Amy Brown, Author at

Independent Historian

Amy Brown is an Undergraduate student at the University of Washington, Seattle. She is currently a freshman who enjoys helping and working with children. Although she hasn’t declared her major yet she is considering minoring in African American Studies. Amy Brown expects to graduate from the University of Washington in June 2012.

Seattle Civic Unity Committee

The Seattle Civic Unity Committee was formed by Seattle Mayor William F. Devin in 1944 in response to rising racial tension in the city. During World War II Seattle, like other west coast cities, received an influx of African Americans raising its black population from … Read MoreSeattle Civic Unity Committee

Juanita Jackson Mitchell (1913- 1992)

Juanita Jackson Mitchell was a civil rights leader, community activist, and lawyer born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to Lillie May (Carroll) Jackson and Keiffer Jackson. She had two sisters, Virginia and Marion and one brother. Juanita and her family frequently moved across the South at … Read MoreJuanita Jackson Mitchell (1913- 1992)

Marita Odette Bonner (1899-1971)

Marita Odette Bonner (Occomy) was an African American writer, essayist, and playwright associated with the Harlem Renaissance Era. Born on June 16, 1899 to Joseph Andrew and Anne Noel Bonner in Boston, Massachusetts, she and her three siblings grew up in Brookline, a suburb of … Read MoreMarita Odette Bonner (1899-1971)

Archibald J. Carey, Sr. (1868-1931)

Rev. Archibald Carey, Sr. a political activist, writer, orator, and religious leader, used his talents to help Chicago’s African American community. Carey was a minister for African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Churches in Georgia, Florida and finally, Chicago. Archibald James Carey Sr. was born in Atlanta, … Read MoreArchibald J. Carey, Sr. (1868-1931)

Kathryn Bogle (1906-2003)

Kathryn Hall Bogle, an early African American journalist in Oregon, was also the first black woman to hold a state government position in Oregon. Bogle was born in Oklahoma in 1906 and came with her family to Portland, Oregon soon afterwards. Bogle’s journalism career began … Read MoreKathryn Bogle (1906-2003)

Sonny Rollins (1930- )

Leading jazz innovator Theodore Walter “Sonny” Rollins was born in New York on September 7, 1930. He was raised by his grandmother who had migrated to the United States from the Virgin Islands. “Sonny” Rollins came of age in Harlem in the late 1940s and … Read MoreSonny Rollins (1930- )

Letitia A. Graves (1863-1952)

Early 20th Century Seattle civil rights activist Letitia Ann Dennie Graves was born in 1863 in Illinois to Martha Murphy and George Dennie. Very little is known about Graves’s early life other than the fact that she and her husband, John Henry Graves, a Kansas … Read MoreLetitia A. Graves (1863-1952)

Archibald J. Carey, Jr. (1908-1981)

Archibald Carey Jr. followed his famous father of the same name to become a major figure in Chicago’s political and religious life during much of the 20th Century. Over his career he was an attorney, judge, politician, minister, and bank president. Born in Chicago on … Read MoreArchibald J. Carey, Jr. (1908-1981)

Gwendolyn Bennett (1902-1981)

Gwendolyn Bennett a poet, author, educator, journalist and graphic artist, was born July 8, 1902 in Giddings, Texas, to Joshua and Maime Bennett. Her parents worked as teachers in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Gwendolyn’s family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1906 when she was … Read MoreGwendolyn Bennett (1902-1981)