This week, a grand jury met one last time over the cold case of Frank Morris, an African-American shopkeeper in Ferriday, Louisiana, who was brutally murdered in 1964, a victim of the Ku Klux Klan. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/35001
Charles “Teenie” Harris was the lead photographer for the influential Pittsburgh Courier newspaper who captured over 80,000 images of the nation’s black leaders and events in history. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/34874
Olympic gold medalist and former undisputed world heavyweight champion Joseph William “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier, passed away at age 67 from liver cancer on Monday. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/34344
Last week marked the anniversary of the most powerful gathering of African-American women in history: The Million Woman March. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/34103
The year 1965 was a dream come true for Mary Alexander of Ocala, Florida. She was a junior at Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia when her dorm mother insisted that she go to a local audition for a Coca-Cola promotion on campus. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/33857
A woman named Nellie Conley, a.k.a. Madame Sul-Te-Wan, became the first black actress contracted to appear in D.W. Griffith’s controversial 1915 film, “Birth of a Nation.” Her talent career would last for nearly 70 years. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/33697
Dr. Helen Octavia Dickens was the first African-American woman to be admitted to the American College of Surgeons. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/33605
For 70 years, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth fought for civil rights with his body, mind and soul. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/moving_america_news/33182
Frank Calloway of Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a 96-year-old African-American artist. In 1952, Calloway was diagnosed with schizophrenia. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/32696
Willie Francis of St. Martinsville, Louisiana is known as the first person to suffer from a failed execution via the electric chair in the United States. The 16-year-old had been sentenced to death for the murder of his former employer, Andrew Thomas, a Cajun pharmacist. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/32449
The Rev. James Bevel, also known as the father of voting rights, was the director of direct action and director of non-violent education at the Southern Christian Leadership Council in the 1960s, a top advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/32368
DC Comics has changed their format to create a new lineup of historic characters called The New 52. The switch is an ambitious effort to build a new, and more diverse audience base. The “Number One” issues were released on Aug. 31st. http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/32233
