The first and only woman to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of Energy, Hazel Rollins Reid was born May 17, 1937 in Newport News, Virginia. During this time of public school segregation, Reid’s parents, hoping for better schooling opportunities, sent their daughter to live … Read MoreHazel Rollins Reid O’Leary (1937- )
On January 17, 2007, Sheila Dixon became the first woman mayor of Baltimore, after former Mayor Martin O’Malley was inaugurated as Maryland’s governor. Born on December 17, 1953, Dixon is a lifelong resident of Baltimore having grown up in the Ashburton neighborhood of West Baltimore. … Read MoreSheila Dixon (1953- )
Born into slavery in Norfolk, Virginia (the actual year is uncertain), Shadrach Minkins spent the first thirty years of his life in his hometown, but in May of 1850 he decided to run for freedom and escaped to Boston, where he became a waiter. At … Read MoreShadrach Minkins (ca. 1814-1875)
In 1902, Charlotte Brown Hawkins opened an institute for African American teenagers in North Carolina. She established the institute in a converted blacksmith shop and named it for her mentor, Alice Freeman Palmer. Hawkins credited Palmer, the first woman president of Wellesley College, with much … Read MorePalmer Memorial Institute (1902-1971)
Jane Bolin was the first Black woman graduate of Yale Law School and the first Black female judge in the United States. Bolin was born in Poughkeepsie, New York on April 11, 1908. From her earliest days in her father’s law office, Bolin knew she … Read MoreJane Bolin (1908-2007)
Musicologist, playwright, novelist and political activist Lola Shirley Graham, born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1896, became the second wife to W.E.B. Du Bois in 1951. Lola Shirley Graham was taught at a young age to stand up to injustice. She wrote her first editorial to … Read MoreShirley Graham Du Bois (1896 – 1977)
Founded in 1959 by former auto-worker and songwriter Berry Gordy, Jr. in Detroit, Michigan, Motown Records would become the most successful black-owned record label in history. After co-writing hits for Smokey Robinson and Jackie Wilson, Gordy purchased a house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard and … Read MoreMotown Records
Reginald Francis Lewis was born to a working class family in East Baltimore on December 7, 1942. His strong work ethic was evident early when in high school he earned four varsity letters in baseball, three in football, and two in basketball. Lewis graduated from … Read MoreReginald Lewis (1942-1993)
Fredrick Douglass “Fritz” Pollard, born in 1894, was raised in Chicago, Illinois. In high school he was an all-around athlete, excelling as a running back, a three-time Cook County track champion, and a talented baseball player. Upon graduation, for a short time, he played football … Read MoreFritz Pollard (1894-1986)
Vertner Woodson Tandy, one of seven founders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, was born on May 17, 1885, in Lexington, Kentucky to Henry A. Tandy, a successful entrepreneur and building contractor, and Emma Brice Tandy. Young Tandy was educated at the Candler School in … Read MoreVertner Woodson Tandy (1885-1949)
