Nolle Smith, cowboy, politician, diplomat, was born on his parents’ ranch in Horse Creek, Wyoming in 1888 but grew up in Cheyenne where he graduated as valedictorian of his high school class at Cheyenne High School in 1907. The son of a white father and … Read MoreNolle Smith (1888-1982)
The trusted slave of legendary Texas independence leader and later governor, Sam Houston, Joshua Houston, after Emancipation, succeeded in business and politics, founded numerous institutions, and became a symbol of racial autonomy and progress. Born a slave in 1822 and later willed to Margaret Lea … Read MoreJoshua Houston (1822-1902)
James Milton Turner was an African American Missourian who was a prominent politician, education advocate, and diplomat in the years after the Civil War. Turner was born a slave in St. Louis, Missouri sometime in 1840. His father, John Turner (also known as John Colburn), … Read MoreJames Milton Turner (1840-1915)
Born in 1892 in post-Reconstruction Marshall, Texas, activist-journalist Clifton Richardson, Sr., founded two newspapers and advanced the “New Negro” philosophy. The son of former slaves, Richardson studied at Bishop College in Marshall. Richardson and his wife, Ruby, whom he married in 1909, moved from Marshall … Read MoreClifton Richardson Sr. (1892-1939)
Charlotta Bass was a feminist, a crusading journalist, and a major African American activist on the West Coast through the first half of the twentieth century. Born Charlotta Amanda Spears in Sumter, South Carolina in 1879 or 1880, she migrated first to Rhode Island, and … Read MoreCharlotta Bass (1879-1969)
Jonathan Jasper Wright, the first African American to serve on a state Supreme Court, was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania and grew up in nearby Susquehanna County in the northeastern corner of the state. In 1858, Wright traveled to Ithaca, New York where he enrolled … Read MoreJonathan J. Wright (1840-1885)
Walter Moses Burton holds the distinction of being the first black elected sheriff in the United States. Burton was also a State Senator in Texas. Burton was brought to Fort Bend County, Texas as a slave from North Carolina in 1850 at the age of twenty-one. … Read MoreWalter Moses Burton (1829?-1913)
William Levi Dawson was a well-known Chicago, Illinois lawyer who became one of the city’s most influential politicians. His career paralleled the rising significance of African Americans in the Democratic Party. Dawson was born in Albany, Georgia on April 26, 1886. Little is known of … Read MoreWilliam Levi Dawson [Politician] (1886-1970)
Vivian Osborne Marsh was a community activist and government official, becoming one of the most influential African Americans in the San Francisco area. She was born in Houston, Texas, on September 5, 1897. When she applied to the University of California Berkeley, because of her … Read MoreVivian Osborne Marsh (1897-1986)
Seaborn J. Collins was born and raised in Georgia. He migrated to Seattle, Washington with his wife Alzada and son William in 1885, where he worked as a mechanic and a carpenter. Collins also invested in local real estate. In 1888 Collins bought property in … Read MoreSeaborn J. Collins (1852- ?)
