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.
Fayard and Harold Nicholas, whose careers spanned over six decades, made up one of the most beloved dance teams in the history of dance, The Nicholas Brothers. They were best known for their unforgettable appearances in more than 30 Hollywood musicals in the 1930s and … Read MoreNicholas Brothers
The daguerreotypist James Presley (J.P.) Ball was born in 1825 in Virginia, probably a freeman. As a young man he learned daguerreotyping and opened his first studio in Cincinnati, Ohio at age twenty. The city was a center for anti-slavery activity as well as the … Read MoreJames Presley Ball (1825-1904)
Reverend J(esse) J(ames) Clow was a beloved minister and a prominent figure in the struggle for civil rights in Portland, Oregon. In 1936, Rev. Clow began a service of ministry at Portland’s Mt. Olivet Baptist Church. Mt. Olivet was the first African American Baptist Church … Read MoreJ.J .Clow (1893-1979)
Isaiah Edwards was a community activist and advocate in Seattle’s Central Area. Isaiah Edwards and his wife, Marie, moved from Topeka, Kansas, to Seattle in 1942 to work at Boeing. Edwards worked for 40 years at Boeing as a maintenance dispatcher without missing a day, … Read MoreIsaiah Edwards (1913-1994)
Isaiah Dorman was born free in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1832 although the precise date of his birth is unknown. The date of his death, June 25, 1876, however, will be both long admired by many and reviled by others in American history. On that day, this … Read MoreIsaiah Dorman (1832-1876)
A free woman of African descent living in Querétaro, Mexico, Isabel de Olvera joined a relief expedition to the recently colonized province of New Mexico in 1600. She traveled as a servant to a Spanish woman. Little is known about Olvera, except for an extraordinary … Read MoreIsabel de Olvera (?-?)
An outstanding educator and academic leader, Inman Edward Page was born in Warrenton, Virginia, on December 29, 1853. On the plantation where he and his parents were enslaved, Page was a houseboy. When he was about ten years old the Civil War brought Union and … Read MoreInman Edward Page (1853-1936)
Inez Maxine Pitter Haynes, the middle sibling of the Pitter sisters, was born February 06, 1919 to Edward A. Pitter and Marjorie Allen Pitter, in Seattle, Washington. In 1936 she graduated from Garfield High School and entered the University of Washington as a pre-nursing major, … Read MoreInez Maxine Pitter Haynes (1919-2004)
Hutchen R. Hutchins, born on June 30, 1903, was part of a small but active cadre of African American Communists operating in the Pacific Northwest during the 1930s. Originally from the East Coast, Hutchins attended the Lenin School in Moscow in the late 1920s. In 1932 … Read MoreHutchen R. Hutchins (1903-1990)
Horace Roscoe Cayton, Jr., was the son of Horace and Susie Cayton and the grandson of Hiram R. Revels, the first black U.S. Senator. After graduation from Seattle’s Franklin High School and the University of Washington, Cayton attended the University of Chicago. It was in … Read MoreHorace Roscoe Cayton, Jr. (1903-1970)
