U.S. Army Air Force World War II veteran Edward Lucien Toppins was a fighter pilot credited with shooting down four German enemy fighter aircraft during aerial combat, a distinction shared with two other Tuskegee Airmen. Toppins was born in Mississippi on June 12, 1915. His … Read MoreEdward Toppins (1915-1946)
Charles V. Brantley, who was trained for aerial combat as a Tuskegee Airman, was born Charles Vernon Brantley in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 1, 1920. He was reared in the Ville neighborhood and graduated from racially segregated Charles H. Sumner High School in 1938. … Read MoreCharles V. Brantley (1920-1970)
Tuskegee Airman and later College President Roscoe Conkling Brown, Jr., was born March 9, 1922, in Washington, DC, to Roscoe Conkling Brown Sr., a dentist, and Vivian Kemp Brown, a teacher. He had an older sister, Portia Brown. Roscoe Brown graduated with honors from racially … Read MoreRoscoe C. Brown, Jr. (1922-2016)
Tuskegee Airman Edward Creston Gleed, World War II combat fighter pilot, was born on November 5, 1916, in Lawrence, Kansas, to Herbert Joseph Gleed Sr. and Carrie Syphax Joseph Gleed, a professor at Tuskegee Institute (now University). Their other son was Herbert Joseph Gleed, Jr., … Read MoreEdward Creston Gleed (1916-1990)
Tuskegee Airman Earl Roscoe Lane was born in the rural all-Black town of Red Bird, Oklahoma, on July 22, 1920 to Levi and Christine Lane. In 1930, when he was 10, his family moved to Wickliffe, Ohio. His younger sisters were Barbara Lane Martin and … Read MoreEarl Roscoe Lane (1920-1990)
The Charleston Cigar Factory Strike was a labor strike that involved workers at the Charleston Cigar Factory in Charleston, South Carolina, from October 22, 1945, to April 1, 1946. The strike resulted from the company refusing to institute raises and racial discrimination. The modern version … Read MoreThe Charleston Cigar Factory Strike (1945-1946)
Beny Jene Primm, a pioneer in HIV/AIDS research and treatment and an anesthesiologist, was born on May 28, 1928, in Williamson, West Virginia, to a funeral director father, George Oliver Primm, and a mother, Willie Henrietta Martin Primm, who taught school. He had one brother, … Read MoreBeny Jene Primm (1928-2015)
Healthcare management executive, strategic planner, and project manager Malika Evans was born Malika Romona Barker in 1983 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She received the Thomas J. and Marie W. Burke Scholarship, an annual academic scholarship for African Americans or any student of … Read MoreMalika Evans (1983- )
Johnie Driver is one of the few non-violent civil rights activists to emerge in Utah in the 1960s. Yet, even to this day, very little is known about him beyond the fact that he was President of the Salt Lake Branch of the National Association … Read MoreJohnie Driver (?-?)
Louis Cameron Gossett Jr., one of the most commanding American actors in television and film, as well as a producer, director, and social activist, was born on May 27, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, the only child to Louis Cameron Gossett Sr. and Hellen Rebecca … Read MoreLouis Gossett Jr. (1936-2024)
