Richard Gordon Hatcher, the first African American mayor of Gary, Indiana and one of the first African Americans to serve as mayor of a major city, was born on July 10, 1933, in Michigan City, Indiana. Hatcher was elected mayor of Gary, Indiana in 1967 … Read MoreRichard G. Hatcher (1933-2019)
Robert L. Carter, the youngest child in a family of eight children, was born in Careyville, Florida in 1917. His family moved north to Newark, New Jersey shortly after his birth. Carter’s father died soon after arriving in Newark and his mother supported eight children … Read MoreRobert L. Carter (1917-2012)
The widow of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King became a forceful public figure and important leader in the civil rights movement. She made numerous contributions to the struggle for social justice and human rights throughout her life. Coretta Scott was … Read MoreCoretta Scott King (1927-2006)
James Edward (“Jimmy”) Stewart was born in Plano, Texas on September 16, 1912, to laborer/minister Zena Thomas Stewart and Mary Magdeline Fegalee Stewart. Zena died of malaria in Oklahoma City in 1920, four years after he and his family moved there. Jimmy saw his poor … Read MoreJames Edward (Jimmy) Stewart (1912-1997)
Oscar James Dunn was Louisiana’s first black lieutenant governor, serving from 1868 to 1871, and one of three who held that post in the state during the Reconstruction era. Dunn was born enslaved in New Orleans in 1826 to Maria Dunn who was also enslaved … Read MoreOscar J. Dunn (ca. 1825-1871)
The Reverend (now Bishop) Hamel Hartford Brookins became one of the leading black ministers and civil rights activists in Los Angeles in the 1960s. Brookins arrived from Wichita, Kansas in 1960 to be the new pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in … Read MoreHamel Hartford Brookins (1926- )
Louise Jenkins Meriwether, a novelist, essayist, journalist and social activist, was the only daughter of Marion Lloyd Jenkins and his wife, Julia. Meriwether was born May 8, 1923 in Haverstraw, New York to parents who were from South Carolina where her father worked as a … Read MoreLouise Jenkins Meriwether (1923- )
June Meyer Jordan, writer, editor, poet, educator, environmental and social activist, was the only child of Granville Ivanhoe and Mildred Maude Fischer Jordan who were Jamaican immigrants. June was born in Harlem on July 9, 1936. June’s father worked as a night shift postal clerk … Read MoreJune Jordan (1936-2002)
Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. was born on May 5, 1865, in Franklin County, Virginia to former slaves of African American, Native American, and German ancestry. He was raised in a family of seventeen children. During his youth, Powell lived a reckless life filled with gambling. … Read MoreAdam Clayton Powell Sr. (1865-1953)
Amy Matilda Williams Cassey was born in New York City on August 14, 1808, to Sarah and Rev. Peter H. Williams Jr., a leading Episcopalian minister. Raised in New York City, Williams was a member of an elite family. The Williams family, Rev. Peter Williams … Read MoreAmy Matilda Williams Cassey (1808-1856)
