NBC slipped up again when the network aired a poorly placed ad of a monkey on gymnastics rings, right after Gabrielle Douglas’s win. The young athlete has been the topic of conversation around American dinner tables, and has become the front running inspiration for many black young women. Bob Costas also took up the charge […]

VIA:  History.Com On January 18, 1958, hockey player Willie O’Ree of the Boston Bruins takes to the ice for a game against the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the first black to play in the National Hockey League (NHL). Born in 1935 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, O’Ree was the son of a civil engineer, in one […]

VIA:  ICDC.Com THE FBI’S COVERT ACTION PROGRAM TO DESTROY THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY INTRODUCTION In August 1967, the FBI initiated a covert action program — COINTELPRO — to disrupt and “neutralize” organizations which the Bureau characterized as “Black Nationalist Hate Groups.” 1 The FBI memorandum expanding the program described its goals as: 1. Prevent a […]

VIA:  JackieRobinson.Com Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised Jackie and her four other children. They were the only black family on their block, and the prejudice they encountered only strengthened their bond. From this humble beginning would grow the first […]

VIA:  TheKennedyCenter.Org (singer; born February 27, 1897, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Most Americans best remember Marian Anderson for her conscience-grabbing concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, 1939 after she was denied the use of Constitution Hall, an arena that, from 1935 to 1952, opened its doors to white artists only. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, appalled […]

The rehearsals for the Reunion Recording Choir will begin on February 19, 2010 at “The Faith” Church, 1601 East 35th Street (35th & Hovey). Rehearsal starts at 8 o’clock pm sharp. Spread the Word..See You There! logon to http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Jesus-Gang-Reunion-RetreatRecordingRecreation/279620839699 To connect with the Jesus Gang or call Pastor Denise Carpenter of The Faith Church at […]

VIA:  RedHotJazz.Com Mamie Smith was the first to record blues songs in 1920 with her versions of Perry Bradford’s “Crazy Blues”, and “It’ s Right Here for You” on Okeh Records. The record was a wild success, selling over a million copies in less than a year, and finally ending up selling over two million […]

According to blackamericaweb.com, Vonetta Flowers always wanted to go to the Olympics. But she could have never imagined that her triumph would be in a sport she’d barely heard of, much less ever attempted – and in the Winter Games at that. A Birmingham, Alabama native, Flowers was a decorated track and field athlete who […]

VIA:  NAACP.Org The NAACP was formed partly in response to the continuing horrific practice of lynching and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, the capital of Illinois and resting place of President Abraham Lincoln. Appalled at the violence that was committed against blacks, a group of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington and Oswald […]

VIA:  EncyclopediaOfChicago.Org Oscar DePriest was born in Florence, Alabama, to ex-slaves. He arrived in Chicago in 1889. DePriest worked as a painter and decorator, reportedly on occasion passing for white to get a job. He developed his own contracting business and began participating in community affairs. He began his political career as a precinct secretary, […]

The game itself was decided late into the third quarter as the Indianapolis Colts slowly, inexorably pulled away in victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. But the bigger storyline played itself out during the course of the game and as the final seconds ticked off the clock, as Tony Dungy became the […]

According to the Today Show, the physical healing is done, but nearly seven years after becoming the U.S. armed forces’ first black female prisoner of war when she was captured by Iraqi insurgents, Shoshana Johnson is still dealing with the mental trauma of her ordeal. In March 2003, just days after the start of Operation […]