Joshua J. Wright II was a dentist and politician in Anchorage, Alaska. In 1970 he was one of the first African Americans to be elected to the State House of Representatives. Wright was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, on August 6, 1929. His parents were … Read MoreJoshua J. Wright II (1929-2017)
Ada Belle Huff Evans was the first African American elected mayor in Colorado. She was born on June 9, 1932 in Langley, South Carolina, a small town located in Aiken County. Much is unknown of her parents and earlier life. However, in 1951, she graduated … Read MoreAda Belle Evans (1932-2011)
Jo Ann Hardesty is the first African American woman to serve on Portland’s City Council and the third black woman to serve as an Oregon State Representative. Hardesty was born as one of ten children on October 15, 1957 in Baltimore, Maryland where her father … Read MoreJo Ann Hardesty (1957- )
Claudia Bonds Thomas, an educator, activist, and civic leader, was the first black woman to be elected mayor in Washington State. Thomas was born on September 20, 1930 in Shannon, North Carolina to Claud and Mary Lee Bonds. At the age of 15, she attended … Read MoreClaudia B. Thomas (1930-2018)
Carl Brewer served as the 100th Mayor of Wichita, Kansas, only the second African American elected to that office. Brewer was born on March 8, 1957 in Wichita, Kansas. He attended Wichita North High school, and graduated in 1975. He obtained his first job at … Read MoreCarl Brewer (1957-2020)
Kevin Maurice Johnson served as Mayor of Sacramento, California, from December 2, 2008 to December 13, 2016. Johnson, the son of Georgia West and Lawrence Johnson, was born in California’s capital city on March 4, 1966. He graduated from Sacramento High School, where he led … Read MoreKevin Maurice Johnson (1966- )
On December 1, 2005, Mark Mallory was sworn in as the first black mayor elected by popular vote in Cincinnati, Ohio. Three other black mayors preceded him but were chosen by the City Council. He served in that position until December 1, 2013. Born on … Read MoreMark Mallory (1962– )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Aja Brown serves as the youngest and first female mayor of Compton, California. Brown was born in Altadena, California, to Brenda Jackson on April 17, 1982. Brown attended John Muir High School in Pasadena and was elected president of her senior … Read MoreAja Brown (1982- )
Francisca da Silva de Oliveira, better known as Chica da Silva (or spelled Xica da Silva), was a Brazilian woman born into slavery, who went on to gain her freedom and become a powerful and well-known member of Brazilian society. Silva was born between the … Read MoreChica da Silva (1731/1735-1796)
On July 14, 1946, four African American sharecroppers were lynched at Moore’s Ford in northeast Georgia in an event now described as the “last mass lynching in America.” Yet the killers of George Dorsey, Mae Murray Dorsey, Roger Malcolm, and Dorothy Malcolm were never brought … Read MoreThe Moore’s Ford Lynching (July 1946)
