Educator Lulu Merle Johnson was born on September 14, 1907, in the town of Gravity, Iowa to Jeanette (Burton) and Richard Johnson. Her mother was the daughter of freed slaves, and her father, formerly enslaved, owned and operated his own barbershop. The family were the … Read MoreLulu Merle Johnson (1907-1995)
Jamila Taylor represents Washington State’s 30th Legislative District, which includes the cities of Federal Way, Des Moines, Auburn, Algona, Pacific, and Milton, as well as unincorporated parts of King County and a small part of Pierce County. Taylor, a Democrat, was elected to the legislature in November 2020 and took her … Read MoreJamila Taylor (1975- )
Nikema Williams is the first Black chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party, a former state senator, and the first woman to serve as representative of Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, filling the seat held since 1987 by the late civil rights icon John Lewis. Williams was … Read MoreNikema Williams (1978- )
Juliana (Wiggins) Stratton is a lawyer and politician serving as the 48th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. Stratton was born on the South Side of Chicago on September 8, 1965 and raised there. She is a graduate of Kenwood Academy High School and then attended the … Read MoreJuliana (Wiggins) Stratton (1965- )
Few in the audience that began watching the 2019 Miss Universe Ireland Contest could have predicted that the winner, Fionnghuala O’Reilly, would not only be of African descent but also had arrived far from the shores of the Emerald Isle. Born August 20, 1993 in … Read MoreFionnghuala Isibeal Tome O’Reilly, (1993- )
Leah J. Ward Sears is a retired Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Sears served on the court from 1992 until June 2009. Appointed by Governor Zell Miller in 1992, Sears became the first African American woman chief justice of any state’s highest appellate … Read MoreLeah Ward Sears (1955- )
Marie Louise Anderson Greenwood was the first African American teacher to obtain tenure in the state of Colorado. Greenwood was born in Los Angeles, California on November 24, 1912 to Joseph Anderson who worked as a railroad chef, and Sarah Garrett Anderson, a laundress. At … Read MoreMarie Louise Greenwood (1912- )
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)
Pioneering scholar in black women’s history, Rosalyn Marian Terborg-Penn was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 22, 1941, to Jeanne Van Horn Terborg, a clerical worker, and Jacques Arnold Terborg, a jazz musician born in Suriname. Terborg and her brother Jacques Jr., spent their … Read MoreRosalyn Terborg-Penn (1941-2018)
Margaret Tynes is an African American opera, concert, and oratorio soprano and singing actress. Tynes was born on September 11, 1919 to parents Rev. and Mrs. J. W. Tynes, in Saluda, Virginia. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1939. While there she … Read MoreMargaret Tynes (1919-?)
