T. Thomas Fortune—African American journalist, editor, and writer—was born into slavery on October 3, 1856 to Sarah Jane and Emanuel Fortune. Raised in Marianna, Florida, as a child he witnessed the politically-motivated violence of the Ku Klux Klan. Despite minimal formal education, Fortune worked in … Read MoreT. Thomas Fortune (1856-1928)
Teacher, author, clergyman, and civil rights leader, Thomas McCants Stewart was born in Charleston, South Carolina on December 28, 1853, to George Gilchrist and Anna Morris Stewart. Young Stewart attended the Avery Normal Institute before enrolling in Howard University in 1869. Although only fifteen when … Read MoreT. McCants Stewart (1853-1923)
Stephen Smith was born into slavery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At 21 he purchased his freedom for $50 and soon afterwards began to ally with the abolitionist cause that he would support through most of his adult life. In 1830 Smith became the chairman of … Read MoreStephen Smith (1795-1873)
Born in 1824 Sarah Parker Remond entered the world as a part of an exceptional family. The ninth child of two free born and economically secure black parents, her life was unusual among African Americans. It was unimaginable in the minds of most white Americans. … Read MoreSarah Parker Remond (1824-1894)
Born in 1837 in North Carolina, Sara G. Stanley was a member of a free, educated and economically secure family. She attended Oberlin College and later moved to Delaware after her family immigrated there. Following the tradition of other free black women Sara joined the … Read MoreSara G. Stanley (1837-1918)
Robert Tanner Freeman is the first professionally trained black dentist in the United States. A child of slaves, he eventually entered Harvard University and graduated only four years after the end of the Civil War on May 18, 1869. Robert Tanner Freeman was born in … Read MoreRobert Tanner Freeman (1846-1873)
The son of a sailor, Richard Theodore Greener, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania became the first African American to graduate from Harvard College. He later was assigned to serve the United States in diplomatic posts in India and Russia. Greener lived in Boston, Massachusetts and … Read MoreRichard T. Greener (1844-1922)
Richard Harvey Cain was born a free black in Greenbrier County, Virginia on April 12, 1825. In 1831 his parents moved to Gallipolis, Ohio where he attended school. Seventeen years later, in 1848, he joined the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and became a minister … Read MoreRichard H. Cain (1825-1887)
Amanda Berry Smith was a Methodist holiness evangelist, missionary to Africa and founder of an orphanage for African American children. Amanda was born into slavery on January 23, 1837 in Long Green, Maryland to parents Samuel Berry and Miriam Matthews Berry, while they were held … Read MoreAmanda Berry Smith (1837-1915)
Alonzo Jacob Ransier, an African American Republican from South Carolina, held a series of political posts during the Reconstruction era. Ransier was born a free black man in Charleston in 1834. Little is known of his childhood and early education. At the end of the … Read MoreAlonzo J. Ransier (1834-1882)
