The National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc. (NPHC) is the collaborative effort of nine historically African American Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities, also known as the Divine 9. The Council was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 1930, and chartered by Alpha Kappa Alpha … Read MoreNational Pan-Hellenic Council (1930 – )
Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a Democratic Representative of the state of Ohio. She was born on September 10, 1949 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio and attended the county’s public schools before getting her bachelor’s degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University in 1971. … Read MoreStephanie Tubbs Jones (1949-2008)
Lena Horne was a major 20th Century entertainer. Born in Brooklyn, New York into an upper middle class black family on June 30, 1917, Horne battled racial injustice throughout her career. Despite her obstacles she became one of the most well known African American performers … Read MoreLena Horne (1917-2010)
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)
Wilma J. Gerdine Webb was born in Denver, Colorado in 1943. She married Wellington Webb in 1969. Wilma Webb attended the University of Colorado at Denver intermittently from 1970 to 1979 but did not obtain a degree. As a State legislator, she attended the John … Read MoreWilma J. Webb (1943- )
Born on March 24, 1912, Dorothy Irene Height was an activist, administrator, and educator dedicated to racial and women’s equality in the United States. She was born in Richmond, Virginia, to James Height, a building contractor, and Fannie (Burroughs) Height, a nurse. She moved with … Read MoreDorothy Irene Height (1912-2010)
Eleanor Dickey Ragsdale was one of the most distinguished activists, educators, and entrepreneurs in Arizona history. In 1947 she graduated from the historically black Cheyney University in Pennsylvania. The university’s main mission was to cultivate African American teachers, who would become leaders in their local … Read MoreEleanor Dickey Ragsdale (1926-1998)
Carol Moseley Braun, the first black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate, was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 16, 1947. She attended the Chicago Public Schools and received a degree from the University of Illinois in 1969. She earned her degree from … Read MoreCarol Moseley Braun (1947- )
Newspaper publisher and civil rights activist Daisy Lee Gatson Bates was influential in the integration of the Little Rock Nine into Little Rock, Arkansas’s Central High School in 1957. She was born Daisy Lee Gatson on November 11, 1914, in Huttih, Arkansas. Her mother, Millie … Read MoreDaisy Lee Gatson Bates (1914-1999)
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)
