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- )
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 quest for higher education … Read MoreErrol R. Schwartz (1952- )
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 and early 1940s. Perhaps more than any other figure, Ford symbolized the Party’s efforts to build a united front between … 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
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 local chapter of the … Read MoreElbert T. Hudson (1920-2017)
Image Ownership: Fair Use 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)
“Image Ownership: Texas State Historical Association” Joseph Louis (Joe) Atkins is best known for integrating Texas Western College (now the University of Texas, El Paso). In 1956 he became the first African American student to graduate from the institution. Joe Atkins was born in Jefferson, … Read MoreJoseph Louis Atkins (1936–2015)
“Image Ownership: Joe Crawford” Floyd E. Norman is an animator, comic book artist, and script writer who made history in 1956 by becoming the first African American cartoon animator at the Disney studios, where he worked directly with Walt Disney. Norman was born on June … Read MoreFloyd E. Norman (1935– )
The Seattle Royal Giants was a semi-professional baseball team that played through the Pacific Northwest in the first half of the 20th Century. The Giants began in 1928 under the leadership of three former professional players in the Negro Baseball League, Elmer Wilson, Jimmy Claxton, … Read MoreSeattle Royal Giants (1928-1945)
Richard Jones was a decorated military leader, serving in both World Wars I and II, and a United States ambassador. Born Richard Lee Jones on December 21, 1893, in Albany, Georgia, Jones studied at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, where he received a Bachelor’s … Read MoreRichard Lee Jones (1893-1975)
