Raymond Lawrence Finch, a Federal District Court and contributor to the development of the Virgin Islands Legal System, was born on October 4, 1940 in Christiansted, St. Croix, to Wilfred Christopher Finch and Beryl Esther Bough Finch. His siblings were Gordon A. Finch, a former … Read MoreRaymond Lawrence Finch (1940-2023)
Diana Bajoie is known as a pioneer of African American politics in the state of Louisiana. She is a former member of the Louisiana legislature and the first African American woman elected to serve in the Louisiana state senate. She is also the first woman … Read MoreDiana E. Bajoie (1948– )
On December 1, 2005, Mark Mallory was sworn in as the first black mayor elected by popular vote in Cincinnati, Ohio. Three other black mayors preceded him but were chosen by the City Council. He served in that position until December 1, 2013. Born on … Read MoreMark Mallory (1962– )
Dr. Donnis Hazel Thompson was an athlete, coach, University of Hawaii Women’s Athletic Director, State of Hawaii Department of Education school superintendent, Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission chair in Hawaii, and champion for Title IX women’s athletics in Hawaii. Thompson was born in Chicago, Illinois, … Read MoreDonnis Hazel Thompson (1933-2009)
Image Ownership: Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune James M. Evans, a politician and business owner, was the first African American chairman of the Utah Republican Party. He was born to Robert and Beatrice Evans in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in 1962. He graduated from Orangeburg-Wilkinson High … Read MoreJames M. Evans (1962- )
James Lopez Watson was the first African American to serve as the head of a federal court in the Deep South. He was born in Harlem, New York City, New York, on May 21, 1922, to Violet and James S. Watson, a New York judge. … Read MoreJames Lopez Watson (1922-2001)
John Raymond Jones, also known as the Harlem Fox, was a Harlem politician and the first African American to lead New York City, New York’s Tammany Hall. Jones was born on November 19, 1899, in Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas. At the … Read MoreJohn Raymond Jones (1899–1991)
“Image Ownership: Collins Family” Dentist and civil rights leader Daniel A. Collins was born in Darlington, South Carolina, on June 11, 1916. His father ran a heavy equipment company and his mother was a school principal and an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal … Read MoreDaniel A. Collins (1916-2007)
Preston Daniels, the first African American elected Mayor of Des Moines, Iowa, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1945. Shortly afterwards his parents moved to Des Moines and he grew up in the Chesterfield section of southeast Des Moines, a working-class area also known as … Read MorePreston A. Daniels (1945- )
George W. Lowther, barber, abolitionist, equal school rights activist, and Massachusetts legislator, was born a slave in Edenton, North Carolina, to Polly Lowther. His father’s identity is unknown. His mother, Polly Lowther (c.1780-1864) was an Edenton baker, the slave of wealthy planter Joseph Blount Skinner … Read MoreGeorge W. Lowther (1822-1898)
