Absalom Jones was born into slavery in Sussex, Delaware in 1746. He taught himself to read in his early teens from books he purchased by saving pennies given to him by visitors to his master’s home. At the age of sixteen, Jones’ family was separated … Read MoreAbsalom Jones (1746-1818)
William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr., a prominent Republican lawyer and businessman, served as Secretary of Transportation under President Gerald Ford. Born on July 7, 1920 to a middle class Philadelphia, Pennsylvania family, Coleman attended a segregated elementary school. When he moved to Germantown High School he … Read MoreWilliam T. Coleman Jr. (1920-2017)
John Edgar Wideman was born in 1941 in Washington, D.C. but grew up in the predominantly black middle class community of Homewood near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By the time Wideman was in high school, his family had moved to Shadyside, an upper middle class mostly white … Read MoreJohn Edgar Wideman (1941- )
Local 8 was an interracial, multiethnic local that was part of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a militant, left-wing labor union. From its inception, the IWW has been committed to racial equality, though African Americans played a relatively small role in the organization. … Read MoreIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW) Local 8 (1913-ca. 1928)
Selma Hortense Burke was a nurse, a teacher, and an influential American artist. Born in Mooresville, North Carolina, she was one of ten children born to Neal Burke, a Methodist minister and chef, and Mary Jackson Burke, a homemaker and teacher. She attended high school … Read MoreSelma Hortense Burke (1900 -1995)
Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tyron, North Carolina in 1933, Nina Simone began playing the family piano at the age of three. Her mother Mary Kate Waymon, a minister and choir director at a Methodist church in Tyron, interpreted her daughter’s gift as a God-given … Read MoreNina Simone (1933-2003)
On October 14, 1889, Clarence Edouard Muse was born to Alexander and Mary Muse in Baltimore, Maryland. Muse had intended to become an attorney and earned a degree in International Law from The Dickerson School of Law in Pennsylvania in 1911. Because of poor opportunities … Read MoreClarence Muse (1889-1979)
The Great Migration was the mass movement of about five million southern blacks to the north and west between 1915 and 1960. During the initial wave the majority of migrants moved to major northern cities such as Chicago, Illiniois, Detroit, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New … Read MoreThe Great Migration (1915-1960)
The Underground Railroad was established to aid enslaved people in their escape to freedom. The railroad was comprised of dozens of secret routes and safe houses originating in the slaveholding states and extending all the way to the Canadian border, the only area where fugitives … Read MoreThe Underground Railroad (1820-1861)
From 1974 to 1977, Elaine Brown was Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party. As a Panther, Brown also ran twice for a position on the City Council of Oakland, California. Since the 1970s she has been active in prison and education reform and juvenile justice. … Read MoreElaine Brown (1943- )
