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Eminem
Name at birth: Marshall Bruce Mathers III
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Aug
14
2009
African American History (slavery)
When Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean, 30 Africans are with him; these Africans help Balboa build the first ship to be constructed in the Western Hemisphere.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Jan
0
1513
African American History (slavery)
Portugal lands its first cargo of enslaved Africans in the Western Hemisphere. Diego Medez is a member of the crew on the Capitana when Christopher Columbus makes his last voyage to the Western Hemisphere.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Boston Professional Chapter
Jan
0
1502
Jefferson, William J. (1947-- )
William J. Jefferson is a former Democratic politician who represented Louisiana’s Second Congressional District from 1991 to 2009. He was the first African American congressman elected from the state since Reconstruction. His career ended in a bribery scandal that resulted in his conviction in
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Source: Black Past
Jun
4
2007
Islam and the African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean World
In the following article historian Omar H. Ali explores a lesser-known aspect of the global African Diaspora, the spread of African peoples and their cultures throughout the Indian Ocean
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Bessie Smith
Born into poverty and orphaned at an early age, Bessie Smith became the greatest blues singer of her era, recording more than 160 songs between 1923 and 1933. Her early career was influenced by Ma Rainey, and Smith performed on stage throughout the southern U.S. before making records. She recorded
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Sheryl Swoopes
Sheryl Denise Swoopes is a retired professional basketball player and the first player to be signed on to the WNBA when it was created. She was born on March 25, 1971 in  Brownfield, Texas to Louise Swoopes. She had three older brothers with whom she grew up playing basketball. At the age of seven
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Source: Black History Resources
Mar
25
1971
Berry Gordy, Motown Executive, born
Motown recording executive Berry Gordy, Jr. born in Detroit, Michigan.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Nov
28
1929
Somalia
Somalia, situated in the Horn of Africa, lies along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. It is bounded by Djibouti in the northwest, Ethiopia in the west, and Kenya in the southwest. In area it is slightly smaller than Texas. Generally arid and barren, Somalia has two chief rivers, the Shebelle
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Tupac in Sarajevo: The Rise of Rebellion Rap in Eastern Europe
Vildana Muratovic, a native of Bosnia-Herzegovina and now a citizen of the United States, describes the impact of hip-hop music on the people of the Balkans following her 1997 return to Sarajevo.  Her paper was written in
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Concerned Black Men of Massachusetts
Farley, James Conway (1854- 1910?)
James Conway Farley, the first African American to achieve prominence in the photography industry, was born on August 10, 1854 to slave parents in Prince Edwards County, Virginia. After his father died, he and his mother moved to Richmond in 1861. The sources are unclear as to whether Farley and
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Source: Black Past
Dec
10
1876
Gossett, Larry (1945-- )
Born on February 21, 1945 in Seattle to parents, Nelmon and Johnnie Carter Gossett, Larry Gossett has been a dedicated public servant for over 40 years. After graduating from Franklin High School, he was a VISTA volunteer in Harlem (1966-1967). Gossett attended the University of Washington, where
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Source: Black Past
Feb
21
1945
Trinidad and tobago
Current government officials
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Bessie Smith's First Recording
On this day Bessie Smith makes her first recording, Down Hearted Blues, which sells 800,000 copies for Columbia Records.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
16
1923
Christopher Columbus
Following the introduction of cattle into the Caribbean in 1493, during Christopher Columbus’s second voyage, cattle ranching proliferated along a series of frontiers across the grasslands of North and South America. While historians have recognized that Africans and their descendants were involved
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Source: Black Past
Angola
National name: Republica de Angola
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Uganda
Uganda, twice the size of Pennsylvania, is in East Africa. It is bordered on the west by Congo, on the north by the Sudan, on the east by Kenya, and on the south by Tanzania and Rwanda. The country, which lies across the equator, is divided into three main areas—swampy lowlands, a fertile plateau
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Christo Rey New York High School
Jul
27
1985
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
Count Basie
William James Basie was one of the most notable jazz musicians of the 20th century. He was born on August 21, 1904 to Harvey Lee and Lillian Basie in Red Bank, New Jersey. Both his parents were musicians, which influenced Basie from an early age. His father played the mellophone, and his mother
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Source: Black History Resources
Aug
21
1904
Chris Rock Born
Comedian, author, recording artist, actor, and talk show host Chris Rock was born in South Carolina. He will become a critically comedian, hosting his self titled show on HBO. He will also bring to the forefront a boycott of the flag of his birthplace. He will star in and make a few movies of his
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Feb
7
1967
First recorded use of oboe in jazz
Don Redman, musical prodigy, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, vocalist and bandleader, was the first musician to use the oboe as a jazz instrument in a solo he performed in a recording of After the Storm, with Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra. The piece was recorded by Pathe Actuelle
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
28
1924
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was a famous American jazz musician. He was born on May 26, 1926 to a wealthy African American family in Alton, Illinois. His father was a dentist who also owned a ranch in Arkansas. Davis developed an appreciation for music at an early age after listening to gospel music at
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Source: Black History Resources
May
26
1926
Nascimento, Beatriz (1942-1995)
Brazilian political activist Beatriz Nascimento was born on July 12, 1942, to Rubina Pereira do Nascimento and Francisco Xavier de Nascimento in Aracaju, capital of the Northeast Brazilian state of Sergipe. She migrated with her family, including ten brothers to Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s. At the
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Source: Black Past
Jan
28
1995
Brazil
In the early morning hours of Jan. 27, 2013, a fire broke out in a nightclub in Santa Maria, a southern city in Brazil. The cause of the fire was a flare from pyrotechnics used by a band performing on stage at the club. At the time of the fire, the club was packed with hundreds of students from
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Darius Rucker
Darius C. Rucker is an American musician who first gained fame as the lead singer and guitarist of the band Hootie & the Blowfish, and next for his transition from a successful career in rock to a successful career in country music. Rucker was born on May 13, 1966 in Charleston, South
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Diversity In Action
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong was a multi-talented American jazz icon who was a singer, trumpeter, actor and comedian. He was born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He had an impoverished childhood; his father was a factory worker who abandoned the family when Armstrong was born and his mother often
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Source: Black History Resources
Jul
6
1971
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin is one of the most successful female recording artists of all time. She was born on March 25, 1942, in Memphis, Tennessee to C. L. and Barbara Franklin. C.L. was a famous Baptist preacher who later founded his own church and Barbara was an accomplished pianist and singer. Aretha was
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Source: Black History Resources
Mar
25
1942
Andre Reboucas
Andre Reboucas was born in 1838 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was trained at the Military School of Rio de Janeiro and became an engineer after studying in Europe. After returning to Brazil, Reboucas was named a lieutenant in the engineering corps in the 1864 Paraguayan War. During the war, as
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Brazil
On May 14, 2013, the National Council of Justice ruled that notary publics in Brazil could no longer refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. Many saw the ruling as an opening for gay couples to get married in Latin Americans largest
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
May
14
2013
Valerie Thomas
As a child, Valerie Thomas became fascinated with the mysteries of technology, tinkering with electronics with her father and reading books on electronics written for adolescent boys. The likelihood of her enjoying a career in science seemed bleak, as her all-girls high school did not push her to
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Source: Black History Resources
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