2021 Kentucky Writer's Hall of Fame

Frederick Douglass

Born: 2/1/1818 Maryland, United StatesDied: 2/20/1895 Washington, D.C., United StatesA former slave, Douglass became a leading figurehead in the anti-slavery movement. One of the most prominent African American leaders of the Nineteenth Century. His autobiography of life as a slave, and his

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Guinea

Guinea, in West Africa on the Atlantic, is also bordered by Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Côte dIvoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Slightly smaller than Oregon, the country consists of a coastal plain, a mountainous region, a savanna interior, and a forest area in the Guinea Highlands. The highest

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Michelle Obama

Born: 1/17/1964 Chicago, IllinoisMichelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American lawyer and writer. She is married to the 44th and current President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United StatesBusiness / Schooling: Awards / Achievements:

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Coretta Scott King

Born: 4/27/927 Heiberger, AlabamaDied: /30/2006 Rosarito Beach, MexicoCoretta Scott King was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader, and the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. from 953 until his death in 968. Coretta Scott King helped lead the African-American Civil Rights Movement in

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Port-au-Prince, Republic of Haiti (1749 - )

Port-au-Prince is the capital, largest city, commercial center, and chief port of the Republic of Haiti. Some 90% of Haiti’s investments and jobs are found in Port-au-Prince. Estimated to be about 1.2 million inhabitants (and nearly three million inhabitants in the metropolitan area), the city

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Source: Black Past

(1787) Jupiter Hammon, “An Address to the Negroes in the State of New York,"

Home

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Source: Black Past

Stephanie Ellis-Smith, Seattle, Washington

Stephanie Ellis-Smith has lived in Seattle for nearly 20 years and has a diverse background in the arts and civic engagement. Stephanie has degrees in English and biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and studied retroviruses at the University of

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Source: Black Past

Bessie Coleman

Born: 1/26/1892 Atlanta, Texas, United StatesDied: 4/30/1926 Jacksonville, FloridaBessie Coleman was an American civil aviator. She was the first female pilot of African American descent and is also the first Native American woman to hold a pilot license.She is also the first person of African

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Basie, Count (William Allen “Count” Basie) (1904-1984)

A jazz pianist and bandleader, Count Basie was one of the leading musicians of the Big Band “Swing” era. His Count Basie Orchestra was formed in 1936, and featured singers such as Billie Holliday, and notable musicians including Lester Young, Jo Jones, and Walter Page. The band lasted

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Source: Black Past

(1963) Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”

My Dear Fellow

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Source: Black Past

Walker, Alice

Walker, Alice, 1944–, African-American novelist and poet, b. Eatonon, Ga. The daughter of sharecroppers, she studied at Spelman College (1961–63) and Sarah Lawrence College (B.A., 1965). She brings her travel experience in Africa and memories of the American civil-rights movement to an

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Evelyn Bundy Band (c. 1926)

Formed in 1926, the Evelyn Bundy Band was one of the earliest and most influential local jazz ensembles to contribute to the Seattle, Washington jazz

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Source: Black Past

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

Baca, Susana (1944- )

Susana Baca, recording artist and the first Afro-Peruvian to sit as a Cabinet Minister, was born in 1944 in Chorrillos, a seaside district of Lima, Peru, to a working class family. Her father was a chauffeur and her mother worked as cook and laundress for upper class families. Baca began singing at

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Source: Black Past

The Black National Anthem

Lift Every Voice and Sing

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Source: Black Past

Grambling State University (1901-- )

Grambling State University was founded in 1901 in Grambling, Louisiana. In the post- Civil War effort to build schools for former African American slaves, several colleges were established in Louisiana. All of them were concentrated in the more populous southern portion of the state including

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Source: Black Past

Oscar Peterson

Best Known

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

Chica da Silva (1731/5-1796)

Francisca da Silva de Oliveira, better known as Chica da Silva (or spelled Xica da Silva), was a Brazilian woman born into slavery, who went on to gain her freedom and become a powerful and well-known member of Brazilian

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Source: Black Past

Joe Louis

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

Ragsdale, Marguerita (1948- )

Marguerita Dianne Ragsdale was born in April 1948 in Richmond, Virginia to Lillie and Vernon Ragsdale and raised alongside her five sisters on a farm in McKenney, Dinwiddie County, Virginia. After starting her undergraduate work at Virginia State University in Petersburg, she transferred to

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Source: Black Past

Toni Morrison

Born: 2/8/93 Lorain, OhioToni Morrison is an American novelist, editor, and professor. Her novels are known for their epic themes, vivid dialogue, and richly detailed characters. Among her best known novels are The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, and Beloved.Business / Schooling: Awards

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Brisby, William H. (1831-1916)

William Henry Brisby was born free in New Kent County, Virginia in 1831 and lived on 32 acres of land that he inherited from his father. He later bought additional land and eventually had a 179 acre farm. Brisby worked mostly as a blacksmith and wheelwright but raised sheep, and engaged in

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Source: Black Past

Williams v. Mississippi (1898)

? Submitted March 18, 1898. Decided April 25, 1898. At June term 1896 of the Circuit Court of Washington County, Mississippi, the plaintiff in error was indicted by a grand jury composed entirely of white men for the crime of murder. On the 15th day of June he made a motion to quash the indic

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Source: Black Past

Muhammad Ali

Born: 1/17/1942 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport. A controversial and polarizing figure during his early career, Ali is now highly regarded for the skills he displayed in

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Madame C.J. Walker

Born: 12/23/1867 Delta, LouisianaDied: 5/25/1919 Irvington, New YorkSarah Breedlove, known as Madam C. J. Walker, was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the first female self-made millionaire in America.Awards / Achievements:

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Source: Blackfacts.com

(1964) Fannie Lee Chaney, “Meridian Awakened”

Shortly after her son, James Chaney was murdered in Mississippi in the summer of 1964 along with Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, Fannie Lee Chaney gave an address in which she vowed to continue the struggle for racial justice in her home state. She also announced that 12 year old Ben

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Source: Black Past

Lane, William Henry/Master Juba (1825-c. 1852)

William Henry Lane is credited as one of the most influential figures in the creation of American tap dance. Lane developed a unique style of using his body as a musical instrument, blending African-derived syncopated rhythms with movements of the Irish jig and reel. Lane’s melding of these

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Source: Black Past

Carter G. Woodson

Born: 12/19/1875 New Canton, VirginiaDied: 4/3/1950 Washington, D.C., United StatesKnown as the “Father of Black History,” Carter G. Woodson believed that documenting and sharing African American contributions was essential to cultivating positive self worth among African-Americans as

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Source: Blackfacts.com

Civil Rights Timeline

The Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned

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Source: Fact Monster - Black History

(1976) Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, “Who, Then, Will Speak for the Common Good?”

In 1972 Barbara Charline Jordan became the first black member of Congress elected from Texas. Two years later this freshman Representative became a national figure because of her prominent role as a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment hearings of President Richard

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Source: Black Past

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2021 Kentucky Writer's Hall of Fame

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