The Church of God In Christ (COGIC) with over six million members worldwide is one the largest Pentecostal churches in the world. It was founded by Bishop Charles Harrison Mason in 1907. Charles Harrison Mason began his religious life in the 1890s as an ordained … Read MoreChurch Of God In Christ (1907- )
Bishop Charles Harrison Mason, the founder of the Church of God In Christ, was born September 8, 1866 near Memphis, Tennessee. His parents Jerry and Eliza Mason were ex-slaves. When Charles was twelve years old his family moved to Plumerville, Arkansas due to a Yellow-Fever … Read MoreCharles Harrison Mason (1866-1961)
David Nelson Crosthwait, Jr., was an African American inventor who is known for creating the heating system for Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York. Crosthwait was born on May 27th 1898 in Nashville, Tennessee. He grew up in Kansas City, Kansas … Read MoreDavid Nelson Crosthwait, Jr. (1898-1976)
Lou Southworth Image Ownership: Public Domain Lou Southworth, who became noted as a rare former Oregon slave, was born in Tennessee around 1830. His father’s name was Hunter, but he was born into slavery and took the surname of his master, James Southworth. His early … Read MoreLou Southworth (ca. 1830-1917)
Charles Spurgeon Johnson, one of the leading 20th century black sociologists, was born in Bristol, Virginia on July 24, 1893. After receiving his B.A. from Virginia Union University in Richmond, he studied sociology with the noted sociologist Robert E. Park at the University of Chicago, … Read MoreCharles S. Johnson (1893-1956)
John Hope Franklin, one of the nation’s leading historians, is the only African American who has served as president of both the American Historical Association (AHA) and the Organization of American Historians (OAH). Franklin was born in Rentiesville, Oklahoma on January 2, 1915 to parents … Read MoreJohn Hope Franklin (1915-2009)
Jesse B. Blayton, Sr., was a pioneer African American radio station entrepreneur. Blayton founded WERD-AM in Atlanta, Georgia on October 3, 1949, making him the first African American to own and operate a radio station in the United States. Jesse Blayton was born in Fallis, … Read MoreJesse B. Blayton, Sr. (1897-1977)
Ruby Doris Smith Robinson, born in Atlanta, Georgia on April 25, 1942, was a civil rights leader. Robinson, the second oldest of seven children born to Alice and John T. Smith, was raised in Atlanta’s black middleclass neighborhood of Summerhill. She graduated from Price High … Read MoreRuby Doris Smith Robinson (1942-1967)
Harry Herbert Pace was the founder of the first black record company, Pace Phonograph Corporation which sold recordings under the Black Swan Records label. He was born on January 6, 1884 in Covington, Georgia the son of Charles Pace and Nancy Ferris Pace. His father, … Read MoreHarry Pace (1884-1943)
Lillian Randolph was a 20th Century actress who routinely, yet proudly, presented the role of the black domestic in film and radio and defended her right to maintain such characters in an intelligent fashion for much of her career. Randolph was born in Knoxville, Tennessee … Read MoreLillian Randolph (1915-1980)
