Beginning in 1892 with the destruction of her newspaper, the Memphis Free Speech, Ida B. Wells for the next forty years was the most prominent opponent of lynching in the United States. What follows is a speech she made to a Chicago audience on the … Read More(1900) Ida B. Wells, “Lynch Law in America”
During its brief and rocky tenure from 1918 to 1924, pianist Gertrude Harvey Wright was one of four women in Seattle’s first black musicians’ union, the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 458. Wright, Virginia Hughes, a “Mrs. Austin,” and (Edythe) “Turnham,” all worked with their … Read MoreRace, Gender, Jazz & Local 493: Black Women Musicians in Seattle: 1920-1955
Political activist Kathryn Magnolia Johnson was born on December 15, 1878 in Darke County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Walter and Lucinda Jane McCown Johnson. Kathryn Johnson graduated at the top of her high school class in New Paris, Ohio in 1895 and worked … Read MoreKathryn Magnolia Johnson (1878-1955)
Gary Coleman, best known for his child star status from the hit television sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, was born on February 8, 1968, and raised in Zion, Illinois. A talent scout for TV producer Norman Lear spotted Coleman in a Chicago bank commercial, and at the … Read MoreGary Coleman (1968-2010)
Anne Wortham, a prolific academic who has opposed aspects of the traditional civil rights movement, was born on November 26th 1941 in Jackson, Tennessee. The first of five children, she was raised in the segregated South where her parents instilled in her religious beliefs and … Read MoreAnne Wortham (1941- )
Erika Harold, Miss America 2003, was the sixth black woman to win the Miss America title. Harold was born on February 20, 1980 in Urbana, Illinois, the daughter of James Harold, a businessman and athletic director, and Fannie Harold, a college counselor and foster parent … Read MoreErika Harold (1980- )
Marjorie Judith Vincent, the fourth African American to be crowned Miss America, was born on November 12, 1964 in Oak Park, Illinois. She was Miss America 1991. Vincent is the daughter of Lucien and Florence Vincent of Cap Haitien, Haiti. Vincent’s parents migrated to the … Read MoreMarjorie Vincent (1964- )
Benjamin L. Hooks is most notably known for serving as leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1977 to 1992. Born on January 31, 1925 in Memphis, Tennessee to Robert and Bessie White Hooks, he was the fifth of … Read MoreBenjamin L. Hooks (1925-2010)
Herbert “Herbie” Julian Hancock is an African American pianist, composer, bandleader, and keyboardist, with a career spanning over five decades. Hancock was born on April 12, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Winne Belle Griffin, a secretary and Waymand Edward Hancock, a government meat … Read MoreHerbie Hancock (1940- )
Writer and educator Charles Johnson is best known for his novel Middle Passage (1990), which earned a National Book Award for depicting the voyage of a newly-freed slave. He was the first African American to receive the award since 1953 when Ralph Ellison won for … Read MoreCharles Johnson (1948- )
