Profiles in Black
Arthur Mitchell
He quickly rose to the position of principal dancer with New York City Ballet where he electrified audiences with his performances on a broad spectrum of the NYCB repertoire. Mr. Mitchell was equally at home in the neoclassical style of the “Agon” Pas de Deux, as well as in the lighthearted role of Puck in ” A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” two roles choreographed especially for him by the late George Balanchine. His performing career included nightclubs, Broadway, film, and television. He was a popular guest artist in the United States and abroad.
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Dr. Justina Ford House
Justina Ford, M.D. (1871-1952). (The Lady Doctor)
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Dr. Maulana Karenga
He is also the director of the Kawaida Institute of Pan-African Studies , Los Angeles, and national chairman of the Organization Us , a cultural and social change organization. The Organization Us, which simply means us Black people, is so named to stress the communitarian focus of the organization and its philosophy, Kawaida, which is an ongoing synthesis of the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world. Dr. Karenga and Us have had a profound and far-reaching effect on Black intellectual an political culture. Through the teaching and practice of Kawaida, Us emerged in the 60’s as a vanguard organization. Us has played a vanguard role in shaping the Black Arts Movement, Black Studies, Black Student Union Movement, Afrocentricity, rites of passage programs, the study of ancient Egyptian Classical African Civilizations, the independent school movement, African life-cycle ceremonies, the Simba Wachanga youth movement, and Black theological and ethical discourse.
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Eugene Williams, Jr.
In this innovative, ground breaking anthology, Mr. Williams reflects on his experiences as a student in such prestigious predominantly White institutions as The McDonogh School, Ransom-Everglades School, and Emory University, as well as his urban upbringing in cities of Miami and Baltimore. He has combined these elements to create a provocative body of literature that examines social issue and human relationships from an African-American middle class perspective.
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Fort Pillow State Historic Area
Early during the war, the Confederacy was the necessity for defending against a Union invasion of the south by way of the Mississippi River.. Fort Pillow was one of several fortifications constructed on the river as part of a river defense system. The fort was build on Chickasaw Bluff No. 1 overlooking the river, Batteries of cannon were also constructed facing the river. An extensive system of breast works was dug for the protection of the river batteries in case of land attack. During the war the fort’s river batteries were close to the river, but since the war erosion factors have caused the river to move a mile west.
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James Cameron
August 7, 1930.
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Mary Hill Johnson
Mary Hill Johnson, school administrator, educator, teacher of mathematics and science for over 30 years, and author, is the president of Complex Associates, Inc. Comptex is a nonprofit organization that operates Success and Math Learning Centers in the Melwood Shopping Plaza in Prince George’s County, Maryland a similar special tutoring facility in the District of Columbia. Dr. Johnson’s students refer to the facilities as “Math in the Mall”. She also is the director o f Frank W. Ballou Mathematics Science Technology Academy. The Academy is an autonomous charter school within a school in the District of Columbia school system. It provides college bound student an academically rigorous curriculum in mathematics, science, computer science and foreign language.
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P.I.B. – OyamO
Set in Memphis in 1968, I Am A Man is the story of a fairly simple, fairly idealistic union president, T.O. Jones who leads 800 sanitation worker to strike but gets swept up in events that runaway with him like a maverick tornado. The title is taken from the strike placards worn by striking workers.
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The Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre ™, located in the community of Harlem in Manhattan in New York City, is a monument to the contributions of Black Americans to the entertainment industry. Built in 1913 and originally named Hurtig & Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater, it has at one time or another, played host to virtually every major Black entertainer over the past 70 years.
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The Great Blacks In Wax Museum, Inc.
Each wax figure, clad in appropriate historical attire, is part of a scenic display depicting the struggles, achievements and contributions of African peoples worldwide. Each display is presented chronologically, highlighting ancient Africa, the Middle Passage, the Antebellum and Postbellum periods, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, and Civil Rights era, and the present.
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The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Center’s collections first won international acclaim in 1926 when the personal collection of the distinguished Black scholar and bibliophile, Arthur A, Schomburg, was added to the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints of the 135th Street Branch of The New York Public Library Schomburg’s collection included over 5,000 volumes, 3,000 manuscripts, 2,000 etchings and paintings and several thousand pamphlets, and he served as its curator in the Negro Division from 1932 until his death in 1938. Renamed in his honor in 1940, the collection grew steadily through the years. In 1972 it was designated as one of the Research Libraries of The New York Public Library and became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
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The School of Dance Theatre of Harlem
Housed in a former auto garage on 152nd street in Harlem, the School underwent an award winning $7.5 million dollar renovation and expansion in 1992. The expanded headquarters now feature four dance studios, classrooms, a physical therapy room, a new library/archive, a sewing room, a parent/visitor lounge, and a second floor terrace.
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W.C. Handy Birthplace, Museum and Library
The Man
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