Ron Oden is the first African American and the first openly gay man to hold the office of Mayor of Palm Springs, California. Born on March 21, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, Oden attended Oakwood College (now University) in Huntsville, Alabama where he received a Bachelor … Read MoreRon Oden (1950- )
Born into poverty and racial segregation in Meridian, Mississippi in 1912, Ted Watkins became a civil rights and union activist and led an anti-poverty agency in Los Angeles, the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC). Watkins left Mississippi as a young man to avoid a … Read MoreTed Watkins (1912-1993)
Born on February 21, 1945 in Seattle, Washington to parents, Nelmon and Johnnie Carter Gossett, Larry Gossett has been a dedicated public servant for over 40 years. After graduating from Franklin High School, he was a VISTA volunteer in Harlem (1966-1967). Gossett attended the University … Read MoreLarry Gossett (1945- )
Howard Thurman was one of the most influential theologians of the 20th Century. Born on November 18, 1900 in Daytona Beach, Florida, Howard Thurman was raised by his grandmother who had been a slave. Thurman completed high school in Jacksonville, Florida and entered Morehouse College. … Read MoreHoward Thurman (1900-1981)
Born on February 6, 1898 in Moberly, Missouri, Melvin Beaunorus Tolson is known as one of the most significant African American modernist poets of his time. In addition, Tolson’s work as an educator led Langston Hughes to declare him “the most famous Negro Professor in … Read MoreMelvin B. Tolson (1898-1966)
Open housing was one of the most prominent goals of the Seattle, Washington civil rights movement in the 1960s. Up to the early 1960s African Americans in Seattle were almost completely restricted to housing in the Central District of the city. Housing restrictions were not … Read MoreRev. Mance Jackson (1931-2007)
Paul Chiles is the youngest of three children, born to Ruth and Raymond Chiles in Spokane, Washington on April 11, 1949. Raised in Seattle, he graduated from Garfield High School. Chiles was drawn to civil rights at an early age and founded the Black Student … Read MorePaul Chiles (1949- )
The grandson of a British explorer and the son of a pharmacist, Augustus Freeman “Gus” Hawkins was born in Shreveport, Louisiana but moved with his family to Los Angeles, California in 1918. He earned a degree in economics from the University of California at Los … Read MoreAugustus Hawkins (1907-2007)
Alessandro de’ Medici, called “Il Moro” (“The Moor”), was born in the Italian city of Urbino in 1510. His mother was an African slave named Simonetta who had been freed. Alessandro’s paternity is uncertain. Most sources name Lorenzo de’ Medici, ruler of Urbino. But Alessandro … Read MoreAlessandro de’ Medici (1510-1537)
A successful business owner and real estate investor, Charles Owens became one of the most prominent African Americans in Los Angeles by the end of the nineteenth century. Born into slavery in Texas, Charles’s father, Robert Owens, purchased his family’s freedom and migrated to Los … Read MoreCharles Owens (?-1882)
