Emmett Hercules Holmes was one of Spokane, Washington’s first African American residents, as well as an important politician in the young city. Holmes was born on July 7, 1872, near Vicksburg, Mississippi. By the summer of 1888, his mother was interested in moving to the … Read MoreEmmett Hercules Holmes (1872-1948)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Educator, newspaper publisher and politician John Quincy Adams is best known as the editor of the Western Appeal/The Appeal of St. Paul, Minnesota. He held the position from 1886 to 1922. John Quincy Adams was born free in Louisville, Kentucky, on … Read MoreJohn Quincy [“J. Q.”] Adams (1848-1922)
Benjamin Zephaniah, poet, playwright, novelist and activist, was born on April 15, 1958, the first of eight children, in Birmingham, England. Zephaniah grew up in Wandsworth until the age of nine when his mother, a Jamaican nurse, fled his father, a postman from Barbados. Leaving … Read MoreBenjamin Zephaniah (1958- )
Carl Thomas Rowan was a diplomat, author, reporter, and broadcaster. He was the first black deputy Secretary of State, and the first black director of the United States Information Agency (USIA). Rowan was born August 11, 1925, in the mining town of Ravenscroft, Tennessee. When … Read MoreCarl T. Rowan (1925–2000)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Tony Dungy, a former professional football player and current coach for the Indianapolis Colts, is the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl. Dungy has been hailed as a coaching genius, changing losing organizations into winners. Despite overwhelming personal … Read MoreTony Dungy (1955- )