Victoria Renee Woodards was elected Tacoma, Washington’s 39th mayor on November 7th, 2017 and thus became the second woman of color to hold the position. Woodards followed Marilyn Strickland who served as mayor from 2010-2017. Woodards was born on July 16, 1965 in Riverside, California … Read MoreVictoria Renee Woodards (1965- )
Law professor and legal activist Henry W. “Hank” McGee, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 31, 1932, to Henry W. McGee, Sr., from Hillsboro, Texas, the first African American Postmaster appointed by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Attye Belle Truesdale McGee, from … Read MoreHenry W. “Hank” McGee, Jr. (1932-2024)
Moeketsi Majoro, an economist and politician and former Prime Minister of Lesotho, was born on November 3, 1961, in Leribe, Lesotho. Majoro is married to Masekoalane Mamusa Rankhelepe. They are the parents of two children. Majoro received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from … Read MoreMoeketsi Majoro
(1961- )
Nicholas (“Nick”) Brown is the first African American to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington. Born in San Francisco to a career military officer, Brown also lived in Augsburg, Germany as a child. He attended high school in Steilacoom, Washington, … Read MoreNicholas W. Brown (1977- )
Mark Damone Johnson is a professor of neurological surgery and Senior Consulting Vice Provost for Mentorship, Leadership and Transformation at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the UMass Memorial Medical Center. Previously, he was an associate … Read MoreMark D. Johnson (?- )
Ball handling wizard Elgin “Rabbit” Baylor was born Elgin Gay Baylor on September 16, 1934, in Washington, D.C. to John Wesley Baylor from Caroline County, Virginia, and Uzziel Lewis Baylor from Spotsylvania County, Virginia. His brothers were John L. Baylor and Kermit Baylor, and his … Read MoreElgin “Rabbit” Baylor (1934-2021)
Although Black Americans have lived on the outskirts of major American cities since colonial times, Black suburbanization, that is the significant presence of African Americans in suburban communities, is a post-1960 phenomenon. The modern American suburb is a 20th century development as homebuilders, responding to … Read MoreA Brief History of African American Suburbanization
William Amos Craven was the first African American elected as mayor in the state of Washington. He was appointed in 1975 and later elected in 1976 as mayor of the town of Roslyn, Washington. William Craven was born September 18, 1938 the son of Samuel … Read MoreWilliam Amos Craven (1938- )
Over a century before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened colleges and universities to all students, public and private colleges were established in the United States to meet the educational needs of African Americans. These institutions, now called Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), … Read MoreBlack Collegiate Education in the United States (1828-2019)
