Black History Month: Day 21 – The Foundation of Hip-Hop

The official birthplace of hip-hop is August 11, 1973 in a rec room in 1520 Sedgwick Ave in the Bronx, New York. DJ Kool Herc was a disc jockey and emcee at his sister's back to school party. During the party, he extended an instrumental beat to let people breakdance longer and began MC'ing during … Continue reading Black History Month: Day 21 – The Foundation of Hip-Hop

Black History Month: Day 7 – James “J-Dilla” Yancey

I got a bit caught up and behind on today's post.  But I usually celebrate Dilla Day every year by making a playlist and listening to the genius of Mr. Yancey all day.  Today was no exception. James Dewitt Yancey is better known by his stage names: Jay Dee and J Dilla.  Dilla was one-third … Continue reading Black History Month: Day 7 – James “J-Dilla” Yancey

Black History Month: Day 4 – Shirley Chisholm

Not many people know who Shirley Chisholm is, despite the recency of her accomplishments. And I certainly never heard her discussed in any classroom I had. There were a few articles that discussed Mrs. Chisholm's legacy during our previous election, but still she is not as well known a figure as one would expect of a woman who: became the first African-American woman elected to the United States Congress; represented New York's 12th Congressional District (including Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn) for seven terms; became the first black candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States and became the first woman (of any ethnicity) to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination;