Carl Brewer served as the 100th Mayor of Wichita, Kansas, only the second African American elected to that office. Brewer was born on March 8, 1957 in Wichita, Kansas. He attended Wichita North High school, and graduated in 1975. He obtained his first job at … Read MoreCarl Brewer (1957– )
William McBryar was a biracial buffalo soldier whose received the Medal of Honor for his participation in the 1890 Cherry Creek Campaign in Arizona Territory. McBryar was born on February 14, 1861 in Elizabethtown, North Carolina to Rose McBryar, an African American, and a white father whose name is unknown. McBryar attended … Read MoreWilliam McBryar (1861-1941)
George Washington Carver began life inauspiciously on the frontier of southwestern Missouri. Born a slave, the precise date, indeed, even the year, is unknown. He never knew either of his biological parents, but was raised by his former owners as if he were their own. … Read MoreGeorge Washington Carver (1864?-1943)
Image Ownership: Public domain Paul Kagame, the current President of Rwanda, was born in Gitarama, central Rwanda, on October 23, 1957, into a Tutsi family. In 1959 when the massacres of Tutsis by Hutus began, Paul Kagame’s family fled to Uganda along with as thousands of Tutsis, in order to … Read MorePaul Kagame (1957- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Darryl Dawkins (also known as Chocolate Thunder—a name music legend Stevie Wonder gave him), was born in Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 1957. Born to Harriet James and Frank Dawkins, he was raised by his grandmother, Amanda Celestine Jones, in Orlando … Read MoreDarryl Dawkins (1957-2015)
The Ladies Refugee Aid Society of Kansas was founded in 1864 by black freedwomen in Lawrence. It was the first black women’s club in the West, preceding the Kansas Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs (a larger amalgamation of various state women’s societies). LRAS was a … Read MoreLadies’ Refugee Aid Society (1864)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Georgia Ann Hill Robinson became the first black female police officer to work for the Los Angeles (California) Police Department (LAPD)—and possibly the first in the country—in 1916. Months before 15 percent of the police force of the United States would … Read MoreGeorgia Ann Hill Robinson (1879–1961)
92nd Infantry Division in Combat in Italy, 1944 Image Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense The 92nd Infantry Division, a military unit of approximately fifteen thousand officers and men, was one of only two all-black divisions to fight in the United States Army in … Read More92nd Infantry Division (1917–1919, 1942–1945)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Eartha Mary Magdalene White, a prominent African American resident of Jacksonville, Florida, was widely known for her humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors in the northeastern part of that state. White was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 8, 1876. Her Mother died … Read MoreEartha M. M. White (1876–1974)
Dr. Martin Luther King with Bill Chester, January 25, 1963 “Image Courtesy of Anne Rand Library, International Longshore and Warehouse Union” William “Bill” Chester, Vice President and Assistant to Harry Bridges, President of the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU), was the highest ranking African … Read MoreWilliam H. Chester (1914-1985)