Anita Scott Coleman was a relatively unknown but important western contributor to the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico in 1890, Coleman’s mother, Mary Ann, met her father, William Henry Scott, near Fort Elliott, Texas where he served as a buffalo soldier. He retired … Read MoreAnita Scott Coleman (1890-1960)
Born in Goliad, Texas on March 24, 1896, John Mason Brewer became one of the twentieth century’s premier African American folklorists. A poet, essayist, historian, and anthologist, Brewer earned an undergraduate degree from Wiley College in 1917 and later a graduate degree from Indiana University. … Read MoreJohn Mason Brewer (1896-1975)
Born in Chatfield, Texas on June 19, 1872, Sutton E. Griggs attended Bishop College in Marshall, Texas and Richmond Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. A noted author, Baptist minister, and promoter of his race, Griggs championed the cause of racial equality in his life and … Read MoreSutton Elbert Griggs (1872-1933)
A clubwoman, teacher, society leader, and race activist, Josephine Beall Willson Bruce was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 29, 1853, to Dr. Joseph Willson, a prominent dentist, and Elizabeth Harnett Willson, a singer and musician. In 1854 the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where … Read MoreJosephine Beall Willson Bruce (1853-1923)
Jacqueline Harrison, the Sheriff of Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia, was born on November 4, 1950, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Cornelius and Ocie Perry Harrison. In 1972, she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology, concentrating in criminology at Beavers College. She received a master’s degree … Read MoreJacqueline Harrison Barrett (1950- )
In their introduction to Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, co-editors Henry Louis Gates and Kwame Anthony Appiah describe W.E.B. Du Bois’s half century campaign to publish an encyclopedia that would encompass the African diaspora. That introduction appears below. Between 1909 … Read MoreW.E.B. Du Bois and the Making of the Encyclopedia Africana, 1909-1963
William Hannibal Thomas was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, on May 4, 1843 to free black parents. During his early childhood Thomas’s family moved frequently in search of economic advancement before returning to Ohio in 1857. As a teenager Thomas performed manual labor, attended school … Read MoreWilliam Hannibal Thomas (1843-1935)
“It is probable that this hall will intertwine itself with the history of our country,” said Andrew Carnegie in 1890, when he laid the cornerstone of the building that would become Carnegie Hall. In keeping with Carnegie’s firm belief in egalitarianism and meritocracy, the hall … Read MoreFrom Opera, Minstrelsy and Ragtime to Social Justice: An Overview of African American Performers at Carnegie Hall, 1892-1943
Jesse Jackson, Jr., an African American Congressman, represented Illinois’ Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from December 12, 1995 to November 21, 2012. On March 11, 1965, in Greenville, South Carolina, in the middle of the voting rights campaign, Jesse L. Jackson, … Read MoreJesse Louis Jackson, Jr. (1965- )
Abe Morris can stake his claim in rodeo history as a former champion bull rider. Morris is a 1980 graduate of the University of Wyoming (UW) with a bachelor’s degree in business management. He spent nearly 25 years riding bulls on the college and professional … Read MoreAbe Morris (1956- )
