On Friday, not long after the jingle ended, I went to see the movie “Waiting for Superman” with my senior producer Nikki Woods and writer Mary Boyce, a.k.a. Mamas Gone Wild. If you haven’t seen it yet, “Waiting for Superman” takes a look at the public school system in this country, shows us how jacked […]

In 1781, Elizabeth “Mum Bett” Freeman became the first African-American slave to win her freedom through a court of law. The case was held in Massachusetts, which, coincidentally became the first state in the Union to abolish slavery. Many attribute the decision to the Freeman case and two others in the state.    http://www.blackamericaweb.com/?q=articles/news/the_black_diaspora_news/22826

Down in the delta of Indianola, Mississippi in 1891, a prominent Fisk University graduate by the name of Minnie Cox would be appointed the first African-American postmaster in Mississippi. From a well-to-do family in the south, she was favored among the black elites. However, her re-appointment to a third-term as postmaster would almost cost Cox […]

Harlem native Tee Collins was the first African-American animator to establish his own studio in New York. He was best known for his creation of the character Wanda the Witch on “Sesame Street.” It was the story of a witch with a pet weasel who washed her wirey wig on Wednesday. His new animation would […]

*Morgan Freeman has been named the 39th recipient of the American Film Institute’s AFI Life Achievement Award, becoming only the second black actor to receive the honor. Sidney Poitier was the first recipient in 1992. . The award will be presented to Freeman at a gala tribute on June 9 in Los Angeles and will […]

Writer Harriet Jacobs told her story of captivity and escape in her 1861 novel called “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.” The North Carolina slave girl was handed down through generations of the Horniblow family until she became the property of Dr. James Norcom. Norcom would not allow Jacobs to marry and forced […]

*Sherri Shepherd may be known for making people laugh, but the comedian and co-host of “The View” says back in the day – she was the one being laughed at – by bullies at her school. “My dad worked two jobs and moved us to the suburbs, and just being a black person, I went […]

Wilmington, North Carolina native Alex Manly served as editor of a newspaper called The Daily Record, which was, at one point, the only African-American newspaper in the late 19th century. Once Manly took over the weekly edition of The Daily Record, he expanded its printing to daily. A fair-skinned black man, Manly signed on white […]

Somehow, some way, those of us who care need to find a way to breathe new life into potential voters in the upcoming mid-term elections. Two years ago, as we approached the November 2008 election, you couldn’t go a day without being inundated with information on the importance of registering and voting. In fact, if […]

In 1933 a number of African Americans banded together to form an organization that would fight against civil injustice in the workplace and local establishments in Washington D.C.  They were called the New Negro Alliance and they became known for a string of successful court cases and protests, beginning with a number of boycotts to […]

I have always taken great pride in the fact that I made it on my own after college, moving away from friends and family back home in St. Louis to a city in which I knew only one person. Being physically alone without family is always a scary situation, but I haven’t turned back after […]

Born in 1896, Evelyn Preer was one of the first African American actresses to transition into Hollywood films with sound. In her time, she had been called the hardest-working woman in show business. After convincing her sternly religious mother to let her study acting, Evelyn Preer was discovered by the “Father of Black Film,” Oscar […]