Nathaniel “Nat” Trives, the first African American mayor of Santa Monica, California, was born in 1934 or 1935 in Birmingham, Alabama. Shortly after his birth the family moved to Indiana, and later, Ohio. In 1949 the family relocated to Santa Monica, California where his father … Read MoreNathaniel Trives (1934/35- )
Altadena, California, has one of California’s oldest and most affluent middle-class Black neighborhoods. That neighborhood was affected by the 2025 Eaton Canyon fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes across the entire Altadena community. Before the fire, Altadena was known for its cozy bungalows and … Read MoreAltadena, California
The first African American mayor of Long Beach, California, Rex Richardson was born at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois on August 18, 1983. His parents divorced when Rex was a toddler. Over the next few years, Rex, his mother, and siblings moved numerous times … Read MoreRex Richardson (1983- )
Attorney, newspaper publisher, and world-class athlete Thomas Lucius Berkley was born Thomas Lucius Berkley on August 9, 1915, in DuQuoin, Illinois. His father, Braxton B. Berkeley from Tennessee, was a coal miner and labor union organizer, and his mother, Sophia Jane Holmes, from Tennessee, was … Read MoreThomas Berkley (1915–2001)
Lincoln I. Mulkey and Dorothy J. Mulkey were the challengers in a major lawsuit, Reitman v. Mulkey, that reestablished housing discrimination laws in the state of California. Lincoln I. Mulkey was born in Guadalupe County, Texas, to Wardie Daniel Mulkey and Edna Mae Randolph. He … Read MoreLincoln I. Mulkey and Dorothy J. Mulkey
The Berkley Square Housing Project, opened in 1953 in Las Vegas, Nevada, was a historically significant project for African Americans because of its unique design and financing. Berkley Square is named after its primary financier, Thomas Lucius Berkley, of Oakland, California, a prominent civil rights … Read MoreBerkley Square Housing Project, Las Vegas (1953-)
Alvin Austin Attles Jr. was a basketball player for the National Basketball Association (NBA) who played his entire career with the Golden State (California) Warriors and later became one of the first African American coaches in the NBA, where he coached the Warriors to their … Read MoreAlvin Austin Attles Jr. (1936-2024)
The first African American mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska, James C. Hayes was born in Sacramento, California on May 26, 1946. His parents were Caustella and Juanita Metoyer Hayes. In 1955, after his parents divorced, James and his mother relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska. As a teenager, … Read MoreJames C. Hayes (1946-2022)
Television pioneer and Emmy-nominated actor John Amos was born John Allen Amos Jr. on December 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, to John A. Amos, an automobile mechanic, and Annabelle P. Amos, a nutritionist. He was reared in East Orange, where he attended Stockton School … Read MoreJohn Amos (1939-2024)
Six-foot-eight NBA Superstar legend Connie Hawkins, one of the first basketball players capable of swooping and soaring in flights to the hoop, was born Cornelius Lance Hawkins on July 17, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. A playground legend, he was dunking at the age of … Read MoreConnie Hawkins (1942-2017)
