Elizabeth Winter, Author at

Student Historian

Elizabeth Winter is an undergraduate student at the University of Washington who will graduate in 2008 with a BA in Anthropology and a focus in Archeology. She plans to enter the Masters in Teaching program after graduation and teach social studies in a Seattle Area Middle School.

Alberta Hunter (1895-1984)

Alberta Hunter was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but left for Chicago, Illinois at age 11 after her father died. She peeled potatoes in a boarding house until she could find a job singing blues, the first opportunity was at a Chicago brothel, as entertainment for … Read MoreAlberta Hunter (1895-1984)

Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )

Opened in 1923, the Cotton Club on 142nd St & Lenox Ave in the heart of Harlem, New York was operated by white New York gangster Owney Madden. Madden used the Cotton Club as an outlet to sell his “#1 Beer” to the prohibition crowd. … Read MoreCotton Club of Harlem (1923- )

Robert Smalls (1839 -1915)

Robert Smalls was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, on April 5, 1839 and worked as a house slave until the age of 12. At that point his owner, John K. McKee, sent him to Charleston to work as a waiter, ship rigger, and sailor, with … Read MoreRobert Smalls (1839 -1915)

Cardiss Collins (1931- )

Cardiss Robertson Collins was born September 24, 1931 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Findley Robertson and Rosa Mae Robertson. At the age of 10 her family relocated to Detroit and she spent the rest of her childhood there, eventually graduating from the Detroit … Read MoreCardiss Collins (1931- )

Huddie (Leadbelly) Ledbetter (1888-1949)

Huddie Ledbetter was born January 15, 1888, on the Jeter Plantation near Mooringsport, Louisiana. He was an only child who quickly became interested in music when he received his first instrument (an accordion) from his uncle Terrell. In 1903at the age of 15, Ledbetter he … Read MoreHuddie (Leadbelly) Ledbetter (1888-1949)

Blind Lemon Jefferson (ca. 1890-1929)

Blind Lemon Jefferson was born in Couchman, Texas, sometime around the 1890s although the exact date is not known and several are claimed. He was the youngest of seven children and the only one of them born blind. The details of his birth and young … Read MoreBlind Lemon Jefferson (ca. 1890-1929)

Danny K. Davis (1941- )

Danny K. Davis was born in Parkdale, Arkansas on September 6, 1941, the son of a sharecropper. He received a B.A. in history from Arkansas A.M. & N. College in 1961 and then moved to Chicago. In 1968 he earned an M.A. from Chicago State … Read MoreDanny K. Davis (1941- )

William J. Powell (1897-1942)

Aviation company founder William J. Powell was born in Kentucky on July 27, 1897. His family soon moved to Chicago, Illinois where he attended school. In 1914 at the age of 17 Powell was accepted into the University of Illinois engineering program. His studies were … Read MoreWilliam J. Powell (1897-1942)

Robert R. Moton (1867-1940)

Robert Russa Moton was born in 1867 on the William Vaughan Plantation in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Moton attended the local freedman’s school and eventually went on to college at the Hampton Institute (now called Hampton University). At Hampton Institute, Moton distinguished himself academically and … Read MoreRobert R. Moton (1867-1940)