Martin Robison Delany was an African American abolitionist, the first African American Field Officer in the U.S Army, and one of the earliest African Americans to encourage a return to Africa. Delany was born in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia) to a slave father … Read MoreMartin Robison Delany (1812-1885)
Amy Jacques Garvey became the second wife of famous United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) leader Marcus Garvey in July 1922, only a few months after his divorce from his first wife, Amy Ashwood. Ironically Jacques was not only a friend but the maid of honor … Read MoreAmy Jacques Garvey (1896-1973)
Amy Ashwood Garvey was born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, but spent most of her childhood in Panama where her father supported the family as a businessman. She returned to Jamaica as a teen and attended Westwood High School in Trelawney, where she met her future … Read MoreAmy Ashwood Garvey (1897-1969)
Born in Monroe, Louisiana on February 17, 1942, Huey P. Newton was named after the populist governor Huey Long. His parents moved to Oakland, California during World War II seeking economic opportunities. Newton attended Merritt College, where he joined Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and met … Read MoreHuey P. Newton (1942-1989)
Maulana Karenga was born Ronald McKinley Everett on July 14, 1941 in Parsonsburg, Maryland. He moved to California in 1958 where he studied at Los Angeles City College (LACC) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). At LACC, he became involved in campus … Read MoreMaulana Karenga (1941- )
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, one of the most influential 20th Century black nationalist and Pan-Africanist leaders, was born on August 17, 1887 in St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. Greatly influenced by Booker T. Washington’s autobiography Up From Slavery, Garvey began to support industrial education, economic separatism, and … Read MoreMarcus Garvey (1887-1940)
William Monroe Trotter was a major civil rights activist in the early twentieth century, known primarily for launching the first major challenge to the political dominance of Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington and as an inspiration for the formation of the National Association for the … Read MoreWilliam Monroe Trotter (1872-1934)
Malcolm X, one of the most influential African American leaders of the 20th Century, was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska on May 19, 1925 to Earl Little, a Georgia native and itinerant Baptist preacher, and Louise Norton Little who was born in the West … Read MoreMalcolm X (1925-1965)
It is believed that linguist Joseph Roye Applegate spoke as at least 13 languages and had reading knowledge of several others. He was born to parents who operated a boarding house in Wildwood, New Jersey on December 4, 1925. When his family moved to Philadelphia … Read MoreJoseph R. Applegate (1925-2003)
Prominent social and civic leader in African American Seattle, Washington, Meredith Mathews was born in Thomaston, Georgia on September 14, 1919. He attended public schools in Georgia and then moved to Ohio for college. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Wilberforce University in … Read MoreMeredith Mathews (1919-1992)
