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Dona Drake was a black actress, dancer and singer. However, Hollywood had know idea that she was black. In my research, I came across an article which gives more detail regarding Drake’s story.
“Dona Drake was a black actress, singer, and dancer who was famous in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. However, publicly, her fans would not learn of her African ancestry until years later after studio publicity inaccurately claimed that she was born Rita Novella in 1920 in Mexico City, giving the impression that she was of Mexican heritage. In actual fact, she was born November 15, 1914 in Florida to Joseph Westmoreland (of Arkansas) and Novella Smith (of Alabama) and they named her Eunice Westmoreland. U.S Census reports of her family history show her grandparents were one Black couple and one couple that was Black/White. Because of her features and dark curly hair, film makers often cast her when they needed to fill the role of an ethnic character that looked native, gypsy, or middle eastern.
 
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Lorenzo Dow Turner (August 21, 1890 – February 10, 1972) was an African-American academic and linguist who did seminal research on the Gullah language of the Low Country of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. His studies included recordings of Gullah speakers in the 1930s. As head of the English departments at Howard University and Fisk University for a combined total of nearly 30 years, he strongly influenced their programs. He created the African Studies curriculum at Fisk, was chair of the African Studies Program at Roosevelt University, and in the early 1960s, cofounded a training program for Peace Corps volunteers going to Africa.Lorenzo Dow Turner is best remembered as the father of Gullah studies. His interest in the Gullah people began in 1929 when he first heard Gullah speakers while teaching a summer class at South Carolina State College (now University). Although established scholars then viewed Gullah speech as a form of substandard English, Turner sensed that Gullah was strongly influenced by African languages. He set out to study the language. For the next 20 years, he made trips to the Gullah region in coastal South Carolina and Georgia, interviewing Gullahs (often in isolated locations) and making detailed notes on their language. He also made recordings in the 1930s of Gullah speakers talking about their culture, folk stories and other aspects of life.As part of his studies, Turner traveled to several locations in Africa, specifically Sierra Leone, to learn about the development of Creole languages, as well as to Louisiana and Brazil, to study Creole and Portuguese, respectively. He did research at University of London School of Oriental and African Studies on various African language systems. He wanted to be able to provide context for the obvious "Africanisms" he discovered in his Sea Islands research. "Such depth and breadth allowed Turner to locate Gullah culture and language within the broader complexities of the African diaspora in the New World, ... firmly outside the reductionist theoretical model of cultural assimilation.
When Turner finally published his classic work Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect in 1949, he made an immediate impact on established academic thinking. His study of the origin, development and structure of Gullah was so convincing that scholars quickly accepted his thesis that Gullah is strongly influenced by African languages. He showed the continuity of language and culture across the diaspora. Many scholars have followed Turner over the years in researching the African roots of Gullah language and culture. He created a new field of study by his work and an appreciation for a unique element of African-American culture.
Turner was strongly influenced by the American linguistic movement, which he joined at its inception. Through his Gullah research, he gave shape to several academic specialties: Gullah studies, dialect geography and creole linguistics, as well as being an important predecessor to the field of African American studies, which developed in the 1960s and ′70s.
Turner''s pioneering work, which academics credit for introducing African-American studies to U.S. curricula, was the subject of "Word, Shout, Song: Lorenzo Dow Turner Connecting Communities Through Language" at Smithsonian''s Anacostia Community Museum in July, 2016. Exhibit curator Alcione Amos said the Washington, D.C., museum acquired many of Turner''s original notes, pictures and recordings from his widow, Lois Turner Williams, in 2003.
Turner died of heart failure at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on February 10, 1972

