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.
George Beavers, Jr. was born in 1892, in the Mechanicsville section of Atlanta, Georgia. His parents decided to leave Atlanta with their children in 1902, after white mob violence erupted in their neighborhood. They settled in Los Angeles where they expected to find “full citizenship … Read MoreGeorge Beavers, Jr. (1892-1989)
Frederick Madison Roberts was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. He arrived in Los Angeles at age six and was the first black to graduate from Los Angeles High School. He attended the University of Southern California, majored in pre-law and graduated from Colorado College, and finished … Read MoreFrederick M. Roberts (1879-1952)
Frank A. Stokes was a black Spokane pioneer, an entrepreneur, a custodian for Spokane’s Old National Bank, and a member of one of Spokane’s first black churches, Bethel AME. In 1919, he helped organize Spokane’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch. For … Read MoreFrank A. Stokes ( ? -1950)
In 1938 Frances Mary Albrier became the first woman elected to the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee. She also founded the East Bay Women’s Welfare Club whose goal was to get black teachers hired in the Berkeley schools. This campaign saw success with the hiring … Read MoreFrances Mary Albrier (1898-1987)
Florasina Ware was the quintessential activist, known in Seattle for raising a strong voice on behalf of children, the elderly, and the poor. Dissatisfied with the quality of the Central Area schools attended by most of the city’s black students, she pressed school officials for academic … Read MoreFlo Ware (1912-1981)
Felix Haywood was the son of slave parents bought in Mississippi and brought to San Antonio, Texas by Felix’ future master William Gudlow. Felix and his five brothers and sisters were all born and raised in slavery in San Antonio. He worked as a sheepherder … Read MoreFelix Haywood (1855- ?)
Esteban, an enslaved Moroccan, made the first contact with the native peoples of what is now the American Southwest. Fraught with misunderstandings, that encounter led to Esteban’s untimely demise in 1539 and prefigured the violence that would characterize the Spanish conquest and subsequent colonization of … Read MoreEsteban (?-1539)
E. Russell “Noodles” Smith, so named because he always kept enough money for a bowl of noodles after a night of gambling, is considered to be “the father – or perhaps the midwife – of Seattle jazz.” He arrived in Seattle during the Alaska Yukon … Read MoreE. Russell “Noodles” Smith (?-1952)
Ernest William Chambers, Africana intellectual, has lived in the semi-segregated community of North Omaha, Nebraska for his entire life. A community activist in the 1960s, Chambers rode into office in the Nebraska State Legislature on the crest of new-black electoral power in 1970. As a … Read MoreErnest William Chambers (1937- )
For nearly thirty years, Emma Ray, who was born into slavery and raised in poverty in Missouri, ministered to the poor and homeless in Seattle slums along with her husband, L.P. They came to Seattle following the 1889 fire in order for L.P. to find … Read MoreEmma Ray (1859-1930)
