What In The Black History

Giving some lesser known (and maybe some known) individuals in black history a chance to shine

Emmett Ashford 08/02/2025

Emmett Ashford First Black umpire *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2016/04/12/little-known-black-history-fact-emmett-ashford/ • SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN BASEBALL RESEARCH: https://sabr.org/journal/article/emmett-ashford/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37382045

761st Tank Battalion 07/26/2025

761st Tank Battalion Considered the first black armed tank unit to rlenter combat during WWII. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2016/05/24/little-known-black-history-fact-761st-tank-battalion/ • NATIONAL WW2 MUSEUM: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/black-panthers-761st-tank-battalion • NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: https://www.nps.gov/articles/761sttankbattalion.htm • HISTORY: https://www.history.com/articles/761st-tank-battalion-black-panthers-liberators-battle-of-the-bulge /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37382035

Belva Davis 07/19/2025

Belva Davis First African-American woman news reporter on the West Coast *SOURCES* • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/davis-belva-1932/ • ENCYCLOPEDIA: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/davis-belva /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37382020

Beatrice "Miss Bea" Borders 07/12/2025

Beatrice "Miss Bea" Borders Delivered over 6,000 babies at the Georgia B. Williams Nursing Home in Camilla, GA *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/03/26/little-known-black-history-fact-beatrice-miss-bea-borders/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37382005

Alice Coachman 07/05/2025

Alice Coachman First black woman from any country to win an Olympic gold medal. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2014/07/16/little-known-black-history-fact-alice-coachman/ • WOMEN’S HISTORY: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/alice-coachman • BIOGRAPHY: https://www.biography.com/athlete/alice-coachman • BRITANNICA: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alice-Coachman • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/coachman-alice-marie-1923/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37081375

Andrew Hatcher 06/28/2025

Andrew Hatcher First African-American appointed as associate press secretary to the President of the United States *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2016/11/10/little-known-black-history-fact-andrew-hatcher/ • ENCYCLOPEDIA: https://www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/hatcher-andrew-t /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37081300

August Wilson 06/21/2025

August Wilson An American playwright whose work illuminated the joys and struggles of the African-American experience. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2015/02/16/little-known-black-history-fact-august-wilson/ • BRITANNICA: https://www.britannica.com/biography/August-Wilson • PBS: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/august-wilson-the-ground-on-which-i-stand-august-wilsonbiography-and-career-timeline/3683/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37081255

Got Ads! 06/17/2025

Got Ads! /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37034985

Amos Brown 06/14/2025

Amos Brown Indianapolis broadcaster and community activist that was a vocal champion on behalf of the city’s Black citizens. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2015/11/09/little-known-black-history-fact-amos-brown/ • ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INDIANAPOLIS: https://indyencyclopedia.org/amos-c-brown-iii/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/37008170

African American Music Appreciation Month 06/07/2025

African American Music Appreciation Month A month long celebration focusing on the musical contributions of African Americans *SOURCES* • NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/celebrating-black-music-month • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/06/01/little-known-black-history-fact-african-american-music-appreciation-month/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/36899225

Arcola Philpott 05/31/2025

Arcola Philpott First African American “motormanette.” *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/04/15/little-known-black-history-fact-arcola-philpott/ • UNION PACIFIC: https://www.up.com/customers/track-record/tr020122-black-leaders-in-transportation-history.htm /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/36329675

Arthur Mitchell 05/24/2025

Arthur Mitchell First African American to become a principal dancer with a major American ballet troupe *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/09/21/little-known-black-history-fact-arthur-mitchell/ • BRITANNICA: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-Mitchell • DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM: https://www.dancetheatreofharlem.org/our-history/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/36329670

Francis Hall Johnson 05/17/2025

Francis Hall Johnson A legendary composer who built one of the most beloved black choirs in the country. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/09/01/little-known-black-history-fact-hall-johnson/ • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/johnson-francis-hall-1888-1970/ • GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/hall-johnson-1888-1970/ • AFROVOICES: https://afrovoices.com/hall-johnson-biography/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/36329600

Archie Moore 05/10/2025

Archie Moore The American light heavyweight world boxing champion between 1952 and 1959 *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/04/14/little-known-black-history-fact-archie-moore-boxing-champ/ • BRITANNICA: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Archie-Moore • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/moore-archie-1913-1998/ • ENCYCLOPEDIA: https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/sports-and-games/sports-biographies/archie-moore • THE ROAR: https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/top-5-boxers-with-most-knockouts-in-history-bm05/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/36329580

Amiri Baraka 05/03/2025

Amiri Baraka Poet, activist, playwright and educator whose poetry and writings gained him fame and criticism. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2019/10/08/little-known-black-history-fact-amiri-baraka/ • BRITANNICA: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Amiri-Baraka • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/baraka-amiri-1934/ • BIOGRAPHY: https://www.biography.com/writer/amiri-baraka /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/36329560

Arthur Zang 04/26/2025

Arthur Zang Inventor of the Cardiopad *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2016/09/01/little-known-black-history-fact-arthur-zang/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35851640