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From Enslaved to Business Giant - John Henry MerrickHe was born enslaved in Clinton, North Carolina on September 7, 1859. When Merrick was twelve he and his family relocated to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He got a job as a helper in a brickyard which provided support for his family. At the age of eighteen Merrick moved to Raleigh, North Carolina where he began work as a hod carrier. Merrick eventually became a brick mason and worked on the construction of Shaw University in Raleigh.Merrick also worked as a shoe shine boy in a barbershop. When he was not shining shoes he watched and learned the trade of barbering. In 1880, his friend John Wright asked Merrick to join him in relocating in Durham, North Carolina to start a new barbershop business. After six months Merrick bought shares in the barbershop and became its co-owner. In 1892 Wright sold his shares to Merrick making him sole proprietor.
In 1881, one year after Merrick arrived in Durham to work as a barber, he began buying property in an all-black section of the city known as the Hayti. He bought and built rental properties and by the end of the decade Merrick was one of the largest property owners in the Hayti. Merrick then joined two other Durham businessmen, Dr. Aaron M. Moore and Charles Clinton Spaulding to create the Merrick-Moore-Spaulding Land Company.
Merrick is most remembered, however, as one of the founders of the North Carolina Mutual Provident Life Insurance Company which eventually became the largest black-owned insurance company in the United States. Realizing the limitations of lodge-sponsored insurance, Merrick joined Aaron McDuffie, P.W. Dawkings, D.T Watson, W.G. Pearson, E.A. Johnson, and James E. Shepard in 1898 to found North Carolina Mutual Provident Life. Each founder contributed $50 to purchase shares.
Merrick was selected as the first company president. Six months after its founding, however, Merrick bought out the other partners and brought in Dr. Aaron M. Moore. They shortened the company name to North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company. By 1918, North Carolina Mutual had over $1 million in insurance in force and was at that point the largest black-owned insurance firm in the nation.

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Did you know the world’s most popular snack, the potato chip, was born out of frustration? The tale begins in 1853 in Saratoga Springs, New York, at the Moon''s Lake House, where George Crum, a brilliant chef of African American and Native American descent, was making a name for himself with his culinary skills.One fateful day, a particularly picky customer complained that Crum''s fried potatoes were too thick and soggy. Determined to teach this guest a lesson, Crum sliced the potatoes paper-thin, fried them to a crisp, and heavily salted them. To his surprise, the customer loved them, and soon, everyone wanted a taste of Crum''s "Saratoga Chips."
What many don''t know is that George Crum never patented his creation, nor did he make a fortune from it. Instead, the potato chip became a local sensation, spreading beyond New York, and evolving into the snack we know today. Despite this, Crum continued to work at Moon''s Lake House, eventually opening his own restaurant, where the rich and famous would come to enjoy his chips.
Crum''s contribution to culinary history is a reminder that even our small acts can have a lasting impact. The next time you crunch into a potato chip, remember the ingenious chef who turned a complaint into an iconic creation that’s still loved worldwide, over 170 years later. George Crum’s legacy lives on in every bite.
( ), 1853

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These are actresses from the 1950s. Hollywood started to adapt to the changing times and social narratives, and Black actors were earning better roles than the stereotypical ones that plagued them in previous decades. However, the number of all-black cast films produced during the 1950s was the lowest compared to prior decades.
1. Eartha Kitt started appearing in movies in the late 40s but earned her first significant role in "Mark of the Hawk" (1957). Throughout the 50s, she appeared on several TV shows as a specialty act and starred in her first leading role in "Anna Lucasta" (1958).
2. Dorothy Dandridge was a rising star in the 40s, but her stardom was in the 1950s. Her first leading role was in "Bright Road" (1953) with Harry Belafonte. Her signature film was "Carmen Jones" (1954), where she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actresses.
3. Pearl Bailey first appeared in movies in the late 40s, but her shining moment in film was in "Carmen Jones." Bailey was an excellent singer and actress, appearing in four films during the 50s, including "St. Louis Blues" (1958) and "Porgy & Bess" (1959).
4. Ruby Dee's first acting credit was in 1946 when she appeared in Race Films (independent films with an all-black cast). However, in the 50s, Ruby Dee's career rose to another level, starring with Jackie Robinson in "The Jackie Robinson Story" (1950) and the first film with her husband Ossie Davis in "No Way Out" (1950). She appeared in several movies with Sidney Poitier, including "Edge of the City" (1957).
5. Diahann Carroll's acting debut was in "Carmen Jones" (1954), playing alongside Dorothy Dandridge and Pearl Bailey. She also starred in "Porgy & Bess" (1959) but only had three acting credits in the 50s.
6. Ellen Holly was primarily known for the soap opera career in "One Life to Live." However, her first movie appearance was in "Take a Giant Step" (1958), where she had a minor part conversing with Johnny Nash.
7. Juanita Moore was appearing in movies as early as the 1930s. She was primarily a specialty act, either singing or dancing, which lasted through the 40s. In the 1950s, Moore earned more speaking parts in movies, having 27 acting credits. Most of her parts were stereotypical, but her breakout movie was "Imitation of Life" (1959), where she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
8. Kim Hamilton starred in many TV shows throughout her career, but her first movie appearance was in "Somethin of Value" (1957). She also starred in the classic noir film "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959) with Harry Belafonte.
9. Marpessa Dawn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spent her early life in the U.S. before moving to Europe, where she began her acting career in the mid-50s. Her breakout role was the Afro-Brazillian film "Black Orpheus" (1959), where she played the love interest for lead actor Breno Mello.

