Dr. Martin Luther King with Bill Chester, January 25, 1963 “Image Courtesy of Anne Rand Library, International Longshore and Warehouse Union” William “Bill” Chester, Vice President and Assistant to Harry Bridges, President of the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU), was the highest ranking African … Read MoreWilliam H. Chester (1914-1985)
In the following essay independent historian Robert Fikes explores the eclectic experiences of African Americans in the world’s largest nation in the 19th and 20th Centuries It was in May 1824 that Nancy Gardner Prince, rescued from a life of poverty and hardship in Massachusetts … Read MoreIn the Land of Czars and Commissars: African Americans in Russia, the Soviet Union, and Post-Soviet Russia, 1824-2015
In 1977, career diplomat Maurice D. Bean was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Burma (in 1989 the military government changed the name of the country to Myanmar). Bean was born on September 9, 1928, in Gary, Indiana. His father … Read MoreMaurice Darrow Bean (1928-2009)
J. Gary Cooper, military, government, and business leader, was appointed United States Ambassador to Jamaica by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He was the first African American to occupy the position. Prior to his appointment, he had a distinguished military career. Jerome Gary Cooper was … Read MoreJ. Gary Cooper (1936- )
John Morrow was a teacher, scholar, and diplomat who became America’s first leader at two key postings, the West African country of Guinea, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He was born John Howard Morrow on February 5, 1910 in Hackensack, … Read MoreJohn Howard Morrow (1910-2000)
Dr. Emory Hestus Holmes, World War II veteran, social scientist, professor, and California civil rights leader, was born on November 17, 1924 in Birmingham, Alabama to David H. and Dora Catherine Holmes. He attended segregated schools in Alabama and, at the age of 17, joined … Read MoreEmory Hestus Holmes (1924-1995)
“Image Ownership: AP Photo” Jerome Farris, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, was nominated for appointment by President Carter July 12, 1979. Judge Farris took Senior Status on March 4, 1995. Judge Farris was born in Birmingham, Alabama on … Read MoreJerome Farris (1930-2020)
Nell Hardy Carter was an American actress and vocalist who enjoyed a twenty-five year career in film, stage, television, and the recording industry. Born as Nell Ruth Hardy on September 13, 1948, in Birmingham, Alabama, she and her eight siblings were raised a low-income neighborhood … Read MoreNell Hardy Carter (1948-2003)
The daughter of college graduates, Mabel M. Smythe-Haith is so far the only black American woman who was named a U.S. ambassador after her husband had earlier served in the same capacity. Mabel Murphy was born into a family of four siblings on April 3, … Read MoreMabel Murphy Smythe-Haith (1918-2006)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Cosmetics entrepreneur Comer Joseph Cottrell, Jr. was born in Mobile, Alabama on December 7, 1931. His father was a life insurance salesman, and his mother, Helen Smith Cottrell, performed a variety of cleaning jobs. Cottrell became fascinated with business at an … Read MoreComer Joseph Cottrell Jr. (1931-2014)
