Wallace Thurman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 16, 1902 to Beulah and Oscar Thurman. He was reared by his maternal grandmother, Emma Jackson, who was among the founders of Calvary Baptist Missionary Church—the first black church in Utah. Young Thurman lived … Read MoreWallace Thurman (1902-1934)
Politician and educator, Thomas E. Miller was born in Ferrebeeville, Beaufort County, South Carolina on June 17, 1849. Miller was the son of free black parents, and moved with them to Charleston, South Carolina in 1851 where he attended the all-black schools in the city. … Read MoreThomas E. Miller (1849-1938)
“Sugar” Ray Robinson is generally acknowledged as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history. Born Walker Smith, Jr. on May 3, 1921, in Detroit, Michigan, to parents Walker Smith, Sr., and Lelia (Hurst) Robinson. His father was a cotton, peanut, and corn farmer near Ailey, … Read More“Sugar” Ray Robinson (1921-1989)
Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, emancipated slave and itinerant evangelist, became arguably the most well-known nineteenth century African American woman. Born around 1797, Isabella (her birth name) was the daughter of James and Betsey, slaves of Colonel Ardinburgh Hurley, Ulster County, New York. … Read MoreSojourner Truth (ca. 1797-1883)
Salem Poor was a Patriot of the American Revolutionary War, credited primarily for his participation at the Battle of Breed’s Hill now popularly known as The Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. This battle is considered the first major conflict between Patriot forces … Read MoreSalem Poor (1747-1802)
Roy Wilkins, one of the leading US civil rights activists of the twentieth century, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Wilkins’ mother died of tuberculosis when he was four; he and his siblings were then raised by an aunt and uncle in a poor but … Read MoreRoy Wilkins (1901-1981)
The son of former slaves, Roland W. Hayes, born June 3, 1887 in Curryville, Georgia, became the first African American male to become an internationally acclaimed concert vocalist. As a youth, he sang in his Baptist church and on street corners for tips before attending … Read MoreRoland Hayes (1887-1976)
Best-selling author, social critic and influential literary figure Richard Wright was born on September 4, 1908, to Nathan Wright and Ella Wilson, both children of slaves, on a plantation near Roxie, Mississippi. His father was an illiterate sharecropper and his mother was a schoolteacher. Finding … Read MoreRichard Wright (1908-1960)
November 27, 1979, Argued July 2, 1980, Decided MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which MR. JUSTICE WHITE and MR. JUSTICE POWELL joined. [1A]We granted certiorari to consider a facial constitutional challenge to a requirement in … Read More(1980) Fullilove v. Klutznick
Leon Bridges is recorded as the founder of the second African American-owned firm in Seattle. He was born on August 18, 1932 in Los Angeles, California. In high school he was told by a counselor that he couldn’t become an architect because he was black, … Read MoreLeon Bridges (1932- )
