Opal (Blake) Lee is a retired teacher and activist who is considered the “grandmother of Juneteenth.” Blake was born on October 7, 1926, in Marshall, Texas to Otis Blake and Mattie Broadus. When Lee was a child, her family home burned down in a fire, … Read MoreOpal Lee (1926- )
Gloria Long Anderson is a Professor of Chemistry at Morris Brown College, where she serves as vice president of academic affairs. She was born on November 11, 1938 in Altheimer, Arkansas, to Elsie Lee Foggie Long, a seamstress, and Charles Long, a sharecropper. Anderson was the … Read MoreGloria Long Anderson (1938- )
Charles Wesley Turnbull, sixth governor of the United States Virgin Islands, was born February 5, 1935, in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands of the United States, to John Wesley Turnbull and Ruth Ann Eliza Skelton Turnbull who were both immigrants from the British … Read MoreCharles Wesley Turnbull (1935- )
Jaime R. Harrison is the current chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the first African American elected to chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Harrison was born on February 5, 1976, in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He is the son of Rodney and Patricia … Read MoreJaime R. Harrison (1976- )
Teacher, civil rights activist, and author Barbara E. Pope was born free in January 1854, to former slaves Hannah and Alfred Pope, in the city of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. Her parents were enslaved in New Jersey and her father, Alfred, became famous … Read MoreBarbara E. Pope (1854-1908)
Francis Lewis Cardozo was a minister, educator, and politician, who was born free in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 1, 1836. Cardozo was of mixed ancestry, as his father, Isaac Nunez Cardozo, was a Sephardic Jew, and his mother, Lydia Williams Weston, was a free … Read MoreFrancis Cardozo (1836-1903)
John Eric Teamer was a gay public high school teacher in Sacramento and San Francisco, California, who emerged as an important community activist in San Francisco and leader in the nationwide LBGTQ community. Teamer was born in Asheville, North Carolina, on April 26, 1941. Beginning … Read MoreJohn Eric Teamer (1941-1994)
Jessie Redmon Fauset, known as the “Midwife of the Harlem Renaissance,” was born in Fredericksville, Camden County, New Jersey on April 27, 1882 to Redmon and Annie Seamon Fauset. She was the seventh addition to an already large family. At a very early age Fauset … Read MoreJessie R. Fauset (1882-1961)
Aaron Darnell Ford is a lawyer and politician who is serving as the 34th Attorney General of Nevada. Ford was born on May 24, 1972 to Denise and Larry Ford in Dallas, Texas. He is the oldest of three sons. After his parent’s divorce, his … Read MoreAaron Darnell Ford (1972- )
Emma Reed (Wright) was born on May 30, 1925 on the family farm in rural Redwood, Mississippi to parents Sallie and Smith Reed. She grew up on the farm but attended Coleman High School in Greenville, Mississippi, graduating in 1943. She then enrolled in Tennessee … Read MoreEmma Reed (1925-2014)
