Cassandra Zenz, Author at

Independent Historian

Cassandra Zenz received a Master of Arts in History from Binghamton University in 2011 and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Stony Brook University in 2009. Her graduate work entails African American women’s activism during the Black Freedom Struggle and their efforts to improve African American education in the second half of the twentieth century.

Ewart Guinier (1910-1990)

Ewart Guinier, labor activist and political candidate, was the first chairman of Harvard University’s Afro-American Studies Department. Born in Panama in 1910, Guinier migrated to the United States in 1925 and attended high school in Boston, Massachusetts. After his acceptance into the Harvard University Class … Read MoreEwart Guinier (1910-1990)

Robert Louis Johnson (1946- )

Robert Louis Johnson, founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Black Entertainment Television (BET), is also the majority owner of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Bobcats of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the first African American billionaire. He was born in Hickory, Mississippi in … Read MoreRobert Louis Johnson (1946- )

Richard D. Parsons (1948- )

Richard Dean Parsons, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Time Warner Inc., is the current Chairman of Citigroup. Despite his working class origins, Parsons’ achievements have been recognized by the African American community and he has become an influential role model for racial uplift. Born … Read MoreRichard D. Parsons (1948- )

Weeksville, New York (1838- )

Weeksville was a nineteenth century free black community located in what is now the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York. It is remembered today as a historic site for its community programs, urban employment opportunities, and the promotion of racial respectability. In 1838, only 11 … Read MoreWeeksville, New York (1838- )

Preston Wilcox (1923-2006)

Preston Wilcox (left) with Unidentified Man Image Courtesy of Harlem Heritage Preston Wilcox, human rights activist and professor, was a proponent of black studies and advocated community control over education. He was born in 1923 and raised in Youngstown, Ohio along with his four siblings. … Read MorePreston Wilcox (1923-2006)

Milton A. Galamison (1923-1988)

Milton Arthur Galamison, minister and civil rights activist, was the leader of New York City’s school integration movement in the 1960s. Born and raised in Philadelphia, where he experienced poverty and hostile racial relations that influenced his later activism, Galamison received a B.A. with honors … Read MoreMilton A. Galamison (1923-1988)