Frederick Augustus Hinton, barber, abolitionist, early advocate for independent Black presses, and founding member of the Colored Conventions movement, was born enslaved in Raleigh, North Carolina, to unknown parents. Emancipated in Philadelphia in 1825 at the age of twenty-one, Hinton quickly became a member of … Read MoreFrederick Augustus Hinton (1804-1849)
William Johnson, known as the Barber of Natchez, was one of the most prominent African Americans in pre-Civil War Mississippi. Johnson was born enslaved on December 20, 1809, in Mississippi Territory. His father, also named William Johnson, was his owner, and his mother Amy was one of the … Read MoreWilliam Johnson Jr. (1809-1851)
Leonard Bailey was an African American inventor and businessman in Washington, D.C., in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in 1825 to an impoverished free black family, Bailey rose in status by becoming a journeyman barber. Through this success, he eventually came to operate and own many of the … Read MoreLeonard C. Bailey (1825-1918)
Derrick Jones was an East Oakland, California barber who was shot and killedby officers of the Oakland Police Department on November 8, 2010. He was 37 years old at the time of his death. His death, along with those of many others including the well-known killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael … Read MoreDerrick Jones (1983-2010)
Charles Lewis was a sailor and soldier during the American Revolutionary War. Lewis was born sometime around 1760 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia on Bel Aire, the Lewis Family Plantation owned by John Lewis. John and a free mulatto woman, Josephine Lewis, were the parents of … Read MoreCharles Lewis (ca. 1760-1833)
Joseph Cassey was born in the French West Indies in 1789. He arrived in Philadelphia sometime before 1808. Cassey prospered in the barber trade and as a perfumer, wig-maker, and money-lender. His barbershop was located a block from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Cassey … Read MoreJoseph Cassey (1789-1848)
Peter William Cassey was born in Philadelphia in 1831, the son of renowned African American abolitionist Joseph Cassey. Cassey learned political activism from his father. He also learned the barbering trade which he pursued after his arrival in San Francisco in 1863. In 1859 Cassey … Read MorePeter William Cassey (1831-?)
Although he never held public office, George S. Jeffrey barber, orator, and post-reconstruction civil rights leader, emerged as one of the most important African American political figures in late 19th Century Connecticut. Jeffrey was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 1830, to free parents George W. … Read MoreGeorge S. Jeffrey (1830-1906)
