Atatiana Koquice Jefferson was a 28-year-old graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana who also worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative and saved money for medical school, according to her family. She graduated from Lake Highland High School in 2010 and then studied at Xavier University … Read MoreAtatiana Jefferson (1990-2019)
Rhythm and Blues singer Tevin Jermod Campbell was born on November 12, 1976, in Waxahachie, Texas, to Rhonda Byrd, a former postal worker and later co-manager of the young artist’s career. He began singing gospel as a soloist and choir member at Jacob’s Chapel in … Read MoreTevin Campbell (1976- )
Yvette Smith, a 47-year-old former housekeeper and mother of three, was shot and killed at her friend’s house by Daniel Willis, a Bastrop County, Texas, sheriff’s deputy who was called to settle a dispute. Smith called 911 after she tried and failed to settle an … Read MoreYvette Smith (1966-2014)
Myra Atwell McDaniel was the first African American in Texas history to serve as the Secretary of State and at the time, the highest ranked African American appointee in the history of Texas government. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 13, 1932, McDaniel was one … Read MoreMyra Atwell McDaniel (1932-2010)
The earliest evidence of African Americans as cattle herders (cowboys) in North America can be traced back to colonial South Carolina, where stock grazers from what is now Senegal in West Africa were specifically brought to that colony because of their unique skills. They were … Read MoreBlack Cowboys in the 19th Century West (1850-1900)
This entry is for juvenile audiences. To see the full version of this entry, click here Who was Bessie Coleman? Bessie Coleman was born one of thirteen children on January 26, 1892, in Atlanta, Texas, to a family of sharecroppers. Her mother was Black, and her father was multiracial, … Read MoreBessie Coleman (1892-1926) [Children’s Edition]
Post-Civil War cattle drives from Texas north to railroad depots in Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado were a necessary part of the American economy in the late 19th century. The nation’s growing demand for beef, coupled with the concentration of beef cattle in Texas, led that … Read MoreAfrican Americans on Western Cattle Drives (1867-1885)
The first Black settlers in what is now the western United States were Spanish speakers who came north from what is now central Mexico. Their roots there began in 1519, when Black men were among the Spanish conquistadores who invaded and destroyed the Aztec Empire, … Read MoreNorth from Mexico: The First Black Settlers in the U.S. West
The Compromise of 1850, enacted in September of that year, was a failed attempt to diffuse a tense political situation between free and slave states that had emerged after the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). As a result of Mexico’s defeat, that nation ceded a vast territory … Read MoreThe Compromise of 1850
International Lyric Spinto Soprano Ella Ruth Lee was born on June 10, 1933, to Winston Lee and Mary Ella Lee in Tyler, Texas. She was reared in Los Angeles and began piano lessons there. From 1947 to 1951, Lee was a student and member of … Read MoreElla Ruth Lee Romani (1933-2013)
