Solomon Burke was a minister and renowned singer of rhythm & blues and soul music with a career stretching from the 1950s to his death in 2010. Although never reaching chart-topping fame, Burke is heralded as one of one of the best soul singers of all time. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March … Read MoreSolomon Burke (1940-2010)
Political activist Reverend Mineo Katagiri was born in Haleiwa, Hawaii on August 1, 1919. He graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1941 and then earned his theological degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, New York in 1944. He was ordained in 1945 and was a minister … Read MoreRev. Mineo Katagiri (1919-2005)
Born Dovey Mae Johnson on April 17, 1914, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dovey Johnson Roundtree was an African American civil rights activist, attorney, and ordained minister who won the 1955 Interstate Commerce Commission case on segregated bus terminals. She was the second oldest of four children born to James Elliot Johnson, a printer … Read MoreDovey Johnson Roundtree (1914–2018)
James F. Jones stood out for many years within black American religious circles. Known for his lavish living and mysterious persona, Jones’ followers referred to him as “Prophet Jones” and were captivated by his sermons. With his roots in the Black Church, Jones would influence the subsequent televangelism … Read MoreJames F. Jones / “Prophet Jones” (1907-1971)
Rev. Theodore Judson Jemison was a civil rights leader and president of the National Baptist Convention. He was responsible for leading the Baton Rouge Bus Boycott in Louisiana in 1953, the first large-scale bus boycott protesting racial segregation in the South and advised Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on leading the Montgomery (Alabama) bus boycott two years later. … Read MoreTheodore Judson Jemison (1918-2013)
Image Ownership: Gage Skidmore Alveda King, a prominent conservative leader, evangelist, and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia, as the first of five children of Alfred Daniel King and Naomi Barber King on January 22, 1951. Her father worked … Read MoreAlveda King (1951- )
Image Ownership: Liz Margerum/Reno Gazette-Journal Maurice E. Washington is a Reno, Nevada businessman and pastor who is best known as a former Republican member of the Nevada State Senate. Washington was born on July 25, 1956, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He moved to Nevada where … Read MoreMaurice E. Washington (1956- )
Vernon Napoleon Johns was an American minister and civil rights activist. Johns was best known as the predecessor to Martin Luther King Jr. as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, from 1948–1953. Johns was born in Darlington Heights, Prince Edward County, … Read MoreVernon Napoleon Johns (1892-1965)
“Image Ownership: Benjamin Baker” Charles Decatur (C.D.) Brooks, field secretary for the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, on July 24, 1930, the tenth child of Marvin and Mattie Brooks. Brooks was raised on a 40-acre farm outside of Greensboro where … Read MoreCharles Decatur Brooks (1930–2016)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Preston Taylor was an African American businessman, minister, and philanthropist, who, by the early twentieth century, was considered one of the most influential leaders of Nashville, Tennessee’s black community. Taylor created Greenwood Cemetery, the second oldest African American cemetery in Nashville, … Read MorePreston Taylor (1849–1931)
