Jean-Bédel Bokassa, longtime dictator and military leader of the Central African Republic, was born in Bobangui, Oubangui-Chari, French Equatorial Africa (present-day Central African Republic) on February 22, 1921. Bokassa’s father, a village chief of the Mbaka people, was murdered in November 1927 for refusing to … Read MoreJean-Bédel Bokassa (1921-1996)
Percy Sutton, attorney, politician, civil rights activist, and businessman, was born on November 24, 1920, in San Antonio, Texas to school teachers Samuel and Lillian Sutton. Percy Sutton attended Prairie View A&M University, Tuskegee Institute, and Hampton Institute. In 1942, Sutton joined the military. He … Read MorePercy Sutton (1920-2009)
Lieutenant General Julius Wesley Becton Jr. was born on June 29, 1926 to Julius and Rose Becton in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. His father worked as a janitor in their apartment building. His mother was a housekeeper and laundress. In December 1943, Julius Becton joined the … Read MoreJulius W. Becton Jr. (1926- )
The Tirailleurs Sénégalais were West African Colonial Army troops who fought for the French during World War I, World War II, and in numerous conquest, police, and colonial counterinsurgency operations. Despite the name, the Tirailleurs Sénégalais were composed of soldiers recruited and conscripted from throughout … Read MoreTirailleurs Senegalais (1857– )
Born on July 2, 1922, to sharecroppers Mattie and Ed Henry on the Flowers plantation in Coahoma County outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Aaron Henry would come of age in the era of segregation, fight in World War II, and return home from war ready campaign … Read MoreAaron Henry (1922-1997)
The Beaumont Race Riot of 1943 was sparked by racial tensions that arose in this Texas shipbuilding center during World War II. The sudden influx of African American workers in industrial jobs in the Beaumont shipyard and the subsequent job competition with white workers forced … Read MoreBeaumont Race Riot, 1943
Frederick McKinley Jones was a prolific early 20th century black inventor who helped to revolutionize both the cinema and refrigeration industries. Between 1919 and 1945 he patented more than sixty inventions in divergent fields with forty of those patents in refrigeration. He is best known … Read MoreFrederick McKinley Jones (1893-1961)
Lionel Wilson, lawyer, judge, and politician, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 4, 1915 to Jules and Louise Wilson. In 1918 the family moved to Oakland, California, where his parents believed a smaller and less-noticeable black community would afford them greater freedoms and … Read MoreLionel Wilson (1915-1998)
Stanley G. Grizzle founded the Railway Porter’s Trade Union Council and served as president of the Toronto Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) Division of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) from 1946 to 1962. Grizzle was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1918, to Jamaican parents … Read MoreStanley G. Grizzle (1918- )
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)
