Augustine (Augustus) Tolton (1854-1897)

Born into slavery in 1854, Fr. Augustine (nicknamed Augustus) Tolton was one of the country’s first African American Roman Catholic priests. Tolton shares early black Catholic history with three brothers of Irish-African American ancestry: James, Sherwood, and Patrick Healy. The Healy brothers were ordained two … Read MoreAugustine (Augustus) Tolton (1854-1897)

Ina Ray, née Odessa Cowan Hutton (1916-1984)

Ina Ray Hutton led the Melodears, one of the first all-female swing bands to be recorded and filmed.  She passed as white throughout her musical career, as the leader of several bands from the 1930s through the 1960s.  But when Hutton was a child, United … Read MoreIna Ray, née Odessa Cowan Hutton (1916-1984)

Running for President: George Edwin Taylor, 1904

In the article below Bruce Mouser, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, discusses his new book, For Labor, Race, and Liberty: George Edwin Taylor, His Historic Run for the White House, and the Making of Independent Black Politics which describes his efforts … Read MoreRunning for President: George Edwin Taylor, 1904

Vivian Gordon Harsh (1890-1960)

Vivian Gordon Harsh was the first African American librarian in the Chicago Public Library system and a significant contributor to Chicago’s Black Renaissance.  In 1932 she was appointed head librarian of the George Cleveland Hall Branch, the city’s first library built in an African American … Read MoreVivian Gordon Harsh (1890-1960)

Anderson Ruffin Abbott (1837-1913)

Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Canada’s first black doctor, was born April 7, 1837 in Toronto, Ontario.  He was the son of free black property owners William Ruffin Abbott and his wife Ellen (Toyer) Abbott who left Alabama after their store had been destroyed.  They settled briefly … Read MoreAnderson Ruffin Abbott (1837-1913)