era Bath was born on November 4, 1942, she could have succumbed to the pressures and stresses associated with growing up in Harlem, New York. With the uncertainty present because of World War II and the challenges for members of Black communities in the 1940′s, one might little expect

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Source: Black History Resources

Nov

26

2012

(1963) Lyndon B. Johnson, “Address Before a Joint Session of Congress"

On November 27, 1963 just five days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, newly installed President Lyndon Baines Johnson addresses Congress for the first time. His address appears

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Source: Black Past

Nov

27

1963

African American and Black History Blog

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Source: Black History Resources

Cleaver, Eldridge

Cleaver, Eldridge | FactMonster

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Washington, Ruth V. (1921-1990)

Ruth V. Washington, a lifelong Republican, was appointed by President George Herbert Walker Bush as U.S. Ambassador to Gambia on November 21, 1989. Washington was a rare “political” appointee, meaning she was not a member of the U.S. Foreign Service for years before landing her

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Source: Black Past

Jordan, Mosina H. (1943- )

In 1995, career Foreign Service Officer Mosina H. Jordan was nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve as ambassador to the Central African Republic (CAR). After U.S. Senate confirmation she arrived in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic and presented her credentials on November

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Source: Black Past

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