John Brown (also known as “Fed” and “Benford”) of Southampton County, Virginia is best remembered as an escaped enslaved person who wrote an account of his bondage that was published in England in 1854. Brown was born about 1818 on the Betty Moore farm, three … Read MoreJohn Brown (AKA ‘Fed’ and ‘Benford’) (1818-1876)
Roy Rudolph DeCarava was the first African American to receive the Guggenheim Fellowship. Born on December 9, 1919 in Harlem Hospital, New York City, New York, DeCarava was the only child of a Jamaican mother and American father, who separated when he was young. In 1938 DeCarava … Read MoreRoy DeCarava (1919-2009)
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) was founded in 1940 by John H. Sengstacke. Sengstacke, then in his 30s, was Vice President and General Manager of the Robert S. Abbott Publishing Company, which published the Chicago Defender, then the largest black newspaper in the United States. Sengstacke had been educated … Read MoreThe National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) (1940- )
Alice Allison Dunnigan was the first African American female correspondent at the White House and the first black female member of the Senate and House of Representatives press galleries. Dunnigan was born April 27, 1906, in Russellville, Kentucky, to Willie and Lena Pitman Allison. Her father worked as … Read MoreAlice Allison Dunnigan (1906-1983)
Samuel Scottron was an inventor of the late 1800s, best known for his invention of the curtain rod. It is unclear if Scottron was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or New England in the years 1841 or 1843. What is clear is that the Scottron family … Read MoreSamuel Raymond Scottron (ca. 1843-1905)
Afro-German politician, human rights activist, and scholar Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana was born in Bamako, Mali, but grew up in Dakar, Senegal, the daughter of a Cape Verdean mother, Dona Joaquina Semedo-Lopès, who was Christian, and a Guinean father who was Muslim. Her early experience with nationalities and religions greatly influenced the course of her life. A … Read MorePierrette Herzberger-Fofana (1949- )
Mystic cult leader, intellectual, author, and war survivor Robert T. Browne was born in a shack near LaGrange, Texas, on July 16, 1882. He was believed to be the son of illiterate former slaves who likely attended a black Methodist church in the vicinity. An exceptional student, when Browne … Read MoreRobert Tecumtha Browne (1882-1978)
The Algiers Motel Incident occurred in Detroit, Michigan on July 25, 1967, two days after the Detroit Race Riot began. The incident started when Army National Guardsman Ted Thomas reported hearing gunshots at the Algiers Motel Annex. Detroit Police, Michigan State Police, and other National … Read MoreAlgiers Motel Incident (1967)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Eustace Edward Ricardo Braithwaite, more commonly known as E.R. Braithwaite, was a Guyanese-born British-American novelist, writer, teacher, and diplomat. He was best known for his stories of social conditions and racial discrimination against black people. He was the author of … Read MoreEustace Edward Ricardo Braithwaite (1912–2016)
Award-winning actor Octavia Lenora Spencer was born on May 25, 1970, in Montgomery, Alabama. Her mother, Dellsena Spenser, raised her seven children alone, relying solely for support from a modest maid’s salary. Spencer attended her local public elementary school and graduated from Jefferson Davis High … Read MoreOctavia Lenora Spencer (1972- )
