Business executive, city official, and civil rights activist David Surmier Cunningham, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Reverend David S. Cunningham, Sr. and Eula Mae Lawson Cunningham on June 24, 1935. His family moved to Decatur, Illinois in 1943. Cunningham attended E.A. Gastman Elementary School and received musical instruction at Millikin University. … Read MoreDavid Surmier Cunningham, Jr. (1935-2017)
Image Ownership: Rolland J Curtis Collection; Los Angeles Photographers Collection Douglas Dollarhide was the first African American mayor of the city of Compton, California, and a pioneer and role model for future black politicians across the state of California. Dollarhide was born in March 1923 … Read MoreDouglas Dollarhide (1923-2008)
John Abraham Godson, a conservative politician, university lecturer, businessman, and former Pentecostal preacher, is the first person of African descent elected to public office in Poland. He was born on November 25, 1970, in Umuahia, Nigeria, as Godson Chikama Onyekwere. His father, Silvanus Nwokocha Onyekwere, … Read MoreJohn Abraham Godson (1970- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Hawaii State Senator Charles M. Campbell was born in North Carolina in 1918. He grew up there and received an A.D. degree from North Carolina College in Durham. He also received an M.A. degree from Howard University and a second M.A. … Read MoreCharles M. Campbell (1918-1986)
Dr. Edward W. Guinn was the first African American elected to the Fort Worth, Texas, City Council. He served two terms, from 1967 to 1969 and 1969 to 1971. Guinn was born in 1925 in Fort Worth to a prominent African American family. He attended … Read MoreEdward W. Guinn (1925-2018)
When thirty-year-old Katie Barton followed her husband to the small town of Pasco in Washington State in 1948, she did not foresee that she would embark on a life of fighting for black equality and serving her community, nor did she envision becoming the first … Read MoreKatie D. Morgan Barton (1918-2010)
Bruce Allen Harrell, was elected Mayor of Seattle, Washington on November 2, 2021 and was sworn in as the 57th mayor of the city on January 1, 2022. His campaign focused on increased public safety and solving the homelessness crisis in the city. Harrell who … Read MoreBruce Harrell (1958- )
The trusted slave of legendary Texas independence leader and later governor, Sam Houston, Joshua Houston, after Emancipation, succeeded in business and politics, founded numerous institutions, and became a symbol of racial autonomy and progress. Born a slave in 1822 and later willed to Margaret Lea … Read MoreJoshua Houston (1822-1902)
Wing Chong Luke is a pioneer in Asian American politics. In 1962, at the age of 37, Luke, despite an active smear campaign, became the first person of Asian ancestry elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest and the first person of color elected … Read MoreWing Chong Luke (1925-1965)
Norris Wright Cuney, politician, the fourth of eight children born to a white planter, Philip Minor Cuney and a slave mother, Adeline Stuart, was born on May 12, 1846, near Hempstead, Texas. Cuney studied law and by July 18, 1871, was appointed president of the … Read MoreNorris Wright Cuney (1846-1898)
