Musician and composer Edmund Dédé was born on November 20, 1827 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His parents were free Creoles of color who moved to New Orleans from the French West Indies around 1809. Dédé took his first music lessons from his father who was … Read MoreEdmund Dédé (1827-1903)
Actor Laurence Fishburne III was born on July 30, 1961 in Augusta, Georgia to parents Laurence Jr. and Hattie, a corrections officer and a schoolteacher. After the couple separated Hattie moved young Fishburne to Brooklyn, New York where the two lived with her mother. Fishburne’s … Read MoreLaurence Fishburne (1961- )
Virgil Spencer Clarkson, five-term member of the City Council of Lacey, Washington, served for three terms as Mayor of the city (2004-2005, 2006-2007, and 2012-2013). He has also served twice as Deputy Mayor in 2002-2003 and 2010-2011. He is the first African American to hold … Read MoreVirgil Spencer Clarkson (1932- )
In the account below, Jim Kershner, author, historian, and longtime journalist for the Spokesman-Review, Spokane’s major daily newspaper, discusses what led him to the story of Carl Maxey, one of Washington State’s key 20th century civil rights figures, and the challenges he encountered while writing … Read MoreTelling Carl Maxey’s Story: Understanding the Fighter in the Ring and the Courtroom
Former Nevada State Senator and recently elected United States Representative, Steven Alexzander Horsford was born on April 29, 1973 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Horsford became head of his household at ten years old, taking care of his younger siblings while his mother struggled with addiction … Read MoreSteven A. Horsford (1973- )
William Chester Ruth was an African American inventor, business owner, and community leader in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Ruth was the son of Samuel and Maria Louisa Pinn-Ruth. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment liberated Samuel, a former slave, when it occupied Savannah, Georgia in 1865 while … Read MoreWilliam Chester Ruth (1882-1971)
Henry Davis Green was an anti-slavery activist (abolitionist) who was a participant in the Christiana Resistance (also known as the Christiana Riot) of 1851, the largest and most violent antebellum response to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Green, a teamster by occupation, was born … Read MoreHenry Davis Green (1827-1911)
Actor Samuel Leroy Jackson was born on December 21, 1948 in Washington, D.C. to factory worker Elizabeth Jackson. His father abandoned his mother shortly after Jackson’s birth and then died of alcoholism. Jackson and his mother moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they lived with her … Read MoreSamuel L. Jackson (1948- )
Image Courtesy of Kaiser Health News Otis Brawley is an American physician, oncologist, researcher, author, and health care reform advocate, who is currently the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society (the largest non-profit health-oriented charity in the … Read MoreOtis Webb Brawley (1959- )
Perry Watkins was the first African American set designer on Broadway. He was also a stage painter, makeup and costume artist, producer, and film art director. Born in Providence, Rhode Island on April 13, 1907, Watkins attended Hope High School where he and a friend … Read MorePerry Robert Watkins (1907-1974)
