Independent Historian

Multiple business owner Euell Dixon (formerly Nielsen) was born on November 3, 1973, in Sewell, New Jersey. The youngest daughter of scientist and author Eustace A. Dixon II and Travel Agent Eleanor Forman, Euell was an early reader and began tutoring at The Verbena Ferguson Tutoring Center for Adults at the age of 13. She has owned and operated five different companies in the past 20 years including Show and Touch, Stitch This, Get Twisted, Dimaje Photography, and Island Treazures.

Euell is a Veteran of the U.S. Army (Reserves) and a member of the Order of Eastern Star, House of Zeresh #103. She is also the 3rd Historian for First African Presbyterian Church, the nation’s oldest African American Presbyterian church, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Additionally, Euell is also a photographer, storyteller, fiber artist, and a historical re-enactor, portraying the lives of Patriot Hannah Till, Elizabeth Gloucester, and Henrietta Duterte. Euell has been writing for Blackpast.org since 2014 and was given an award from the site in 2016 for being the only African American female who had almost 100 entries at the time. Since then, she has written over 300 entries. Euell currently lives in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Katie Geneva Cannon (1950-2018)

Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon was the first African American woman to be ordained into the United Presbyterian USA denomination. Rev. Cannon was ordained in Shelby, North Carolina, on April 24, 1974, by the Catawaba Presbytery. Katie Cannon was born on January 3, 1950, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. She … Read MoreKatie Geneva Cannon (1950-2018)

Rachel Megan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex (1981- )

Rachel Megan Markle was born on August 4, 1981 in Los Angeles, California. Her African American mother Doria Ragland was a social worker and yoga instructor, and her Caucasian father Thomas Markle Sr., is a retired television director of lighting and photography. The couple divorced … Read MoreRachel Megan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex (1981- )

Erica Gwen-Elise Snipes Garner (1990-2017)

Erica Garner was an activist, writer, and leader in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Garner was thrust into a life of activism after the untimely murder of her father Eric Garner, who was killed while held in an illegal chokehold by a New York Police Department (NYPD) officer in … Read MoreErica Gwen-Elise Snipes Garner (1990-2017)

Alysa Stanton (1963- )

Alysa Stanton is the first ordained African American female Rabbi in the United States.  Stanton was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 2, 1963, and was raised in a Pentecostal Christian home. When she was 11 years old, the family moved into a Jewish community in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  Her mother invited her … Read MoreAlysa Stanton (1963- )

Orlando Barlow (1974-2003)

In 2003 Orlando Barlow was shot in the back while attempting to surrender to Las Vegas, Nevada Police officers. His murder helped generate what would eventually become a national debate about police use of deadly force against unarmed citizens and the eventual organization of the Black Lives Matter movement. Orlando Barlow … Read MoreOrlando Barlow (1974-2003)

Henry Glover (1974-2005)

In 2005 Henry Glover was a resident of Algiers, New Orleans, Louisiana. He survived Hurricane Katrina, only to be brutally murdered by a New Orleans Police officer just days after the storm. According to Glover’s fiancée, Rolanda Short, on the morning of September 2, 2005, Glover and friend Bernard … Read MoreHenry Glover (1974-2005)