Independent Historian
Craig Collisson received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2008.  His dissertation examined the black student protest movement at white universities in the late 1960s, with a specific focus on the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Washington, and the University of Texas at Austin.  He currently teaches at Metropolitan State University, Denver.

Ferdinand Christopher Smith (1893-1961)

Jamaican-born Ferdinand Christopher Smith became a prominent twentieth century international labor activist and leader.  At an early age Smith left Jamaica’s poor economic conditions in search of work as a migrant laborer.  He spent five years in Panama, where he worked as a hotel steward … Read MoreFerdinand Christopher Smith (1893-1961)

Black Panther Party (U.S.A.)

Founded in October of 1966 in Oakland, California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) became the most famous black power organization of the late 1960s.  Newton and Seale met in 1965 at Merritt College where they were exposed to a burgeoning wave of Black Nationalism, … Read MoreBlack Panther Party (U.S.A.)