Born John W. Jackson, in Fort Plain, New York, on March 16, 1858, Fowler spent much of his boyhood in Cooperstown, N.Y. where organized baseball maintains its Hall of Fame and museum. Coincidentally Fowler is argued to be one of the first professional black baseball … Read MoreJohn W. “Bud” Fowler (1858-1913)
Jesse Max Barber, journalist, dentist, and civil rights leader, was born on July 5, 1878 in Blackstock, South Carolina to former slave parents. As a young man he worked as a barber while completing the teacher’s training course at Benedict College, Columbia, S.C. His literary … Read MoreJ. Max Barber (1878-1949)
Reverdy Cassius Ransom was a civil rights leader, editor and the forty-eighth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Ransom was born in Flushing, Ohio to George and Harriet (Johnson) Ransom. In 1869, Ransom’s family moved to Cambridge, Ohio, where he spent several years … Read MoreReverdy Cassius Ransom (1861-1959)
Joshua Bowen Smith, caterer, abolitionist, and state senator, was born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1813. Details regarding his childhood remain obscure. However, it is known that he was educated in the public school system of Pennsylvania with the assistance of a wealthy Quaker. In 1836 … Read MoreJoshua Bowen Smith (1813-1879)
Harry Thacker Burleigh was the first and one of the most influential of the African American composers who emerged in the U.S. after the Civil War. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1866, Burleigh showed an early passion for music and sang in local church choirs, … Read MoreHarry Thacker Burleigh (1866-1949)
Charles Lenox Remond was born into an elite free Black family in Salem, Massachusetts. His parents, John and Nancy Lenox Remond, had been married by the Rev. Thomas Paul, a prominent African American minister and anti-slavery activist, in 1807. Nancy Lenox’s father was a veteran … Read MoreCharles Lenox Remond (1810-1873)
Harry Clay Smith was a newspaper editor and politician, born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on January 28, 1863. He moved to Cleveland, Ohio at an early age and stayed in the area for the remainder of his life. After graduating from Cleveland’s Central High School … Read MoreHarry Clay Smith (1863-1941)
John W. Cooper was an African American ventriloquist, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1873. After losing both of his parents at a very young age, Cooper received his education at Professor Dorsey’s Institute in Brooklyn. There he developed into a budding entertainer and took … Read MoreJohn W. Cooper (1873-1966)
James Madison Bell, poet, orator and activist was born in Gallipolis, Ohio on April 3, 1826. Bell lived in Ohio most of his life although he briefly resided in Canada and California before eventually returning to Ohio. When Bell was 16 he moved to Cincinnati … Read MoreJames Madison Bell (1826-1902)
Image Ownership: Public Domain David Augustus Straker, author, lawyer, and politician, was born and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, where he achieved success as a teacher and principal at St. Mary’s Public School. In 1868, he moved to Kentucky, where he taught at a freedman’s school … Read MoreDavid Augustus Straker (1842-1908)
