Ernest Everett Just was born on August 14, 1883 in Charleston, South Carolina. Because high schools in the South provided such poor education at that time for African-American children, Just’s mother decided to send him North to receive better schooling. Through hard work, Ernest was able to earn enough money to attend the Kimball Academy […]
Granville Woods was born on April 23, 1856 in Columbus, Ohio. He spent his early years attending school until the age of 10 at which point he began working in a machine shop repairing railroad equipment and machinery. Intrigued by the electricity that powered the machinery, Woods studied other machine workers as they attended to […]
James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens was born September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama, the youngest of 10 children. J.C., as he was called, was nine years old when the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio for better opportunities. When his new teacher asked his name he said “J.C.”, but because of his strong Southern accent, she thought […]
Patricia Era Bath was born on November 4, 1942, in Harlem, New York. Her mother encouraged her to read constantly and broadened Bath’s interest in science by buying her a chemistry set. Bath attended Charles Evans Hughes High School in New York where she served as editor of the school’s science paper. In 1959, she was […]
Elijah J. McCoy, born May 2, 1844, was a Black Canadian–American inventor and engineer. McCoy was born to George and Mildred McCoy who had escaped from Kentucky to Canada via the Underground Railroad. In 1847, the family returned to the U.S., settling in Ypsilanti, Michigan. At age 15, McCoy traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland for an […]
Matthew Alexander Henson was the first African-American Arctic explorer, an associate of Robert Peary on seven voyages over a period of nearly twenty-three years. At the age of twelve, Henson made his way to Baltimore, Maryland, where he went to sea as a cabin boy on a merchant ship named Katie Hines. Henson sailed around […]
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American singer and actress. She is probably most remembered for her role as matchmaker “Dolly Gallagher Levi” in David Merrick’s production of Hello Dolly!—a part first created on Broadway by Carol Channing. The all-black version of Hello Dolly! played on Broadway from 1967 to 1969, and garnered Bailey the theater’s […]
George Zimmerman soon to be ex-wife Shellie is getting $4,300 a month in living expenses out of the funds raised for Zimmerman’s defense. George Zimmerman was acquitted two months ago for killing Trayvon Martin. TMZ reports that Shellie Zimmerman separated from her husband August 13 and is collecting the monthly payment from the Zimmerman Legal Defense Fund in […]
