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Posts tagged as “Missouri”

Little Known Black History Fact: Pelagie Green Wren 1st Chorus Dancer of Color Hired by St. Louis Opera House

By goodblacknews on November 1, 2013

Pelagie Green was the first black person to join St. Louis’ Muny Opera House dance chorus in 1962. While her appearance was historical, it was also life-threatening. For her own safety, 19-year-old Pelagie Green was under the constant watch of Officer Charles Wren, a black police officer whom she later married. Green went on to open the Pelagie Green Wren Academy of Dance in St. Louis.  She also dedicated her teachings to St. Louis Public Schools. She was cited as sometimes waiving tuition fees for students who couldn’t afford training.

The Pelagie Green Wren dancers continued to perform all over the city, including at the esteemed Kiel Opera House. Her students have later gone to Broadway. While Green-Wren was the first to join the chorus, the first black performers appeared on the Muny stage in 1930 in the production “Show Boat.”
The Muny Opera House is the oldest outdoor theater in the U.S. The venue opened its stage in 1916 with a production of “Aida”. Following the production of “Show Boat”, the opera house featured shows with all-black casts such as “Porgy and Bess”, “The Wiz” (1982) and “Ain’t Misbehavin”. There were also re-productions of “Hello, Dolly!” starring Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway and “Guys and Dolls” featuring stage legends Leslie Uggams and Richard Roundtree.  Pelagie Green Wren passed away on September 19th. Her funeral was held yesterday in St. Louis, Mo. She was 71 years old.
article by Erica L. Taylor via blackamericaweb.com

15 Year-Old Jaylen Bledsoe Builds Multi-Million Dollar Tech Company in St. Louis

By goodblacknews on September 3, 2013

Jaylen Bledsoe in screengrab from According to msnnow.com, Jaylen Bledsoe is a 15-year-old sophomore at Hazelwood West High School in St. Louis who also happens to be the CEO and President of Bledsoe Technologies.  Bledsoe started his IT consultancy when he was 12 or 13, quickly growing it into the $3.5 million enterprise it is today.

He plans to attend Harvard after he graduates from high school and will be a presenter for a St. Louis youth entrepreneurship nonprofit Independent Youth at their annual TrepStart Day in September, as well as being a national speaker for the organization.  To see video of Bledsoe and his story, click here: [Source]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson 

Former Baseball Star Darryl Strawberry Finds True Calling as Pastor

By goodblacknews on July 15, 2013

 

Darryl and Tracy Strawberry
Darryl and Tracy Strawberry

ST. PETERS, Mo. — The four-bedroom, two-story modest house sits on a corner in this planned bedroom community, and when this 6-6 muscular-toned man welcomes you inside his home, there is no evidence Darryl Strawberry the player ever existed.
There are no pictures of Strawberry in a baseball uniform. No trophies. No plaques. None of his four World Series rings. Nothing from his eight All-Star Games. None of his 335 home run balls.
“I got rid of it all. I was never attached to none of that stuff,” says Strawberry, 51, wearing a North Carolina jersey with Michael Jordan’s No. 23. “I don’t want it. It’s not part of my life anymore.” Darryl Strawberry, the former outfield great, is no longer.  Darryl Strawberry, the ordained minister in this town 30 miles west of St. Louis, is very much alive.
“I’m over ‘Strawberry,’ ” he tells USA TODAY Sports. “I’m over Mets. I’m over Yankees. I don’t want to exist as Darryl Strawberry, the baseball player.  “People don’t understand that’s no longer you. I’m not a baseball player, anymore. That person is dead.”

97 Years Ago Today: The Negro Baseball League was Founded in Missouri

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2013
The Negro National League was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, by former player Robe Foster on Feb. 3, 1920.  The Negro Leagues would be home to some of America’s greatest Black talent and future Hall of Famers like Martin Dihigo and John Henry “Pop” Lloyd . Minorities were banned from major league teams until Jackie Robinson, a former Negro Leagues star, broke the color barrier in 1947, when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
article by Britt Middleton via bet.com

Lincoln University of Missouri Names Kevin D. Rome Its Next President

By goodblacknews on February 2, 2013

KevinDRomeHistorically Black Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, has announced that Kevin D. Rome will become the 19th president of the educational institution on June 1. Current Department of Education statistics show that there are about 3,400 undergraduate students at the university and Blacks are 41 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Dr. Rome is currently vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management at North Carolina Central University in Durham. Dr. Rome has been an administrator at North Carolina Central since 2008. Previously, he was vice president for student services at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He has also held administrative posts at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, and Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
A graduate of Morehouse College, Dr. Rome holds a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas.
article via jbhe.com

Voter Protection Initiative Unveiled By Congressional Black Caucus

By goodblacknews on September 26, 2012


WASHINGTON — The Congressional Black Caucus held a series of events throughout the country on Tuesday to educate communities on voter suppression laws and to help ensure eligible voters aren’t turned away at the polls in November.
Members of the CBC have partnered with community leaders and local and state elected officials in their districts to present the “For the People” voter protection initiative. The goal of the project is to give local leaders the tools to inform constituents of what documents and procedures are required to vote.