Ivy Ruth Taylor, the first popularly-elected African American mayor of San Antonio, Texas, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 17, 1970. Her parents moved to Brooklyn from Wilmington, North Carolina, before she was born and later divorced when she was a child. She … Read MoreIvy Ruth Taylor (1970- )
George Washington Fields was born into slavery in Hanover County, Virginia on April 25, 1854. He was one of 11 children of Martha Ann Berkley and Washington Fields. Of the children, one died in infancy, three were sold off, and one was a runaway. Fields … Read MoreGeorge Washington Fields (1854-1932)
In the following article Ginger Adams Otis, a staff writer at the New York Daily News and a longtime city reporter, describes her more-than-decade-long research following the evolution of a landmark civil rights case brought by the Vulcan Society, a determined group of activist black … Read MoreFirefight: The Century-Long Battle to Integrate the New York City Fire Department
Oscar Wayman Holmes Jr., the first African American commissioned officer in the United States Navy and its first black aircraft pilot, was also the first black air traffic controller. Born January 31, 1916, he was the son of Oscar Sr. and Grace Holmes of Dunbar, … Read MoreOscar Wayman Holmes Jr. (1916-2001)
Andy Razaf was a philosopher–poet, composer, and prolific musical lyricist of over five hundred songs, comprising some of the greatest hits from the Tin Pan Alley (New York) era. During his professional lifetime, Razaf worked with composers such as Fats Waller, Eubie Blake, Don Redman, … Read MoreAndy Razaf (1895-1973)
Suzan Johnson Cook is a religious leader, pastor, motivational speaker, and diplomat who was born on January 28, 1957, in Harlem, New York. Her father, Wilbert Johnson, was a trolley driver and later founder of a successful security company, and her mother Dorothy Johnson, was … Read MoreSuzan Denise Johnson Cook (1957– )
Heiress and socialite Amanda America Dickson Toomer was, in her time, the wealthiest African American woman in Georgia, and one of the wealthiest women in the United States. Born November 20, 1849, on the Dickson Plantation, near Sparta, Georgia (Hancock County), Amanda America was the … Read MoreAmanda America Dickson Toomer (1849-1893)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Sylvanus Smith, once described in a city directory as a “hog driver,” was a free black Brooklynite who promoted and protected racial equality, business ownership, and property development in the community of Weeksville, New York. Smith was one of the original … Read MoreSylvanus Smith (1831–1911)
Florence V. Lucas, lawyer, politician, NAACP leader, and songwriter, was born in 1916 in New York City, New York. She graduated from John Adams High School, Hunter College, and Brooklyn Law School. After graduating from law school in 1940, she became the first black woman … Read MoreFlorence V. Lucas (1916-1987)
Eartha Mary Magdalene White, a prominent African American resident of Jacksonville, Florida, was widely known for her humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors in the northeastern part of that state. White was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 8, 1876. Her mother died shortly after childbirth, and, … Read MoreEartha M. M. White (1876-1974)
