Reginald Francis Lewis was born to a working class family in East Baltimore on December 7, 1942. His strong work ethic was evident early when in high school he earned four varsity letters in baseball, three in football, and two in basketball. Lewis graduated from … Read MoreReginald Lewis (1942-1993)
Johnnie Cochran Jr. was born on October 2, 1937 in Shreveport, Louisiana into a family descended from slaves. His father was an insurance salesman and his mother sold Avon products. When he was a young boy, his family moved to Los Angeles, California where he … Read MoreJohnnie Cochran, Jr. (1937-2005)
William Chase was born in 1854 to a free black family in Washington, D.C. Chase was raised in integrated neighborhoods and attended local area schools including Howard University Law School. Chase combined the practice of law with journalism for most of his career and was … Read MoreWilliam Calvin Chase (1854-1921)
John Edmondson Prim was the first African American to serve as deputy prosecuting attorney for King County and the first African American judge in the State of Washington. He was born to Charles and Sara Prim in Nashville, Tennessee on September 15, 1898. In 1904, … Read MoreJohn E. Prim (1898-1961)
Carl B. Stokes, lawyer, anchorman, U.S. diplomat and the first African American mayor of a major U.S. city, was born on June 21, 1927 to Charles and Louise Stokes in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1944, Stokes dropped out of high school at the age of 17 … Read MoreCarl B. Stokes (1927-1996)
James Meredith is best known as the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi (Old Miss). He was born on June 25, 1933 in Kosciusko, Mississippi, served in the Air Force between 1951 and 1960 and then attended Jackson State University … Read MoreJames Meredith (1933- )
During the first twenty-five years following the American Civil War and the emancipation, many African American men in the South were elected to state legislatures and local government posts. Among those in Tennessee was Samuel Allen McElwee from Haywood County, one of the two western … Read MoreSamuel Allen McElwee (1857-1914)
John L. Waller was a career Republican and activist who played a significant role in Kansas politics. He was born to slave parents, Anthony and Maria Waller, on a plantation in New Madrid County, Missouri. Some records suggest he was born in 1851, contrary to … Read MoreJohn Lewis Waller (1850-1907)
Determined to study law in the United States, William McDonald Austin moved from his home in Barbados to San Francisco, California when he was a young man. He moved again from San Francisco to Seattle, Washington when he was admitted to the University of Washington … Read MoreWilliam McDonald Austin (?-?)
Carl Maxey grew up in an orphanage and became a leading attorney, civil rights activist, and champion of the underdog. He was adopted by a Spokane, Washington, couple immediately following his birth in Tacoma but ended up in the Spokane Children’s Home after his adoptive … Read MoreCarl Maxey (1924-1997)
