Connie Tucker was a Black freedom struggle and an environmental justice (EJ) movement leader. She was also a political prisoner during the Black Power era. One of six siblings, she was born to Otis Spencer, Jr. and Bernice Nall on October 14, 1950, in Seale, … Read MoreConstance Marie Tucker (1950-2015)
Dr. Dolores Irene Silas was a person of many Tacoma, Washington “firsts”–the first woman of color to become a school principal at DeLong Elementary School (1970), the first to become a member of the City Council (1991), the first to be Deputy Mayor (1995) and … Read MoreDolores Irene Silas (1926-2021)
Venture Capitalist Laurence (Larry) Morse was born July 2, 1951, in Birmingham, Alabama. Little is known about his years in Birmingham but beginning in 1969, he enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and graduated four years later with a B.A. degree in economics. He … Read MoreLaurence C. Morse (1951- )
Percy Tyrone Sledge was an American R&B, soul, and gospel singer best known for his 1966 single “When a Men Loves a Woman.” Sledge was born on November 25, 1940, to Fannie Sledge Woods and an unnamed father in Leighton, Alabama. Growing up, Sledge worked … Read MorePercy Tyrone Sledge (1940-2015)
Chris Dickerson, born Henri Christophe Dickerson, was the first African American to become Mr. America. He was born August 25, 1939, the youngest of triples, in Montgomery, Alabama. After his parents’ divorce, Dickerson entered a Quaker boarding school in Ohio, where he gained an interest … Read MoreChris Dickerson (1939-2021)
The forced removal of Native Americans from the southeastern United States beginning in the 1830s to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River is known as the Trail of Tears. Under British colonial rule and continuing during the first decades of American independence, Indians were … Read MoreTrail of Tears (1831-1850)
R&B doo-wop, balladeer duo Don & Juan hail from Long Beach, New York. They are pianist, vocalist Roland “Don” Anderson Trone, who was born on July 2, 1936, in Birmingham, Alabama and reared in Long Beach and composer, lyricist, vocalist Claude “Juan” Johnson, born November … Read MoreDon & Juan (1962-2002)
Rhythm & Blues musician Robert Parker, Jr. was born on October 14, 1930, in Mobile, Alabama, to Robert Parker, Sr., and Leana Parker. However, he was reared on Melpomene (now Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) in New Orleans, Louisiana. He played in the Booker T. … Read MoreRobert Parker, Jr. (1930-2020)
R&B tenor singer Jimmy J. Hughes was born February 3, 1938, in Leighton, Alabama. At the age of 5, he listened to Radio WLAY, a country music station in Littleton, Alabama. He sang country because that was the only radio station he heard until he … Read MoreJimmy J. Hughes (1938- )
James Alexander Hood was the first African American male student to register and attend classes at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a previously all-white institution. Hood was born on November 10, 1942, in Gadsden, Alabama, to Octavie Hood and Margaret Hughes Hood. James had … Read MoreJames Alexander Hood (1942-2013)
