Lee Elder, a member of the United Golfers Association (UGA), Professional Golfers Association (PGA), and the PGA Senior Tour, was the first African American to break the color barrier and play in the Masters Golf Tournament. Lee Elder was born in 1934 in Dallas, Texas. … Read MoreLee Elder (1934-2021)
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. followed in the footsteps of his trail blazing father as the first black general in the U.S. Air Force. He was born in Washington, D.C. on December 18, 1912, fully committed to a military career. He entered West Point Military Academy … Read MoreBenjamin O. Davis Jr. (1912-2002)
Joe Louis Barrow, known popularly as Joe Louis, was the second African American heavyweight boxing champion in the 20th Century. Louis was born on May 13, 1914 in Chambers County Alabama to sharecropper parents Monroe and Lilly Reese Barrow. He was the seventh of eight … Read MoreJoe Louis [Barrow] (1914-1981)
The career of Robert Henry Bragg was highlighted by his success in employing x-ray techniques to reveal the structural makeup and electrical properties of carbon and composite materials. The son of a union organizer and a seamstress, he was born in Jacksonville, Florida on August … Read MoreRobert H. Bragg (1919-2017)
Emmett Till was a fourteen year-old African American boy who was tortured and killed in Money, Mississippi in 1955 after allegedly insulting a white woman. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Till lived with his mother, Mamie Till. His father, Louis Till, died while serving in the … Read MoreEmmett Louis Till (1941-1955)
Vanport, Oregon was the largest WWII federal housing project in the United States, and as such, attracted national attention to the region. At its peak, Vanport was home to over 42,000 residents, making it the second largest population center in the state. The housing project … Read MoreVanport, Oregon (1942-1948)
Over the past seven decades the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen have been celebrated, occasionally mythologized, and used as a recent reminder of the patriotism and heroism of African Americans in times of national crisis. Mounting pressure by black leaders such as union activist A Philip … Read MoreTuskegee Airmen
Prominent civil rights attorney Hayzel B. Daniels earned his B.S. in Social Sciences in 1939 and an M.A. in Education in 1941 from the University of Arizona. He taught at Fort Huachuca, Arizona where his father was stationed with the 10th Cavalry. Daniels served in … Read MoreHayzel B. Daniels (1913-1992)
World War II war hero Doris “Dorie” Miller was born in Waco, Texas on October 12, 1919 to Conery and Henrietta Miller who were farmers just outside the city. Miller grew to 6 feet 3 inches, weighed over 200 pounds, and played football at Waco’s … Read MoreDoris (“Dorie”) Miller (1919-1943)
Before 1941 about 4,000 black soldiers (and a handful of African American officers) served in the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments (the “Buffalo Soldiers”), two of the all-black units formed after the Civil War. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the number of … Read MoreBlack Soldiers at Fort Huachuca, Arizona During World War II
