Noel C. Taylor became the first African American mayor of Roanoke, Virginia. He held office from 1976 to 1992, and was the city’s longest serving mayor. Taylor was widely considered one of the most influential leaders in the city’s history. A Republican, he was elected mayor in 1976 after … Read MoreNoel C. Taylor (1924-1998)
James Homer Garrott was an African American modernist architect. He was pivotal to the creation of many historic buildings in the Los Angeles, California area, designing more than 200 buildings throughout the city, including municipal buildings, schools, medical buildings, and over 25 churches between 1928 and 1970. … Read MoreJames H. Garrott (1897-1991)
Vernon Napoleon Johns was an American minister and civil rights activist. Johns was best known as the predecessor to Martin Luther King Jr. as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, from 1948–1953. Johns was born in Darlington Heights, Prince Edward County, … Read MoreVernon Napoleon Johns (1892-1965)
James and Lydia Sims “Image Courtesy of Ron Sims” Lydia Teresa Sims, civic and civil rights leader in Spokane, Washington, was born November 18, 1920, in Penn’s Grove, New Jersey, to Clifton and Helen Elvira Williams. Lydia’s family, including her five sisters, lived most of … Read MoreLydia Teresa Sims (1920–2012)
“Image Ownership: Harry Naltchayan/Washington Post” Ivanhoe Donaldson, one of the leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), was born on October 17, 1941, in Harlem and raised in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of New York policeman, and his mother was … Read MoreIvanhoe Donaldson (1941–2016)
Image Courtesy of the African American Museum and Library, Oakland, California Attorney, civil rights leader, and judge Donald Pitts McCullum was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Charles A. McCullum and Irene Pitts McCullum on January 28, 1928. He earned a bachelor of arts degree … Read MoreDonald Pitts McCullum (1928-1988)
“Image Ownership: Evan Vucci/AP” Political scientist and civil rights activist Ronald Walters was born in July 20, 1938 in Wichita, Kansas to parents Gilmar, a veteran and jazz musician, and Maxine Fray Walters, a civil rights investigator. In the summer of 1958 he organized the … Read MoreRonald Walters (1938-2010)
(Image Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley) Nathaniel Sextus Colley, the first African American attorney in Sacramento, California, was born on November 21, 1918 in Carlowsville, Alabama. The youngest of six brothers, Colley grew up in Snow Hill, Alabama, and graduated from … Read MoreNathaniel Sextus Colley (1918-1992)
“Image Ownership: Presbyterian Historical Society” Reverend Gayraud Stephen Wilmore was an American pastor, educator, historian, and theologian. Born on December 20, 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilmore attended Central High School where he was active in the drama club, wrote for the student newspaper and, for … Read MoreGayraud Stephen Wilmore (1921-2020)
Paul Bogle led the last large scale armed Jamaican rebellion for voting rights and an end to legal discrimination and economic oppression against African Jamaicans. Because of his efforts Bogle was recognized as a national hero in Jamaica in 1969. His face appears on the … Read MorePaul Bogle (1822-1865)
