Indigenous Africans in the Diaspora

03/18/2025

Wash*taw Nation

02/24/2025

Alice H. Parker
As freezing temperatures hit areas that have never seen the effects of winter, we have Parker to thank for keeping us warm. She created the first natural gas-fueled furnace in 1919 that helped birth the thermostat that most of us use in our homes today. The next time you’re arguing over whether to keep the heat at 75 or 80, thank Alice H. Parker for her contributions.

02/14/2025

The Remarkable Story of Vivien Thomas, the Black Man Who Helped Invent Heart Surgery, with only a high school education and no formal medical training. Vivien Thomas developed surgical techniques that revolutionized heart surgery.
Thomas was the first African-American, without a doctorate degree & only a high school diploma, to perform open heart surgery. The patient was a white patient.
With less that a college education, Thomas began his career in medicine in 1930 in the laboratory of Dr. Alfred Blalock at Vanderbilt University, where Blalock trained him as his surgical assistant.
Due to the racism of the time, Thomas was ineligible to be a student or faculty member at Vanderbilt in the 1930s. Although he did the job of a laboratory assistant, Thomas was classified and paid as a janitor.
Thomas' intelligence and outstanding ability as a researcher and surgical assistant was so impressive, that Dr. Blalock requested Thomas to follow him to Johns Hopkins University in 1941. Blalock became Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore MD, insisting that Thomas be hired for his team. They worked together on treatments for high blood pressure, traumatic shock, and in the 1940's Thomas, himself, led the team which developed a surgical treatment for blue baby syndrome.

Despite the racism barriers, Blalock and Thomas worked as partners in conducting pioneering research in heart surgery This work was essential to furthering the development of open heart surgery, building on the surgical foundations laid by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, the African American surgeon who first performed open heart surgery.

Watch the story in the acclaimed movie ---(movie title) 🎞️Something the Lord Made.

📺Its on HBO and Hulu Movies

02/13/2025

Slaves Built the White House and Capitol.....
Two of Washington, DC's most famous buildings, the White House and the United States Capitol, were built in large part by enslaved African Americans. In 1791 Pierre L'Enfant, who planned the City of Washington, leased African American slaves from their masters to clear the sites for the "President's House" and the Capitol. Once the land was cleared, Washington's three-man Board of Commissioners, who oversaw the new city's construction, tried to recruit laborers from Europe and America to build the two structures. Unable to find as many workers as they needed, the commissioners turned to African Americans slaves. Most slaves hauled building materials and sawed lumber, but others performed skilled labor such as carpentry, stonecutting, and bricklaying. A list of persons who were employed to build the Capitol and White House, between 1795 and 1800, contains 122 names labeled "Negro hire."

02/09/2025

Black History Sunday

It's Easy to Overstand Who Were The American IndiansIf anyone needs more info ℹ️⬇️ Please *click* "Play All" ⬇️https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUHmcIdJpWV...

02/09/2025

Black History Sunday

Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/HomeTeamHistoryAfrographics:http://afrographics.comHometeam Merchandise:https://teespring.com/stores/hometeam-historyResource...

02/09/2025

Black History Moment

America’s love for black culture, but not black people has erased African Americans' role in pioneering American music

02/09/2025

Sapelo Island, located 40 miles south of Savannah and 7 miles off the coast of Georgia, is home to the Gullah Geechee (Guale) community, who have lived there for over 400 years. Accessible only by ferry or private boat, the island is a cultural treasure, preserving the unique heritage and traditions of its inhabitants. The Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved Africans, have maintained a distinct way of life deeply connected to their history and the island's natural environment.
The Gullah Geechee culture is renowned for its rich oral traditions, music, cuisine, and language, which blends African, European, and Indigenous influences. Life on Sapelo Island is closely tied to the land and sea, with residents relying on fishing, farming, and craftsmanship to sustain their community. Despite challenges such as land encroachment and economic pressures, the Gullah Geechee people have worked tirelessly to preserve their heritage for future generations.
Today, Sapelo Island stands as a symbol of resilience and cultural preservation. Efforts by the Gullah Geechee community to protect their land and traditions have garnered support from historians, activists, and cultural organizations. Visitors to the island have the rare opportunity to engage with this vibrant culture, gaining insight into a legacy that is both historically significant and enduringly vital.

