Independent Historian

Beatrice Johnson is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma born to Reverend Alvan Nathaniel Johnson, Sr. and Verla Odelma Clardy Johnson. She is an alumna of Booker T. Washington High School and the University of Tulsa. In 1995, she started writing for the Oklahoma Eagle newspaper, where her uncle Reverend Ben H. Hill was once the editor. Her love for writing has never stopped. Earning an MBA degree in Business Administration, Johnson is a co-author for the book, Before I Got Here: The Wondrous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children edited by Blair Underwood.  Johnson became an Independent Historian while researching her grandfather, Bishop William Decker Johnson’s history with the AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church. She is currently an actress and freelance writer in Atlanta, Georgia.

Norman Thomas “Turkey” Stearnes (1901-1979)

Norman “Turkey” Stearnes was one of the Negro League Baseball’s (NBL) most feared hitters. Born on May 8, 1901 in Nashville, Tennessee to Will S. and Mary (Everett), Stearnes, his mother was a cook for a private family earning $7 a week and was listed … Read MoreNorman Thomas “Turkey” Stearnes (1901-1979)

Herbert Alphonso “Rap” Dixon (1902-1944)

Herbert Alphonso Dixon was a Negro Baseball League (NBL) baseball outfielder. Nicknamed “Rap,” Dixon was born on September 15, 1902 in Kingston, Georgia to John and Rose Goodwin Dixon. Both of Dixon’s parents were born in Georgia; his father John was a laborer at a … Read MoreHerbert Alphonso “Rap” Dixon (1902-1944)