Henry B. "Herky" Perry, was born the youngest of six children to Reverend Robert N. and Mary A. Jackson Perry of Thomasville, GA. As a young boy, Perry dreamed of one day becoming a pilot. In 1942, he graduated flight training in Class 42-H, Tuskegee Army Air Field. He was included in the initial cadre of pilots to join the 99th Fighter Squadron ...

Happy Birthday to philosopher, political activist and scholar of African American studies, Cornel West. West was born on June 2, 1953, in Tulsa, Oklahoma to a father who was a civilian U.S. Air Force administrator and an elementary school teacher/principal mother. His family later moved to Sacramento, California. At the age of 17, West ...

The 4 Black Diamonds were a quartet group who toured extensively throughout Europe. The group arrived in 1905 and became well-known throughout the country. The group's standard repertoire included "American Song and Dance." The vocal quartet group was formed by Strut Payne, Norris Smith, Marino Barreto, and Sergio. After the group split up, ...

Louise De Mortie was one of the most important African American women of her time. She dedicated her life to caring for homeless and indigent children in the South. De Mortie was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1833 into a family of free blacks. After marrying, she moved to Boston with her husband, John Oliver, in 1853. The two divorced in ...

Judy Lenteen Pace is best known for her tv and film roles, particularly blaxploitation films. She appeared in TV series Peyton Place as Vickie Fletcher and The Young Lawyers as Pat Walters. Pace was born in 1942 in Los Angeles, California. She made her first film debut in 13 Frightened Girls in 1963. Her first major break in Hollywood in ...

Orpheus Myron McAdoo his own minstrel company by recruiting former students and graduates of Hampton Institute after touring Europe, Australia, and New Zealand as a performer. McAdoo was born in 1858 in Greensboro, North Carolina. He attended Hampton Institute where he studied to be a teacher and graduated in 1876. After college, he taught in ...

Singer Robert Hicks helped popularize the Atlanta blues during its formative period. Given the name 'Barbecue Bob' by Columbia Records, Hicks had numerous hit songs during his career. Hicks was born to a family of sharecroppers in Georgia. At a young age, Hicks along with his brother, Charley, and other boys in the neighborhood formed a music ...

Belle Davis was a recording pioneer who toured extensively throughout Europe during the early 1900s. Davis was a prominent dancer artist, entertainer, and director. She also appeared in film. Davis' career began in the 1890s, she performed in the chorus girls in the Chicago revue 'The Creole Show.' On June 5, 1901, she sailed out of New York ...

  Betty and Rosie Collins rose to fame with their one hit song, 'Eddie My Love' which reached number 2 on R&B chart. Their music appealed directly to teenagers. During the era, they had competition from the Fontane Sisters and the Chordettes but it was the Collin sisters who rose to the top with the song. The teenagers were from ...

Daisy Lampkin spent most of her life dedicated to supporting civil and women's rights. Lampkin began hosting local suffragette meetings at her home near Pittsburgh, and organizing African-American women to engage in consumer groups in 1912. Much of her efforts centered on the organization of women’s groups, and her leadership earned her the ...

Horatio J. Homer broke barriers when he became the first black police officer in Boston's history in 1878. Homer served on the police force for over 40 years. Homer was born in Farmington, Connecticut, on May 24, 1848, to Sarah Fields and Charles Homer. As a young boy, he took a job working in a hotel as a bellhop. He traveled a lot and worked ...

Berry & Ross was a black-owned doll company. The business was founded by Harlem residents, Evelyn Berry and Victoria Ross. The two women founded the company in 1918 and operated it until around 1929. The doll company was the first which was operated by two African American women. The dolls sold not only appealed to black children but ...