On March 25, 1931, nine African Americans, ranging in age from thirteen to twenty-one, were arrested for allegedly raping two white women on board a train near Paint Rock, Alabama. An all-white jury quickly convicted the defendants on flimsy evidence, and eight of the nine … Read MoreScottsboro Case (1931-1950)
Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove to former slaves, Owen and Minerva Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana on December 23, 1867. Breedlove became an orphan at age seven when her parents died. Three years later, ten-year-old Sarah and her sister moved across to river to Vicksburg, … Read MoreMadam C. J. Walker (1867-1919)
Eleanor Dickey Ragsdale was one of the most distinguished activists, educators, and entrepreneurs in Arizona history. In 1947 she graduated from the historically black Cheyney University in Pennsylvania. The university’s main mission was to cultivate African American teachers, who would become leaders in their local … Read MoreEleanor Dickey Ragsdale (1926-1998)
Cloves Campbell, Sr. was born in Elizabeth, Louisiana in 1931. He moved to Arizona in 1945 with his family and earned a B.A. in Education from Arizona State University. Campbell was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 1962, and after two terms he … Read MoreCloves Campbell, Sr. (1931-2004)
Benjamin F. McAdoo was born in Pasadena, California in 1920. He established the first African American-owned architecture firm in Seattle and was the first black man to practice architecture in Washington State. He was a local community leader and advocate for the advancement of low-income … Read MoreBenjamin McAdoo (1920-1981)
Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon was born in Marshall, Texas and graduated from Wiley College (l902) and Meharry Medical College (l906). He began his medical practice in Cameron, Texas but moved to El Paso in l909. In l9l0, he was joined in El Paso by his … Read MoreLawrence A. Nixon (1883-1966)
Roscoe Dunjee was a prolific journalist and civil rights activist. He was the son of Rev. John William Dunjee, a Baptist minister, and Lydia Ann Dunjee. Although his father was born in Jefferson County, West Virginia, Roscoe worked for various African American newspapers in Oklahoma … Read MoreRoscoe Dunjee (1883-1965)
Dorothy Dandridge, born on November 9, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio, was a superb actress, singer and dancer who became a national and international star, and the first African American female actor nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Actress (Carmen Jones) and later a … Read MoreDorothy Dandridge (1922-1964)
Medgar Evers, at the time of his assassination in 1963, was the Field Secretary for the Mississippi NAACP and, thus one of the leaders of the civil rights movement in that state. Evers was born on July 2, 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi. Evers was inducted … Read MoreMedgar Evers (1925-1963)
Frank Horne was a Harlem Renaissance poet and a member of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s (FDR) “Black Cabinet.” Throughout his public career, including his years with the U.S. Housing Authority, Horne was an outspoken opponent of racial segregation in public and private housing. Horne was … Read MoreFrank Smith Horne (1899-1974)
