Luther and Joye Goodwin (Holding Their Child) in 1964 Civil Rights Demonstration Image Ownership: Public domain Tuskegee Airman, civil rights activist, and attorney Luther A. Goodwin was born April 17, 1920 in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Hilliard E. Goodwin, a college instructor and building … Read MoreLuther Ambrose Goodwin (1920-1982)
James Williams, a fugitive from slavery and the author of the only known full-length slave narrative published independently (in California), was born John Thomas in Elkton, Maryland, April 1, 1825. At age thirteen, he ran away from his master, William Hollingsworth, and fled to Pennsylvania. … Read MoreJames Williams (1825- ?)
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- )
At a time when educated, skilled, and ambitious African Americans were systematically excluded from even middle management positions in large white-controlled businesses, for decades Charles H. Dodge remained one of the extremely rare persons in the nation to occupy a high ranking corporate position in … Read MoreCharles H. Dodge (1868-1942)
Image Ownership: Public domain Physicist and university administrator Robert Ambrose Thornton was born in Houston, Texas, on May 6, 1902 to Frank Thornton, a laborer, and the former Mary Jane Sullivan, a midwife. Thornton attended Houston Colored High School but later graduated from Los Angeles … Read MoreRobert Ambrose Thornton (1902-1982)
Navy Admiral Cecil Haney was born into a struggling family in “humble surroundings” in Washington, D.C., on December 1, 1955. After graduating from the city’s Eastern High School he left for Annapolis, Maryland, where he was a distinguished midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, … Read MoreCecil Eugene Diggs Haney (1955- )
Latasha Harlins, whose short life came to a violent end in the midst of racial tensions in Los Angeles, California, became a major spark for the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Harlins was born on July 14, 1975 in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Crystal Harlins … Read MoreLatasha Harlins (1975-1991)
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- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Aja Brown serves as the youngest and first female mayor of Compton, California. Brown was born in Altadena, California, to Brenda Jackson on April 17, 1982. Brown attended John Muir High School in Pasadena and was elected president of her senior … Read MoreAja Brown (1982- )
Compton is a city in Southern California, located in south Los Angeles County. Compton was settled in 1867 by thirty pioneer families led by Griffith Dickenson Compton, after whom the city was named. The first black families came to the city just before World War … Read MoreCompton, California (1867- )
