In 1959, three Detroit musicians formed a singing group called “The Blenders…” with little success. The next year, popular singer Jackie Wilson suggested the trio become a quartet with the addition of Jackie’s cousin Hubert Johnson. Hubert was accepted and the group changed their name to The Contours. Soon after, music impresario Berry Gordy signed …
As a young man in New Orleans, Sam Theard began performing in the circus, as well as theaters and nightclubs. In 1929, accompanied by noted blues musicians Tampa Red and Cow Cow Davenport, Sam wrote and recorded “Ill Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You” under the whimsical moniker “Lovin’ Sam from Down in …
Registered nurse Marie Van Brittan Brown grew weary of the high crime rate in her Queens, New York neighborhood. She and her her electrical engineer husband Albert were furious at the amount of time it took for police to respond to calls. They decided to take matters into their own hands. Marie and Albert rigged …
Teenage Jimmy Castor formed the group Jimmy and the Juniors and recorded “I Promise to Remember.” The single was poorly promoted by Mercury Records, which angered the budding singer. In 1966, Jimmy and the group released “Hey Leroy, Your Mama’s Callin’ You.” It was a moderate hit. In the 70s, Jimmy formed The Jimmy Castro …
Arturo Schomburg, son of a Black midwife and a German immigrant to Puerto Rico, was told by a grade school teacher that Black people had no heroes, no history and no accomplishments. This infuriated the young Arturo and he devoted his life to proving his teacher wrong. At St. Thomas College in the Virgin Islands, …
Ida Bell Wells was born into slavery in 1862. After the end of the Civil Wars, Ida’s parents, advocates in Reconstructionist politics, expressed the importance of education to their eldest daughter. Ida attended Rust College until she was expelled following a dispute with the university president. She lived with her grandmother until a yellow fever …
Bass Reeves was born into slavery, but escaped to “Indian Territory” (modern Kansas and Oklahoma) during the Civil War. Bass learned the languages of the Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole tribes, as well as tracking and survival skills. After the Emancipation Proclamation, Bass returned to Arkansas and began farming near the town of Van Buren. Because …
