Jesse Binga’s rise from relative poverty to become the wealthiest African American entrepreneur and banker in Chicago in the late 19th century earned him a national reputation. Binga was born on April 10, 1865, in Detroit to William W. Binga, a barber and native of … Read MoreJesse Binga (1865-1950)
Born on October 5, 1929 in Shiloh, Alabama, Autherine Lucy was one of ten children in a family of farmers. Despite this modest background, Lucy would impact history as the first African American to integrate the University of Alabama. Lucy will also be remembered as … Read MoreAutherine Juanita Lucy Foster (1929-2022)
Robert L. Carter, the youngest child in a family of eight children, was born in Careyville, Florida in 1917. His family moved north to Newark, New Jersey shortly after his birth. Carter’s father died soon after arriving in Newark and his mother supported eight children … Read MoreRobert L. Carter (1917-2012)
Floyd Bixler McKissick replaced James Farmer as National Director of the Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE) on January 3, 1966, making him the second ever National Director of CORE. Under McKissick’s leadership, CORE underwent a radical transformation from an interracial, non-violent civil rights organization into … Read MoreFloyd B. McKissick (1922-1991)
Former New York Congressman Major Robert Owens was born on June 28, 1936 in Collierville, Tennessee. He graduated from Hamilton High School in Memphis in 1952 at the age of 16. Owens received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College in 1956, and an M.S. in … Read MoreMajor Robert Owens (1936- )
Theatre pioneer Woodie King Jr. is a director, actor, playwright, screen-writer, television scriptwriter, essayist, short-story writer, and consultant. Hailed as “the Renaissance Man of Black Theatre,” he was the most successful and prolific black producer in the world. For over 35 years, as founding director … Read MoreWoodie King, Jr. (1937- )
David A. Paterson, sworn in as Governor on March 17, 2008, is the first legally blind American Governor, the first black Governor of New York State, and only the fourth black Governor of any state. Paterson has been serving as Lieutenant Governor of New York, … Read MoreDavid A. Paterson (1954- )
Barbara Charline Jordan was born in Houston Texas’s Fifth Ward on February 21, 1936. She received her education in public schools in Texas and graduated from Texas Southern University in 1956 with a B.A. in political science and history. Jordan then received her LL.B. from … Read MoreBarbara Jordan (1936-1996)
Caesar Carpenter “C.C.” Antoine is best known as a leading African American politician in Louisiana during Reconstruction (1863-1877). Antoine was born in New Orleans to a Black father who fought the British as an American soldier at the Battle of New Orleans (1815), and to … Read MoreCaesar Carpenter Antoine (1836-1921)
Rep. John Lewis was a U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon, who chaired the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee from 1963 to 1966. He was a Democrat who represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District from 1987 until his death in 2020. John Robert Lewis was born in … Read MoreJohn Lewis (1940-2020)
