On November 3, 2009, Marilyn Strickland was elected Tacoma, Washington’s 38th mayor, the second African American mayor of the city, and the first black woman to hold the post. Strickland was born on September 25, 1962, in Seoul, South Korea, the only child of Willie and … Read MoreMarilyn Strickland (1962- )
In the following article independent historians Christine and Dennis McClure describe the role race played in the construction of the Alaska-Canada (ALCAN) Highway during World War II. The highway, constructed in eight months, stretched 1,600 miles from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction, Alaska. … Read MoreThe Construction of the Alaska Highway, 1942: The Role of Race in the Far North
Joseph Paul Reason was the first African American to attain the rank of four-star admiral in the United States Navy. Reason was born March 22, 1941, in Washington, D.C., the son of Howard University librarian and French language professor Joseph Henry Reason, and schoolteacher Bernice … Read MoreJoseph Paul Reason (1941- )
Vincent K. Brooks is a distinguished general in the US Army and is currently the commander of the UN Command, Combined Forces Command, and US Forces Korea. He was born on October 24, 1958, in Anchorage, Alaska, to Leo Brooks Sr., an army general, and … Read MoreVincent K. Brooks (1958- )
Lester Don Holt Jr. is an American journalist who anchors the weekday edition of NBC Nightly News. He also anchors for Dateline NBC. Holt was born in Marin City, California, on March 9, 1959, to June (DeRozario) Holt and Lester Don Holt Sr. His maternal … Read MoreLester Don Holt, Jr. (1959– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Michael Augustine Healy was an American captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service, which is commonly known now as the United States Coast Guard. As such, he was the first African American officer in the Coast Guard. Healy was known … Read MoreMichael Augustine Healy (1839–1904)
Michelle Taylor is a 22 year old African American woman who was crowned Miss Alaska in 2013. Taylor was the first black woman to hold that title. After winning the title of Miss Alaska, she went on to compete in the national contest in Atlantic … Read MoreMichelle Taylor (1992- )
Communist Party Leaders: Claudia Jones, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Pettis Perry & Betty Gannet, ca. 1951 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” U.S. Communist Party leader Pettis Perry was born on January 4, 1897, on a tenant farm near Marion, Alabama. His mother died when he was a … Read MorePettis Perry (1897-1965)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Longtime civil rights organizer and later U.S. Ambassador, Franklin Hall Williams was born on October 22, 1917, in Flushing, New York. His mother died in 1919. Williams was raised by his maternal grandparents. He graduated from Lincoln University in Chester County, … Read MoreFranklin Hall Williams (1917-1990)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Prominent lawyer and civil rights advocate Mahala Ashley Dickerson was born on October 12, 1912 in Montgomery County, Alabama. She was dedicated to human rights causes and as a lawyer she often took on the cases involving the rights of women … Read MoreMahala Ashley Dickerson (1912-2007)