Daisy Tibbs Dawson, a Seattle, Washington peace activist and educator, is the only African American to be memorialized in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, Japan. Tibbs was born in Toney, Alabama on July 27, 1924 to Calvin and Martha Tibbs. At a very … Read MoreDaisy Lee Tibbs Dawson (1924-2013)
Ishmael Beah is a Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist who rose to fame with his personal history, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider. Beah was born on November 23, 1980, in Mattru Jong, Bonthe District, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. … Read MoreIshmael Beah (1980- )
The Wormley House, ca. 1884 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” Just one block away from President’s Square, now Lafayette Square, in Washington, D.C. stood the Wormley House, one of the most prominent private hotels and social clubs of its time, and the only one owned by … Read MoreWormley House (1871–1893)
“Image Ownership: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil” Allyson Michelle Felix is an American track and field sprinter who competes in 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter races. Felix is the 2012 Olympic Champion, a three-time World champion (2005–09), and two-time Olympic silver medalist (2004–08) at 200 meters. At 400 … Read MoreAllyson Michelle Felix (1985– )
Many particulars regarding the birth, career, and death of the man of African origin known as Yasuke are cloaked in mystery. The few Portuguese and Japanese sources that mention his brief presence in Japan and as a Samurai omit essential details, leaving him a shadowy … Read MoreYasuke (ca. 1555-?)
Tomie Louis Gaines was born on November 3, 1922 to Sally Gaines Glenn and Fred Glenn in Hartwell, Georgia. Gaines served in the early twentieth century with the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, the nineteenth century regiments commissioned immediately after the Civil War. Gaines served … Read MoreTomie Louis Gaines (1922-2016)
Seattle Photographer Al Smith, Sr. at MOHAI Opening of His Exhibit, Jazz on the Spot (Photo by Howard Giske, MOHAI) In the article below, Al “Butch” Smith Jr., PhD, and Peter Blecha describe the process by which the family of prominent Seattle photographer Al Smith … Read MoreA Successful Decision-Making Strategy for Choosing Where to Donate Your Historical Memorabilia
Lieutenant Colonel Eldridge F. Williams was one of the first trainers of Tuskegee Airmen. Williams was born in Harris, Washington County, Texas on November 2, 1917, the son of cotton sharecroppers Ora and E.D. Williams who eventually moved to Kansas. Williams finished high school and … Read MoreEldridge F. Williams (1917-2015)
Prominent Virginia journalist Ray Boone Sr. was born February 2, 1938, in Suffolk, Virginia. His parents, foreign-born Japanese father, Tsujiro Miyanski, and mother, Leathia M. Boone, of mixed African and Native American descent, were banned from marrying in Virginia because of their different races. Yet … Read MoreRaymond Harold/ “Ray” Boone Sr. (1938-2014)
“Image Ownership: Miss Schweiz Organisation AG” Whitney Toyloy won the title of Miss Switzerland in 2009 at the age of 17, the youngest of 16 candidates. The young beauty queen won a car worth over 38,000 Swiss Francs (about $38,649 in US dollars) and the … Read MoreWhitney Toyloy (1990- )
