Professional basketball player James Edward Harden Jr. was born on August 24, 1989 to James Harden Sr. and Monja Willis in Los Angeles, California. Harden also have a half-brother named Akili Roberson and a sister named Arnique Jenkins. James Harden Sr. was mostly absent during … Read MoreJames Harden (1989- )
Taylor Nicole Smith is a professional soccer player in the National Women’s League. Smith was born on December 1, 1993 in Fort Worth, Texas to Rose Smith and an unnamed father. Growing up, Smith attended Forth Worth Country Day School located in Fort Worth, Texas. … Read MoreTaylor Nicole Smith (1993- )
Hattie Mae White holds the distinction of being the first African American elected to public office in Houston, Texas in the 20th century. Born Hattie Mae Whiting, she is the daughter of David Wendell and Hattie (Gooden) Whiting, born in Huntsville, Texas on May 22, … Read MoreHattie Mae White (1916-1993)
Eugene Moszee was a civil rights activist in Seattle during the 1940s. Born in Floresville, Texas, in 1914, the first of ten children of illiterate farm laborers, Moszee moved to Seattle during the 1930s and by 1937 owned and operated his own Mobile gas station … Read MoreEugene Moszee (1914-1945)
Fourth Ward is the oldest established African American neighborhood in Houston, Texas. It was created in 1839 by the city of Houston as one its six political districts. Fourth Ward is located directly west of downtown Houston and in 1866, it was the site of … Read MoreFourth Ward, Houston, Texas (1839- )
In this article below historian Charles B. Kastner describes his new book, Race Across America, on Eddie Gardner, the now virtually unknown marathon runner who achieved nation fame in his footraces across the United States in the 1920s. Race across America: Eddie Gardner and the … Read MoreResurrecting the Legacy of Eddie Gardner
Wilson Alexander, Sr. was the third of seven children born on in 1919 to Charles and Pearl Alexander of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. Alexander grew up in a a tight-knit community of sugar plantation sharecroppers in southern Louisiana. On July 24, 1942, he was drafted … Read MoreWilson “Ducktail” Alexander, Sr. (1919-1950)
Vivian O’Dell Lee, a native of Spring, Texas, is the youngest child of Alvirita and Arthur Booker. She was born on January 28, 1938. Growing up, Lee traveled extensively with her mother and stepfather, U.S. Master Sergeant Frank Little, to Army locations in the U.S. … Read MoreVivian O. Lee (1938- )
Herman Barnett, a physician, civil rights activist, and Tuskegee Airman achieved a significant number of “firsts” in Texas history. Born on January 22, 1926 in Austin, Texas, Barnett was the son of Hencil Barnett and Lula Searcy Barnett. After graduating from Phyllis Wheatley High School, … Read MoreHerman Aladdin Barnett, III (1926-1973)
J. R. Todd, a leading drag racer and crew chief, was the first African American to win a Top Fuel competition sponsored by the National Hot Rod Association. He was born Mario Luther Todd Jr. in Lawrenceburg, Indiana on December 16, 1981 to Mario Luther … Read MoreJ. R. Todd (1981- )
