Letitia “Tish” James is a lawyer, activist, and the first African American female Attorney General of the state of New York. James was born in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York on October 18, 1958. Her father, Robert, was a maintenance man, and her mother Nellie … Read MoreLetitia A. James (1958- )
On August 24, 2019, African American abolitionist John Pierre Burr was honored and formally acknowledged by the Aaron Burr Family Association as the son of former Vice President Aaron Burr in an unveiling of his headstone at Eden Cemetery near Philadelphia. John Pierre Burr was … Read MoreLouisa Charlotte Burr (1788-1878)
In 2018, Lauren Underwood was elected to the U.S. Congress representing the 14th Congressional district of Illinois which is suburban Chicago. She is the first African American woman to represent the district, defeating incumbent Republican Congressman Randy Hultgren. At age 32, she is also the … Read MoreLauren Underwood (1986- )
Surgeon and oncologist Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr. was born on May 22, 1930 in Tallahassee, Florida to Lula Jordan and LaSalle Leffall Sr. Leffall grew up in Quincy, Florida where his father taught agriculture at Florida A&M College, a historically black college located in … Read MoreLaSalle D. Leffall Jr. (1930-2019)
Algernon Brashear Jackson was a columnist, author, physician, surgeon and one of the foundering members of Sigma Pi Phi, the oldest African-American Greek letter organization. Jackson was born on May 21, 1878 to Charles and Sarah (Brashear) Jackson in Princeton, Indiana. His father was African … Read MoreAlgernon Brashear Jackson (1878-1942)
Lizzie Koontz Weeks was an early suffragist, activist, and the first black social worker in Portland, Oregon. Weeks was possibly born in 1886 in Washington, D.C. to mixed-race parentage. Although not much is known of her early life, she moved to Portland, Oregon where she … Read MoreLizzie Koontz Weeks (ca. 1886-1976)
On June 17, 1972, Frank Wills, an African American night watchman, detected an early morning break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The five men arrested had ties to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, igniting a political scandal … Read MoreFrank Wills (1948-2000)
Hakeem Sekou Jeffries is a four-term Congressman representing New York’s 8th congressional district in Brooklyn and Queens. On November 28, 2018, Jeffries’ House colleagues elected him Democratic Caucus chairman putting him three steps away from making history as the first African American Speaker of the … Read MoreHakeem Jeffries (1970- )
Politician and educator Judson W. Lyons was born on August 15, 1858 in Burke County, Georgia. In 1871, his family moved to Augusta, Georgia where Lyons was educated at the Augusta Institute. Lyons got involved in Republican Party politics as a young man, being selected … Read MoreJudson W. Lyons (1858-1924)
Pioneering scholar in black women’s history, Rosalyn Marian Terborg-Penn was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 22, 1941, to Jeanne Van Horn Terborg, a clerical worker, and Jacques Arnold Terborg, a jazz musician born in Suriname. Terborg and her brother Jacques Jr., spent their … Read MoreRosalyn Terborg-Penn (1941-2018)