Frenchtown, a community built in 1922 in Houston, Texas, was constructed by hundreds of Creole descendants of free French, Spanish, and African people living in southwestern Louisiana in the eighteenth century. Coming to Houston for economic opportunities, they settled and created this community because of … Read MoreFrenchtown Houston, Texas (1922- )
The Hall of Negro Life, the first official recognition of African American achievements by a world’s fair in the United States, was a featured and well-visited part of the Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas, in 1936. Early in the planning stages of … Read MoreHall of Negro Life, Texas Centennial Exposition, 1936
Philippa Duke Schuyler was an African American child prodigy, pianist, composer, journalist, and author. She became famous in the 1930s and 1940s for her unique musical talents, mixed-race background, and the abnormal methods her parents used to raise her. Schuyler was born on August 2, … Read MorePhilippa Schuyler (1931-1967)
As a classical music conductor, Michael Morgan has been instrumental in bringing his eclectic orchestral leadership style to a diverse audience. Since becoming musical director of the Oakland East Bay Symphony Orchestra in 1990, Morgan has become well respected, particularly in the African American community … Read MoreMichael Morgan (1957-2021)
Lusia “Lucy” Harris, a former American basketball player, is considered to be one of the pioneers of women’s basketball. She played for Delta State University in Mississippi and won a silver medal with the U.S. Women’s Basketball Team in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic Games … Read MoreLusia Harris (1955- )
Image Courtesy Gloria Lawsha Smith Erma Mozelle Duffy Lewis, founder of the first African-American community theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, was born February 7, 1926, in Fort Worth to Haywood James Duffy and Hazel Mae Calloway Duffy. She was the oldest of eight children and … Read MoreErma Mozelle Duffy Lewis (1926–1982)
The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) Silent Protest Parade, also known as the Silent March, took place on 5th Avenue in New York City, New York on Saturday, July 28, 1917. This protest was a response to violence against African Americans, … Read MoreNew York City NAACP Silent Protest Parade (1917)
Right-to-Life activist Mildred Fay Jefferson was born in Pittsburgh, Texas, on April 4, 1926, but raised in the town of Carthage, Texas. She was the only child of Millard Jefferson, a Methodist minister and chaplain in the U.S. Army, and Guthrie Roberts, a teacher. A … Read MoreMildred Fay Jefferson (1926-2010)
Image Courtesy of Madeline Crowley Seattle businessman and civic activist Fordie Ross was born on April 21, 1914, in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to Miles and Sophia Ross. He was one of six children in a family of devout Presbyterians. Ross attended Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, … Read MoreFordie Ross (1914–2014)
Jewel Limar Prestage was the first African-American woman to earn a PhD in political science at an American university. Prestage was born on August 12, 1931, in Hutton, Louisiana, to Brudis Leroy Limar Sr. and Sallie Bell Johnson Limar. At a young age, her family … Read MoreJewel Limar Prestage (1931-2014)
