Victoria Bishop, Author at

Student Historian

Victoria (Tori) Bishop is an undergraduate at the University of Washington, Seattle. She will graduate in 2013, having double-majored in Law, Societies and Justice and History with a minor in Human Rights. Her primary interest in her studies have been topics relating to American history during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. She plans to attend law school starting fall of 2013.

Hazel Lucile Harrison (1883-1969)

Image Ownership: Public Domain Hazel Harrison, pianist, was born on May 12, 1883 in La Porte, Indiana to parents Hiram and Olive Harrison. Hiram was the co-owner of a barber shop and Olive was a hairdresser and manicurist. Hazel Harrison began playing the piano at … Read MoreHazel Lucile Harrison (1883-1969)

Natalie Leota Hinderas (1927-1987)

Concert pianist Natalie Hinderas was born Natalie Leota Henderson on June 15, 1927, to parents Abram Henderson and Leota Palmer Henderson in Oberlin, Ohio. Hinderas came from a family of accomplished musicians. Her great-grandfather had been a bandleader and teacher, her father was a jazz … Read MoreNatalie Leota Hinderas (1927-1987)

Henry Jay Lewis (1932-1996)

Henry Jay Lewis, musician and conductor, was born October 16, 1932 in Los Angeles to automobile dealer Henry J. Lewis, and nurse Mary Josephine Lewis. Lewis started playing the piano when he was five, and in junior high he learned to play the double bass … Read MoreHenry Jay Lewis (1932-1996)

Charles Dean Dixon (1915-1976)

Charles Dean Dixon, a conductor, was born January 10, 1915, in New York, New York, to West Indian parents Henry Charles Dixon and McClara Rolston Dixon. Dixon’s parents exposed him to classical music at an early age, and his mother taught him to play the … Read MoreCharles Dean Dixon (1915-1976)

Jefferson A. Beaver (1908-1991)

Jefferson August Beaver, banker, businessman, local politician, and civil rights activist, was born in Warren, Arkansas on May 20, 1908 to parents Rev. Robert Jefferson Beaver, a minister with the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and Ethel Jordan. Beaver’s family resided in Monticello, Arkansas before … Read MoreJefferson A. Beaver (1908-1991)

Edmund Dédé (1827-1903)

Musician and composer Edmund Dédé was born on November 20, 1827 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His parents were free Creoles of color who moved to New Orleans from the French West Indies around 1809. Dédé took his first music lessons from his father who was … Read MoreEdmund Dédé (1827-1903)

Laurence Fishburne (1961- )

Actor Laurence Fishburne III was born on July 30, 1961 in Augusta, Georgia to parents Laurence Jr. and Hattie, a corrections officer and a schoolteacher. After the couple separated Hattie moved young Fishburne to Brooklyn, New York where the two lived with her mother. Fishburne’s … Read MoreLaurence Fishburne (1961- )

Steven A. Horsford (1973- )

Former Nevada State Senator and recently elected United States Representative, Steven Alexzander Horsford was born on April 29, 1973 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Horsford became head of his household at ten years old, taking care of his younger siblings while his mother struggled with addiction … Read MoreSteven A. Horsford (1973- )

Samuel L. Jackson (1948- )

Actor Samuel Leroy Jackson was born on December 21, 1948 in Washington, D.C. to factory worker Elizabeth Jackson. His father abandoned his mother shortly after Jackson’s birth and then died of alcoholism. Jackson and his mother moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they lived with her … Read MoreSamuel L. Jackson (1948- )

Jamie Foxx (1967- )

Actor, singer, comedian, and musician, Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop in Terrell, Texas on December 13, 1967. He was adopted by his maternal grandparents Mark and Estelle Tolley after his parents’ divorce when he was still an infant. His grandmother introduced him to … Read MoreJamie Foxx (1967- )