Ottowa or O.W. Gurley is remembered was one of the wealthiest men in Tulsa, Oklahoma before the 1921 Tulsa Massacre destroyed his property and forced him to flee. Ottowa Gurley was born on Christmas Day in 1868 to freed slaves in Huntsville, Alabama, Gurley grew … Read MoreO. W. Gurley (1868-1935)
Kadir A. Nelson is one of the premier illustrators in the United States. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on May 15, 1974, the son of Lenwood Melvin Nelson, a former wrestling coach and Howard University graduate and Emily Diane-Gunter, a telecommunications engineer and motivational speaker. … Read MoreKadir Arfin Nelson (1974- )
Bobby Mitchell was a professional football player in the National Football League. In 1962, after three seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Mitchell became the first African American to play for the Washington Redskins, the last team in the league to integrate its roster. Robert Cornelius … Read MoreBobby Mitchell (1935-2020)
Sheryl Patrice Underwood is a comedian, actress, and talk show host. Underwood was born on October 28, 1963, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Joyce Evelyn and Cleo Underwood. She has been very vocal about the various traumas she has experienced in her life since birth. … Read MoreSheryl Patrice Underwood (1963- )
Actor Rudy Ray Moore was born on March 19, 1927 in Fort Smith, Arkansas as Rudolph Frank Moore. He moved to Cleveland at the age of fifteen and began singing in various nightclubs. At the age of seventeen he got a job in Cleveland’s Blue … Read MoreRudy Ray Moore (1927-2008)
On September 6th, 2018, Botham Shem Jean was killed in his Dallas, Texas apartment by off-duty police officer Amber Renee Guyger. Twenty-six at the time of his passing, his death set off nationwide protests from various organizations including Color of Change, a racial justice organization, … Read MoreBotham Shem Jean (1991-2018)
Few people recognize that the Civil War extended into Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The largest battle in the Territory, the Battle of Honey Springs, took place on July 17, 1863, when Confederate and Union forces clashed near Honey Springs, Indian Territory. Although three of the … Read MoreThe Battle of Honey Springs, Indian Territory (1863)
Reece “Goose” Tatum was a professional baseball and basketball player. Tatum was born on May 31, 1921 in El Dorado, Arkansas to Ben Tatum, a farmer and part-time preacher, and Alice Tatum, a domestic cook. Tatum was the fifth of seven children in the family. … Read MoreReece “Goose” Tatum (1921-1967)
Raye Jean Jordan Montague, a registered professional engineer, was incredibly influential in transforming the field of marine vessel construction. A longtime employee of the U.S. Navy and a leader in its transition to the use of Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM), Montague created the … Read MoreRaye Jean Jordan Montague (1935-2018)
William Jones, one of the last Buffalo Soldiers, was also a U.S. Army Master Sergeant, Prisoner of War (POW) in Korea and successful entrepreneur. Jones was born in Tamo, Arkansas to farmers Joseph and Elizabeth Jones on July 15, 1918, the youngest of seven children. Jones grew up in Kansas and attended the … Read MoreWilliam Jones (1918-2009)
