Reece “Goose” Tatum was a professional baseball and basketball player. Tatum was born on May 31, 1921 in El Dorado, Arkansas to Ben Tatum, a farmer and part-time preacher, and Alice Tatum, a domestic cook. Tatum was the fifth of seven children in the family. … Read MoreReece “Goose” Tatum (1921-1967)
An internationally-recognized chemical physicist, Dr. Joseph Salvadore Francisco, Jr. played an important role in explaining the chemical reactions driving ozone depletion in the earth’s atmosphere. At a time when diminution of the ozone layer threatened to increase humans’ exposure to ultraviolet radiation, Francisco’s research revealed … Read MoreJoseph Salvadore Francisco, Jr. (1955- )
Joel Woodson of Omaha, Nebraska was lynched by a mob in Green River, Wyoming on December 10, 1918 at the Union Pacific Railroad yard. He had come to Green River for work three months earlier, leaving his wife and family in Omaha. Woodson was an … Read MoreJoel Woodson (?-1918)
Joe Coe, whose official name was George Smith, was an African-American man who lived in Omaha, Nebraska. Coe was a married father of two children and worked as a porter at a railroad company. Coe resided on North 12th Street, which was north of downtown … Read MoreThe Lynching of Joe Coe, 1891
Clarence Lee Major is a distinguished poet, novelist, painter, anthologist, lexicographer, memoirist, and teacher. His creative output encompasses a wide range of artistic and intellectual endeavors across six decades, producing works that have often defied expectations, provoked controversy, and revealed new ways of seeing. Major was born December 31, 1936, … Read MoreClarence Major (1936- )
Maceo Pinkard was born on June 27, 1897 in Bluefield, West Virginia. He was an American lyricist and music composer that emerged from the Harlem Renaissance. Some of his best known works include “Sweet Georgia Brown,” now the Harlem Globetrotters theme song, and the Broadway musical, Liza. After his death … Read MoreMaceo Pinkard (1897-1962)
Samuel R. Lowery was the first black attorney to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. He was born on December 8, 1830 (or 1832), in Davidson Country, Tennessee to an enslaved father, Peter Lowery, and a Cherokee mother, Ruth Mitchell. His mother … Read MoreSamuel R. Lowery (c.1830 -1900)
The 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps was a unit of black soldiers commanded by a white officer, Lt. James A. Moss, which was formed in 1896 to test the combat viability of bicycle-mounted troops by riding from Missoula, Montana to Saint Louis, Missouri. Moss, a West Point graduate and … Read More25th Infantry Bicycle Corps (1896-97)
Located in the Sandhills of Cherry County, Nebraska, the settlement of DeWitty was established in 1908 by black homesteaders who constructed housing made of stacked sod. These settlers farmed some of the least hospitable land in the state. The families were spurred to the area by the 1904 … Read MoreDeWitty/Audacious, Nebraska (1908- )
Lieutenant General Russell C. Davis is a former Chief of the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Virginia. He served as Chief from 1998 to 2002. Davis’ great-great grandfather also helped raise money to found Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) and worked closely with Booker T. Washington. After retirement, … Read MoreRussell C. Davis (1938- )
