Robert A. Pinn, attorney, and Civil War hero, received the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Pinn was born free to William and Zilphia Broxton-Pinn, in Stark County, Ohio on March 1, 1843. His father William Pinn escaped from slavery and … Read MoreRobert Alexander Pinn (1843-1911)
Image Courtesy of Kaiser Health News Otis Brawley is an American physician, oncologist, researcher, author, and health care reform advocate, who is currently the Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society (the largest non-profit health-oriented charity in the … Read MoreOtis Webb Brawley (1959- )
In the article below Seattle historian Carver Clark Gayton describes his most prominent ancestor, Lewis G. Clarke, who is widely considered to be the model for one of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s main characters in her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Here Gayton describes Clarke’s evolving relationship … Read MoreLewis G. Clarke: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Forgotten Hero
Quindaro was an abolitionist town on the border between the slave state of Missouri and free state settlers in Territorial Kansas. By its existence, Quindaro undermined the attempted blockade of the Missouri River by proslavery advocates against additional free state supporters flowing into Kansas. Quindaro … Read MoreQuindaro, Kansas Territory (1857-1862)
Western University was the first African American University in Kansas. The school originated by the work of Presbyterian minister Eben Blatchly, who began educating free blacks in the Territorial Kansas Town of Quindaro in 1857. After the Civil War, Blatchly expanded his school, calling it … Read MoreWestern University (1857-1943)
Beginning in the 1970s, Barbara Smith broke new ground as a black feminist, lesbian, activist, author, and book publisher of women of color. She and her twin sister, Beverly Smith, were born on December 16, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio. Their mother, Hilda Smith, maternal grandmother, … Read MoreBarbara Smith (1946- )
Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1906, Thomas Nelson Baker was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from The Ohio State University. The third child of Rev. Dr. Thomas Nelson Baker, Sr. and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Baytop Baker, Thomas had one brother, Harry … Read MoreThomas Nelson Baker Jr. (1906-1977)
Hale Giddings Parker was a Midwest lawyer and political activist. He was the only African American appointed a Commissioner (an alternate) at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago by President Benjamin Harrison. Parker was born in Ripley, Ohio, the son of John and Miranda … Read MoreHale Giddings Parker (1851-1925)
William Thomas Scott, also known as W.T. Scott, was a tavern/ hotel owner, newspaper owner/ editor, and politician in the latter half of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. He was the first African-American selected by the convention of a … Read MoreWilliam Thomas Scott (1839-1917)
Donald Hamilton Barden was one of the nation’s most successful black businessmen and the first black owner of a major Las Vegas Casino. He earned most of his wealth through the casino, cable television, and real estate industries. He also started a record company, worked … Read MoreDon H. Barden (1943-2011)
