Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon was born in Marshall, Texas and graduated from Wiley College (l902) and Meharry Medical College (l906). He began his medical practice in Cameron, Texas but moved to El Paso in l909. In l9l0, he was joined in El Paso by his … Read MoreLawrence A. Nixon (1883-1966)
Carl B. Stokes, lawyer, anchorman, U.S. diplomat and the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city, was born on June 21, 1927 to Charles and Louise Stokes in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1944, Stokes dropped out of high school at the age of 17 … Read MoreCarl B. Stokes (1927-1996)
Jack Tanner was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1919. His father, Ernie Tanner, was a respected local leader in the Tacoma local of the International Longshoremen’s Union, an organization that Jack Tanner eventually joined when he worked on the city’s docks. Before joining the union, … Read MoreJack Tanner (1919-2006)
Carl Maxey grew up in an orphanage and became a leading attorney, civil rights activist, and champion of the underdog. He was adopted by a Spokane, Washington, couple immediately following his birth in Tacoma but ended up in the Spokane Children’s Home after his adoptive … Read MoreCarl Maxey (1924-1997)
Described by President Bill Clinton as “one of the best advisors and the ablest people I ever knew,” Ron Brown was an influential leader in the Democratic Party. Ronald Harmon Brown was born in Washington, D.C., on August 1, 1941. His father, William, was a … Read MoreRonald H. Brown (1941-1996)
African American Congressman, Charles Arthur Hayes, will forever be remembered for his commitment to legislate equal rights for black labor workers. After noticing racism aimed toward black workers in his hometown of Cairo, Illinois, Hayes moved to Chicago and started unionizing activities in 1942. As … Read MoreCharles Arthur Hayes (1918-1997)
Born in Courtland, Arizona, William Byron Rumford, Sr., the younger of the two sons of a housemaid, arrived in Los Angeles, California with his mother and stepfather in 1915. His family returned to Arizona where he shined shoes, sold newspapers, and graduated from a segregated … Read MoreWilliam Byron Rumford, Sr. (1908-1986)
William Levi Dawson was a well-known Chicago, Illinois lawyer who became one of the city’s most influential politicians. His career paralleled the rising significance of African Americans in the Democratic Party. Dawson was born in Albany, Georgia on April 26, 1886. Little is known of … Read MoreWilliam Levi Dawson (1886-1970)
Born in Hattiesburg, Virginia on November 5, 1926, Victoria Jackson Gray Adams became one of the most important Mississipians in the Civil Rights Movement. Her activities included teaching voter registration courses to domestics and sharecroppers, opening of the Freedom Schools during Mississippi’s Freedom Summer of … Read MoreVictoria Jackson Gray Adams (1926-2006)
George L. Vaughn was a black lawyer and civic leader in St. Louis, Missouri best known for representing J.D. Shelley and Herman Willer in the landmark civil rights case Shelley v. Kraemer (1948). Born to former slaves and raised in Kentucky, Vaughn graduated from Lane College … Read MoreGeorge L. Vaughan (1885-1950)
