Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 17, 1823, Mifflin Wistar Gibbs apprenticed as a carpenter. By his early 20s he was an activist in the abolition movement, sharing platforms with Frederick Douglass and helping in the Underground Railroad. Black intellectual ferment of the era gave … Read MoreMifflin Wistar Gibbs (1823-1915)
There is little known about Archy Lee’s childhood except that he was born in Mississippi in 1840, an illiterate slave owned by Charles Stovall. In 1857, Charles Stovall moved to California from Missouri taking Lee with him. While in California Stovall opened a school and … Read MoreArchy Lee Case, 1858
Emmett B. Reed was born in Virginia but moved at age 16 to work in the coal mines of British Columbia. Within 10 years he had become a licensed minister, and in 1919 was called to pastor Calvary Baptist Church of Spokane, beginning a tenure … Read MoreEmmett B. Reed (1878-1961)
Founded on Aug. 9, 1917 in Spokane, Washington, the Washington State Federation of Colored Women (WSFCW) confederated several social and civic clubs organized by African American women during the early 1900s. The African American women’s club movement in Washington State began in 1908 with the … Read MoreWashington State Federation of Colored Women (1917- )
Seraphim “Joe” Fortes was born in Barbados, West Indies. He was a seaman and came to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1885. There he worked as a barman at the Sunnyside Hotel. English Bay became his favourite spot as he loved the water and was … Read MoreSeraphim “Joe” Fortes (1865-1922)
Abner Hunt Francis was an abolitionist and activist whose life and work spanned both U.S. coasts and Canada. He was born on a farm near Flemington, New Jersey. His father, Jacob, was a Revolutionary War veteran. His mother, Mary, was enslaved when she married Jacob, … Read MoreAbner Hunt Francis (1812?–1872)
Before the Civil War, when he was 18, William Grose left his home in Washington, D.C. and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Assigned to the USS Vincennes in 1853, he went to South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia and the Arctic during his tour … Read MoreWilliam Grose (1835-1898)
Walter R. Hundley, minister, sociologist, civil rights worker, and administrator, served in a number of important offices in Seattle government. Hundley was born in Philadelphia on March 8, 1929, and raised there in a black neighborhood which he recalled as being pretty rough. He graduated … Read MoreWalter R. Hundley (1929-2002)
Praised as one of the world’s most distinguished academic physicians, from 1993 to 2003 Dr. Haile Tesfaye Debas served as Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. Prior to becoming dean, for six years he was chairman of … Read MoreHaile T. Debas (1937- )
In 1859, the all-white volunteer fire department of Victoria, British Columbia refused blacks in their ranks. Therefore, some blacks volunteered their services to Governor James Douglas as a militia unit. Concerns over an imminent Indian War and a dispute between Britain and the United States … Read MoreVictoria Pioneer Rifle Corps (1861-1865)
