By Nyesha Stone Let’s be honest, America was built on the back of Black people. Our style and our ideas have helped shape society, but the country and by extension the world have seemingly forgotten to include us in the history of how American came to be. We are more than just slaves, and author, […]
Women’s History Profiles: Influential Women Artists
by Brianna Rae Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold, world-famous painter, writer, sculptor, and performance artist, was born Faith Willi Jones on October 8, 1930 in Harlem, New York City. Her mother a fashion designer and her father a great storyteller, Ringgold was surrounded by the arts from an early age. She was also born into the […]
Diversity among Doctors Drives Trust in Health Care
By Patricia Maryland NNPA News Wire Guest Columnist Black History Month gives us the opportunity to reflect on the countless examples of the contributions that African-Americans have made to build our country. By celebrating these pioneers who helped shape America, we are inspired to overcome adversity and realize the positive change we, too, are capable […]
Black History Profiles: Katherine Dunham and Misty Copeland
Black Art Has Always Been a Powerful Tool for Social Change by Brianna Rae Katherine Dunham Referred to as ‘The matriarch and queen mother of Black dance,’ Katherine Mary Dunham was an outstandingly talented dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, educator, and social activist. Born in Chicago on June 22, 1909, she was interested in dance and writing […]
Black History Profiles: James Baldwin and Toni Morrison
Black Art Has Always Been a Powerful Tool for Social Change by Jacklin Bolduan James Baldwin James Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924. He was the grandson of a slave and the oldest of nine children. When he was about three years old, Baldwin’s mother married David Baldwin, who was a Baptist minister. Following […]
Wisconsin’s First African-American Judge, Harold Jackson, Passes at 77
Harold Baron Jackson, Jr. was born December 28, 1939 in Washington, D.C. Julia O. Jackson and Harold Jackson Sr. were prominent members of the Black middle class in Washington D.C. Julia O. had big dreams for their son, coupled with his high IQ; so, instead of sending him to Dunbar High School – known as […]
EXCEPT WHERE INDICATED, THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS PAGE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE MADISON TIMES
From the Harlem Renaissance to the Black Arts Movement, Writers Who Changed the World
Black History Profiles by Brianna Rae Zora Neale Hurston A self-possessed woman with infinite curiosity, Zora Neale Hurston was a key figure in the literary movement of the Harlem Renaissance, but also in the fields of anthropology and folklore. Known for saying, “Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It […]
Moment in Black History: Frederick Douglass
By Graham Thomas Kilmer February 20, 2015 Frederick Douglass, originally named Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, was born the son of a slave and a white man in Talbot County, Maryland. Some believe Douglass’s father was the owner of the very plantation he spent the first eight years of his life on. Before the […]
A Moment in Black History: Remembering W.E.B. DuBois
By Ariele Vaccaro February 13, 2015 W.E.B. DuBois Among his numerous titles, “civil rights activist” might be William Edward Burghardt DuBois’s most influential. He’s more commonly known as W.E.B. DuBois. Although the Lenin Peace Prize Winner grew up in the relatively integrated town of Great Barrington, Mass., he was no stranger […]
A Moment in Black History: Ida B. Wells
February 6, 2015 Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells was a journalist, suffragette, and crusader for justice in the face of tyranny. She was the daughter of former slaves, and became one of the most prominent activists in America’s anti-lynching movement. Wells helped establish civil rights organizations all over the country, and […]