The following are short descriptions of the women and men who have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Preston Wilcox (left) with Unidentified Man Image Courtesy of Harlem Heritage Preston Wilcox, human rights activist and professor, was a proponent of black studies and advocated community control over education. He was born in 1923 and raised in Youngstown, Ohio along with his four siblings. … Read MorePreston Wilcox (1923-2006)
Scholar and historian Helen Grey Edmonds was the first African American woman to earn a doctoral degree from Ohio State University and the first black woman to second the nomination for a candidate for President of the United States. Edmonds was born December 3, 1911 … Read MoreHelen Grey Edmonds (1911-1995)
Hiram Young of Independence, Missouri manufactured freight wagons and equipment in the 1850s. Born about 1812 in Tennessee, he entered Missouri as a slave and worked for George Young of Greene County. In 1847, Young obtained freedom, either from his owner or possibly as a … Read MoreHiram Young (1812-1882)
Milton Arthur Galamison, minister and civil rights activist, was the leader of New York City’s school integration movement in the 1960s. Born and raised in Philadelphia, where he experienced poverty and hostile racial relations that influenced his later activism, Galamison received a B.A. with honors … Read MoreMilton A. Galamison (1923-1988)
Librarian, author, and storyteller Augusta Braxston Baker was the first African American woman to hold an administrative position with the New York Public Library (NYPL). She was a pioneering advocate of the positive portrayal of blacks in children’s literature, and beginning in the 1930s removed … Read MoreAugusta Braxston Baker (1911-1998)
African American cowboy and rodeo rider Jesse Stahl set the standard of performance in saddle bronc riding that continues to this day. Stahl was a topnotch horseman, a first-class gentleman, and a cowboy who was regarded by many who saw his performances as larger than … Read MoreJesse Stahl (ca. 1879-1935)
Professional basketball star Isiah Lord Thomas III was the Detroit Pistons’ point guard from 1981-1994, helping to lead the team to back-to-back National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in 1989 and 1990. Thomas was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the … Read MoreIsiah Lord Thomas III (1961- )
Art Blakey, jazz drummer and band leader, was born Arthur William Blakey in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1919. Blakey’s father, Burtrum, who worked as a barber, left his family when Blakey was a newborn. Blakey lost his mother, Marie Roddericker, before his second birthday. … Read MoreArt Blakey (1919-1990)
Actress Thelma “Butterfly” McQueen was born in Tampa, Florida on January 8, 1911. Her father, Wallace McQueen, worked as a stevedore and her mother, Mary Richardson, was a housekeeper and domestic worker. After McQueen’s parents separated, her mother moved from job to job and McQueen … Read MoreThelma “Butterfly” McQueen (1911-1995)
Wes Montgomery was a jazz guitarist whose natural genius and distinctive sound earned him recognition as one of the most important jazz musicians of the 20th century. Montgomery was born on March 6, 1925 in Indianapolis, Indiana into a musically inclined family. Although he was … Read MoreJohn Leslie “Wes” Montgomery (1925-1968)
