Langston, Oklahoma is one of the few remaining all-black towns located in the former Oklahoma Territory. The town, which opened for settlement on October 22, 1890, was named for John Mercer Langston, who took office as the first black Virginian to serve in the United … Read MoreLangston, Oklahoma (1890- )
Nudie Williams was among the first historians to research the free-born antebellum population of African Americans in Oklahoma and Arkansas. He was also one of the first three African Americans admitted to graduate studies in the History Department at Oklahoma State University and the third … Read MoreNudie Eugene Williams (1936-2003)
Isaac Morrow, a former foreman at the Port of Tacoma, introduced the concept of on-dock intermodal shipping, which raised the port to national leadership and revolutionized the long shore industry. Morrow is a member of Tacoma’s Local No. 23 of the International Longshore and Warehouse … Read MoreIsaac Morrow (1940- )
In the article below social commentator John H. McWhorter challenges the nation to think differently about Black History Month. He argues that the emphasis on black “heroes” negates the tens of thousands of stories of ordinary African Americans who have overcome or outmaneuvered racism and … Read MoreJohn McWhorter, “Celebrate the Triumph of Ordinary Black Americans”
John Hope Franklin, one of the nation’s leading historians, is the only African American who has served as president of both the American Historical Association (AHA) and the Organization of American Historians (OAH). Franklin was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma on January 2, 1915 to parents … Read MoreJohn Hope Franklin (1915-2009)
In the following article Canadian independent historian Gael Greene examines the arrival of black emigrants from Oklahoma in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. These pioneer settlers carved out communities on one of the last frontiers in North America. Many Canadians feel pride about … Read MoreThe Quest for Land and Freedom on Canada’s Western Prairies: Black Oklahomans in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1905-1912
Jesse B. Blayton, Sr., was a pioneer African American radio station entrepreneur. Blayton founded WERD-AM in Atlanta, Georgia on October 3, 1949, making him the first African American to own and operate a radio station in the United States. Jesse Blayton was born in Fallis, … Read MoreJesse B. Blayton, Sr. (1897-1977)
Johnson Chesnutt Whittaker was the second black cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York. He was born in South Carolina to an enslaved mother, Maria J. Whitaker, and her free husband, James Whitaker, in 1858. (Later in life, he … Read MoreJohnson C. Whittaker (1858-1931)
Eva Jessye was a pioneer in the world of African American music and is recognized as the first black woman to receive international distinction as a choral director. She was born in Coffeyville, Kansas on January 20, 1895 to Albert and Julia Jessye, but was … Read MoreEva Jessye (1895-1992)
Former Congressman Julius Caesar (J.C.) Watts, Jr., was the first black Republican to be elected to a political office in Oklahoma. He was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma, on November 18, 1957. A superior athlete, he starred as quarterback on a University of Oklahoma football team … Read MoreJ.C. Watts Jr. (1957- )
