Journal Writing Project – Mutiny: The Port Chicago Catastrophe

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Journal Writing Project – Mutiny: The Port Chicago Catastrophe

… military.

At Port Chicago, the African-American sailors who were trained for … event; over two-thirds were African American. In the aftermath, the remaining …

Source: Southern Maryland News Net | One Click From Being There | Southern Maryland News Net | Southern Maryland's # 1 News Source

Ailey, Alvin (1931-1989)

Alvin Ailey was born in Rodgers, Texas during the Great Depression. He overcame racism, poverty, and homophobia to become one of the most celebrated choreographers in American history. His single teenage mother Lula Ailey washed clothes, picked cotton, and worked in domestic service in various

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Source: Black Past

Elijah Muhammad

Elijah Muhammad was an African American religious leader of the Nation of Islam, a religious movement based on the principles of Islam, focused specifically on black Muslims. His birth name was Elijah Robert Poole and he was the seventh of thirteen children born to William and Mariah Poole. His

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Source: Black History Resources

Feb

25

1975

Harlem, residential and business section of upper Manhattan, New York City, bounded roughly by 110th St., the East River and Harlem River, 168th St., Amsterdam Ave., and Morningside Park. The Dutch settlement of Nieuw Haarlem was established by Peter Stuyvesant in 1658. To the W of Harlem, near

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Young, Coleman A. (1918-1997)

Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Coleman Young arrived in Detroit, Michigan with his family when he was five. The Colemans settled in the working class neighborhood of Black Bottom (East Detroit), where his father operated a dry cleaning business and his mother was a schoolteacher. Early in his life

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Source: Black Past

James & Lydia Sims

During World War II, Lydia Sims moved from Newark, New Jersey, to Spokane with her husband, James Sims, an Army Air Force soldier stationed at Geiger Airfield. At the end of the war, the Sims family decided to remain in Spokane. For 10 years they lived in the Garden Springs housing

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Source: Black Past

Mar

19

1969

Fauset, Crystal Bird (1894–1965)

Crystal Bird Fauset, the first African-American female state legislators in the United States, was born on June 27, 1894 in Princess Anne, Maryland. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts but spent most of her adult and political life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between 1914 and 1918 Fauset worked

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Source: Black Past

Mar

27

1965

Gatson, Dewey (AKA Rajo Jack DeSoto) (1905-1956)

Automobile racer Rajo Jack DeSoto was born Dewey Gatson on July 28, 1905 in Tyler, Texas. (Previously published biographies have incorrectly listed his racing name as Rojo Jack.) Rajo Jack was barred from racing in many organized venues because of his African American heritage, but he had several

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Source: Black Past

Saint James AME Church, Helena, Montana (1888- )

When African American citizens founded the St. James African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Helena, Montana, in 1888, their population topped 250 people in a city of roughly 12,000 souls. Located in Helena’s eastside residential district on 114 N. Hoback, the church building rested on

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Source: Black Past

Born: 5/13/1914 La Fayette, AlabamaDied: 4/12/1981 Paradise, NevadaJoseph Louis Barrow, best known as Joe Louis, was an American professional boxer. He held the world heavyweight championship from 1937 to 1949, and is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all timeAwards

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker was a dancer and singer who later became a Civil Rights activist. Her birth name was Freda Josephine McDonald and she was born on June 3, 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother used to be a dancer as well, but she gave up her aspirations in order to raise her children. Her father

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Source: Black History Resources

Jun

3

1906

Young, Jr., Perry (1919-1998)

Perry Young, Jr, an airplane and helicopter pilot, was the first African American person to be hired by a commercial airline with regularly scheduled passenger flights. Young was born to his parents Henry Young, Sr. and Edith Lucille Young on March 12, 1919 in Orangeburg, South Carolina. His father

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Source: Black Past

Elijah Muhammad

Name at birth: Elija Pool or Elijah Poole

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Abernathy, Ralph (1926-1990)

Ralph David Abernathy was born on March 11, 1926 in Linden, Alabama. His boyhood was spent on his father’s Alabama farm but he joined the U.S. Army and served in World War II from 1941 to 1945. After his service Abernathy returned to his home state where he attended Alabama State College in

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Source: Black Past

Dec

1

1955

A Brief History of the San Diego NAACP, 1917-2007

In 1917, realizing the hunger for social justice among the one thousand African American residents of San Diego, W. E. B. DuBois traveled from Los Angeles to San Diego as part of his western states tour on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Having

