Kurt L. Schmoke, born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 1, 1949, came from a middle class background. His father, Murray, a civilian chemist for the U.S. Army, was a graduate of Morehouse College, and his mother, Irene was a social worker. Schmoke attended the city’s … Read MoreKurt L. Schmoke (1949- )
Charles Sidney Gilpin, an actor, singer, and vaudevillian dancer, was the most successful African American stage performer in the early 20th Century. He is best known for his portrayal of Brutus Jones in Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones. A Richmond, Virginia, native, Gilpin attended St. … Read MoreCharles Sidney Gilpin (1878-1930)
Born Florence Delorez Griffith on December 21, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, Florence Griffith Joyner was the seventh of 11 children. Joyner and her siblings were raised primarily by their mother in the impoverished Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. She began competitive sprinting at the … Read MoreFlorence Griffith Joyner (1959-1998)
A pioneer playwright and moralistic philosopher of constructive thinking, Garland Anderson was the first African American known to have a serious full-length drama produced on Broadway in New York. Active in the theatre for over 10 years during the 1920s and 1930s, he achieved national … Read MoreGarland Anderson (1886-1939)
Fraunces Tavern at 54 Pearl Street, New York City, New York, played an important role during the American Revolution. Originally built in 1719 as a home to a New York colonial leader, it was sold at an auction to Samuel Fraunces (1722-95), a merchant of … Read MoreFraunces Tavern (1762- )
In 1944 Sara Dunlap Jackson became one of the first African American professionals hired by the National Archives in Washington, D.C. where she specialized in western, military, social and African American topics. She continued at the Archives until her retirement in 1990. In the following … Read MoreRemembering Sara Dunlap Jackson (1919-1991)
The career of Seattle-based jazz vocalist Ernestine Anderson is noteworthy both for its prolific output of more than 30 albums, and the more than 60-year span of her career. Born in Houston, Texas on November 11, 1928, as a child she joined her father and … Read MoreErnestine Anderson (1928-2016)
A marine biologist, academic, and administrator, Samuel Milton Nabrit was born in Macon, Georgia, to James Madison Nabrit and Gertrude West on February 21, 1905. Upon completing his elementary and high school education, he entered Morehouse College in 1921. There he earned the B.S. degree … Read MoreSamuel Milton Nabrit (1905-2003)
John Henry “Jack” Yates, minister and educator, was born a slave to Robert and Rachael Yates in Gloucester County, Virginia, on July 11, 1828. As a slave, Yates learned to read and write, and acquired the skills of carpentry. During his bondage, he married Harriet … Read MoreJohn Henry “Jack” Yates (1828-1897)
Entrepreneur, millionaire, and political activist, Hobart T. Taylor was born in 1890 in Wharton, Texas, to Millie (Wright) and Jack Taylor. Jack Taylor, a former slave, who had become an entrepreneur and landowner, had acquired 2,000 acres of farmland in Fort Bend and Wharton Counties … Read MoreHobart T. Taylor, Sr. (1890-1972)
