When Hattie McDaniel Won an Oscar, She Was Banned From Sitting With Her Co-Stars

Hattie McDaniel became the first Black Oscar winner in 1940 for her portrayal of a slave named Mammy in the 1939 film Gone With the Wind. Sadly though, when she attended the Academy Awards ceremony at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in The Ambassador Hotel, she wasn't even allowed to sit with her co-stars.

The Fourth of July Used to Be a Black Holiday

In 1852, famed abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass told a large, mostly white crowd in Rochester, New York, "This Fourth [of] July is yours not mine." And many other African Americans of that time period felt the same way. But after the Civil War in 1865, things had changed. African Americans in the South had transformed Independence Day into a celebration of their newly won freedom.

5 Showstopping Musicals with Black Leading Roles

There is something so captivating about sinking into your seat at a theater and watching stories come to life on the stage before you. These five musicals with Black leading roles have enamored audiences around the world, transporting them back through history or to magical lands far beyond their wildest dreams.

A Black Woman Invented the First Home Security System With TV Surveillance in 1966

Marie Van Brittan Brown, born on January 7, 1922, was an African American nurse and inventor from Queens, New York City. In 1966, at the age of 44, she came up with the brilliant idea to create a unique home surveillance device with a closed circuit television security system.

Rare Footage of Black Couple Kissing in 1898 Silent Film Discovered

Extremely rare footage from an 1898 silent film titled Something Good-Negro Kiss shows an African American man and woman kissing. The clip is only 29 seconds, and is believed to be the earliest cinematic depiction of African-American affection.

The Best Black Female Authors of the 20th Century

America owes so much of its rich literary tradition to these three women: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and Zora Neale Hurston. Today, we celebrate their contributions as three of the best Black female authors of the 20th century.

Striking a Chord: The History of Blues Music

The musical genre of the blues has been around for as long as any of us can remember, but - like anything else - it has its roots. The history of the blues traces back over a century and a half to post-Civil War America, originating with freed slaves. Though slavery was abolished in 1865, Americans in the Deep South still found ways to obtain free labor. Free Black men were placed in prison farms, which served as inspiration for many blues songs. Jim Crow laws continued to incite violence against African Americans; as they had for centuries, Black musicians told the stories of their pain through song.

8 Famous Black Talk Show Hosts You Should Know

Day time talk shows, a guilty pleasure for us all, has given rise to some of the most famous people in the world. Media empires have been built on the backs of this simple format. When it’s time to sit on the couch and tell the world your most intimate secrets, these famous Black talk show hosts were there to catch it all.

Bessie Coleman Was the First Black Woman to Become a Licensed Pilot

Bessie Coleman was raised by a poor family in a time of discrimination and segregation, but this didn't stop her from becoming the first Black woman to become a licensed pilot. In fact, her passion for aviation was inspired by the stories of soldiers who had been returning from World War I.

Phillis Wheatley Was Just 12-Years Old When She Became the First Black Female Author to Be Published

Phillis Wheatley, known for her literature and poetry work, had quite an interesting experience in her early life. She was kidnapped from her home in West Africa when she was just 9 or 10 years old, and sold to the Wheatley family in Boston, Massachussetts. But they were they ones who taught her to read and write in English, and encouraged her to write poetry when they discovered that she had a talent for it.