James E. Walton, longtime professor of English at California State University, Fresno, was born on September 13, 1944 in Bessemer, Alabama to Willie Walton, Sr. and Mary Woods Cutts. Walton attended a two-room schoolhouse in Alabama. At age three, his grandmother taught him to read … Read MoreJames E. Walton (1944-2019)
Tuskegee Airman Jack Daniels Holsclaw was born in Spokane, Washington, on March 21, 1918. His father, Charles, was a clerk in a downtown store, and his mother, Nell, was a manager at Pacific Telephone and Telegraph. Holsclaw attended North Central High School in Spokane, where … Read MoreJack Daniels Holsclaw (1918-1998)
Insurance executive Ivan James Houston was born in Los Angeles, California on June 15, 1925 to Norman Oliver Houston and Doris Talbot (Young) Houston. He attended public schools in Los Angeles and graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in 1943. Later that year … Read MoreIvan James Houston (1925- )
In the article below, Dr. Uchenna Umeh, a former San Antonio, Texas physician, briefly describes how mental health among African Americans was viewed and treated by the American medical community from the antebellum period until today. In the process she describes how those attitudes have … Read MoreMental Illness in Black Community, 1700-2019: A Short History
Calvin Coolidge Hernton, poet, author, teacher, mentor, and literary critic was born April 28, 1932, in Chattanooga, Tennessee to Virgil and Magnolia Jackson Hernton. Hernton is best known for his seminal work Sex and Racism in America, which gives a bold historical and sociological analysis … Read MoreCalvin Coolidge Hernton (1932-2001)
Letitia Woods Brown, historian, academician, public scholar and community activist was born on October 24, 1915 in Tuskegee, Alabama. She was the middle child of Tuskegee Institute instructors Matthew and Evadne Woods. In 1935, Letitia Woods completed a Bachelor of Science degree at Tuskegee. After … Read MoreLetitia Woods Brown (1915-1976)
Charles W. Dryden was a Tuskegee Airman, author, and professor. Born on September 16, 1920 in New York City, Dryden was the son of Jamaican immigrant parents Charles Levy Tucker Dryden, a World War I veteran and teacher, and Violet Adina Buckley Dryden, also a … Read MoreCharles Walter Dryden (1920-2008)
Dr. Keith L. Black is one of the world’s premier neurosurgeons. Black was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on September 13, 1957 to Robert Black, an elementary school principal, and Lillian Black, a schoolteacher. At an early age, his parents cultivated his interest in science and, … Read MoreKeith Lanier Black (1957- )
The Commodores were a rhythm and blues/ funk group popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s and one of the most successful acts signed to Motown records. They produced numerous chart-topping and award-winning records. Lionel Richie, their lead vocalist, attained superstardom after leaving to pursue a … Read MoreLionel Richie and the Commodores (1967- )
Martha Reeves, one of Ruby and Elijah Reeves’s eleven children, was born in Eufaula, Alabama on July 18, 1941. Before her first birthday, they moved to Detroit, Michigan. She grew up performing at her father’s Methodist church, and was vocally trained by Abraham Silver while … Read MoreMartha and the Vandellas (1960-1974)