Physician and educator Miles Vandarhurst Lynk was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, on June 3, 1871 to parents who were former slaves. When Lynk was six years old, his father was killed in an accident which left Lynk to help his mother run the farm where … Read MoreMiles Vandarhurst Lynk (1871-1956)
(Photo Courtesy of Tricia Simpson) The Trinity African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is the oldest continuously operating black church in Utah. Trinity AME was organized in 1890 by Rev. T. Saunders when Salt Lake City was the capital of Utah Territory. The early date of … Read MoreTrinity African Methodist Episcopal Church (1890- )
The first Kansas State Colored Convention was a call from black Kansans to be granted a future of “Liberty, Justice and Equality” under the United States government. The first Kansas Colored Convention was held in Leavenworth, Kansas on October 13-16, 1863 in the African Methodist … Read MoreKansas State Colored Convention (1863)
The four California Colored Conventions held between 1855 and 1865 were a response to blacks being treated as second-class citizens and constantly threatened and violently assaulted by white men without legal and political recourse in Gold Rush era California. The first convention in 1855 marked … Read MoreThe Conventions of Colored Citizens of the State of California (1855-1865)
Bruce Allen Harrell, was elected Mayor of Seattle, Washington on November 2, 2021 and was sworn in as the 57th mayor of the city on January 1, 2022. His campaign focused on increased public safety and solving the homelessness crisis in the city. Harrell who … Read MoreBruce Harrell (1958- )
Dorothy Hollingsworth, a prominent educator and politician, achieved a number of “firsts” during her years in Seattle. The most important was becoming the first Black woman in Washington State’s history to serve on a school board. Born in Bishopville, South Carolina on October 29, 1920, … Read MoreDorothy Hollingsworth (1920-2022)
Paul R. Williams was one of the most well-known 20th Century African American architects. Early in his career, Williams designed mostly houses, but in the 1950s and 1960s he designed some of the most distinctive public buildings in Los Angeles. Williams’s best-known building is probably … Read MorePaul R. Williams (1894-1980)
