Writer, teacher, and cultural critic bell hooks was born Gloria Jean Watkins on September 25, 1952, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, to a working-class family. Her father, Veodis Watkins, was a janitor for the local post office, and her mother, Rosa Bell Watkins, was a homemaker, raising … Read Morebell hooks/Gloria Jean Watkins (1952-2021)
Julia May Porter Carson, one of the first African American women to represent Indiana in Congress, was born Julia May Porter on July 8, 1938. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but in her early childhood she moved with her mother to Indianapolis, Indiana, where … Read MoreJulia May Porter Carson (1938-2007)
Sarah A. Campbell, one of the first non-Native women in the Black Hills of South Dakota, accompanied Colonel George Armstrong Custer’s 1874 Expedition there as a cook, prospected for gold and silver, and was co-founder of the Custer Park Mining Company. Campbell was born on … Read MoreSarah A. Campbell (1823-1888)
Nicodemus, Kansas was founded in 1877 at the end of the Reconstruction Period. It soon became one of the most famous mostly black communities in the country formed by freedpeople migrating west. Nicodemus is located on the plains in the northwest corner of the state … Read MoreNicodemus, Kansas (1877- )
Beginning with the Exclusion Law of 1844 enacted by the provisional government of the region, Oregon passed a series of measures designed to ban African American settlement in the territory. Historian Elizabeth McLagan describes those laws in the article below. Oregon passed exclusion laws against … Read MoreThe Black Laws of Oregon, 1844-1857
In 1935, Charles W. Anderson became the first black legislator in Kentucky and in the South since the Reconstruction. He championed the cause of civil rights in Kentucky including greatly improving the access of African Americans to education during six terms as a legislator. Anderson … Read MoreCharles W. Anderson, Jr. (1907-1960)
Margaret Esse Danner was an African American poet, born in Pryorsburg, Kentucky on January 12, 1915 to Caleb and Naomi Esse. Danner began writing poetry when she was in junior high school. In the eighth grade she won first place for a poem she wrote … Read MoreMargaret E. Danner (1915-1984)
George B. “Spider” Anderson is considered one of the greatest African American jockeys in horse racing history. There are no details available on George Anderson’s early life, not even the place or date of his birth. Anderson achieved his greatest accomplishment by being the first … Read MoreGeorge B. Anderson (?-?)
Amanda Randolph, one of the first black performers to appear consistently on television, was born in 1896 in Louisville, Kentucky. She began performing as a young teenager in Cleveland’s musical comedies and nightclubs. In the 1930s, she toured Europe and performed in several hit musical … Read MoreAmanda Randolph (1896-1967)
Businesswoman, politician, and civil rights activist, Mae Street Kidd, was born February 8, 1904 in Millersburg, Kentucky to a black mother and white father. Kidd’s biological father refused to acknowledge her as his daughter. She attended a segregated black primary school in her community. As … Read MoreMae Street Kidd (1909-1999)
