Ann Bradford, early African American Navy nurse, was born a slave in Rutherford County, Tennessee, in 1830. Few other details of her early life are known. She was not able to read or write and was taken aboard a Union ship as “contraband” (an escaped … Read MoreAnn Bradford Stokes (1830-1903)
Bessie Smith was a jazz and blues vocalist whose powerful, soulful voice won her countless fans and earned her the title “Empress of the Blues.” Smith’s songs stressed classic blues subjects: poverty and oppression; love and betrayal; independence, sexual freedom, and stoic acceptance of defeat … Read MoreBessie Smith (1894-1937)
Alonzo Franklin Herndon was an African American entrepreneur who founded and was the first president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Herndon was born on June 26, 1858 in Walton County, Georgia to Frank Herndon, a white farmer, and Sophenie, his slave. By the time of … Read MoreAlonzo Franklin Herndon (1858–1927)
Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. was a cardiac surgeon who, in 1980, performed the first implantation of an automatic defibrillator into a human heart. He was also a professor of cardiac surgery and associate dean at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Watkins … Read MoreLevi Watkins Jr. (1944-2015)
Most Americans are now familiar with the contribution of nearly 300,000 black soldiers and sailors to the Union cause during the U.S. Civil War. Less well known is the role of a dedicated group of black doctors and nurses in uniform who worked diligently to … Read MoreAfrican Americans in Medicine in the Civil War Era
The State of Tennessee enacted 20 Jim Crow laws between 1866 and 1955, including six requiring school segregation, four which outlawed miscegenation, three which segregated railroads, two requiring segregation for public accommodations, and one which mandated segregation on streetcars. The 1869 law declared that no … Read More(1866) Jim Crow Laws: Tennessee, 1866-1955
The Highlander Research and Education Center formerly known as Highlander Folk School is a leadership school and cultural training center located in New Market, Tennessee. It was primarily known as a training center for labor and civil rights activists from across the United States from … Read MoreHighlander Research and Education Center (1932- )
In the following article Melissa Milewski, a graduate student in history at New York University, describes her research which has uncovered the surprising success of African American litigants in court cases in the post-Civil War South. As slaves, black southerners were treated only as property … Read MoreFrom Slave to Litigant: African Americans in Court in the Post-Civil War South
Educator and abolitionist Lucy Stanton Day Sessions is believed to be the first African American woman to graduate from college, completing a Ladies Literary Course from Oberlin College in 1850. For over a century the Ohio college has recognized its early Literary Course program as … Read MoreLucy Stanton Day Sessions (1831-1910)
Singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker was best known for his unique style of Delta Blues, known as “talking blues.” He had a long and successful career, which was revitalized as he turned 80 with two Grammy Awards. His influence can be seen in today’s … Read MoreJohn Lee Hooker (1917-2001)
