Jacobs fled slavery in 1835 by hiding in a crawlspace in her grandmother's attic for seven years before traveling to Philadelphia by boat, and eventually to New York. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. First Black Billionaire: Before Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan joined the billionaire’s club, Robert Johnson became the first African American billionaire when he sold the cable station he founded, Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 2001. to 4th century A.D.). Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons Fact #86: After retiring from baseball, Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson helped establish the African American-owned and -controlled Freedom Bank.

She’s infamously known for having her Habesha armies attack and destroy the kingdom of Axum. Fact #63: Jazz pianist and composer Alice McLeod married pioneering saxophonist John Coltrane in 1965. Among prominent figures are Madam C.J. Fact #25: Rap artist Chuck D graduated from Adelphi University, where he studied graphic design. 11. Fact #80: At the very peak of his fame, rock 'n' roll pioneer Little Richard concluded that his music was the Devil's work and subsequently became a traveling preacher, focusing on gospel tunes.

As a result, Monroe Meadows in Yosemite National Park is named after him. Fact #89: Ray Charles Robinson, a musical genius and pioneer in blending gospel and the blues, shortened his name to Ray Charles to prevent confusion with the great boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. The month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Fact #81: Actor, singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson was once considered for a U.S. vice presidential spot on Henry A. Wallace's 1948 Progressive Party ticket. Fact #20: Legendary singer James Brown performed in front of a televised audience in Boston the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. York was an invaluable member of the expedition, connecting with the Native American communities they encountered. Real Aborigines! *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Walker was born on a cotton plantation in Louisiana and became wealthy after inventing a line of African American hair care products. She was a popular attraction because of her friendly personality, storytelling skills and warmth. The date and the story of the enslaved Africans have become symbolic of slavery’s roots, ...read more, Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of blacks in U.S. history. Fact #114: In 1926, Carter Godwin Woodson established Negro History Week, which later became Black History Month. Yes! Fact #30: Paul Cuffee, a philanthropist, ship captain and devout Quaker who supported a return to Africa for Black citizens, transported 38 free African Americans to Sierra Leone in 1815. Fact #31: Tice Davids, a runaway enslaved person from Kentucky, may have been the inspiration for the first usage of the term "Underground Railroad," though the origins of the term are shrouded in mystery. Ten Little Known Black History Facts History is often reduced to a handful of memorable moments and events. 13. She restored temples and structures destroyed by the Hyksos invaders 70 years before her reign. He is considered the first African American man to cross what would become U.S. territory.

Many still exist today. It was originally created by designer Daymond John along with three other friends and was supported by fellow Queens native LL Cool J.

Fact #58: Martin Luther King Jr. was stabbed by a woman in 1958 while attending a book signing at Blumstein's department store in Harlem, New York. He came in second to Jesse Owens. First Senator: Hiram Rhodes Revels was the first African American ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Fact #78: In addition to her career in Washington, D.C., Condoleezza Rice is an accomplished pianist who has accompanied cellist Yo-Yo Ma, played with soul singer Aretha Franklin and performed for Queen Elizabeth II. Ending our Greatest Black Queens list is Queen Hatshepsut. Ali, the self-proclaimed "greatest [boxer] of all time," was originally named after his father, who was … Beethoven, the Most Famous Classical Musician of All Time, Was... a Black Man!

Du Bois, or William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, was an African American writer, teacher, sociologist and activist whose work transformed the way that the lives of black citizens were seen in American society. Surely you know that Halle Berry was the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best … Dressed in black berets and black leather jackets, the Black Panthers ...read more, On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation: “All persons held as slaves within any States…in rebellion against the United States,” it declared, “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” (The more than 1 million slaves in the loyal ...read more. Fact #19: In 1938, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt challenged the segregation rules at the Southern Conference on Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama, so she could sit next to African American educator and activist Mary McLeod Bethune. In 1917, she was part of a delegation that traveled to the White House to petition President Woodrow Wilson to make lynching a federal crime. By Hallie Q. Fact #119: According to the American Community Survey, in 2005, there were 2.4 million Black military veterans in the United States—the highest of any minority group. Fact #109: Cathay Williams was the first and only known female Buffalo Soldier. Howlin' Wolf maintained financial success throughout his life, held a stable marriage and worked for charitable causes in his Chicago community. She attained the military rank of general and commanded a cavalry unit of twenty thousand horsemen into battle. Fact #9: Armstrong earned the nickname "Satchmo" which was a shortened version of the moniker "satchel mouth.". Fact #104: The mother of rapper and producer Kanye West was an English professor before switching careers to serve as her son's manager. Fact #99: John Baxter Taylor, the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal, also held a degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania. Fact #103: Rapper Kanye West's father, Ray West—a former Black Panther—was one of the first Black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, receiving accolades for his work. Fact #48: Abolitionist Harriet Ann Jacobs published Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent. See more ideas about History, Black history facts, Black knowledge. These twin brothers were a carnival attraction who gained a lot of attention with …