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World B Free

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These rare and fascinating photos show Albino men, women and children posing for the camera in the nineteenth century - at a time when many of them would have been kept segregated from the rest of society.

During the 1800s, people with albinism featured on postcards and were exhibited in Victorian travelling circus freak shows, usually the only form of employment available to them.

This extraordinary collections highlights the struggles of everyday Albinos in the era, as well as celebrating some of the more famous ones who were active.


Featured in the collection are remarkable relatives like long-haired albino sisters Florence and Mary Martin, who were known to tour with P.T Barnum's legendary circus in the 1800s.

Also pictured is Helen Ann Windman Walker and her twin brother Henry Sedam Walker, with the 'black and white' twin siblings later exhibited at Burnell's Museum in New Orleans, USA in May 1866.

Albinism - which denotes people with a hereditary genetic condition which causes a total absence of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes - occurs in all racial and ethnic groups throughout the world.
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Helen Ann Windman Walker (1856-1922) was an albino, born to African American parents, and with an African American twin brother, Henry Sedam Walker, with whom she was commonly pictured. She was exhibited widely during the 1860s and was often billed as "The Albino" or "White Negro Girl."

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1 3/8 x 1 1/2 in. albumen photograph on cardstock mount (some toning, few light stains on mount). Additional information printed in lower margin of mount: "8 years of age on the 2d of May, 1864. As exhibited at Burnell & Prescott’s Museum, cor. 4th & Pine Streets, St. Louis, Mo." With credit to "Mansfield, Photographer" printed in lower margin. A studio portrait of identified twins, Helen Ann Windman Walker and Henry Sedam Walker.
 
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Casca

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THE FIRST WEALTHIEST BLACK FAMILY IN THE US: Junius G. Groves 1859 - 1925.Farmer, landowner, and businessman Junius G. Groves was one of the wealthiest Black Americans of the early 20th century. Born a slave in Green County, Kentucky, Groves was later liberated and joined other freedmen in the “Great Exodus” to Kansas in 1879, eventually finding work as a farmhand. Impressed with his strong work ethic and production, Groves’ employer offered him nine acres of land to farm on shares.
By 1884, he and his wife Matilda had saved enough to purchase 80 acres of land near Edwardsville, Kansas. So successful was their venture that, just four years later, they had acquired a total of 2,000 acres and replaced their one-room shanty with a 22-room mansion.
Groves made a name for himself as a potato grower, producing as many as 721,500 bushels in one year – far and away more than any other farmer – and earning the title of “Potato King of the World.” He also operated a general store, maintained several orchards, and had investments in various mining and banking interests. Groves worked the farm until his death in 1925. He attributed his success to the endless hard work and devotion of his wife and 12 children.

