Mabel Byrd, a life-long educator, researcher, and civil rights activist, was the first African American to attend the University of Oregon. Born in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1895, Byrd was the youngest daughter of Robert Byrd, a bricklayer, and Jennie Byrd. She moved with … Read MoreMabel Janet Byrd (1895-1988)
Alberta Christine (Williams) King, a retired organist at Ebenezer Baptist Church and a choir director, wore many hats in her family and community, as she also was the wife of Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., mother of Alfred Daniel Williams King I (1930), Willie Christine … Read MoreAlberta Christine Williams King (1904-1974)
Activist, writer, and educator Margaret Just Butcher was born on April 28, 1913, in Washington, DC, to Dr. Ernest E. Just, the renowned scientist and advisor and incorporator of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. from Charleston, South Carolina, and Ethel Highwarden, one of the … Read MoreMargaret Just Butcher (1913-2000)
Composer, Clarinetist, Conductor, Political Activist, Educator Julius Edward McCullough was born on May 31, 1943, in the segregated Norfolk Community Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia, to Julius Arthur McCullough, a vocalist from Ransomville, North Carolina, and Bettye Frances Farmer McCullough. They had two children. McCullough was introduced … Read MoreJulius Edward McCullough (1943- )
Historian, political activist, and educator Clarence Albert Bacote was born on February 24, 1906, in Kansas City, Missouri. His parents were Samuel William Bacote from Society Hill, South Carolina, a graduate of Richmond Theological Seminary (now Virginia Union University) and pastor at Second Baptist Church … Read MoreClarence Albert Bacote (1906-1981)
Lucille Boynton Skaggs Edwards, a journalist and suffragist, was the first African American woman magazine publisher in Nebraska. Edwards was born to Mary and David Skaggs in Washington, D.C. on July 23, 1875. Some documents suggest that her mother was a white Irish immigrant while … Read MoreLucille Boynton Skaggs Edwards (1875-1972)
In the following article novelist and independent historian Amy Sommers briefly outlines the experience of African Americans in Asia between World Wars I and II. She argues that African American influence in Asia was situated in four broad categories: the performing arts, international relations, faith, … Read MoreThe Black Pacific, 1919-1941: African Americans and Asia in the Interwar Period
Dr. Vera Mae (Berry) Pigee was a significant civil rights organizer and activist in the Mississippi Delta. She a co-founder of the Council of Federated Organizations and participated in a demonstration that ultimately desegregated the Greyhound bus terminal in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Vera Mae Berry was … Read MoreVera Pigee (1924-2007)
The Spingarn Medal is the highest honor of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Since 1915, it has been awarded annually for the highest achievement of a living African American in the preceding year or years. The twofold purpose of the … Read MoreThe Spingarn Medal (1915- )
Benny Nelson Napoleon was an attorney, law enforcement officer, and politician. Napoleon was born on September 10, 1955 to Reverend Harry and Betty Napoleon, in Detroit, Michigan. Napoleon played little league baseball in his youth and graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1973. He … Read MoreBenny Napoleon (1955-2020)
