Adelaide Hall
Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her…
Lesley Riddle
Lesley “Esley” Riddle (June 13, 1905 – July 13, 1979) was an African American musician whose influence on the Carter Family helped to shape country music.
Gus Cannon
Gustavus “Gus” Cannon (September 12, 1883 or 1884 – October 15, 1979) was an American blues musician who helped to popularize jug bands (such as his own Cannon’s Jug Stompers)…
Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne
Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne (February 4, 1883 – March 17, 1939) was an early-20th-century African-American blues musician from Greenville, Alabama, who was more widely known by his nickname Tee Tot.…
Lillian Ngoyi
Lilian Masediba Matabane Ngoyi, “Mma Ngoyi“, (25 September 1911 – 13 March 1980) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the executive committee of…
Annie Malone
Annie Minerva Turnbo Malone (August 9, 1879 – May 10, 1957) was an American businesswoman, inventor and philanthropist. She is considered to be one of the first African American women…
Marie Van Brittan Brown
Marie Van Brittan Brown (October 30, 1922 – February 2, 1999) was an American nurse and innovator. In 1966, she invented a video home security system along with her husband…
William T. Shorey
William T. Shorey (July 13, 1859 – April 15, 1919) was a late 19th-century American whaling ship captain known to his crew as the Black Ahab. He was born in…
Slocum Massacre
The Slocum Massacre occurred on July 29–30, 1910, in Slocum, Texas, an unincorporated community in Anderson County near Palestine in East Texas. Only six deaths were officially confirmed, but some…
Memphis Riots Of 1866
The Memphis massacre of 1866 was a series of violent events that occurred from May 1 to 3, 1866 in Memphis, Tennessee. The racial violence was ignited by political and…