Victorine Quille Adams was a Baltimore Public School teacher, business manager of the Charm Center, founder of the Colored Women’s Democratic Campaign Committee, co-founder of Woman Power, Incorporated, and the first African American Baltimore City Councilwoman. She was a native Baltimorean whose contributions sought to … Read MoreVictorine Quille Adams (1912-2006)
Claudia Bonds Thomas, an educator, activist, and civic leader, was the first black woman to be elected mayor in Washington State. Thomas was born on September 20, 1930 in Shannon, North Carolina to Claud and Mary Lee Bonds. At the age of 15, she attended … Read MoreClaudia B. Thomas (1930-2018)
Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is a congressman who has represented New York’s 8th congressional district in Brooklyn and Queens since 2013. On November 28, 2018, Jeffries’ House colleagues elected him Democratic Caucus chairman. He is currently House Minority Leader, putting him in line to become the … Read MoreHakeem Jeffries (1970- )
In 2018, Ayanna Soynini Pressley became the first African American woman elected to represent the 7th District in Massachusetts. She unseated ten-term congressman Michael Capuano, a Democrat, in the August primary of that year. Ayanna Soynini Pressley was born on February 3, 1974, in Chicago, … Read MoreAyanna Pressley (1974- )
Carolyn Kilpatrick was the U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district from 1997 to 2011. Cheeks was born on June 25, 1945 in Detroit, Michigan to Willa Mae Henry and Marvel Cheeks Jr. Her father worked for the Ford plant and her mother was a … Read MoreCarolyn Jean Cheeks Kilpatrick (1945- )
Laura Richardson was the Democratic representative for California’s 37th congressional district. She served from 2007 to 2012. Richardson was born in Los Angeles on April 14, 1962, to a black father and white mother. Her mother Maryann Richardson, who was a member of the Teamsters … Read MoreLaura Richardson (1962- )
Chaka Fattah is a former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He represented the 2nd Congressional District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2016. Fattah resigned from office on June 23, 2016, following a racketeering conviction. On December 12, 2016, Fattah was sentenced … Read MoreChaka Fattah (1956- )
Gordon Fox is an American politician and the former Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Elected in November 1992, he was the first openly gay African American to serve in a State Legislature, and the first openly gay state Speaker of the House … Read MoreGordon Fox (1961- )
Born April 26, 1920 in Wampee, South Carolina, Golden Asro Frinks is known for his activism during the Civil Rights Movement and his work with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). When Frinks was nine, his family, including ten other siblings, moved to Tabor City, … Read MoreGolden Asro Frinks (1920-2004)
Earl G. Graves, the founder of Black Enterprise, a nationally recognized black business magazine, was born on January 9, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. Both his mother, Winifred Sealy, and his father, Earl Godwyn Graves, influenced their son’s successful career. His mother led many community activities, and his father was … Read MoreEarl G. Graves Sr. (1935-2020)
