Earl Grant was a popular American musician during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his instrumental version of the song “Ebb Tide.” Grant was born in Idabel, Oklahoma on January 20, 1931. While there is not much known about his childhood, we do know … Read MoreEarl Grant (1931-1970)
George Goldsby, a.k.a. George Gooseby, a.k.a. William Scott, was a veteran of the Union Army and a sergeant in the Tenth U.S. Cavalry (“buffalo soldiers”). His involvement in a shooting incident near Fort Concho, Texas and subsequent disappearance created an aura of frontier mystery surrounding his name. Goldsby appeared as … Read MoreGeorge Goldsby (1843-1922)
Wayne L. Black is a Brigadier General and Assistant Adjutant General of the Indiana Army National Guard. As Assistant Adjutant General, Black is the primary advisor to the Adjutant General and aids in managing and coordinating the Indiana Army National Guard. Black also acts as a representative of … Read MoreWayne L. Black (1962?- )
Leona Mitchell is an operatic soprano singer who was the lead soprano singer for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, New York for eighteen years. She is also a Grammy Award winner for the Best Opera Recording in 1977. Mitchell was born on October 13, 1949 in Enid, Oklahoma, which was … Read MoreLeona Mitchell (1949- )
Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on December 30, 1949, Tom Colbert was the first African American Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Raised by his single mother, Edith Colbert, with four other siblings, he grew up in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, a small town near Oklahoma City, and graduated from … Read MoreTom Colbert (1949- )
David Lewis is the first African American to serve on the Criminal Court of Appeals in Oklahoma. Born to Sylvia Lewis on April 30, 1958, in Ardmore, Oklahoma, he graduated from Ardmore High School in 1976. He got a bachelor’s degree in business economics at the University of Oklahoma in … Read MoreDavid B. Lewis (1956- )
Dr. Olivia Juliette Hooker is one of the last known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots. Born in 1915 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, at the age of six, she lived through the Ku Klux Klan destroying her family’s home along with the 35-block “Black Wall … Read MoreOlivia J. Hooker (1915-2018)
In 1982 Charles Sampson became the first black man to win a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world championship, which he won for bull riding. In 1996 he was inducted into the Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame and in 2008 was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall … Read MoreCharles O. Sampson (1957- )
The Southwestern Colored Cowboys Association (SCCA) was formed in the late 1940s by black cowboys to create a space for African Americans to compete in rodeo events. The SCCA was a minor league that provided aspiring black cowboys with a venue to compete and exhibit their skills … Read MoreSouthwestern Colored Cowboys Association (1940s-1950s)
The Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation occurred in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) when a group of twenty-five enslaved blacks, mostly from the Joseph Vann plantation, attempted to escape to Mexico where slavery was abolished. The revolt began on November 15, 1842, when the Vann plantation fugitives gathered … Read MoreThe Slave Revolt in the Cherokee Nation (1842)
