U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) will give the keynote speech at the Kick-Off Program for the 33rd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statewide Celebration at 6:30 p.m. Friday, February 8 in the Main Auditorium of the Dr. Henry Givens, Jr. Administration Building at Harris-Stowe State…

Local artist Paul Stanton visited the Academy Journalism club at Pierre Laclede Junior Career Academy on February 15 to discuss local black history, his portraits of historic black people from the St. Louis area (such as Annie Malone, Josephine Baker, Dick Gregory, Arthur Ashe and Chuck Berr…

Several months ago, a former patient came to St. Louis Children’s Hospital looking to make a donation. It was her way of thanking someone she remembered from a long-ago stay in the hospital, a woman who had taken care of her in 1959. The patient had been two years old, sick with polio and qu…

When Donald M. Suggs is asked to tell the story of how he came to be the publisher of The St. Louis American, he goes back to the beginning. In an interview with Suggs at the Missouri History Museum on Wednesday, November 8, Suggs shared the narrative of both his life and the paper’s history…

He is only 10 years old, but Bud has the type of resilience and resourcefulness that will inspire all those who see his journey unfold on stage for the Metro Theater and Jazz St. Louis presentation of “Bud, Not Buddy” playing through February 25 at The Grandel Theatre.

A site where many blacks from the rural South migrated during the Great Migration turned into what some would say a nightmare. Pruitt-Igoe was fully demolished in 1972.

The Missouri Historical Society wants to prove it is more relevant than ever to St. Louis’ diverse population, and during Black History Month, African-American St. Louisans will have an opportunity to see more of the society’s new mission.

In the wake of so much civic dysfunction, the work of Martin Luther Mathews and Hubert “Dickey” Ballentine shines a light on how to build comity and community.

Steven N. Cousins, a Financial and Real Estate Services partner at Armstrong Teasdale, was honored by The Missouri Bar Foundation with its 2017 Martin J. Purcell award. The award acknowledges outstanding professionalism in a Missouri lawyer who has consistently demonstrated an exceptional de…

August 27, 1918 – December 10, 2017

Psychologist and activist Joseph L. White – whose trailblazing work revolutionized the way African Americans are understood in psychology and was affectionately referred to as the "godfather" of his field by students, mentees and colleagues – died Nov. 21, 2017 at the age of 84.

Who in the world is Charles 67X?

When peaceful and diverse protestors disrupted the German festival Oktoberfest in St. Charles County to bring attention to issues of social justice and the acquittal of former police officer Jason Stokely for the murder of Anthony Lamar Smith, there were interesting parallels and ironies wit…

I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. When I returned home for my brother’s memorial service, the city looked different.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, the St. Louis Science Center (SLSC) celebrated a local legacy of black achievement. Lewis Diuguid, author and longtime Kansas City Star journalist, visited SLSC to share memories of his father, pioneering black chemist Lincoln Diuguid.

In a small, white, shotgun-style building tucked discreetly off Kingshighway Boulevard near Natural Bridge, a group of elderly veterans meets regularly. These are the men and women of Amvets Post #67. They have served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and other far-away skirmishes. They meet t…

On January 2, 1957, I was escorted by my mother and her friend Robert to Union Station to catch the train for Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas to begin my basic training. It was a cold, dark night. I boarded the train with a number of other recruits.  I was filled with a lot of …

In 1996, Loretta Ford founded the Museum of Black Inventors with the idea of highlighting the achievements of often unsung African Americans who contributed greatly to the fields of science, household goods, engineering and technology.

The Sheldon Art Galleries presents “Higher Ground: Honoring Washington Park Cemetery, Its People and Place,” an unprecedented multimedia exhibition, March 3 – August 26, in both the Bernoudy Gallery of Architecture and the Gallery of Photography. An opening reception is scheduled for 5-7 p.m…

The strategy for the upcoming mayoral race in St. Louis African-American community appears to be again divide and conquer.

(Continued from Feb. 2-8 Black History Month Section)

The Missouri Humanities Council awarded the National Blues Museum, in partnership with HEC-TV, museum a grant of $12,000 to support the “Music Moved the Movement: Civil Rights and the Blues” education program focusing on the links between the Blues and the Civil Rights Movement. 

Governor Eric Greitens was among the guest speakers when the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus recently celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Greitens, who was the first governor in recent years to attend the annual event, shared a story about his efforts to plan one of the fir…

On January 6, a day before the West African nation of Ghana changed leadership (President John Dramani Mahama lost the election to Nana Akufo-Addo), I was blessed to receive my Ghana citizenship along with Bro. Earl 3X Reddix from Las Vegas. I received a call that if I was going to receive m…

Continued from last week’s Black History Month section

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis (BGCSTL) is celebrating a pivotal and significant milestone this 2017 – its 50th year of service to countless boys and girls in the St. Louis region.

I was born here in St. Louis on December 25, 1940. Due to my humble beginnings, no one would have believed that I would become a successful movie actor and singer. There are so many youngsters today whose life mirrors my childhood, young people who don’t believe tomorrow holds any hope for t…

I first came to Chicago when I was in my early 20s. And I was still trying to figure out who I was, still searching for a purpose in my life. And it was a neighborhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills. It was on these streets whe…

Preston Lee Bouie was born on January 22, 1926 to Vennie Bouie and Emma Reed. He attended Wyman Crow Elementary School and a graduate of Vashon High School, class of June, 1944. He served two years in the United States Navy with an honorable discharge. His career with the St. Louis Fire Depa…

The author of a new book called “African American St. Louis” hopes images of the past will help people better understand the issues of today.

A panel of four bi-state authors will discuss and perform “Black Lives Matter” on Tuesday, February 16, at 2 p.m. in the Eugene B. Redmond Learning Center of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Elijah P. Lovejoy Library.

2016 marks 70 years since Jesse Owens’ historic quadruple-gold-winning performance destroyed Hitler’s myth of white supremacy in his own backyard at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

It was black history – ancient African history – that first got Courtney M. Baxter interested in history. From one of the last generations that grew up on television, rather than web-based media, she was fascinated by the History Channel’s programs on ancient Egypt. She can also thank George…

Civil rights warrior Diane Nash’s long history of disrupting racial discrimination was celebrated on January 12 during the fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tribute at Saint Louis University.

The St. Louis College of Pharmacy Alumni Association has selected Misty Collier Farr, PharmD, as the 2016 Black Heritage Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. 

The Missouri Veterans History Project is looking to record, preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of Missouri War Veterans so future generations may hear directly from the veterans and better understand the realities of war. The interviews are conducted by trained staff, and a c…

Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history. – Carter G. Woodson

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life work focused on creating equality of opportunity for all Americans. In this struggle, economic injustice remained his commitment as his last days in Memphis challenged unfair wages and working conditions of sanitation workers. Many tributes this year will no…

On Friday, January 23, the Universal African Peoples Organization (UAPO) completed a yearlong project to support the development of a library in the Ashanti region of Ghana, West Africa by shipping over 10,000 books.

The Youth Committee of St. Louis Chapter of The Coalition of Black Trade Unionist (CBTU) recently hosted CBTU’s 37th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Awards Banquet.

Social media was clogged with daunting remarks of criticism geared toward billionaire, entrepreneur and television legend Oprah Winfrey recently. The negative comments were in reaction to her commentary regarding her view of progress and strategy being used in Ferguson, Missouri and the “Bla…

The success or failure of Mayor Vince Schoemehl’s grand scheme to use me as bait to get Congressman Bill Clay’s endorsement was the cooperation of Comptroller Paul Berra.