Educator, civil rights activist, writer, suffragist, and political organizer, Addie Waites Hunton was born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 11, 1866, to Jesse and Adeline Waites. After her mother died when she was very young, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts to live with her maternal … Read MoreAddie Waites Hunton (1866-1943)
Jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, and cosmic philosopher Le Sony’r Ra, or Sun Ra, remains an influential and controversial figure in jazz history. He is largely remembered for his Astro Black Mythology that incorporated aspects of ancient Egyptian philosophy and science fiction, as well as his … Read MoreSun Ra/Le Sony’r Ra (1914-1993)
Powell Lindsay, actor, director, playwright, and producer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Virginia Union University as well as the Yale University School of Drama. At Yale, Lindsay became frustrated by the limited and often stereotypical African American roles presented by the School of … Read MorePowell Lindsay (1905-1987)
Shirley Clarke Franklin became Atlanta, Georgia’s first African American female mayor in 2001, as well as the first woman to be a mayor of a major southern city. Clarke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 10, 1945 to parents Eugene Haywood Clarke and Ruth … Read MoreShirley Clarke Franklin (1945- )
Caroline Still Wiley Anderson, physician and educator, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to William and Letitia Still. Supporting his family through coal mining investments and a stove store, William Still, a prominent antebellum abolitionist, helped escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad. He wrote about these … Read MoreCaroline Still Wiley Anderson (1848-1919)
Lincoln University in Pennsylvania was founded in 1854 by John Miller Dickey, a Presbyterian minister and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson. It is located on Baltimore Pike in southern Chester County, a rural part of southeastern Pennsylvania. Lincoln was originally founded under the name Ashmun … Read MoreLincoln University [Pennsylvania] (1854- )
Crystal Bird Fauset, the first African-American female state legislator in the United States, was born on June 27, 1894 in Princess Anne, Maryland. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts but spent most of her adult and political life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between 1914 and 1918 … Read MoreCrystal Bird Fauset (1894-1965)
Edward Rudolph Bradley Jr., journalist, was born June 22, 1941, in Philadelphia. His father was a businessman and his mother a housewife. After Bradley’s parents divorced, he spent summers with his father in Detroit. He attended primary and secondary school in Philadelphia. In 1960 he … Read MoreEd Bradley, Jr. (1941-2006)
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE DEBATE OVER SLAVERY When Thomas Jefferson included a passage attacking slavery in his draft of the Declaration of Independence it initiated the most intense debate among the delegates gathered at Philadelphia in the spring and early summer of 1776. … Read More(1776) The Deleted Passage of the Declaration of Independence
Lisa Perez Jackson, the first African American Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), brings a wealth of experience to that agency. A scientist by profession, she has spent more than 20 years working as an advocate for the better use and awareness of … Read MoreLisa Perez Jackson (1962- )
