Black History Month

On February 11, 1990, African National Congress leader and future South African President Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison after being held for 27 years. In a speech given on the same day of his release, Mandela said “In conclusion I wish to quote my own words during my trial in 1964. They are true today as they were then: I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in...

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, standing before the Old State Capitol where Abraham Lincoln began his political career, announced his candidacy for the White House.

Alice Walker Alice Walker is one of the most admired African American writers working today. She has written at length on issues of race and gender, and is most famous for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Born in Eatonton Georgia, on February the 9th, 1944, just before the end of World War II, Alice Malsenior Walker was the eighth of eight children to Minnie Tallulah Grant Walker and Winnie Lee Walker. Her father, who was, in...

‘Winning the Heisman Trophy is something you just dream about. You never think it could happen to you’ Ernie Davis, a two-time All-American halfback at Syracuse University, lived a short life as a result of leukemia. He died at age 23 in 1963, but managed to lead his high school basketball team to a 52-game winning streak, help Syracuse win its only national football title and become the No. 1 pick in the 1961 NFL draft. On Dec. 6, 1961, he became the first African-American to win the...

On January 31st, 1988 Doug Williams made history. But before that historic day, Williams was already a history-maker. One of the greatest HBCU athletes of all time, Doug Williams career started as a Freshman at Grambling State University under legendary head coach Eddie Robinson. Williams was a four-year starter for GSU, leading the Tigers to a 36-7 record, three Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles and was awarded the Black College Player of the Year twice. 1977 Williams finished...

Above is U.S. Coast Guard photo of Emlen Tunnell, who served in the Coast Guard during and after World War II, was the first Black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Before he became the first Black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Emlen Tunnell served in the U.S. Coast Guard during and after World War II, where he was credited with saving the lives of two shipmates. Now, a Coast Guard cutter and an athletic building on the Coast Guard Academy campus are...