Allison Espiritu, Author at

Independent Historian

Allison Espiritu graduated from the University of Washington in 2007 with a degree in journalism. She has worked for a number of Seattle area newspapers including the International Examiner, OnePhilippines, the North Seattle Herald Outlook, and the Madison Park Times. Her feature stories have covered diverse topics ranging from alcohol awareness programs in the Seattle Middle School and the local impact of the Great American Smoke Out program to a discussion of the role of local restaurants in feeding the homeless. Allison is currently working at the Seattle Times as a News Lead Assistant.

Hazel Rollins Reid O’Leary (1937- )

The first and only woman to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of Energy, Hazel Rollins Reid was born May 17, 1937 in Newport News, Virginia. During this time of public school segregation, Reid’s parents, hoping for better schooling opportunities, sent their daughter to live … Read MoreHazel Rollins Reid O’Leary (1937- )

Sheila Dixon (1953- )

On January 17, 2007, Sheila Dixon became the first woman mayor of Baltimore, after former Mayor Martin O’Malley was inaugurated as Maryland’s governor. Born on December 17, 1953, Dixon is a lifelong resident of Baltimore having grown up in the Ashburton neighborhood of West Baltimore. … Read MoreSheila Dixon (1953- )

Shadrach Minkins (ca. 1814-1875)

Born into slavery in Norfolk, Virginia (the actual year is uncertain), Shadrach Minkins spent the first thirty years of his life in his hometown, but in May of 1850 he decided to run for freedom and escaped to Boston, where he became a waiter. At … Read MoreShadrach Minkins (ca. 1814-1875)

Palmer Memorial Institute (1902-1971)

In 1902, Charlotte Brown Hawkins opened an institute for African American teenagers in North Carolina. She established the institute in a converted blacksmith shop and named it for her mentor, Alice Freeman Palmer. Hawkins credited Palmer, the first woman president of Wellesley College, with much … Read MorePalmer Memorial Institute (1902-1971)

Anthony Burns (1834-1862)

The youngest of thirteen children, Anthony Burns was born into slavery in Virginia on May 31, 1834. His family was owned by John Suttle. His mother married three times. Burns’s father was her third husband, but he died when Anthony was very young. After John … Read MoreAnthony Burns (1834-1862)

Charlotte Eugenia Hawkins Brown (1883-1961)

Born Lottie Hawkins in Henderson, North Carolina, in 1883, her family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, early in her childhood to avoid racial discrimination in their home state. In Cambridge, she attended Allston Grammar School, Cambridge English High School and Salem State Normal School in Salem, … Read MoreCharlotte Eugenia Hawkins Brown (1883-1961)

Patrick Healy (1834-1910)

Patrick Healy was one of the successful Healy siblings of the early 19th century who openly acknowledged being of part African or black ancestry. Known as the first American of acknowledged African descent to earn a doctorate, Patrick Healy was also the first African American … Read MorePatrick Healy (1834-1910)

Thomy Lafon (1810-1893)

Born a free person of color in New Orleans, Thomy Lafon was the son of a Frenchman and a free woman of Haitian descent who had been born in Louisiana to a slave mother. Lafon’s father deserted the family when Lafon was a young boy. … Read MoreThomy Lafon (1810-1893)

James Augustine Healy (1830-1900)

James Augustine Healy was the first born of ten children to Michael and Mary Eliza Healy on April 6, 1830 on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Michael Healy was a former Irish soldier who immigrated to America. He became a planter after the war of … Read MoreJames Augustine Healy (1830-1900)

Susan Taylor (Susie) Baker King (1848-1912)

Born on the Grest Farm in Liberty County, Georgia, on August 6, 1848, Susie Baker King Taylor was raised as an enslaved person. Her mother was a domestic servant for the Grest family. At the age of 7, Baker and her brother were sent to … Read MoreSusan Taylor (Susie) Baker King (1848-1912)