James Hill was the first black vice president of University of Texas at Austin. The 84 year-old recently died of prostate cancer. Hill was a civil rights advocate who was once refused an education at the same school that made him vice president. During his tenure, Hill served on the Martin Luther King Jr. Sculpture […]

The New Orleans songwriter responsible for the song “Jock-A-Mo,” Mr. James Crawford, has passed away. The R&B singer, who was also known as “Sugar Boy”, wrote the famous Mardi Gras song “Jock-A-Mo” in 1953. The song was re-made by the Dixie Cups as “Iko-Iko” in 1965. Crawford’s song has also been re-made by Cyndi Lauper, […]

On May 12, 1968, over 2,500 activists from Mississippi arrived by bus in Washington, D.C. for a gathering of mass protest that was planned to be long-term at the National Mall. An architect named John Wiebenson secured five acres around the Reflecting pool in Washington in order to build a small independent city with its […]

Olympian Gabby Douglas just became the first African-American woman to win an all-around gold medal in gymnastics. Congrats to Gabby! Gabby’s grace and flexibility impress the judges on the balance beam and uneven bars, and at age 15 is a star in the making in the floor exercise competition. As the competition heats up, we […]

This is hardly a definitive list of smart brothers, but we wanted to give props to a few we knew across the age gamut who’ve contributed mightily to overcoming the stereotype that black men can’t be intellectual. These brothers read, write, teach and speak and do their part to brighten up the world with their […]

Venus and Serena Williams grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, California and were coached by their father from a very young age to win BIG. The sisters were playing in tournaments before their teens, but their father/manager pulled them from competition to finish their education. At the time, the decision was not […]

Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations,[2] 27 Grammys,[2] including a Grammy Legend Award in 1991. He is particularly recognized as […]

As I contemplated my message to you for our celebration of Black History Month, the riff, melody and lyrics of James Brown’s “I’m Black and I’m Proud” song constantly came tomind. While the line “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud” is pretty clear, in 1968 it was a fresh and welcome message of a […]

The fight to end segregation was a three-pronged attack. The beloved Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. evoked sympathy from the nation, the militant Malcolm X evoked fear and Thurgood Marshall evoked the law. While King and X gave blacks the courage to stand up to segregation, it was Marshall who fought for these brave people […]

Russell Simmons is best known for being the Co-founder of Def Jam Records as was the force behind the hip-hop revolution and launching the careers of such acts as the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool J and Run-DMC. The entrepreneur and philanthropist was born in 1957 in New York City. Simmons left college to […]

The African American Library at the Gregory School is the newest of three special collections operated by the Houston Public Library. Located in Houston’s historic Freedman’s Town, the Library is housed in what was once the Edgar M. Gregory School, which served as the first public school for African Americans in Houston. As the first […]

Black History Month is the time in which we celebrate  historical African American people, events and culture.  Here is a list of local community events celebrating our rich black history during the month of February. Houston Community College: Annual Black History Gala Hilton-Americas Hotel 1600 Lamar 713.739.8000 Each year, HCC and its generous sponsors throw the […]