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Although the most famous cowboys of the old west were white men like Roy Rogers and Billy the Kid, one in four of America’s cowboys were African-American.Many of the slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries were familiar with cattle herding from their homelands of West Africa. This brings historians the question of the name “Cowboy” and whether or not it was made from slave cow herders.
The life of the black cowboy was tougher than most. It was the black cowboy who broke the horses and herded the cattle across the rivers. Though they took on the toughest jobs, it was better to be a black cowboy on the ranch than a slave on the plantation picking cotton.
The life and legacy of black cowboys is still alive through the Federation of Black Cowboys. The organization takes inner city kids off the street and teaches them life on horseback. The fundamental tools they learn at Cedar Lane give them hope for bright futures – something many of them may not have had in their crime-ridden and drug-infested surroundings. Each child learns responsibility before being given the privilege to ride. They must learn to completely care for their stables. The Federation of Black Cowboys ranch is located near Queens, New York, with only a white fence separating them from the busy city streets.
Little to no attention was given to the black cowboys who made their mark in western history by Hollywood. Riders like William “Bill” Pickett, Stagecoach Mary, Nat Love and Bass Reeves were among the most famous.
Documentary filmmakers John Ferguson and Gregg MacDonald have created “The Forgotten Cowboys,” in which they follow the contemporary black cowboys of today, like Jason Griffin, who is a four-time world champion bareback bucking horse rider, while also reflecting on the black riders in the past.

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THE FIRST PAIR OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SISTERS TO TAKE TENNIS BY STORM: Before Serena and Venus Williams, the Peters sisters – Margaret and Matilda – known as ‘Pete’ and ‘Re-Pete’ made tennis history with their double record in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, despite racial segregation. The Peters sisters were African American tennis stars.Margaret, the older sister, was born in 1915, while Matilda was born in 1917. They grew up in the Georgetown district of Washington, D.C. where they first began playing tennis. As young girls, they could often be seen playing at a park across from their home in Georgetown. They were nicknamed “Pete” and “Repeat” for their doubles playing skills and last name.
While still in high school, the Peters sisters attracted the attention of a tennis coach from Tuskegee Institute, Cleve Abbott, who offered each of them a four-year scholarship. Margaret, feeling uneasy about travelling so far away from home, deferred for a year until Matilda graduated from high school. The Peters sisters arrived at Tuskegee in 1937.
In college, both sisters played basketball and tennis but they were best known for their doubles play in tennis and were exceptionally good at moves such as “slice serve” and “chop shots,” and had incredibly strong backhands. While in college they played in the American Tennis Association, ATA, tournaments. The ATA is the African American tennis league that still exists today. They both graduated from Tuskegee in 1941 with degrees in physical education.
After college, they both continued to play amateur tennis in the ATA. Since they were amateurs, they had to pay for their own equipment, entry fees, and travel expenses. They won 14 doubles tennis titles between 1938 and 1941 and between 1944 and 1953. They gained some fame and played for celebrities, British royalty, and practiced with actors such as Gene Kelly. The Peters sisters were inducted into the Tuskegee Hall of Fame in 1977.
Despite their skill, they were never permitted to test themselves against the great white doubles players of the time. By the time the walls of segregation in tennis started falling, the Peters sisters were past their prime and were never able to compete in racially integrated matches.
Margaret moved to New York City, New York for a short time after graduating from Tuskegee and received a master’s degree in physical education from New York University. She returned to Washington D.C. and worked as a special education teacher. She earned a second master’s degree in special education from Coppin State College in Baltimore, Maryland. Margaret never married or had children. She died in Washington on November 3, 2004.
Matilda played singles as well as doubles with her sister. She won national singles titles from the ATA in 1944 and 1946. Like her sister, Matilda went on to receive her master’s degree in physical education from NYU after graduating from Tuskegee. She married James Walker in 1957. Together, they had two children: a daughter named Frances Della and a son named James George. Matilda taught at Howard University in the 1950’s and then the Washington Public School System from 1964 to 1981. She also taught tennis to underprivileged children through the District of Columbia Department of Recreation. On May 16, 2003, Matilda died from pneumonia.

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It's A Philly Thing
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Photograph showing 107-year-old Jack Riddle and his wife, Rosie, both former slaves, in front of a group of Klansmen (one dressed as Santa Claus) gifting them a radio, 1948. It depicts an apparent show of “charity” on the part of the KKK for a photo opportunity.

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Black U.S. Olympians Won In Nazi Germany Only To Be Overlooked At Home.
Eighty-five years ago the United States competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games in Nazi Germany, with 18 African-American athletes part of the U.S. squad.
At the 1936 Olympics, 18 black athletes went to Berlin as part of the U.S. team. Pictured here are (left to right, rear) high jumpers Dave Albritton and Cornelius Johnson; hurdler Tidye Pickett; sprinter Ralph Metcalfe; boxer Jim Clark; sprinter Mack Robinson. In front: weightlifter John Terry (left); long jumper John Brooks.

