James M. Evans, a politician and business owner, was the first African American chairman of the Utah Republican Party. He was born to Robert and Beatrice Evans in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in 1962. He graduated from Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in 1981 as the class president … Read MoreJames M. Evans (1962- )
Image Courtesy of Madeline Crowley Seattle businessman and civic activist Fordie Ross was born on April 21, 1914, in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to Miles and Sophia Ross. He was one of six children in a family of devout Presbyterians. Ross attended Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, … Read MoreFordie Ross (1914–2014)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Lovie Louise Yancey was the African American founder of the Fatburger restaurant chain. She was born in Bastrop, Texas, on January 3, 1912, one of eight children of Clayborn and Minnie Yancey. Very little is known about her early life in … Read MoreLovie Yancey (1912–2008)
Pnina Tamano-Shata, a lawyer and journalist, is the first woman of sub-Saharan African ancestry elected to the Knesset or Israeli National Parliament. Tamano-Shata was born in the Gondar region of Ethiopia to a Beta Israel (Jewish) family, the granddaughter of Kais Shato-Maharata, one of the … Read MorePnina Tamano-Shata (1981- )
Mary Jane Grant Seacole was an early nurse in the British Empire during the 19th Century. Born in Kingston, Jamaica as Mary Grant, she was the daughter of a Scottish officer and a black mother. Mary’s mother ran a hospital/boarding house in Kingston and she, … Read MoreMary Jane Seacole (1805-1881)
Viola Mitchell Turner, an early black executive with North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1900. The only child of poor, impoverished, teenage African American parents she would succeed in becoming the first female African American member of the North … Read MoreViola Mitchell Turner (1900-1988)
James Horton, African surgeon, soldier and nationalist, challenged prevailing views on the inferiority of Africans and proposed ideologies for African self-government. His philosophies became the basis for future African independence. Horton was born in British colonial Sierra Leone outside of Freetown, the son of former … Read MoreJames Africanus Beale Horton (1835-1883)
Although little remembered today, Leidesdorff was a social, economic, and political force in pre-gold rush San Francisco, California with a number of “firsts” credited to his name. When he was named the U.S. Vice Consul to Mexico in 1845, he became the nation’s first African … Read MoreWilliam Alexander Leidesdorff (1810-1848)
Edward P. McCabe was an African American politician and businessman most notable for his promotion of black settlement in Oklahoma and Kansas. Born in 1850 in Troy, New York, McCabe would attend school until his father’s death when he left school to support his family … Read MoreEdward P. McCabe (1850-1920)
Charles Bellinger, a businessman and political leader, was born in Caldwell County, Texas on April 15, 1875. From his youth on a farm he moved to Lockhart and worked in a saloon. With his savings as well as loans, he opened a saloon in San … Read MoreCharles Bellinger (1875-1937)