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Source: Black Past

Race, Family, and Real Estate: Beryl Satter's Family Properties

In her new book, Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America, historian Beryl Satter puts a human face on the often told story of racial discrimination in urban housing by following the career of her father, Chicago attorney Mark J. Satter, who was both an

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Source: Black Past

The Notting Hill Riots (1958)

Amidst racial intolerance and competition over resources, the white working class of the Notting Hill area, London, UK, launched an attack against members of the black community on August the 30, 1958. Forced to arm themselves in defence, the confrontation lasted

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Source: Black Past

Weaver, Robert Clifton (1907-1997)

Robert C. Weaver was a noted economist and administrator. From 1966 through 1968, he was the first African American cabinet official, serving as the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Weaver was born and raised in Washington D.C. From 1929 through 1934, he attended

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Source: Black Past

The San Fernando Valley’s Multiethnic Past: Unexpected Communities of Color in “America’s Suburb”

In the article below historian Jean-Paul R. deGuzman briefly introduces the multiethnic history of Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, a popular region that one local chronicler calls nothing less than “America’s Suburb.” The narrative that follows, part of deGuzman doctoral

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Source: Black Past

Hyman, Phyllis (1949–1995)

Phyllis Linda Hyman was an American singer-songwriter and actress. She was best known for her singles from the late 1970s through the early 1990s including: You Know How to Love Me, Living All Alone, and Don’t Wanna Change the World. Hyman was born on July 6, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to

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Source: Black Past

Jul

6

1949

Bolen, David Benjamin (1923- )

Outstanding college athlete and diplomat David Benjamin Bolen, the son of a postal worker, was born in the rural hamlet of Heflin, Louisiana on December 23, 1923. As a small child he discovered his superior running ability during an Easter egg hunt. Homeschooled by his mother until his family

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Source: Black Past

Dec

23

1923

Caldwell, Elvin R., Sr. (1919-2004)

Politician Elvin R. Caldwell Sr. was born on April 11, 1919 in Denver, Colorado. Raised in Five Points, Denver’s predominantly black community, Caldwell was one of 12 children in his family. After graduating from Eastside High School in 1937, Caldwell earned a track scholarship to the University of

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Source: Black Past

Greece and Egypt: How a Single Coin Reflects an Ancient and Enduring Relationship

A tiny object can rewrite history. In this case, the small electrum coin featuring the head of an African pictured here reveals a fascinating link between Africa and Greece from antiquity to the present. Unfortunately we know very little about the coin itself except that it is from the early

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Source: Black Past

Angola, more than three times the size of California, extends for more than 1,000 mi (1,609 km) along the South Atlantic in southwest Africa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Congo are to the north and east, Zambia is to the east, and Namibia is to the south. A plateau

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Metcalfe, Ralph Harold (1910-1978)

Ralph Metcalfe, was an outstanding U.S. sprinter, track coach, and politican born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Chicago, Illinois. During Metcalfe’s years as a student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1932 through 1934, he was arguably the world’s fastest human. His strong

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Source: Black Past

Baker, Josephine (1906-1975)

In 1925 Josephine Baker took Paris, France by storm, appearing on stage in “La Revue Negre” wearing nothing but a skirt of artificial bananas in Danse Sauvage. Born Josephine Freda MacDonald in St. Louis, Missouri on June 3, 1906, she was nicknamed “Tumpy” because she was

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Source: Black Past

U.S. Department of State Background Note

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Withers, John Lovelle, II (1948- )

In 2007, Ambassador John L. Withers II, a second generation diplomat, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to serve as ambassador to Albania. Withers was born in 1948 in Guilford, North Carolina, to John L. Withers, Sr. and Daisy P. Withers. His father had briefly worked as a political

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Source: Black Past

The Southern Negro Youth Congress: A Participant Recalls Its Past

In the article below historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall recounts her role as a founder of the New Orleans Youth Congress and the early years of the Southern Negro Youth Congress. This account is part of her soon to be published

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Source: Black Past

Nov

15

1974

Black History Month Special Feature, 2012 - Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project

Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project

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James, Charles A. (1922- )

Ambassador Charles A. James was born in 1922 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he attended public schools. After high school, James enrolled at Westchester State Teachers College in Pennsylvania (now Westchester University) where he studied for one year before

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Source: Black Past

Sep

16

1976

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