CONCRETELOOP.COM

REGINALD F. LEWIS (1942-1993) was a businessman and corporate attorney. He was the first black person to build a billion dollar company and also a prominent philanthropist.

Lewis was born December 7, 1942, in East Baltimore. His family encouraged him to “be the best that you can be” and stressed the value of education at an early age.

Continue

NINA MAE MCKINNEY (1917-1967) was one of the first African-American film stars and one of the first African-Americans to appear on British television. She appeared in over 30 films, more than Lena Horne or Dorothy Dandridge; however, she remains relatively unknown.

Continue

EUBIE BLAKE (1887-1983) was one of the most important figures in early-20th-century music, and one whose longevity made him a storehouse of the history of ragtime and early jazz music and culture.

Born to former slaves on February 7, 1887, Blake was the only surviving child of eight who all died in infancy. His musical training began when he was only about four years old. hile out shopping with his mother, he wandered into a music store, climbed on the bench of an organ, and started foolin’ around. When his mother found him, the store manager said to her: “The child is a genius! It would be criminal to deprive him of the chance to make use of such a sublime, God-given talent.”

Continue

BAYARD RUSTIN (1912-1987) was one of the most influential civil rights activists who maintained a low profile, reserving the spotlight for other prominent figures, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and A. Philip Randolph.

Born March 17, 1910, Rustin was one of twelve children raised by his grandparents in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Rustin’s life-long commitment to nonviolence began with his Quaker upbringing and the influence of his grandmother, a member of the Society of Friends and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). NAACP leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois and James Weldon Johnson were frequent guests in the Rustin home. With these influences in his early life, Rustin campaigned against racially discriminatory Jim Crow laws in his youth.

Continue