George Metcalfe was a civil rights leader in Natchez, Mississippi who led one of the most successful yet little-known movements in the Deep South. Metcalfe was born on September 20, 1911, in Franklin, Louisiana to parents Ernest Metcalfe and Alberta Simon Metcalfe. He was a … Read MoreGeorge Metcalfe (1911-1989)
Eugene T. Hinson was one of six founders of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the oldest African American Greek Letter Fraternity in the United States. The others were Henry Minton, Algernon Jackson, Edwin Howard, Richard Warrick and Robert Jones Abele. Eugene T. Hinson was born in … Read MoreEugene T. Hinson (1873-1960)
Dr. John Bowman (“J.B.”) Banks was the first Black physician to practice medicine in Natchez, Miss. He recruited Dr. Albert Woods Dumas, the second Black physician to practice in the city. Together with four other businessmen, they founded an African American bank in Natchez, called … Read MoreJohn Bowman Banks (1862-1911)
Belford Vance Lawson Jr. was the first African American to win a Supreme Court case. Born on July 9th, 1901, in Roanoke, Virginia. Lawson attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He played for the university football team and was only the school’s … Read MoreBelford Vance Lawson Jr (1901-1985)
Addie Fletcher Booth was an educator, civil rights activist, and labor organizer. She was born Addie De Vault on October 29, 1902 in Independence, Texas to Reuben and Anis Gee De Vault. Although very little is known of her early life, she enrolled in Prairie … Read MoreAddie Fletcher Booth (1902-1996)
Charles Howard Wright was a Detroit physician and founder of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. He was born on September 18, 1918, in Dothan, Alabama and attended the State Teachers College (later known as Alabama State College, and now Alabama State … Read MoreCharles H. Wright (1918-2002)
Major George William Ford was an original member of the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) and later a Major with the Second Battalion of the 23rd Kansas Volunteers during the Spanish American War. Ford was born on November 23, 1847, on the Mount Vernon Plantation in … Read MoreGeorge William Ford (1847-1939)
Willie Melton was a farmer and a Civil Rights pioneer in Fort Bend, Texas, responsible for helping to settle what is now known as Kendleton, Fort Bend County, Texas. Melton was born on November 8, 1900, in Fort Bend, a county that in its origins … Read MoreWillie Melton (1900-1969)
Arizona Fleming was a small business owner who became part of the Civil Rights Movement in Fort Bend County, Texas. Fleming was born in Richmond, Texas on March 23, 1884, to Laura and Beauregard Fleming. Not much is known about her life. After attending segregated … Read MoreArizona Fleming (1884-1976)
On May 20, 2019, Reverend Lakeesha Walrond, Ph.D., made history when she was appointed President of the New York Theological Seminary (NYTS), founded in 1900 as the Bible Teacher’s College. Walrond is the first woman and first Black woman to serve as president of NYTS, … Read MoreLakeesha Walrond (1971- )
