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black snake

(Encyclopedia)black snake, name for several snakes, not all closely related, that are black in color. In the United States the name is applied chiefly to the black racer and to the black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta)...

black studies

(Encyclopedia)black studies: see ethnic studies. ...

Black Tom

(Encyclopedia)Black Tom, part of Jersey City, N.J., also called Black Tom Island. In July, 1916, German saboteurs demolished U.S. munitions stores there; in Jan., 1917, they destroyed the Kingsland, N.J., munitions...

Black Watch

(Encyclopedia)Black Watch or Royal Highland Regiment, Scottish infantry regiment. The first companies were raised in 1725 to watch the rebellious Scottish highlands and keep the peace, and the regiment was formed 1...

black whale

(Encyclopedia)black whale, name for the right whale and for the sperm whale. ...

black widow

(Encyclopedia)black widow, poisonous spider of the genus Latrodectus, found throughout North and South America and common in the SW United States. The name derives from the fact that the female, like those of many ...

Chivington, John Milton

(Encyclopedia)Chivington, John Milton, 1821–92, Union general in the American Civil War, b. Lebanon, Ohio. Ordained a Methodist minister (1844), he served in Missouri and Nebraska before moving to Denver as presi...

Congressional Black Caucus

(Encyclopedia)Congressional Black Caucus, organization of African-American members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Founded in 1970, it addresses legislative concerns of African Americans and other minority ci...

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

(Encyclopedia)Ladysmith Black Mambazo mämbäzˈō [key], choral group formed in 1965 in Ladysmith, South Africa, founded and led (until 2014) by Joseph Shabalala (1941–2020). The group, which sings with a precis...

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