Otis Alexander, Author at • Page 5 of 40

Academic Historian

Otis D. Alexander, Library Director at Saint John Vianney College Seminary & Graduate School in Miami, Florida, has also directed academic and public libraries in the District of Columbia, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia. In addition, he has been a library manager in the Virgin Islands of the United States as well as in the Republic of Liberia. His research has appeared in Public Library Quarterly, Scribner’s Encyclopedia of American Lives, and Virginia Libraries journal. Alexander received the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees from the University of the District of Columbia and the Master of Library & Information Science degree from Ball State University. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from International University and studied additionally at Harvard Graduate School of Education Leadership for Academic Librarians, Oberlin Conservatory of Music Voice Performance Pedagogy, and Atlanta University School of Library & Information Studies.

Paul Timothy Roberts Sr. (1963- )

Paul Timothy Roberts Sr. is an academic fellow of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in Celigny, Switzerland, and an activist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut, and grew up in the United Methodist Church in Bradenton, Florida. He graduated from Southeast High School in the … Read MorePaul Timothy Roberts Sr. (1963- )

George Alfred Strait, III (1945- )

George Alfred Strait, III, an award-winning journalist, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1945. Strait received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Boston University in 1967 and a Master of Science in Biochemical Genetics from Atlanta University in Georgia in 1969. He is a … Read MoreGeorge Alfred Strait, III (1945- )

Ben Hardy (1921-1994)

Custom motorcycle builder Ben Hardy was born Benjamin F. Hardy on July 25, 1921, in Los Angeles, California. However, historical data regarding his family, upbringing, and obituary have yet to be recovered from the annals of time. After World War II, as the United States … Read MoreBen Hardy (1921-1994)

William Dorsey Swann (1858-1954)

Queenie Swann, as he was honored by his peers, is one of the first known Black cross-dressers and LGBTQIA activists. He was born William Dorsey Swann in slavery in 1858 and was the property of Ann Murray on her plantation in Hancock, Maryland. This location … Read MoreWilliam Dorsey Swann (1858-1954)

Patricia Ann Blackmon (1950-)

Patricia Ann Blackmon is a prosecutor and former judge in Cleveland, Ohio. Blackmon was born in 1950 in Oxford, Mississippi, and was the sixth child of 11. Blackmon attended the segregated Rowan Junior School in Jackson, Mississippi, and graduated from Lanier High School in 1968. … Read MorePatricia Ann Blackmon (1950-)

Jessie Maple Patton (1937-2023)

Jessie Maple Patton, a pioneer for African American women in the film industry, was born on February 14, 1937, in McComb, Mississippi. There were 11 children in the Maple family, including sisters Lorrain Maple Crosby, Peggy Maple Lincoln, Debbie Maple Reed, Camilla Maple Clarke Doremus, … Read MoreJessie Maple Patton (1937-2023)

Justin Holland (1819-1887)

Justin Holland, guitarist, pianist, flutist, composer, and civil-rights activist, was born on July 26, 1819, to Exum Holland, a free Black farmer in Norfolk, Virginia. He had two brothers and five sisters. He demonstrated considerable talent when he was eight by using a small book … Read MoreJustin Holland (1819-1887)

Daniel Robert Smith (1932-2022)

Daniel Robert Smith was the last surviving child of a formerly enslaved American. He was born on March 11, 1932, in Winsted, Connecticut, to Abram A. B. Smith and Clara Wheeler Smith, a domestic worker. Daniel was the fifth of six children. Smith was skilled … Read MoreDaniel Robert Smith (1932-2022)

Eileen Ramona Petersen (1937-2023)

Judge Eileen R. Petersen, an advocate for women’s and children’s rights, was born on April 18, 1937, in Christiansted, Virgin Islands (VI), and reared in Free Gut to Anna Leevy and Hugo Petersen. She was a product of the island’s public schools, graduating from Christiansted … Read MoreEileen Ramona Petersen (1937-2023)

Thomas Clarence Jervay, Sr. (1914-1993)

Thomas Clarence Jervay, Sr., former National Newspaper Publishers Association Chair and activist journalist, was born in Wilmington, North Carolina (NC), on November 30, 1914. He was one of eight children of Robert Smith Jervay from Charleston, South Carolina, and Mary Alice McNeil from Columbus County, … Read MoreThomas Clarence Jervay, Sr. (1914-1993)