The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life is a novel penned by African-American author Wallace Thurman during the Harlem Renaissance. The title is a phrase many recite as a term of endearment describing a handsome dark-skinned man or woman. In The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life, Thurman tells the story of young, dark-skinned Emma Lou Morgan. The story opens in Boise, Idaho, and follows Emma Lou throughout her journey as a student …

Read moreRemember saying, “The Blacker the Berry the Sweeter the Juice”

There are many stories told about extraordinary slave escapes. Without maps or compasses, many depended on quilts, songs, and even the North Star. But Henry “Box” Brown, using a wooden crate, shipped himself as cargo from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where slavery had been abolished. The story of this ingenious escape would later become one of the best-known slave narratives in American history. Brown was born enslaved in Louisa County, Virginia in 1815. At …

Read moreHenry “Box” Brown Mailed Himself to Freedom

Some individuals with autism possess extraordinary skills not exhibited by most persons. They are called “savants.” Thomas “Blind Tom” Wiggins was an African-American autistic savant musical prodigy who mastered the piano. With numerous original compositions published and a long-running successful performance career, he became one of the best-known American pianists. Born blind at birth (May 25, 1849), Tom, along with his parents, was sold in 1850 to General James Neil Bethune. Tom’s blindness prevented him from …

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World War II was an era that spawned uses of numerous important inventions. If, for example, a soldier became critically wounded, blood loss was extremely dangerous. This resulted in the critical need for cooling units used to store and transport blood, medicine, and food for use at army hospitals, military camps, and on open battlefields. One of the most prolific African-American inventors, Frederick McKinley Jones, designed the portable units used throughout the war. Born in …

Read moreFrederick McKinley Jones: Keeping Things Cool

Early 1930’s America was ushered in on the heels of an era of unprecedented, lopsided prosperity. The decade witnessed the Great Depression, poor race relations, and surges in racial violence. Approximately half of black Americans were out of work, and in some Northern cities, could be fired from any job as long as there were unemployed whites. Amid the unrest, Bessie Stringfield (born in 1911) began to live a dream unimaginable to most: riding a …

Read moreBessie Stringfield: The African-American Motorcycle Queen

Seven-year-old Bessie Blount Griffin found herself slapped on the knuckles for writing with her left hand. So she taught herself to write with a pencil in her mouth and with her toes, because if it was “wrong to write with my left hand, then it was wrong to write with my right hand.” That incident, along with her creativity, would drive her throughout her extensive career as a nurse, physical therapist, inventor and forensic handwriting and …

Read moreBessie Blount: Nurse, Inventor, Handwriting Expert

Patents are important official documents as they are used to safeguard one’s inventions. The first U.S. patent was issued in 1790. But it wasn’t until March 3, 1821 that a patent was issued to an African American: Thomas L. Jennings. Jennings, born free in 1791, was awarded the patent for his discovery of a process called dry scouring, also known as dry cleaning. While working as a tailor, he discovered that customers needed a solution for …

Read moreThomas L. Jennings: First African American to Receive a Patent

Historically, professional golf has held fast to its tradition of lacking diversity among its players. But no brown on the green didn’t hold Charles Sifford back. By age 13 he could shoot par consistently and had already decided to make golf his full-time job. The Charlotte, N.C. native would one day stand toe-to-toe in the majors with the best golfers in the game. Born on June, 2 1922, Sifford’s early exposure to golf came about …

Read moreCharles Sifford: First African American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame

First there was Mae Dr. Mae Jemison is the first African American female astronaut to go into space. She flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor as a science mission specialist in September 1992. Jemison was born in Decatur, Alabama, and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She entered Stanford University at age sixteen and received her B. S. in Chemical Engineering and a B. A. in African and Afro-American Studies in 1977. She also attended Cornell Medical College …

Read moreAfrican American Women who reached for and touched the stars!

In a photo in Jack Daniel’s old office, Daniel, with mustache and white hat, is shown at his distillery in Tennessee in the late 1800s. The man to his right could be a son of Nearest Green, a slave who helped teach Daniel how to make whiskey. “There’s no part of America’s history that Black folks weren’t a part of in some form or fashion.” I say this all the time, then I learned about …

Read moreBlack History and Jack Daniel’s Whiskey