Born on February 6, 1898 in Moberly, Missouri, Melvin Beaunorus Tolson is known as one of the most significant African American modernist poets of his time. In addition, Tolson’s work as an educator led Langston Hughes to declare him “the most famous Negro Professor in … Read MoreMelvin B. Tolson (1898-1966)
Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1938, Juanita Millender McDonald was an educator and member of the United States House of Representatives. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands and a master’s degree from California State University at Los Angeles. Millender-McDonald taught in … Read MoreJuanita Millender-McDonald (1938-2007)
Frances Mary McHie Rains, an African American community worker, educator, businesswoman, and nurse, was born on January 29, 1911 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Inspired by local black activist and businesswoman W. Gertrude Brown, McHie decided to become a social worker. After graduating from high school she … Read MoreFrances Rains (1911-2006)
The Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Massacre was one of the worst urban racial conflicts in United States history. Two days of violence by whites against Blacks left an estimated 50 people dead, hundreds injured, and more than 1,000 Black-owned homes and businesses destroyed. The riot, which … Read MoreTulsa Race Massacre (1921)
Alberta Hunter was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but left for Chicago, Illinois at age 11 after her father died. She peeled potatoes in a boarding house until she could find a job singing blues, the first opportunity was at a Chicago brothel, as entertainment for … Read MoreAlberta Hunter (1895-1984)
Mervyn Malcolm Dymally, an African American politician from Los Angeles, California who has served in the California Assembly, the State Senate and as a U.S. Congressman. He is also the first African American Lt. Governor of California. Dymally is now once again in the California … Read MoreMervyn Dymally (1923- )
Captain Hezekiah Ford Douglas was born in Virginia in 1831 to a white man named William Douglas, and an enslaved mother named Mary. He escaped from slavery sometime after his fifteenth birthday, and moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Working as a barber, the self-educated Douglas was … Read MoreH. Ford Douglas (1831-1865)
Hans-Jürgen Massaquoi was born on January 19, 1926 in the city of Hamburg, Germany. The son of the German nurse Bertha Baetz and the Liberian businessman Al-Hajj Massaquoi, Hans-Jürgen spent the first years of his life with the family of his paternal grandfather, Momolu Massaquoi, … Read MoreHans-Jürgen Massaquoi (1926-2013)
Open housing was one of the most prominent goals of the Seattle, Washington civil rights movement in the 1960s. Up to the early 1960s African Americans in Seattle were almost completely restricted to housing in the Central District of the city. Housing restrictions were not … Read MoreRev. Mance Jackson (1931-2007)
Seattle businessman and political activist Keve Bray played an essential role in the local civil rights movement and is especially notable for his role in the black power movement in the Central District. Bray was born on June 9, 1925. Very little is known about … Read MoreKeve Bray (1925-1972)
