People, Locations, Episodes

Inge Hardison, Sculptor born

*Inge Hardison was born on this date in 1914. She is an African American sculptor and photographer.

Bill Jones, Pioneering Basketball Player, born

*Bill Jones was born on this date in 1914. He was a pioneering Black professional basketball player.   From Toledo, OH., William McNeil Jones was the son of William Allen Jones and Jessie L. Gatliff. Jones attended Woodward High School and played collegiately at the University of Toledo. He played in all five games for the […]

Stuart M. Hall, Educator, and Theorist born

*Stuart Hall was born on this date in 1932. He was a Black British Marxist sociologist, cultural theorist, and political activist. Stuart McPhail Hall was born in Kingston, Jamaica, into a middle-class Jamaican family of African, British, Portuguese, Jewish, and Indian descent. He attended Jamaica College, receiving an education modeled after the British school system. In […]

Emile Griffith, Boxer born

*Emile Griffith was born on this date in 1938. He was an African American professional boxer.

Marlon Riggs, Filmmaker, and Educator born

*On this date we mark the birth of Marlon Troy Riggs. He was an African American documentary filmmaker and educator who used video to oppose racism and homophobia.

Supreme Court Judge’s Visit is Challenged

*On this date in 2002, five Black professors boycotted a daylong visit to the University of North Carolina Law School by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

African Woman Sentenced to Die by Stoning

*On this date in 2002, a Black Nigerian woman convicted of adultery was sentenced to death by stoning.

The First Black Woman Wins Oscar for Best Actress

*On this date in 2002, the first Black woman won the Academy Award for best actress. Halle Berry received the honor for her role in “Monster’s Ball” the award left the star in tears and unable to speak for nearly a minute. “This moment is so much bigger than me,” she finally choked out, ticking off the names of other Black actresses.

Non-white Coaches Make it to NCAA Basketball Final Four

*On this date in 2002, two Black coaches in the NCAA’s Final Four competed against one another for the first time. Indiana University coach Mike Davis and Oklahoma University coach Melvin Sampson were the first Final Four match up featuring two minority coaches.

Davis, an African American and Sampson, a Native American from the Lumbee (African) Tribe.