Valdez (“Val”) Demings was the first female chief of police for the Orlando Police Department and now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing for Florida’s 10th District. Butler was born on March 12, 1957, in Jacksonville, Florida. Her father James worked as … Read MoreValdez Venita (Butler) Demings (1957- )
Lizzie Koontz Weeks was an early suffragist, activist, and the first black social worker in Portland, Oregon. Weeks was possibly born in 1886 in Washington, D.C. to mixed-race parentage. Although not much is known of her early life, she moved to Portland, Oregon where she … Read MoreLizzie Koontz Weeks (ca. 1886-1976)
Erma Clardy Craven was an African American leader in the pro-life movement. Craven helped start various “pro-life” organizations such as African-Americans Against Abortion, the National Right to Life Committee, Black Americans for Life, National Democrats for Life, and Americans United for Life. Craven was also … Read MoreErma Clardy Craven (1918-1994)
Alexis Herman, US Secretary of Labor, political activist, civic leader, social worker, and entrepreneur, was born on July 16, 1947 in Mobile, Alabama to politician Alex Herman and educator Gloria Caponis. Herman graduated from Heart of Mary High School in Mobile in 1965 and enrolled … Read MoreAlexis Margaret Herman (1947- )
Tarea (Ty) Hall Pittman was a civil rights worker, social worker, and community activist. Born in Bakersfield, California in 1903, she was the second of the five children of William Hall and Susie Pinkney. Her father, a farm laborer who moved from Alabama to Bakersfield … Read MoreTarea Hall Pittman (1903-1991)
Civil rights activist Edwin C. “Bill” Berry was affiliated with the Urban League for over 30 years and served as executive director of the Chicago Urban League from 1956 to 1970. When he arrived in Chicago he denounced the city’s segregationist practices and drove anti-discrimination … Read MoreEdwin C. “Bill” Berry (1910-1987)
Charles Harmon Bullock was a prominent leader in the early 20th Century Colored Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) movement. Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, on March 2, 1875, the son of former slaves Burkley and Mary Washington Bullock, Charles Bullock later graduated as salutorian of his … Read MoreCharles H. Bullock, Sr. (1875-1950)
Benedita Souza da Silva Sampaio, prominent Brazilian politician and first Afro-Brazilian member of the senate in the country, was born on April 26, 1942, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to José Tobias de Souza and Maria da Conceição de Souza. Mother of two children, she … Read MoreBenedita da Silva (1942- )
Currently in his 13th term in Congress, Edolphus Towns is a Democratic Representative from the State of New York. Towns was born in Chadbourn, North Carolina on July 21, 1934, and attended the public schools of Chadbourn before graduating with a B.S. degree from North … Read MoreEdolphus Towns (1934- )
During World War II, Lydia Sims moved from Newark, New Jersey, to Spokane with her husband, James Sims, an Army Air Force soldier stationed at Geiger Airfield. At the end of the war, the Sims family decided to remain in Spokane. For 10 years they … Read MoreJames & Lydia Sims
