George Crum
The potato chip (aka crisps) was invented in 1853 by George Crum. The son of an African-American father and a Native American mother, Crum was a chef at the Moon Lake …
Granville T Woods “The Black Edison”
Many professionals in the electrical industry knew Granville T Woods as the “Black Edison”. Woods was considered by many to be the greatest electrician in the world. The most well-known …
Elijah McCoy
Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada, on 2 May 1844. His parents were George and Emillia McCoy, former slaves from Kentucky who escaped through the Underground Railroad. George …
Henry Boyd – Black inventor
Henry Boyd was a skilled carpenter, born into slavery in Kentucky on 12 April 1802. At a young age, his master apprenticed Henry out to a cabinetmaker. Henry proved to …
The Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were an umbrella term for state and local laws which legalised racial segregation. African Americans were to be marginalised by these laws – which existed for …
Alice Marie Coachman – First black woman to win an Olympic gold medal
Alice Marie Coachman (born 9 November 1923 in Albany, Georgia) is an American former athlete. She specialised in the high jump and became the first black woman to win …
Louise Bennet: Miss Lou dies at 86
On Wednesday, Jamaican poet and folklorist Louise Simone Bennett-Coverly, who became the voice of the island’s culture at home and abroad, died in Toronto. She was 86 years old. Jamaica …
Planning for the summer holidays
It’s that time of the year when people who can afford it are off on their holidays, the children are out of school and their boredom threshold has increased to …
Weapons of Mass Destruction
President Bush has finally accepted responsibility for using suspect evidence about Iraq’s weaponry as a public justification for war and insisted America was “on the hunt” for missing Iraqi leader …
What’s the meaning of each one teach one?
The saying “Each one teach one” is an African proverb that originated in America during slavery times. Slaves were seen as chattel and therefore denied an education so when one …
Am I Black Enuf for ya?
Am I Black Enuf for ya?B. Keith Wilson If I don’t call my brothas and sistas niggas,would I be Black Enuf For Ya?If I told you that I couldn’t rap …
Alexandre Dumas
You’ve seen the movies and maybe you’ve read the books but did you know that The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo were written by a black man? …
Ignatius Sancho
Ignatius Sancho (1729-1780) was born a slave on a ship crossing the Atlantic from Africa to the West Indies. He was christened Ignatius at Cartagena, on the coast of Columbia. His …
Arawak people
The Arawak were a once-predominant group of Native Americans originally inhabiting an area that stretched from present-day Florida down through the islands of the West Indies and the coastal area …
Brief History of Barbados
British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the site of present-day Holetown on the Caribbean coast found the island uninhabited. As elsewhere in the eastern Caribbean, Arawak …
Brief History of St Lucia
St. Lucia’s first known inhabitants were Arawaks, believed to have come from northern South America 200-400 AD. Numerous archaeological sites on the island have produced specimens of the Arawaks’ well-developed …
Brief History of Guyana
Before the arrival of Europeans, Guyana was inhabited by both Carib and Arawak tribes, who named it Guiana, which means land of waters. The Dutch settled in Guyana in the late …
Brief History of Jamaica
When looking at the history of Jamaica, we must first consider the first inhabitants. Around 600 CE a race known as the “Redware people” arrived; little is known of them, …
More Than Slaves
Black History does not start with slavery, contrary to popular belief, there was Black history before slavery. Long before we were bought and sold, we were making history, and after …
I have a Dream
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of his most famous speeches on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Most people only remember the …
A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry uplike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore–And then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust …
What A Real Sista Been Dyin’ To Say…
Sista, please”Time out!I need a word with youyou messin’ up my good thangand this just ‘aint gon’ doNow, understand – you can do what you want with your life”but your …
