Harriet Robinson Scott was an enslaved person who is best remembered for being the second wife of Dred Scott. Harriet was born a slave on a Virginia plantation around 1820. From a young age she was a servant to Lawrence Taliaferro, a US Indian Agent. … Read MoreHarriet Robinson Scott (ca. 1820-1876)
William Henry Johnson served as the personal valet to Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was born around 1835; however, his exact date of birth, parentage, and birthplace remain unknown. He began working for the Lincoln family in Springfield, Illinois as a barber and valet in 1860 and accompanied Lincoln … Read MoreWilliam Henry Johnson (ca. 1835-1864)
Walter Edward Williams, economist, educator, political pundit, radio personality, and syndicated columnist, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in March 31, 1936. Williams and his sister were raised by a single mother in the Richard Allen Housing Project in North Philadelphia. Williams was educated in Philadelphia … Read MoreWalter Edward Williams (1936-2020)
To escape enslavement on a plantation near Richmond, Virginia, Henry “Box” Brown in 1849 exploited maritime elements of the Underground Railroad. Brown’s moniker “Box” was a result of his squeezing himself into a box and having himself shipped 250 miles from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, … Read MoreHenry “Box” Brown (1816-1889)
Alexis Herman, US Secretary of Labor, political activist, civic leader, social worker, and entrepreneur, was born on July 16, 1947 in Mobile, Alabama to politician Alex Herman and educator Gloria Caponis. Herman graduated from Heart of Mary High School in Mobile in 1965 and enrolled … Read MoreAlexis Margaret Herman (1947- )
Christian Fleetwood, soldier, choir master, clerk, and abolitionist, was born free in Baltimore, Maryland to Charles Fleetwood and Anna Marie Fleetwood on July 21, 1840. At an early age, Christian Fleetwood showed signs of intelligence and quickly endeared himself to the wealthy sugar merchant John … Read MoreChristian Abraham Fleetwood (1840-1914)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Ruth Alice Lucas, who overcame race and sex barriers back in 1968 by becoming the first African American woman to be promoted to the rank of full colonel in the United States Air Force, was born in Stamford, Connecticut on November … Read MoreRuth Alice Lucas (1920-2013)
Wanda Sykes is an American actress, comedian, writer, and voice artist. She is best known for her recurring role as Barbara Baran on the CBS primetime show The New Adventures of Old Christine, and for her comedic roles in such films as Monster-in-Law and My … Read MoreWanda Sykes (1964- )
Bishop T.D. Jakes—megachurch pastor, best-selling author, playwright, and movie producer—was born Thomas Dexter Jakes on June 9, 1957, in South Charleston, West Virginia, to Ernest L. Jakes, Sr., owner of a janitorial service that had three offices and 52 employees, and Odith Patton Jakes, a … Read MoreThomas Dexter Jakes (1957- )
In the following account historian and novelist Lois Leveen describes how she came to write her critically acclaimed novel, The Secrets of Mary Bowser, the account of a black woman who served as a Union spy in the Confederate White House during the American Civil War. … Read MoreTelling Secrets, Spying Freedom: A Novel Account of Mary Bowser’s Civil War Espionage
