Civil rights attorney Wiley Austin Branton Sr. was born on December 13, 1923 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. His father, Leo Andrew Branton, ran a family-owned taxi cab business while his mother, Pauline Wiley, was a school teacher. Branton attended a segregated elementary, junior high, and … Read MoreWiley Austin Branton (1923-1988)
Richard Robert Wright Sr., college founder and banker, was born into slavery on May 16, 1855, near Dalton, Georgia. After the Civil War ended Wright’s mother moved with her son to Atlanta, Georgia where he attended the Storrs School, an institution founded by the American … Read MoreRichard R. Wright, Sr. (1855-1947)
Academic, leading educator, World War I veteran, and president of Kentucky State College for Colored Persons (later Kentucky State College for Negroes and now Kentucky State University), Rufus Ballard Atwood was born on March 15, 1897 near Hickman, Kentucky. The child of former slaves, Atwood … Read MoreRufus B. Atwood (1897-1963)
Civil rights activist George Long entered the University of New Mexico with the goal of becoming a teacher, but his involvement in the boycott of a local restaurant and nightclub led to a career in law. He became the first black graduate of the University … Read MoreGeorge Long (?-2010)
William Anthony (Tony) Brown, a pioneer in television programming for African American audiences, was born in Charleston, West Virginia on April 11, 1933 to Royal and Katherine Brown. The youngest of five children, he did well in school, excelling in English and drama, and overcame … Read MoreTony Brown (1933- )
When the U.S. Army was reorganized on July 28, 1866, for peacetime service after the American Civil War, six regiments were set aside for Black enlisted men. These included four infantry regiments, numbered 38th through 41st. The 24th Infantry was organized during a reduction in … Read More24th Infantry Regiment (1866-1951)
The 9th Cavalry was one of the original six regiments of the regular U.S. Army set aside for black enlisted men. These were authorized by Congress in the act of July 28, 1866 reorganizing the army for post-Civil War service, mainly against native peoples in … Read More9th Cavalry Regiment (1866-1944)
James Lloyd Jackson was one of the little known heroes of the D-Day Landing at Normandy Beach in France in 1944. Jackson was born in Lakeland, Florida on February 25, 1920 to Essie May Holly and Amos Jackson. He graduated from Lakeland High School in … Read MoreJames Lloyd Jackson (1920-2008)
Mabel Keaton Staupers, R.N., was instrumental in ending the United States Army’s policy of excluding African American nurses from its ranks in World War II. In 1948 Staupers also successfully lobbied for full integration of the American Nurses Association. Mabel Keaton Staupers (née Doyle) was … Read MoreMabel Keaton Staupers (1890-1989)
Milton Crenchaw was a flight instructor and one of the original Tuskegee Airman. He was the first African American from Arkansas to receive training from the federal government to become a civilian licensed pilot. Milton Pitts Crenchaw was born on January 13, 1919, in Little … Read MoreMilton Pitts Crenchaw (1919-2015)
