Life

Celia Cruz Featured On the US 25-cent Coin in 2024

Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, widely known as Celia Cruz,  a popular Afro-Latin musician and artist of the 20th century,  has been featured on the a coin minted by the US Treasury. She is the first Black-Latin woman ever featured on the US 25-cent coin, also known as a quarter. The quarters features Celia Cruz and other trailblazing American women. Other women featured on quarters include:  activist, lawyer, poet, writer, and  Episcopal priest Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray,  e first woman of color to serve in Congress Patsy Takemoto Mink, Civil War era surgeon and women’s rights activist  Dr. Mary Edwards Walker,  and  writer, composer, educator, and political activist Zitkala-Ša.

Selma March with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

The Black History Month in the United States is  in its last week. February 2024 theme is "Existing Outside the Lines - The Colors of Resistance:  African American and the Arts." During the month, Americans have been taking time to remember and reflect as  the country is reminded of the discrimination Blacks have endured and the continuous struggle against the remnants of slavery, segregation, and racial legacy.

The Black History Month is also a time to focus on understanding the question and dynamics of race in American society today and to remember the people who made sacrifices in building the foundation and helping attain some achievements for Blacks in America. Below are the some key pioneers and most influential historic Blacks and African Americans who made such sacrifices or led the historic actions for civil rights, racial equality, and justice for Blacks in America.

Faustin Twagiramungu on a political campaign in Rwanda, on September 8, 2003

Sources in Brussels, Belgium told AfroAmerica Network that Faustin Twagiramugu, a former Prime Minister of Rwanda who was a refugee in Belgium, has passed away. According to the sources, he died from short illness.  

Faustin Twagiramungu was born in Cyangugu, Rwanda on August 14, 1945. He is well known as the son-in-law of the former Rwandan President  Grégoire Kayibanda and Rwandan political leader. Grégoire Kayibanda was a Rwandan politician and revolutionary who was the first elected President of Rwanda from 1962 to 1973. An ethnic Hutu,  Grégoire Kayibanda  was a pioneer of the Rwandan Revolution and led Rwanda's struggle for independence from Belgium, replacing the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government.