James M. Nabrit, Jr. (1900-1997)

James Madison Nabrit, Jr. was a renowned civil rights lawyer, Howard University president, and United Nations deputy ambassador.  During his legal career, he argued for the voting rights of blacks as well as school desegregation. Nabrit was born September 7, 1900, in Atlanta, Georgia.  The … Read MoreJames M. Nabrit, Jr. (1900-1997)

Los Angeles Forum (1903-1942)

Founded in 1903 by J.E. Edwards, Jefferson Lewis Edmunds, and Frederick Roberts, the Los Angeles Forum served as a civil rights organization dedicated to addressing black grievances in Los Angeles, California. Although the organization fell prior to the African American Civil Rights Movement, the activism … Read MoreLos Angeles Forum (1903-1942)

Dorothy Hollingsworth (1920-2022)

Dorothy Hollingsworth, a prominent educator and politician, achieved a number of “firsts” during her years in Seattle. The most important was becoming the first Black woman in Washington State’s history to serve on a school board. Born in Bishopville, South Carolina on October 29, 1920, … Read MoreDorothy Hollingsworth (1920-2022)

John W. Blassingame (1940-2000)

John Wesley Blassingame was one of the preeminent scholars in the study of enslaved African Americans.  His early monographs The Slave Community (1972) and Black New Orleans, 1860-1880 (1973) shattered racist and stereotypical portrayals of African American life by using testimony and evidence left by … Read MoreJohn W. Blassingame (1940-2000)

Jacqueline Harrison Barrett (1950- )

Jacqueline Harrison, the Sheriff of Fulton County (Atlanta), Georgia, was born on November 4, 1950, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Cornelius and Ocie Perry Harrison. In 1972, she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology, concentrating in criminology at Beavers College. She received a master’s degree … Read MoreJacqueline Harrison Barrett (1950- )

William Hannibal Thomas (1843-1935)

William Hannibal Thomas was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, on May 4, 1843 to free black parents.  During his early childhood Thomas’s family moved frequently in search of economic advancement before returning to Ohio in 1857.  As a teenager Thomas performed manual labor, attended school … Read MoreWilliam Hannibal Thomas (1843-1935)