TJMS
Wayman Lawrence Tisdale was a star professional NBA player and legendary bass guitarist in the jazz world. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Famer was a team veteran with the Indiana Pacers, the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tisdale was raised in a well-known spiritual family. His father […]
More than 30,000 people in less than a week have signed online petitions calling for MSNBC to fire conservative commentator Pat Buchanan following his recent appearance on a “pro-white” radio talk show and the recent release of his book, in which he argues that increasing diversity is a threat to America. “MSNBC is allowing Pat […]
In 1997, Timothy Pigford, an African-American farmer, joined forces with 400 other black farmers and filed a racial discrimination case against Dan Glickman, then the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the USDA. The case surrounded the denial of farm credit and benefits to black farmers between 1981 and 1996. The landmark case of Pigford vs. […]
It’s not getting bigger. But it is getting better. This year, Jet magazine turns 60, and who else better to help celebrate that achievement but President Barack Obama? He’s the cover subject of Jet’s 60th anniversary issue, which takes a look back at the many achievements of black Americans in that period of time. Founded […]
Lalah Hathaway is all about spreading the word about her newest album and she’s doing it big. The self-proclaimed “gadget girl and tech junkie” launched a Facebook campaign to promote her sixth studio album, “Where It All Begins.” She’s offering fans to share an in-app request with four friends for a chance to win an […]
How many times have we mouthed the lyrics to “We Shall Not Be Moved,” “Oh Freedom” and “We Shall Overcome” without really thinking about the meaning of the words – let alone actually imagining or recalling what it was like to sing them while in the trenches? Celebrating the legacy of Dr. Fred Shuttlesworth stirs […]
In 1819, artist Charles Wilson Peale painted one of the earliest known portraits of a black practicing Muslim. Peale was in town to do a painting of President James Monroe. The name of the man in Peale’s portrait was Yarrow Mamout, and he was an elderly freed slave living in Washington’s Georgetown area. Peale was […]
In a highly embarrassing arrest for New York City’s high police command, a white Staten Island officer was still in custody Wednesday after being stung with hate crime charges by the United States Attorney. The officer’s arrest and his detainment share a national spotlight with several other widely publicized stains on the force, including […]
A woman named Nellie Conley, a.k.a. Madame Sul-Te-Wan, became the first black actress contracted to appear in D.W. Griffith’s controversial 1915 film, “Birth of a Nation.” Her talent career would last for nearly 70 years. The Louisville, Kentucky native was raised by her widowed single mother, who worked as a washerwoman in the white […]
Retired Lt. Colonel Luke Weathers, a.k.a. “Big Luke” Weathers, was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen and the first black air traffic controller in Memphis, Tennessee. He passed away last Saturday at age 90. The Grenada, Mississippi native graduated from Xavier University of New Orleans. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen from […]
Dr. Helen Octavia Dickens was the first African-American woman to be admitted to the American College of Surgeons. Born to former slaves, her father, Charles Dickens, was a water boy during the civil War. Her mother, Daisy, worked as a servant for the prominent Reynolds family. They would insist that their daughter attend a desegregated […]
The sale of the Philadelphia 76ers has been finalized and the new owners had a press conference on Tuesday. They rolled out the new ownership group – and surprise, surprise: Will Smith is down. They’re headed by Joshua Harris, a New York-based leverage buyout specialist who has family in Philly and went to school there […]