Isaac Wright Jr. is an African-American criminal and civil attorney, consultant, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Wright became the only person in U.S. history to be condemned to mandatory life sentence plus 70 years in prison, to secure his own release and exoneration, and then be granted … Read MoreIssac Wright Jr. (1962- )
United States Congressman Colin Allred is the Democratic representative for the 32nd Congressional District in Dallas, Texas. In his first term as Representative he has been a champion for equality for Americans no matter their social status, prioritizing lowering healthcare costs, protecting Medicare and Social … Read MoreColin Allred (1985- )
Reconstruction-Era Attorney Joseph E. Lee was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 15, 1849. Lee graduated from Howard University’s law school in 1873 and then moved to Florida where he was admitted to the state bar and became Jacksonville, Florida’s first African American lawyer. Lee, … Read MoreJoseph E. Lee (1849-1920)
Letitia “Tish” James is a lawyer, activist, and the first African American female Attorney General of the state of New York. James was born in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York on October 18, 1958. Her father, Robert, was a maintenance man, and her mother Nellie … Read MoreLetitia A. James (1958- )
Antonio Ramon Delgado is an attorney, business owner, former entertainer and the first person of African American or Hispanic descent to be elected to Congress from upstate New York. On January 3, 2019, he was sworn into the 116th United States Congress. A Democrat, he … Read MoreAntonio Delgado (1977- )
Francisca Van Dunem (née Francisca Eugénia da Silva Dias Van Dunem), an attorney and politician, became the first person of African-descent to serve as a cabinet minister in Portugal. Born on November 5, 1955 in Luanda, Angola, Van Dunem was one of six children born … Read MoreFrancisca Van Dunem (1955- )
Politician and educator Judson W. Lyons was born on August 15, 1858 in Burke County, Georgia. In 1871, his family moved to Augusta, Georgia where Lyons was educated at the Augusta Institute. Lyons got involved in Republican Party politics as a young man, being selected … Read MoreJudson W. Lyons (1858-1924)
Nineteenth-century politician John P. Green was born on April 2, 1845 in New Bern, North Carolina to free African Americans who were of mixed-race ancestry. His father John used his skills as a tailor to buy his freedom but died in 1850, which put the … Read MoreJohn P. Green (1845-1940)
Stacey Plaskett is the current delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Territory of the Virgin Islands. She achieved national notoriety as one of the House Impeachment Managers in the Second Impeachment Trial of former President Donald Trump in February 2021. Plaskett was … Read MoreStacey E. Plaskett (1966- )
Paulette Brown, an attorney and former judge, is the first African American woman and first woman of color to head the American Bar Association. Brown was born on April 28, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland to Wilbur Brown, a truck driver, and Thelma Brown. In 1969, … Read MorePaulette Brown (1951- )
