Amy Marie Scott-Zerr, Author at

Student Historian

Amy Marie Scott-Zerr is an English and History major at the University of Washington in Seattle. She studies Afro-American, African, Caribbean and Black British histories and literatures, including music and film. She researches Marxism, Pan-Africanism, nationalist revolutions, gospel music, blues music, rhythm and blues music, feminism, LGBT studies, and prison abolitionism. Born and raised in Seattle, as well as Aberdeen, Washington and Hurricane, Utah, she enjoys the great outdoors. She is a graduate of Rainier Beach High School and has also attended Seattle Central Community College before coming to UW-Seattle. She gave a presentation on President Sékou Touré’s feminist poetry at the African Literature Association Conference held at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio on April 13-17, 2011. She was also an observer at the African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Nov. 18-21, 2010 in San Francisco. Most recently she has been researching the life and work of Willie Mae Thornton.

Fannie Franklin Wall (c. 1860-1944)

Early 20th Century East San Francisco (California) Bay civic leader and activist, Fannie Franklin Wall, was born in Gallatin, Tennessee, in 1860 She married Archy H. Wall, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army who also later worked for the San Francisco Post Office. They … Read MoreFannie Franklin Wall (c. 1860-1944)

Camille Billops (1933-2019)

Camille J. Billops, artist, filmmaker, archivist, and professor, was born on August 12, 1933, in Los Angeles. Her parents were Alma Gilmore and Lucius Billops, and she has one sister, Billie. She married James V. Hatch, a professor of theater at the University of California, … Read MoreCamille Billops (1933-2019)

Sylvester James (1947-1988)

Sylvester James, American singer and songwriter, was born in the Watts section of Los Angeles, California to Sylvester James and Letha Weaver on September 6, 1947. He grew up with his mother and stepfather Robert Hurd, as well as five siblings: John James, Larry James, … Read MoreSylvester James (1947-1988)

Dorothy Love Coates (1928-2002)

Dorothy Love Coates was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and composer. She was born Dorothy McGriff on January 30, 1928, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her minister father, Lillar McGriff, moved to the North when Coates was six, and her parents soon divorced. Thereafter, Lillar McGriff raised … Read MoreDorothy Love Coates (1928-2002)

Marion Williams (1927-1994)

Marion Williams, an American gospel singer, was born in Miami, Florida, on August 29, 1927. Her father, originally from Nassau, Bahamas, worked as a butcher, a barber, and a music teacher, while her mother, born in South Carolina, worked as a laundress. One of 11 … Read MoreMarion Williams (1927-1994)

Hunters Point (San Francisco)

Hunters Point is a neighborhood of southeastern San Francisco set on a peninsula jutting into the San Francisco Bay. The neighborhood is adjacent to the site of a former naval base, the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Hunters Point has become an economically underdeveloped neighborhood of … Read MoreHunters Point (San Francisco)

Ahosi (Amazons) of Dahomey

The Ahosi (Amazons) of Dahomey were a military corps of women appointed to serve in battles under the direction of the Fon king, who ruled over a nation that included much of present-day southern Togo and southern Benin. They emerged during the Eighteenth Century and … Read MoreAhosi (Amazons) of Dahomey

Guadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond (1936-1992)

Guadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond, known popularly as “La Lupe,” was a Cuban and Cuban American singer and dancer. She was born in San Pedrito, a locality within Santiago de Cuba, Oriente Province, Cuba on December 23, 1936. Yolí grew up in an impoverished family. Her … Read MoreGuadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond (1936-1992)

Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (1942- )

Brigadier General Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez, a Cuban of African descent, was the first black astronaut in space. Tamayo Méndez was born in Guantánamo, Cuba on January 29, 1942. Orphaned at the age of one year, he was ultimately adopted by foster parents Rafael Tamaya and … Read MoreArnaldo Tamayo Méndez (1942- )

William Miles (1931-2013)

Image Ownership: Don Purdue (Fair Use) William Miles was a self-taught documentary filmmaker who has produced several documentaries on the history of black Americans. Miles was born in Harlem, New York on August 19, 1931. He grew up in Harlem on 126th Street near the … Read MoreWilliam Miles (1931-2013)