Annette Jones White 04/19/2025

Annette Jones White She was forced to decide if she wanted to remain Miss Albany State or fight for civil rights *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/01/27/little-known-black-history-fact-annette-jones-white/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35851615

Auntie Ocloo 04/12/2025

Auntie Ocloo Pioneer of micro-lending *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/04/19/little-known-black-history-fact-auntie-ocloo/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35851585

Annie Malone 04/05/2025

Annie Malone Named the true first millionaire after inventing a hair care product company. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2014/08/12/little-known-black-history-fact-annie-malone/ • NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/annie-malone-and-madam-cj-walker-pioneers-african-american-beauty-industry • HISTORY'S WOMEN: https://historyswomen.com/social-reformers/annie-turnbo-malone/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35851550

Augustus Lushington 03/29/2025

Augustus Lushington Thought to be the first black degreed veterinarian *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2012/06/07/little-known-black-history-fact-augustus-lushington-2/ • ENCYCLOPEDIA: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/lushington-augustus-nathaniel#:~:text=Augustus%20Nathaniel%20Lushington,-1869%E2%80%931939&text=Trinidadian%2Dborn%20Augustus%20Nathaniel%20Lushington,University%20of%20Pennsylvania%20in%201897. /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35851515

Anne Wiggins Brown 03/22/2025

Anne Wiggins Brown First black vocalist admitted to Julliard. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2019/08/09/little-known-black-history-fact-anne-wiggins-brown-3/ • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/brown-anne-wiggins-1912-2009/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35799640

1919 Chicago Race Riots 03/15/2025

1919 Chicago Race Riots The most severe of approximately 25 race riots throughout the U.S. in the "Red Summer" following World War I (TRIGGER WARNING INCLUDED). *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2019/07/26/little-known-black-history-fact-1919-chicago-race-riots/ • BRITANNICA: https://www.britannica.com/event/Chicago-Race-Riot-of-1919 • CHICAGO HISTORY: https://www.chicagohistory.org/chi1919/ • HISTORY: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/chicago-race-riot-of-1919 /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35679305

Virginia Key Beach 03/08/2025

Virginia Key Beach Built in 1945 as a vacation spot strictly for Black Americans *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2013/02/20/little-known-black-history-fact-virginia-key-beach-paradise-lost/ • VIRGINIA KEY BEACH PARK: https://virginiakeybeachpark.net/our-history/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35576190

Alexander Twilight 03/01/2025

Alexander Twilight Allegedly the first African-American in the United States to graduate from College *SOURCES* • Middlebury: • BLACKPAST: /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35473425

1921 Tulsa Race Riots 02/22/2025

1921 Tulsa Race Riots The destruction of Tulsa, Oklahoma's "Black Wall Street" (TRIGGER WARNING INCLUDED) *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: • NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES: • BRITANNICA: /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35386960

African Cemetery at Higgs Beach in Key West, FL 02/15/2025

African Cemetery at Higgs Beach in Key West, FL The only known cemetery of African slave refugees (MILD TRIGGER WARNING INCLUDED) *SOURCES* • AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND AT HIGGS BEACH: https://www.africanburialgroundathiggsbeach.org/place • MEL FISHER MUSEUM: https://www.melfisher.org/copy-of-african-cemetery-1860 • ATLAS OBSCURA: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/key-west-african-cemetery-higgs-beach • KEY WEST AFRICAN FESTIVAL: https://www.keywestafricanafestival.com/key-west-african-cemetery-higgs-beach/ • AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND AT HIGGS BEACH: https://www.africanburialgroundathiggsbeach.org/people /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35291810

Sigma Pi Phi 02/08/2025

Sigma Pi Phi The first Black Greek Letter Organization ****SOURCES**** • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2015/05/18/little-known-black-history-fact-sigma-pi-phi/ • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/sigma-pi-phi-fraternity-the-boule-a-brief-overview-1904/ • UNITYFIRST: https://web.archive.org/web/20040529202002/http://www.unityfirst.com/pressreleaseboule.htm /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35199925

Negro History Week 02/01/2025

Negro History Week How Black History Month started *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2021/02/01/black-history-month-origin/ • ZINNED PROJECT: https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/carter-woodson-black-history-month/ • NYTIMES: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/history-of-black-history-month.html /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35107415

Alain Locke 01/25/2025

Alain Locke Recognized as one of the leading black philosophers and educators, and was instrumental in bringing attention to the Harlem Renaissance and first African-American awarded the Rhodes Scholarship. *SOURCES* • BLACK AMERICA WEB: https://blackamericaweb.com/2014/11/19/little-known-black-history-fact-alain-locke/ • BIOGRAPHY: https://www.biography.com/scholars-educators/alain-leroy-locke • BLACKPAST: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/locke-alain-1886-1954/ /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/35006385

Madame Abomah 01/18/2025

Madame Abomah Famously Tall Black circus performer **SOURCES* • THE AMERICAN BLACK HISTORY: https://theamericanblackstory.com/2023/02/06/d62023/ • UNCLE JUNIOR PROJECT: https://www.unclejrproject.com/ella-williams /episode/index/show/41baabce-b482-4334-a547-c538e384098d/id/34902285

What In The Black History

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