Edith Spurlock was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 13, 1901. She grew up in a working class family, one of seven children, and attended Pittsburgh’s Peabody High School. Upon graduation, she married Rufus Sampson, a field agent for Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. After … Read MoreEdith Spurlock Sampson (1901-1979)
Musicologist, playwright, novelist and political activist Lola Shirley Graham, born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1896, became the second wife to W.E.B. Du Bois in 1951. Lola Shirley Graham was taught at a young age to stand up to injustice. She wrote her first editorial to … Read MoreShirley Graham Du Bois (1896 – 1977)
Eleanor Holmes Norton was born on June 13, 1937 in Washington, D.C. to parents Coleman and Vela Holmes. Both her parents were government employees. Growing up in a well educated and politically conscious household caused Eleanor Holmes to be very aware of the surrounding struggles … Read MoreEleanor Holmes Norton (1937- )
Meta Warrick Fuller was a black female artist who specialized in sculpture. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1877, her career peaked during America’s Gilded Age, a time when more women were trained as artists than ever before. She attended the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial … Read MoreMeta Warrick Fuller (1877-1968)
A writer, an economist and an advocate for affirmative action, Andrew Felton Brimmer is best known as the first African American to hold a governorship on the United States Federal Reserve Bank. Born in Newellton, Louisiana on September 13, 1926, Brimmer moved to Bremerton, Washington … Read MoreAndrew F. Brimmer (1926-2012)
Robert Purvis was born on August 4, 1810 in Charleston, South Carolina, the second of three sons to a wealthy cotton broker and a free woman of color. With the benefits of a financially successful family, Purvis began his opposition to slavery at a very … Read MoreRobert Purvis (1810-1898)
William Still was born in Burlington County, New Jersey in 1821, as the last of eighteen children of former slaves Levin and Charity Still. By 1844, Still moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he spent the majority of his life and where he was appointed secretary … Read MoreWilliam Still (1821-1902)
Dr. Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler was the first African American woman doctor in the United States. She completed medical school at the New England Female Medical College and received her M.D. in 1864. Rebecca Davis Lee Crumpler was born free on February 8, 1831 to … Read MoreRebecca Davis Lee Crumpler (1831-1895)
Archibald Grimke was a leading intellectual, activist, and author on racial equality in early 20th century America. Grimke was born into slavery in South Carolina on August 17, 1849, the son of Nancy Weston, a slave, and Henry Grimke, her owner. After his father’s death, … Read MoreArchibald Grimke (1849-1930)
Roger Arliner Young, born in Clifton Forge, Virginia in 1889, was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in zoology and to conduct research at the prestigious Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Young researched the anatomy of paramecium and the effects of … Read MoreRoger Arliner Young (1889-1964)
