Although Black Americans have lived on the outskirts of major American cities since colonial times, Black suburbanization, that is the significant presence of African Americans in suburban communities, is a post-1960 phenomenon. The modern American suburb is a 20th century development as homebuilders, responding to … Read MoreA Brief History of African American Suburbanization
St. Philip’s College began as St. Philip’s Normal and Industrial School, in 1898 as an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), in San Antonio, Texas, to educate and train newly freed slave girls in a weekend sewing class known as Bowden’s School (Artemisia Bowden, a … Read MoreSt. Philip’s College (1898- )
The “March Against Fear” began on June 5, 1966, and was initiated by civil rights activist James Meredith. Four years earlier he had become the first African American student to integrate the University of Mississippi by enrolling there in 1962. Meredith decided to protest the … Read MoreJames Meredith’s March Against Fear (1966)
James Alexander Hood was the first African American male student to register and attend classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a previously all-white institution. Hood was born on November 10, 1942, in Gadsden, Alabama, to Octavie Hood and Margaret Hughes Hood. James had … Read MoreJames Alexander Hood (1942-2013)
The USS Mason (DE-529) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort and was the second ship of the U.S. Navy to be named Mason. The USS Mason was one of the two U.S. Navy ships during World War II with a mostly African American crew. The other … Read MoreThe USS Mason (DE-529) (1943-1945)
Sir Guy was born Clarence Eugene Barron, on October 16, 1946 in a musical family in Norfolk, Virginia to Thelma Barron Cartwright and James Norfleet, Sr; reared by mother and stepfather, William “Bro. Bear” Cartwright in the segregated section of the city called Berkley-Campostella. He … Read MoreSir Guy/ Clarence Eugene Barron (1946-2010)
The Golden Gate Quartet was formed in 1934 in Norfolk, Virginia, as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singers by four teenage students at Booker T. Washington High School. The founders were bass Orlandus Wilson who was born on August 27, 1917, in South Norfolk, arranger/ baritone … Read MoreThe Golden Gate Quartet (1934- )
Hamilton Earl Holmes was the lesser-known of the Black duo who desegregated the University of Georgia in 1961. He was born July 8, 1941, in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of businessman Alfred Holmes and schoolteacher Isabella Holmes. A precocious, goal-driven youth, early on, he took … Read MoreHamilton Earl Holmes (1941-1995)
Teacher, civil rights activist, and author Barbara E. Pope was born free in January 1854, to former slaves Hannah and Alfred Pope, in the city of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia. Her parents were enslaved in New Jersey and her father, Alfred, became famous … Read MoreBarbara E. Pope (1854 -1908)
Nikole Sheri Hannah-Jones, most famous for her role in the 1619 Project, is an investigative journalist, who was born on April 9, 1976, in Waterloo, Iowa. She is of mixed heritage, as her father, Milton Hannah, is African American, and her mother, Cheryl A. Novotny, … Read MoreNikole Hannah-Jones (1976- )
