Meadow “Meadowlark” Lemon III was most famous as the longtime star player of the Harlem Globetrotters. Lemon was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on April 25, 1932. He adopted the name “Meadowlark” while he was with the Harlem Globetrotters. Lemon attended Williston Industrial School in … Read MoreMeadow “Meadowlark” Lemon III (1932-2015)
William Decker Johnson was the 42nd Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and founder of Johnson Home Industrial College in Archery, Georgia. Born November 15th, 1869 in Glasgow, Thomas County, Georgia to Reverend Andrew Jackson Johnson and Mattie McCullough. Both parents were former … Read MoreWilliam Decker Johnson (1869-1936)
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)
Samuel R. Lowery was the first black attorney to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. He was born on December 8, 1830 (or 1832), in Davidson Country, Tennessee to an enslaved father, Peter Lowery, and a Cherokee mother, Ruth Mitchell. His mother … Read MoreSamuel R. Lowery (c.1830 -1900)
Albert Turner Reid, born in Hampton, Virginia, November 13, 1927, the son of William Thaddeus Reid and Mae Elaine Beamon Reid, was a renowned mathematician who earned his bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University in 1949. From 1950 to 1953, he studied probability and statistics at the University of … Read MoreAlbert T. Bharucha-Reid (1927-1985)
Hercules Washington was the enslaved head cook at George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation home where he prepared meals for decades for the Washington family and the guests who visit the mansion. Hercules was most likely born in 1755 somewhere in Virginia although the exact place … Read MoreHercules Washington (Enslaved Cook of George Washington) (ca. 1755-?)
Image Ownership: Gage Skidmore Alveda King, a prominent conservative leader, evangelist, and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, as the first of five children of Alfred Daniel King and Naomi Barber King on January 22, 1951. Her father worked … Read MoreAlveda King (1951- )
Quack Walker Lewis, black abolitionist, barber, AND elder (priest) in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born in Barre, Worcester County, Massachusetts, on August 3, 1798. His father, Peter P. Lewis, was a free black yeoman farmer in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and … Read MoreQ. Walker Lewis (1798-1856)
Benjamin W. Arnett was an African American administrator, minister, and politician. He was born a free man in Brownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, on March 6, 1838. The grandson of Samuel and Mary Louise Arnett, he was half African American, three-eighths Scottish, one-sixteenth Native American, and … Read MoreBishop Benjamin William Arnett (1838–1906)
Reverend Joseph Harrison Jackson was the pastor of Olivet Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois (1941–1990), the longest-serving president of the National Baptist Convention (1953-1982), and a leading conservative voice during the Civil Rights era. To this day, Rev. Jackson remains a deeply controversial figure, in … Read MoreReverend Joseph H. Jackson (1900-1990)
