Today in Black History

The first school in the D.C. area named after the current president opens Monday morning as the school year begins in Prince George’s County. Read the rest of this entry »

For almost three decades beginning in 1936, many African-American travelers relied on a booklet to help them decide where they could comfortably eat, sleep, buy gas, find a tailor or beauty parlor, shop on a honeymoon to Niagara Falls, or go out at night. In 1949, when the guide was 80 pages, there were five recommended hotels in Atlanta. In Cheyenne, Wyo., the Barbeque Inn was the place to stay. Read the rest of this entry »

“I don’t get mad at the Tea Party because they’re doing what they’re supposed to do and now we’re doing what we’re supposed to do! Since the Civil Rights movement, I’ve never seen Black people so scared. We are the only group of people in this country that didn’t come here voluntarily. We are forced immigrants. We are also the group of people that the American Government made laws against to keep in bondage. It’s time for us to come out of the wilderness.” -Dorothy Tillman Read the rest of this entry »

Not all Oscar winners are equal, as the story of Hattie McDaniel shows. The daughter of former slaves, she worked as an actress in Hollywood, playing maids on screen, and also, because her salary was so low, playing them for real. She won the part of Mammy in Gone with the Wind. It was a role criticized for feeding a black stereotype, but it won her an Oscar for best supporting actress. What it didn’t win her was equality. She could not attend the film’s premiere in Atlanta because of the venue’s “no blacks” rule. When it came to the Oscars, she had to sit in the segregated part.

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