Clarence Wesley Wigington, architect, was born April 21, 1883 in Lawrence, Kansas to Wesley Wigington and Jennie Mary Roberts. He was the fourth of twelve children. Between 1884 and 1908 the family moved seven times finally settling in Omaha, Nebraska where young Wigington was raised … Read MoreClarence Wesley Wigington (1883-1967)
The St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church (“St. John’s AME”) was first organized in 1865 in North Omaha, Nebraska Territory, with an initial membership of five people. Two years later, at about the time Nebraska was admitted to statehood, the congregation built its first church. … Read MoreSt. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Omaha, Nebraska (1865- )
Famous Major League baseball pitcher Robert “Bob” Gibson was Pack and Victoria Gibson’s seventh child born November 9, 1935 in Omaha, Nebraska. Pack died three months before Bob Gibson was born. Young Gibson suffered with asthma, pneumonia, rickets, hay fever, and a rheumatic heart. He … Read MoreRobert “Bob” Gibson (1935-2020)
In the following article historians Bruce Glasrud and Cary Wintz discuss their new book, The Harlem Renaissance in the American West which argues that the literary and artistic outpouring by African Americans during the third decade of the 20th Century was a national phenomenon which … Read MoreThe Harlem Renaissance in the American West
New York historian Walt Bachman introduces Northern Slave, Black Dakota, his new biography of Joseph Godfrey, an African American who was born into slavery in the free territory that became Minnesota, fled from abusive masters to seek refuge among the Dakota Indians, and was a … Read MoreSlavery and Freedom on the Minnesota Territory Frontier: The Strange Saga of Joseph Godfrey
Title A Constitutional amendment to prohibit the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education or public contracting; to apply the amendment only to … Read More(2008) Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative 424
Rodolphe Lucien Desdunes was a prominent editor, author, and civil rights activist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known for his work in Plessy v. Ferguson, the most important civil rights case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 19th Century, and a … Read MoreRodolphe Lucien Desdunes (1849-1928)
Cathy Hughes is the founder and chairperson of Urban One, Inc., (previously known as Radio One) the largest African-American owned and operated broadcast-company in the nation. In 2011, the corporation owned 53 broadcast stations in 16 urban markets across the United States. Urban One is … Read MoreCathy Hughes (1947- )
The St. Martin De Porres Club was founded in 1947 by Father John P. Markoe, S.J., a priest, and Creighton University students interested in local civil rights issues in Omaha, Nebraska. Father Markoe was assigned to St. Benedict the Moor Parish at 2423 Grant Street … Read MoreSt. Martin De Porres Club (1947- )
Born March 4, 1908, Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard was a wealthy doctor, successful entrepreneur, and civil rights activist. Born and raised in Murray, Kentucky, Howard seemed destined to follow in his father’s footsteps as a tobacco twister until a white doctor at Murray’s local hospital … Read MoreT.R.M. Howard (1908-1976)
