James Wormley Jones is the first African American FBI agent in the United States. Jones was born on September 22, 1884 to John Bradford Jones and Sally Jones in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Jones had one sibling, a brother named Paul W. Jones. His family later … Read MoreJames Wormley Jones (1884-1958)
John Edward James is an Iraq War Veteran, businessman, and former Republican United States Senate candidate from Michigan. James became a rising star in the Republican Party after defeating Sandy Pensler, another Michigan businessman, in the 2018 Michigan GOP Senate primary. James went on to … Read MoreJohn Edward James (1969- )
Samuel R. Lowery was the first black lawyer to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. He was born on December 8, 1830 or 1832 in Davidson Country, Tennessee to his black slave father Peter Lowery and free Cherokee mother Ruth Mitchell. His mother died when … Read MoreSamuel R. Lowery (1830 or 1832-1900)
Robert Morton Duncan was an American prosecutor, judge, and the first African-American to serve on the Ohio state Supreme Court. Born on August 24th, 1927, in Urbana, Ohio, Duncan is the son of parents Benjamin Austin and Wanda Brown Duncan. Duncan attended a desegregated school in Urbana at a time … Read MoreRobert Morton Duncan (1927-2012)
David Fleming III is a brigadier general in the United States Army, who in 2017 became the first African American to be promoted to the rank of general in the Delaware National Guard. Fleming was born in 1962 to David and Huggie Fleming in New Jersey. He joined the … Read MoreDavid Fleming (1962- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Major General Errol R. Schwartz, the first black adjutant general for the District of Columbia, was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1952. In 1972 Schwartz arrived in the United States, following his brother and sister who emigrated from Guyana to enroll at Howard University. Their own … Read MoreErrol R. Schwartz (1952- )
Communist Party Presidential Campaign Poster, 1932 with image of James Ford as the Vice Presidential Candidate. Image Ownership: Public domain James W. Ford was Special Organizer of the Communist Party’s (CP) Harlem, New York section and the most prominent black Communist in the nation during the 1930s … Read MoreJames W. Ford (1893-1957)
In the following article independent historians Christine and Dennis McClure describe the role race played in the construction of the Alaska-Canada (ALCAN) Highway during World War II. The highway, constructed in eight months, stretched 1,600 miles from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska. … Read MoreThe Construction of the Alaska Highway, 1942: The Role of Race in the Far North
Image Ownership: Public domain Police official, business leader, and civil rights advocate Elbert T. Hudson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 16, 1920. Three years later, his family moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1924, his father, H. Claude Hudson, became president of the … Read MoreElbert T. Hudson (1920-2017)
Image Ownership: Public domain New York Times literary critic, author, and teacher Anatole Broyard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 16, 1920, the son of carpenter Paul A. Broyard and Edna Miller, two light-skinned African Americans. With the nation in the throes of … Read MoreAnatole Paul Broyard (1920-1990)
