Lillian E. Fishburne, the first African American woman to become a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, was born on March 25, 1949 in Patuxent River, Maryland. Fishburne was raised in Rockville, Maryland where she attended Richard Montgomery High School. In 1971, she graduated … Read MoreLillian E. Fishburne (1949- )
Janie L. Mines, the first African American woman to graduate from the United States Naval Academy, was born in Aiken, South Carolina, in 1958. Her father, Reverend William L. Mines, was a Minister at Rock Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Aiken, South Carolina. Her mother was … Read MoreJanie L. Mines (1958- )
Scholar and historian Helen Grey Edmonds was the first African American woman to earn a doctoral degree from Ohio State University and the first black woman to second the nomination for a candidate for President of the United States. Edmonds was born December 3, 1911 … Read MoreHelen Grey Edmonds (1911-1995)
Librarian, author, and storyteller Augusta Braxston Baker was the first African American woman to hold an administrative position with the New York Public Library (NYPL). She was a pioneering advocate of the positive portrayal of blacks in children’s literature, and beginning in the 1930s removed … Read MoreAugusta Braxston Baker (1911-1998)
In the article below Antero Pietila, longtime reporter for the Baltimore Sun, describes his arrival as a Finnish immigrant in the United States as the nation was being convulsed by the Civil Rights Movement. Pietila describes his initial introduction into the nation’s racial dilemma through … Read MoreFrom Finland to “Not in My Neighborhood”: Antero Pietila’s Journey To and Through Racially Divided America
Morgan State University is the largest historically black college in Maryland. Located in Baltimore, the school was established in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute by the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Members of the Methodist Churches in Baltimore recognized the need for … Read MoreMorgan State University (1867- )
The University of Maryland, Eastern Shore is a historically black land grant institution located in Princess Anne, Maryland. The school was initiated under the auspices of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and began as a branch campus for Morgan College (Morgan State … Read MoreUniversity of Maryland, Eastern Shore (1886- )
Founded in 1865, Bowie State University is Maryland’s oldest historically black university, and one of the ten oldest African American institutions of higher education in the United States. It is also one of eleven senior colleges and universities in the University of Maryland system. The … Read MoreBowie State University (1865- )
Coppin State University is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland. The school has its origins in a one-year program to train the city’s black elementary school teachers, established around 1900 in the Colored High School and Training School. The school’s name has changed several … Read MoreCoppin State University (1900- )