01/28/2025

Sapelo Island, located 40 miles south of Savannah and 7 miles off the coast of Georgia, is home to the Gullah Geechee (Guale) community, who have lived there for over 400 years. Accessible only by ferry or private boat, the island is a cultural treasure, preserving the unique heritage and traditions of its inhabitants. The Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved Africans, have maintained a distinct way of life deeply connected to their history and the island's natural environment.

The Gullah Geechee culture is renowned for its rich oral traditions, music, cuisine, and language, which blends African, European, and Indigenous influences. Life on Sapelo Island is closely tied to the land and sea, with residents relying on fishing, farming, and craftsmanship to sustain their community. Despite challenges such as land encroachment and economic pressures, the Gullah Geechee people have worked tirelessly to preserve their heritage for future generations.

Today, Sapelo Island stands as a symbol of resilience and cultural preservation. Efforts by the Gullah Geechee community to protect their land and traditions have garnered support from historians, activists, and cultural organizations. Visitors to the island have the rare opportunity to engage with this vibrant culture, gaining insight into a legacy that is both historically significant and enduringly vital.

11/10/2024

Judith Jamison, an iconic dancer, choreographer, and former artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has died at 81, according to reports. Her illness led to her passing on Saturday at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center.

11/07/2024

The knowledge was there....

Deep in the Sudanese desert lies the ancient city of Meroë, home to over 200 pyramids constructed by the Kingdom of Kush. Unlike the larger Egyptian pyramids, these structures are smaller and steeper, arranged in ways that continue to baffle researchers.

Nearby carvings and symbols, some of which seem to align with celestial events, suggest that the Kush*tes may have had advanced knowledge of astronomy. While it is believed that these pyramids primarily served as burial sites, some believe they may have also functioned as markers or ceremonial centers.

Unfortunately, much of the history of Meroë was lost when treasure hunters raided the site in the 19th century, leaving us with more questions than answers. Though they may not be as well-known as their Egyptian counterparts, the over 200 pyramids of Meroë hold fascinating clues about an ancient civilization still waiting to be fully understood.

11/06/2024

11/06/2024

Marie Van Brittan Brown's 1966 invention is why many of us feel secure at home today. 💡🔒 Her groundbreaking home security system had a camera that could move between four peepholes, showing who’s at the door on a TV monitor. She even added a two-way microphone and a panic button to call the police. Inspired by safety concerns in her Queens neighborhood, Marie's patent (U.S. Patent 3,482,037) laid the foundation for modern security systems and CCTV. Her legacy lives on.

You’ll also love this article 👉 https://wonderae.com/people-recreate-their-childhood-memories-by-remaking-old-photographs-of-themselves-as-babies/

11/03/2024

Vivien Theodore Thomas (August 29, 1910[1] – November 26, 1985)[2] was an American laboratory supervisor who, in the 1940s, played a major role in developing a procedure now called the Blalock–Thomas–Taussig shunt used to treat blue baby syndrome (now known as cyanotic heart disease) along with surgeon Alfred Blalock and cardiologist Helen B. Taussig.[3] He was the assistant to Blalock in Blalock's experimental animal laboratory at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Thomas was unique in that he did not have any professional education or experience in a research laboratory; however, he served as supervisor of the surgical laboratories at Johns Hopkins for 35 years. In 1976, Johns Hopkins awarded him an honorary doctorate and named him an Instructor of Surgery for the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.[3] Without any education past high school, Thomas rose above poverty and racism to become a cardiac surgery pioneer and a teacher of operative techniques to many of the country's most prominent surgeons.