Lieutenant Colonel Eldridge F. Williams was one of the first trainers of Tuskegee Airmen. Williams was born in Harris, Washington County, Texas on November 2, 1917, the son of cotton sharecroppers Ora and E.D. Williams who eventually moved to Kansas. Williams finished high school and … Read MoreEldridge F. Williams (1917-2015)
George Albert Flippin, born in Point Isable, Ohio, in 1868, was a prominent athlete and physician in Nebraska, who broke racial barriers in collegiate football and medicine for African Americans. The product of an interracial marriage, George’s father, Charles Albert Flippin, had served as a … Read MoreGeorge Albert Flippin (1868-1929)
Minister, civil rights activist, vocalist, Jesse Lee Douglas, Sr. was born August 19, 1930 in New Orleans, Louisiana, to William and Isabella Douglas, a Merchant Marine cook and a maid. He attended Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana and Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee before … Read MoreJesse L. Douglas, Sr. (1930- )
John Wendell Thompson is currently Chair of the Board of the Microsoft Corporation. Born April 24, 1949, to working-class parents in Fort Dix, New Jersey, John Wendell Thompson climbed the high-tech world’s business ranks from entry level sales to executive positions at International Business Machines … Read MoreJohn Wendell Thompson (1949– )
In the article below, Syracuse University historian Herbert Ruffin explores the rapid rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement in 2013 as the most recent development in the ongoing struggle for racial and social justice in the United States. In the summer of 2013, three … Read MoreBlack Lives Matter: The Growth of a New Social Justice Movement
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)
“Image Ownership: WSU Athletic Communications” Elson S. Floyd was the first African American president of three universities, a visionary leader, and a skilled statesman. Elson Sylvester Floyd was born on February 29, 1956, in Henderson, North Carolina. He was raised in this racially segregated town … Read MoreElson S. Floyd (1956–2015)
On May 26, 1992, career diplomat Kenton Wesley Keith was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to Qatar. After U.S. Senate confirmation, Keith arrived in Ad-Dawhah (Doha), the capital of Qatar and presented his credentials on September 2, 1992. He … Read MoreKenton Wesley Keith (1939- )
“Image Ownership: Arkansas Black Hall of Fame” Ambassador June Carter Perry was born November 13, 1943 in Texarkana, Arkansas. After completing grade school, Perry was accepted at the Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois where in 1965 she earned her degree in history. Two years later … Read MoreJune Carter Perry (1943- )
Calvin Peete at the 1986 Western Open in Oak Brook, Illinois “Image Ownership: Ted Van Pelt” Professional golfer Calvin Peete was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 18, 1943. Toward the end of the 20th Century Peete had become the most successful African American golfer … Read MoreCalvin Peete (1943–2015)
