Arthur O. Eve was the longest serving member of the New York State Assembly, serving from 1967 until his retirement in 2002. He was also the first Dominican American to be elected to public office in the United States. As deputy speaker of the Assembly … Read MoreArthur O. Eve (1933- )
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)
Born into slavery about January 1830, John Brown was owned by a leading Southampton County, Virginia planter named Robert Ridley. When Ridley died in 1852, Brown’s wife (whose name is unknown), two daughters and one brother were sold and taken to Mississippi. He remarried about … Read MoreJohn Brown (1830-1900)
Charles Caldwell was a prominent Mississippi Republican during the Reconstruction era who spent his political career advocating for increased racial equality in the state. Charles Caldwell is believed to have been born in 1831, although the exact details of his birth and childhood are unknown. He was born into slavery and as … Read MoreCharles Caldwell (ca. 1831-1875)
Richard A. Harewood was a prominent lawyer, state representative, and judge in Chicago, Illinois. He was born on June 25th, 1900 in Barbados, British West Indies and raised there until he was seven years old. His father who was a soldier in the British Colonial Army, died when Harewood was three years old, and his … Read MoreRichard A. Harewood (1900-1985)
Harry Cole, the first black justice on the Maryland Supreme Court, was born on January 1, 1921, in Washington, D.C., to a tailor and his wife. Shortly after his birth, Cole’s father died, and his mother moved him and his four siblings to her hometown, Baltimore, Maryland. Cole attended Douglass High School, … Read MoreHarry A. Cole (1921-1999)
Politician and lawyer Sylvester Turner was born in the Acres Homes community in northwest Houston, Texas on September 27, 1954. He was elected mayor of Houston in 2015 thus becoming the city’s second African American mayor. Turner was raised among eight other brothers and sisters by his mother, a maid, … Read MoreSylvester Turner (1954- )
Image Ownership: Liz Margerum/Reno Gazette-Journal Maurice E. Washington is a Reno, Nevada businessman and pastor who is best known as a former Republican member of the Nevada State Senate. Washington was born on July 25, 1956, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He moved to Nevada where … Read MoreMaurice E. Washington (1956- )
J. Gary Cooper, military, government, and business leader, was appointed United States Ambassador to Jamaica by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He was the first African American to occupy the position. Prior to his appointment, he had a distinguished military career. Jerome Gary Cooper was … Read MoreJ. Gary Cooper (1936- )
Image Ownership: Pete Grady (Fair Use) Idaho’s first African American State Senator, inspirational keynote speaker, trainer, and singer Cherie Buckner-Webb, a fifth generation Idahoan was born October 20, 1951 in Boise. Buckner-Webb, her family, and other members of the small black community in the state … Read MoreCherie Buckner-Webb (1951- )
