Sarann Knight was born in Eufaula, Oklahoma on July 22, 1920, to parents of mixed African American and Native American ancestry. She migrated to Las Vegas in 1942, settling with her husband, Luther Walker, in the Westside African American community. Preddy first sought employment on … Read MoreSarann Knight-Preddy (1920-2014)
Sarah Blair was born into slavery on Christmas Day, 1855, on the Blair Plantation near Greensboro, North Carolina. After the Civil War Sarah lived with an aunt in Knoxville, Tennessee and changed her name to Gammon, the aunt’s name. In 1870, Knoxville Judge John L. … Read MoreSarah Gammon Bickford (1855-1931)
Dr. Ruth Janetta Temple was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1892. After her father’s death, the Temple family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1904 where her mother worked as a practical nurse and Ruth cared for her five siblings. Temple’s interest in medicine surfaced … Read MoreRuth Janetta Temple (1892-1984)
Born in Colorado Springs in 1902, Ruth Cave began her notable career in unpromising circumstances. Her parents were divorced before she was born, and her mother died when she was 11, leaving Ruth and her sister Dorothy in the care of her 60 year old … Read MoreRuth Cave Flowers (1902-1980)
Roberta Byrd Barr was an African American educator, civil rights leader, actress, librarian, and television personality. She was a talented, multifaceted personality with a calm presence, thoughtful demeanor, and a darkly melodious voice which served her well in the many roles she played in the Seattle, … Read MoreRoberta Byrd Barr (1919-1993)
Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist, women’s rights activist, emancipated slave and itinerant evangelist, became arguably the most well-known nineteenth century African American woman. Born around 1797, Isabella (her birth name) was the daughter of James and Betsey, slaves of Colonel Ardinburgh Hurley, Ulster County, New York. … Read MoreSojourner Truth (ca. 1797-1883)
A gospel singer and arranger, Sallie Martin was born near Atlanta, Georgia. In her early twenties she began singing in a church choir in Cleveland, and, by 1929, had moved to Chicago and joined a chorus directed by Thomas Dorsey, later known as the Father … Read MoreSallie Martin (1895-1988)
Opal C. Jones was born in Texas sometime in the 1920s and moved to Los Angeles in the early 1950s where she became a social worker at the Avalon-Carver Community Center, established in 1940 to provide multiple resources to low-income residents in south central Los … Read MoreOpal C. Jones ( ? — ?)
Odessa Brown, for whom the Children’s Clinic in Seattle is named, was born April 30, 1920, in Des Arc, Arkansas. She moved to Seattle in 1963 after receiving training as a licensed beautician at the C. J. Walker Beauty School in Chicago. A mother of … Read MoreOdessa Brown (1920-1969)
Born enslaved in Tennessee, this girl came west with Ursuline nuns after being freed. Not known for her quiet temperament, she left the convent in her teens and became, in time, a restaurant owner in several towns in Montana, Wyoming and Alberta and Saskatachewan, Canada, … Read MoreMary Fields (1832-1914)
