Grace Bustill Douglass, a Quaker abolitionist, was born into a distinguished black activist family in Burlington, New Jersey. She was the fifth of eight children born to Cyrus Bustill, a baker, and Elizabeth Morey Bustill, the daughter of an Englishman and a Delaware Indian woman. … Read MoreGrace Bustill Douglass (1782-1842)
Born to a distinguished abolitionist family, Sarah Mapps Douglass was the only daughter of Robert Douglass, a baker, and Grace Bustill Douglass, a milliner. Like many educated women, Sarah Douglass became a teacher. She also was an active abolitionist and joined her mother as a … Read MoreSarah Mapps Douglass (1806-1882)
A member of the John Street Methodist Church and founding member of the A.M.E. Zion Church in New York City, Eliza Day combined religious devotion with abolitionist politics. Day was an active abolitionist who established a pattern of activism for her children. Eliza Day was … Read MoreEliza Ann Dixon Day (?-1800’s)
Born into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina on February 11, 1813, Harriet Ann Jacobs was the daughter of slaves, Delilah and Daniel Jacobs. Harriet Jacobs is best known for her autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, edited by white abolitionist Lydia Maria Child, … Read MoreHarriet Jacobs (1813-1897)
Margaret Murray Washington, born March 9, 1865, was one of ten children born to sharecroppers. Her father was of Irish descent and her mother was African American. Murray attended Fisk University for eight years and graduated in 1889. The following year she became “Lady Principal” … Read MoreMargaret Murray Washington (1865-1925)
Angelina Weld Grimke was born into a legacy of advocacy for racial justice. As the daughter of Archibald Grimke, the second black to graduate from Harvard law and vice-president of the NAACP, Grimké’s heritage of racial equality can be further traced to her grand aunts, … Read MoreAngelina Weld Grimke (1880-1958)
Tupac Shakur, the son of two Black Panther members, William Garland and Afeni Shakur, was born in East Harlem, New York on June 16, 1971, and named after Jose Gabriel Tupac Amaru II, an 18th century political leader in Peru who was executed after leading … Read MoreTupac Shakur (1971-1996)
Lester (Willis) Young, known as “Pres,” was born in Woodville, Mississippi and died in New York City. Named Willis Lester at birth, he dropped “Willis” at an early age. Young developed a light tone and swinging style as a member of “territory bands,” such as … Read MoreWillis Lester Young (“Pres”) (1909-1959)
In 1877 a small village blossomed that was home to freedpeople slaves from Victoria County, Texas. Ex-slaves, Joseph Smith and George Washington, both born in Virginia, opened a freight and passenger business hauling goods from the Gulf Coast to Victoria and neighboring towns. With their … Read MoreCologne, Texas
December 9, 1952, Argued May 17, 1954, Decided MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN delivered the opinion of the Court. [1] These cases come to us from the States of Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. They are premised on different facts and different local conditions, but … Read More(1954) Brown v. Board of Education
