Reverend Henry Clay Anderson was a pastor, teacher, veteran, and photographer, best known for capturing the lives of the black middle class of Greenville, Mississippi from 1948 to 1986. He was born in Nitta Yuma, Mississippi, in 1911 and spent his childhood in Hollandale outside … Read MoreReverend Henry Clay Anderson (1911-1998)
Dr. Gladys West is a mathematician whose calculations and computer programming helped construct a geoid (a mathematical model of the earth’s shape). West’s modeling directly contributed to the ubiquitous use of the global positioning system (GPS) today. Born on October 27, 1930, Gladys Mae Brown … Read MoreGladys Mae West (1930- )
Chief Festus Samuel Okotie-Eboh, one of the Founding Fathers of the Republic of Nigeria, was born on July 18, 1912 in the city of Warri to an Itsekiri Prince, Okotie Eboh of Jakpa. His mother, Ekayoda Ojegba was from another ethnic group, Urhobo in Okpe … Read MoreFestus Samuel Okotie-Eboh (1912-1966)
Alyce Chenault Gullattee, M.D., was a prominent Howard University Hospital psychiatrist, civil rights activist, member of Union Temple Baptist Church, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority member, long known to her students and patients as Mimi or Dr. G. She was also an expert on substance … Read MoreAlyce Chenault Gullattee (1928-2020)
Frances B. North was a Seattle civic leader known for her role uniting the business sector, public schools, and city government to end segregation. Her life transformed racial and gender barriers. As a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church from 1943 to 2017, her faith … Read MoreFrances B. North (1919-2017)
William Henry Jernagin was a Baptist minister, civil rights advocate and Organizer of the Washington Bureau of the National Fraternal Council of Negro Churches. Born on October 13, 1869 in Mashulaville, Mississippi, to Allen and Julia Ruth Jernagin. He was educated in the public schools … Read MoreWilliam Henry Jernagin (1869-1958)
The Second Baptist Church, Bismarck, North Dakota, organized in 1917 to serve the African American residents of the city, including some who had previously attended the predominantly white First Methodist Episcopal Church. The immediate impetus for organization of Second Baptist came from a series of … Read MoreSecond Baptist Church (1917-ca. 1930)
The Isley Brothers were a band on the Billboard Top 40 charts for fifty years. Their ability to synthesize R&B, soul, funk, disco, and rock & roll elements into their discography made the group electrifying and interesting. The band was important to the creation of the soul … Read MoreThe Isley Brothers (1957-1984)
Myrlie (Beasley) Evers-Williams is a civil rights activist, a journalist, author, and a former chair of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on March 17, 1933. She was raised by her grandmother, Annie McCain Beasley, a schoolteacher, after her parents separated … Read MoreMyrlie Louise (Beasley) Evers-Williams (1933- )
Charles Sumner Kenyatta, also known as Charles 37X and Charles Morris, organized the Harlem Mau Mau Society and worked as Malcolm X’s body guard. Kenyatta was born February 20, 1921, to Ruth Davis and Charles Morris in Boston, Massachusetts. As a teen, he trained to be a dental technician, but wanted … Read MoreCharles Kenyatta (1921-2005)
