Frances B. North was a Seattle civic leader known for her role uniting the business sector, public schools, and city government to end segregation. Her life transformed racial and gender barriers. As a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church from 1943 to 2017, her faith … Read MoreFrances B. North (1919-2017)
Ray Douglas McDonald was a running back who played for the Washington Redskins in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons, 1967 and 1968. McDonald was also one of the first gay athletes in the NFL. Ray McDonald was born on May 7, 1944 … Read MoreRay Douglas McDonald (1944-1993)
Marie Louise Anderson Greenwood was the first African American teacher to obtain tenure in the state of Colorado. Greenwood was born in Los Angeles, California on November 24, 1912 to Joseph Anderson who worked as a railroad chef, and Sarah Garrett Anderson, a laundress. At … Read MoreMarie Louise Greenwood (1912- )
Marion William Dial was the first African American elected to a city-wide office in Missouri. Dial was born in Chetopa, Kansas, on June 27, 1903. After receiving bachelors and master’s degrees from the Kansas State Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University), Dial embarked on a … Read MoreMarion William Dial (1903-1972)
Haben Girma at the White House with President Barack Obama, July 20, 2015 Image Ownership: Public domain Haben Girma, both blind and deaf, is a disability rights advocate and attorney who became the first deaf and blind graduate of Harvard Law School in Massachusetts when … Read MoreHaben Girma (1988- )
Fort Worth educator Hazel Bernice Harvey Peace was born on August 4, 1903, in Waco, Texas, to Allen H. and Georgia Mason Harvey. Peace graduated from the Fort Worth Colored High School (later I. M. Terrell High School) in Fort Worth in 1919. She obtained … Read MoreHazel Harvey Peace (1903-2008)
Louise McKinney (née Jones) was an African-American educator, human rights advocate, philanthropist, business woman, community activist, and patron of the arts. She was a long-established galvanizing force of civic life in Seattle and in the State of Washington. Born Louise Jones on July 12, 1920 … Read MoreLouise Jones McKinney (1930-2012)
Dr. Dawn Mason is a former Washington State Representative for the 37th District, an adjunct professor and former member of the Board of Visitors at Antioch University Seattle, and Vision and Planning Team Member for Cultural Reconnection (USA and Kenya). Mason was born in Jersey … Read MoreDawn Mason (1945- )
Acclaimed African writer Bessie Head was born on July 6, 1937, at Fort Napier Mental Institution in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Her mother, Bessie Amelia Emery (from the wealthy South African Birch family) had suffered from mental illness and was confined there at the time. Bessie … Read MoreBessie Head (1937-1986)
Geoffrey Canada is an educator and social activist who has dedicated much of his life to reforming the educational system in Harlem, New York in order to provide poor and disadvantaged children the skills they need to attend colleges and universities. Canada was born on … Read MoreGeoffrey Canada (1952- )
