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- )
Jefferson August Beaver, banker, businessman, local politician, and civil rights activist, was born in Warren, Arkansas on May 20, 1908 to parents Rev. Robert Jefferson Beaver, a minister with the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and Ethel Jordan. Beaver’s family resided in Monticello, Arkansas before … Read MoreJefferson A. Beaver (1908-1991)
Clayton Pitre was a longtime Seattle, Washington-based community activist, former Chief Housing Developer for the Central Area Motivation Project (CAMP), and a retired Montford Point Marine. Born on June 30, 1924, to Gilbert Pitre and Eugenie Lemelle, Clayton Pitre was the fourth child of seven … Read MoreClayton Pitre (1924-2020)
Image Courtesy of arthuralex (CC BY-SA 2.0) Avel Louise Gordly was the first African American woman elected to the Oregon State Senate. In addition to a public service career in politics and criminal justice, she has been an educator, advocate for mental health services, and … Read MoreAvel Louise Gordly (1947- )
Abram Lincoln Harris, Jr., the grandson of slaves, was the first nationally recognized black economist. Harris was highly respected for his work that focused primarily on class analysis, black economic life, and labor to illustrate the structural inadequacies of race and racial ideologies. Harris’s major … Read MoreAbram Lincoln Harris Jr. (1899-1963)
John E. Jacob, civil rights leader, former president of the National Urban League, business executive, and administrator, was born to Claudia and Emory Jacob in Trout, Louisiana on December 16, 1934. Jacob’s father, Emory Jacob, was an impoverished Baptist minister who moved his wife and … Read MoreJohn Edward Jacob (1934- )
Harlem Renaissance writer Dorothy West was born on June 2, 1907 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the only child of Rachel Pease Benson and Isaac Christopher West. Isaac West was a former slave from Virginia whose small-business success afforded his daughter a childhood of relative … Read MoreDorothy West (1907-1998)
Hugh Bernard Price, civil rights activist and president of the National Urban League, was born on November 22, 1941 in Washington, DC. Raised in a middle-class home by his parents, Charlotte Schuster and Kline Price, Price became aware of racial struggles and the importance of … Read MoreHugh Price (1941 – )
Civil rights activist Edwin C. “Bill” Berry was affiliated with the Urban League for over 30 years and served as executive director of the Chicago Urban League from 1956 to 1970. When he arrived in Chicago he denounced the city’s segregationist practices and drove anti-discrimination … Read MoreEdwin C. “Bill” Berry (1910-1987)
Camp Atwater is a cultural, educational, and recreational camp designed for the children of African American professionals. The camp, founded in 1921 by Dr. William De Berry, was located in North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Initially named St. John’s Camp, in 1926 the name was officially changed … Read MoreCamp Atwater (1921- )
