Joseph Wiley (“Jefferson Street Joe”) Gilliam Jr. (1950-2000)

Joseph Wiley Gilliam Jr. was a professional football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Gilliam was born on December 29, 1950, to Joseph Gilliam Sr. and Ruth Gilliam in Charleston, West Virginia. The family moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he attended Pearl High School … Read MoreJoseph Wiley (“Jefferson Street Joe”) Gilliam Jr. (1950-2000)

Charles DeLesline Foster (1948-1986)

On September 6, 1966, Charles DeLesline Foster became the first African American to enroll in The Citadel Corps of Cadets, the military institution in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 1842. Foster was born on November 26, 1948, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to … Read MoreCharles DeLesline Foster (1948-1986)

The Read Drug Store Sit-Ins (1955)

The Read Drug Store Sit-Ins, also known as the Baltimore Sit-Ins, occurred on January 20, 1955, in Baltimore, Maryland. The sit-ins were organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and students from Morgan State College (Now Morgan State University) against two locations of Read … Read MoreThe Read Drug Store Sit-Ins (1955)

Laphonza Romanique Butler (1979- )

On October 1, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom chose well-known labor organizer and political strategist Laphonza Butler to be the next US Senator from California, following the death of long-serving Senator Dianne Feinstein on September 29, 2023. Butler, who was sworn in by Vice President … Read MoreLaphonza Romanique Butler (1979- )