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If Ginger Grant was the bad girl on "Gilligan's Island", then Mary Ann was the quintessential good girl next door. Played by Dawn Wells throughout all 98 episodes and four television movies, she projected an air of wholesomeness and innocence to her character.
Dawn won the title of Miss Nevada in 1959 and leveraged it into an acting career. She starred in multiple guest parts in the early 1960s before landing the role of her lifetime in 1963.
In the decades after "Gilligan's Island" aired, Dawn was often asked what she thought of the popular question for male watchers of her show: would they pick Mary Ann or Ginger for their romantic affection?
"You can go anywhere and say 'Ginger or Mary Ann?' You don't have to say what show it is," she replied. "Everybody gets it. And I always win."

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March 3, 1912 - Moddie Daniel Taylor was a Black American chemist who was born in Nymph, AL, on this date in 1912.
His father worked as a postal clerk in St. Louis, Missouri, and it was there that Taylor went to school, graduating from the Charles H. Sumner High School in 1931. He then attended Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry in 1935 as valedictorian and as a summa cum laude student.
He began his teaching career in 1935, working as an instructor until 1939 and then as an assistant professor from 1939 to 1941 at Lincoln University, while also enrolled in the University of Chicago's graduate program in chemistry. He received his M.S. in 1939 and his Ph.D. in 1943. It was during 1945 that Taylor began his two years as an associate chemist for the top-secret Manhattan Project based at the University of Chicago.
Taylor's research interest was in rare earth metals; his chemical contributions to the nation's atomic energy research earned him a Certificate of Merit from the Secretary of War. After the war, he returned to Lincoln University until 1948 when he joined Howard University as an associate professor of chemistry, becoming a full professor in 1959 and head of the chemistry department in 1969.
In 1960, Taylor's First Principles of Chemistry was published; also in that year the Manufacturing Chemists Association as one of the nation’s six top college chemistry teachers selected him. In 1972, Taylor was also awarded an Honor Scroll from the Washington Institute of Chemists for his contributions to research and teaching.
Taylor was a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Institute of Science, and the American Society for Testing Materials, the New York Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi, and Beta Kappa Chi, and was a fellow of the American Institute of Chemists and the Washington Academy for the Advancement of Science. Taylor retired as a professor emeritus of chemistry from Howard University on April 1, 1976.

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RUDY RAYYY MO

RUDY RAYYY MO

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Casca said:
THE FIRST WEALTHIEST BLACK FAMILY IN THE US: Junius G. Groves 1859 - 1925.Farmer, landowner, and businessman Junius G. Groves was one of the wealthiest Black Americans of the early 20th century. Born a slave in Green County, Kentucky, Groves was later liberated and joined other freedmen in the “Great Exodus” to Kansas in 1879, eventually finding work as a farmhand. Impressed with his strong work ethic and production, Groves’ employer offered him nine acres of land to farm on shares.
By 1884, he and his wife Matilda had saved enough to purchase 80 acres of land near Edwardsville, Kansas. So successful was their venture that, just four years later, they had acquired a total of 2,000 acres and replaced their one-room shanty with a 22-room mansion.
Groves made a name for himself as a potato grower, producing as many as 721,500 bushels in one year – far and away more than any other farmer – and earning the title of “Potato King of the World.” He also operated a general store, maintained several orchards, and had investments in various mining and banking interests. Groves worked the farm until his death in 1925. He attributed his success to the endless hard work and devotion of his wife and 12 children.

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Click to expand...
Wonder what his 12 seeds did with all that land
 
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Damien2_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqtJLWWVut8RzHNsZK733ehG2T0CphhWsXPWhxChBmYfo.jpg

Harvey Stephens Actor Who Starred As Damian In The Omen Pictured With His Certificate For Best Acting Debut - Male From The Hollywood Foreign Press Association.​

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Harvey Spencer Stephens, the former child actor who played Damien in The Omen horror film, arrives at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent to be sentenced for attacking two cyclists in a road rage incident.
 
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