Los Angeles newspaper owner and political activist Charlotta Bass began her career as a conservative Republican. By the 1940s, however, she moved to the political left. In 1948 she supported Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace in his failed bid for the Presidency. Four years later … Read More(1952) Charlotta Bass, “Acceptance Speech for Vice Presidential Candidate of the Progressive Party”
In 1961, Margaret Burroughs and her husband, Charles Burroughs founded the Ebony Museum of Chicago, later called the DuSable Museum of African American History. The DuSable is the oldest museum of its type in the United States. Margaret Burroughs was born Margaret Taylor on November … Read MoreMargaret Burroughs (1917-2010)
Irma Jackson Cayton Wertz was a member of the first Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAACS) Officer training class commissioned at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, during World War II. Born in Brunswick, Georgia, on May 8, 1911, Jackson was the product of a military household. Her … Read MoreIrma Jackson Cayton Wertz (1911-2007)
Samuel Lee Gravely Jr. was a highly decorated Navy officer who pioneered the way with a multitude of firsts for African Americans in the military. Some of his most notable achievements included being the first African American Navy Vice Admiral, the first African American to … Read MoreSamuel Lee Gravely (1922-2004)
Vincent G. Harding, civil rights leader, teacher, scholar, engaged citizen, and seeker was especially noted for his close association with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his decades of social justice work. Harding was born on July 25, 1931 in Harlem. His mother Mabel Harding … Read MoreVincent Gordon Harding (1931-2014)
Abbie Mitchell was an African American teacher, actress, and soprano born on the Lower East Side of New York City. Mitchell’s father was German-Jewish and her mother was an African American. Mitchell, who came from a talented musical family, was considered a child prodigy. In … Read MoreAbbie Mitchell (1884-1960)
Ulysses Grant Lee, Jr. was a historian, author, professor, editor and army officer. Born on December 4th, 1913 in Washington D.C. to Ulysses Grant, a business owner, and Maggie Lee Grant, he was the oldest of seven children. Lee graduated from Dunbar High School in … Read MoreUlysses Grant Lee Jr. (1913-1969)
Clement Garnett Morgan, a lawyer and civil rights leader, was born in 1859 to slave parents, Clement and Elizabeth Garnett Morgan in Stafford County, Virginia. Shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, the family moved to Washington D.C., where Morgan went to Preparatory High School … Read MoreClement Garnett Morgan (1859-1929)
Ira de Augustine Reid, sociologist, author and professor, was born on July 2, 1901 in Clifton Forge, Virginia. His father, David A. Reid, was a Baptist minister and his mother, Willie A. James, a homemaker. Reid attended mostly private schools in Germantown, Pennsylvania throughout his … Read MoreIra de Augustine Reid (1901-1968)
Emma Azalia Smith Hackley was an African American singer and Denver political activist born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1867. Her parents, business owners Henry and Corilla Smith, moved to Detroit where she attended Washington Normal School, graduating in 1886. Smith, a child prodigy learned to … Read MoreEmma Azalia Hackley (1867-1922)
