Early 20th Century Seattle civil rights activist Letitia Ann Dennie Graves was born in 1863 in Illinois to Martha Murphy and George Dennie. Very little is known about Graves’s early life other than the fact that she and her husband, John Henry Graves, a Kansas … Read MoreLetitia A. Graves (1863-1952)
Homestead Grays was one of the most successful of the professional Negro League baseball teams. They won ten Negro National League Titles (1937-1945, 1948) and three Negro League World Series Titles (1943-1944, 1948), where they played the champion of the Negro American League. The team was … Read MoreHomestead Grays (1912-1950)
Emmett Chappelle, inventor, was born in Phoenix, Arizona on October 25, 1925. His scientific research and the 14 United States patents he received for his inventions make Chapelle’s contributions vital to the scientific world. Much about Chappelle’s earlier life cannot be ascertained. He attended the … Read MoreEmmett Chappelle (1925-2019)
Rhythm and blues (R&B), jazz, and blues singer Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938 in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles to Dorothy Hawkins, who at the time was sixteen years old and unmarried. James received her first professional training as … Read MoreEtta James (1938-2012)
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, one of the five fraternities for African American men, was founded on November 17, 1911 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. It is the first African American fraternity established at a historically black college. The three founders—Edgar … Read MoreOmega Psi Phi Fraternity (1911- )
Seattle newspaper publisher Chris H. Bennett was born in Waynesboro, Georgia in 1943. He spent four years in the Air Force before attending Everett Community College in Everett, Washington, where he played football. Bennett then worked for the African American newspaper The Facts before leaving … Read MoreChris H. Bennett (1943- )
John W. Rogers Jr., business executive, investor, and entrepreneur, was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 31, 1958. Rogers’s mother was Jewel S. Lafontant, a prominent Republican attorney and federal government official and his father was John W. Rogers, a Chicago circuit court judge. Rogers … Read MoreJohn W. Rogers (1958- )
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. (Kappa), a predominantly African American Greek-letter fraternity, was founded on January 5, 1911 on the campus of Indiana University. It is the first black Greek-letter organization founded west of the Appalachian Mountains. The fraternity, originally called Kappa Alpha Nu, was … Read MoreKappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (1911- )
The Birmingham Black Barons was a professional baseball team active in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960. They played their home games at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The team had its greatest success in the 1940s, winning three Negro National League pennants (1943, … Read MoreBirmingham Black Barons
The first person of African descent, male or female, to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics was Vonetta Flowers when she won gold in the women’s bobsled event in 2002 at Salt Lake City. Born October 29, 1973, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Jimmie … Read MoreVonetta Flowers (1973- )
