Wilmot Collins, a recent Liberian refugee, became mayor of the city of Helena, Montana after defeating four-term incumbent mayor, James E. Smith, on November 7, 2017. Collins’ victory made him the first black person to become mayor of any city of Montana since it became … Read MoreWilmot Collins (1963- )
Leslie “Les” Payne, raised in the Jim Crow South, was dedicated to utilizing the realm of journalism to improve living conditions of African Americans. As a Pulitzer Prize recipient for his 33-part series titled “The Heroin Trail,” Payne’s late career continues to inspire rising generations … Read MoreLes Payne (1941-2018)
Dorothy Cotton was an American civil rights activist and leader, known for being the only woman in the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s inner circle. She was also the highest-ranking woman in King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As the organization’s Educational Director, Cotton ran SCLC’s Citizenship … Read MoreDorothy Cotton (1930-2018)
Samuel R. Lowery was the first black lawyer to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. He was born on December 8, 1830 or 1832 in Davidson Country, Tennessee to his black slave father Peter Lowery and free Cherokee mother Ruth Mitchell. His mother died when … Read MoreSamuel R. Lowery (1830 or 1832-1900)
The American Missionary Association (AMA) was an abolitionist group founded on Protestant beliefs. Their focuses were on the abolition of slavery, education for African Americans, gaining racial equality, and promoting Christian values. They were most prominent in the United States before and during the Civil Warand during Reconstruction. The AMA was founded on September … Read MoreAmerican Missionary Association (1846-1999)
Toussaint Tourgee Tildon was a physician and psychiatrist with the Hospital for Sick and Injured Colored World War Veterans (1923), later named the Veterans Administration of Tuskegee, Alabama (1923) from October 1923 until his retirement as Hospital Director on January 31, 1958. Tildon’s writing on African American veterans appeared in the VA Medical Bulletin (1925) and the Journal … Read MoreToussaint Tourgee Tildon, M.D. (1893-1964)
Librarian Alma Smith Jacobs was the first African American to serve as the Montana State Librarian. She was a lifelong advocate of free access to library resources and was active in local and state civil rights causes. Alma Victoria Smith Jacobs was born in Lewistown, Montana on November 21, 1916. … Read MoreAlma S. Jacobs (1916-1997)
A civil rights leader, antiwar activist, and Pan-African revolutionary, Stokely Carmichael is best known for popularizing the slogan “Black Power,” which in the mid 1960s galvanized a movement toward more militant and separatist assertions of black identity, nationalism, and empowerment and away from the liberal, … Read MoreStokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (1941-1998)
Lieutenant General Russell C. Davis is a former Chief of the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Virginia. He served as Chief from 1998 to 2002. Davis’ great-great grandfather also helped raise money to found Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) and worked closely with Booker T. Washington. After retirement, … Read MoreRussell C. Davis (1938- )
George Washington Carver began life inauspiciously on the frontier of southwestern Missouri. Born a slave, the precise date, indeed, even the year, is unknown. He never knew either of his biological parents, but was raised by his former owners as if he were their own. … Read MoreGeorge Washington Carver (1864?-1943)