The Underground Railroad which fugitive slaves followed from the antebellum South to Canada is now a well-known story. But what of those who returned? In his ongoing research, University of Texas at El Paso historian Adam Arenson explores this little-known aspect of nineteenth- century African … Read MoreAfter the Underground Railroad: Finding the African North Americans who Returned from Canada
Physician and businessman Dr. Midian Othello Bousfield was a leader in Chicago’s insurance industry. His diverse career included work in medicine and in the military, advocating for African American health care and for the training of black medical personnel. He was the first black person … Read MoreMidian Othello Bousfield (1885–1948)
Alonzo Franklin Herndon was an African American entrepreneur who founded and was the first president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Herndon was born on June 26, 1858 in Walton County, Georgia to Frank Herndon, a white farmer, and Sophenie, his slave. By the time of … Read MoreAlonzo Franklin Herndon (1858–1927)
As a monumental figure in education and poetry, Mari Evans also played roles in shaping women’s history, politics, music, and drama. Born on July 16, 1923, in Toledo, Ohio, Evans’ mother passed away when Evans was ten. Her father immediately felt the need to encourage … Read MoreMari E. Evans (1923- )
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- )
George Poage ran track in the 1904 Olympic Games and was the first African American to ever win an Olympic medal. Poage was born in Hannibal, Missouri on November 6, 1880, but spent most of his childhood growing up in La Crosse, Wisconsin. As a … Read MoreGeorge Coleman Poage (1880-1962)
When Jack Roosevelt (Jackie) Robinson took the field on April 15, 1947 wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, he became the first African American in over fifty years to play on a major league baseball team. In the process, he broke through baseball’s color line that … Read MoreJackie Robinson (1919-1972)
Dick Gregory, comedian, actor, and civil rights activist, was born Richard Claxton Gregory in 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri. Gregory’s father left the family when Gregory was a child forcing his mother, Lucille, a maid, to raise him and his five siblings. During his high … Read MoreDick Gregory (1932-2017)
Hiram Young of Independence, Missouri manufactured freight wagons and equipment in the 1850s. Born about 1812 in Tennessee, he entered Missouri as a slave and worked for George Young of Greene County. In 1847, Young obtained freedom, either from his owner or possibly as a … Read MoreHiram Young (1812-1882)
