Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
John Drayton Mahaffey Jr. (born May 9, 1948) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including 10 PGA Tour events.
Mahaffey is a surname of Scottish origin, and is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic name Mac Dhuibhshithe. It is a sept of Clan Macfie in Scotland, but the clan originated in Ireland. There the name is found largely in County Donegal, Ulster. People with the surname Mahaffey include: Art Mahaffey (born 1938), American athlete Audley F. Mahaffey (1899–1982), American politician Fred K. Mahaffey (1934–1986), American military officer Jim Mahaffey (1936–2020), American bridge player John Mahaffey (born 1948), American golfer Maryann Mahaffey (1925–2006), American politician Matt Mahaffey (born 1973), American musician Mike Mahaffey (1967–2005), American musician Randolph Mahaffey (born 1945), American basketball player Roy Mahaffey (1904–1969), American baseball player Valerie Mahaffey (1953–2025), Indonesian-American actress
The Houston Cougars golf program is an NCAA Division I golf program at the University of Houston. The men's program, under head coach Andrew Danna, and the women's program, coached by Rachel Pollock, both compete in the Big 12 Conference. The men's golf program is one of the oldest sports played at the University of Houston, as it began in 1946 along with the football program. The team is one of the most successful college programs in history, with 16 team national championships and eight individual national championships. This makes the team the second-most successful team of all time, behind only Yale. The team also holds 21 conference championships and has produced 44 All-Americans. Team members who went on to professional golf careers include Fuzzy Zoeller, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Nick Faldo, Butch Harmon, Bruce Lietzke, Billy Tuten, John Mahaffey, Bill Rogers, Blaine McCallister, Dave Marr, Fred Marti and Billy Ray Brown. Future broadcaster Jim Nantz was also a member of the team. The women's golf program began in 2013.
The 1983 U.S. Open was the 83rd U.S. Open, held June 16–20 at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburb northeast of Pittsburgh. Larry Nelson won the second of his three major titles, and only U.S. Open, one stroke ahead of defending champion Tom Watson. Watson and Seve Ballesteros shared the 54-hole lead, with Nelson a stroke back. Nelson was 7-over for the championship after four holes in his third round, but then played the final fourteen holes on Saturday in 7-under to get to even-par 213, one shot behind the co-leaders. Watson was attempting to become the first to successfully defend a U.S. Open title in over thirty years, last achieved by Ben Hogan in 1951. In the final round, Watson opened with a front-nine 31 to open up a three-stroke lead over Nelson, who shot 33. Nelson tied Watson with a birdie at 14 after Watson had bogeyed 10 and 12. A storm came through Oakmont around 5:30 p.m., which postponed play to the following morning. Watson was on the 14th green, Nelson on the 16th tee, tied at four-under for the championship. On Monday morning, Nelson holed a 62-foot (19 m) birdie putt at the par-3 16th, but then three-putted at the 18th for bogey. Nelson finished at four-under 280 total and waited for Watson. After he failed to save a par from a bunker at the 17th, Watson was one stroke behind Nelson. Watson needed a birdie at 18 to tie but his approach flew over the green. Nelson became the winner when Watson failed to hole out his chip shot. Nelson established a new tournament record with 132 strokes over the last 36 holes, breaking Gene Sarazen's 51-year-old mark. It was the second consecutive runner-up finish at Oakmont for Watson, who lost a sudden-death playoff to John Mahaffey five years earlier at the PGA Championship in 1978. Arnold Palmer made his last cut in a U.S. Open here and tied for 60th place. He played the Open just once more, in 1994 when he was granted a special exemption when it returned to Oakmont. Future major champion Paul Azinger made his major championship debut but missed the cut. Johnny Miller, the champion when the Open was last played at Oakmont in 1973, battled health issues, and also missed the cut. This was the sixth U.S. Open at Oakmont, and ninth major championship. Ticket prices were $24 per day, cash only; practice days were $14.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →The Greenwood District.