James Andrew “Jimmy” Rushing—affectionately known as “Mister Five-By-Five” for being “five feet tall and five feet wide”—was a blues shouter born in Oklahoma City to a musical family on August 26, 1902 (give or take a year according to different sources). His father played trumpet … Read MoreJames Andrew “Jimmy”Rushing (1902-1972)
Born on March 1, 1913 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Ralph Waldo Ellison entered the world with a name that almost presumed for him a literary career. But his road to and in literature would be torturous. Many of the initial comforts enjoyed by Ellison vanished … Read MoreRalph Ellison (1913-1994)
An outstanding educator and academic leader, Inman Edward Page was born in Warrenton, Virginia, on December 29, 1853. On the plantation where he and his parents were enslaved, Page was a houseboy. When he was about ten years old the Civil War brought Union and … Read MoreInman Edward Page (1853-1936)
Hannah Diggs was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on November 1, 1923. Several of her relatives were teachers, and her parents instilled in her a love of reading and an appreciation for education. She became the valedictorian of her high school class before enrolling at … Read MoreHannah Diggs Atkins (1923-2010)
George W. McLaurin provided the Oklahoma civil rights case that damaged the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” legal position beyond repair. He held a master’s degree from the University of Kansas and taught at the all-black Langston University until 1948. NAACP attorney Thurgood … Read MoreGeorge W. McLaurin (1887-1968)
Edward P. McCabe was an African American politician and businessman most notable for his promotion of black settlement in Oklahoma and Kansas. Born in 1850 in Troy, New York, McCabe would attend school until his father’s death when he left school to support his family … Read MoreEdward P. McCabe (1850-1920)
Coacoochee (Ko AH koo chee), known to Americans as Wild Cat and to Mexicans as Gato del Monte, is best known as a Seminole resistance leader during the American invasion of Seminole lands in Florida in the 1830s. He led a celebrated escape from a … Read MoreCoacoochee (c. 1808-1857)
Bill Pickett, “the Dusky Demon,” was of Indian/Black descent, Texas-born and seemingly destined for the saddle. At birth, he was just another cowboy. By the time of his death, Pickett was the most famous black cowboy entertainer in American history. The slightly-built man transformed himself … Read MoreBill Pickett (1870-1932)
“If I had nine lives, I’d want to be a lawyer every day of every one, I enjoy it so.” With this sensibility and love for the legal system, Juanita Kidd Stout made the correct decision in choosing her life’s work. Juanita Kidd Stout established … Read MoreJuanita Kidd Stout (1919-1998)
Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher was a leading activist, attorney, and educator who opened higher education to African American students in Oklahoma, and laid the foundation for the Brown v. Board of Education decision. After graduating from the segregated Langston University in 1945, Fisher volunteered to … Read MoreAda Lois Sipuel Fisher (1924-1995)
