Mary Athalie Wilkinson was born in Key West, Florida on November 7, 1915. Her family left “the Keys” when she was very young and relocated to Miami, Florida. Athalie graduated from the historical Booker T. Washington High School in 1939 and later attended the New England Institute of Anatomy and…
The black family business: Ben’s Chili Bowl
Photo: Mindy Jo Back in 1958, August 22nd to be exact, the sweet melody and sound on the Saturn II juke box could have well been “I want to stop, and thank you baby,” as Ben and Virginia Ali opened the nations now famous Ben’s Chili Bowl. More than just…
Final day of Black History Month
As we close out Black History Month, Atlanta Free Speech ask that you continue to learn more about the pioneers in our quest for freedom and those who paved for the way for many us to be successful in our current careers. There is much more to be learned about…
Bessie Coleman: First black woman pilot
Bessie Coleman overcame discrimination, prejudice and long odds to become the first African-American woman pilot in the world. She devoted her life to raising money so she could open a flying school for others of her race. Bessie Coleman was 33 when she died in a plane crash in 1926….
This day in black history: first Black director nominated for Academy Award
John Singleton testifies before a Senate Labor and Human Resources subcommmittee on Capitol Hill in 1992. (AP Photo/John Duricka) In his debut film, Boyz N the Hood (1991), John Singleton depicted life on the streets of his native Los Angeles–not the famously sunny, palm-tree-lined boulevards but the tough, gang-ruled neighborhood…
This day in black history: W.E.B. Du Bois organized 1st Pan-African Congress gathering
On February 19, 1919, civil rights leader William Edward Burghardt Du Bois led the first of seven Pan-African Congress sessions. Du Bois, who was one of the most influential intellectuals of the 20th century, was an editor, historian, sociologist, novelist, civil rights leader, socialist, and pan-Africanist. The Pan-African Congress was a…
Black history hero Charlotte Maxeke
The black women of South Africa’s fight for gender equality is no different from the struggle black women in America face. All black women globally have been inextricably linked to the fight for racial equality. The heroes of the black women’s struggle are also stalwarts of the political struggle and…
Mae Jemison: first black female astronaut
Mae Jemison is a physician who volunteered with the Peace Corps and was the first female African American astronaut. She was also the first black woman to go into space. After her 1992 expedition on the Endeavor shuttle, she left NASA and founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, which…
Miami’s first black millionaire: D. A. Dorsey
Dana Albert Dorsey was born in Quitman, Georgia in 1872. As the son of former slaves, it is believed he attended a Freedmen’s Bureau school, which was established after the Civil War for Blacks. Before moving to Miami, Florida, Dorsey lived in Titusville, Florida employed as a carpenter for the…
The war of black womanhood and hair
One of the most interesting things about American society is our ability to hide. We act as terrorists towards each other behind our computer screens and smartphones. We cannot speak a kind word to one another while in an elevator or sitting in the waiting room of the doctor’s office….