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John McFerren was a civil rights activist best known for his involvement in the Tent City campaign of Fayette and Haywood Counties in the early 1960s. McFerren was born on October 28, 1924 to Eugene and Estella McFerren in the town of Somerville, the county … Read MoreJohn McFerren (1924-2020)

In the article below, Dr. Clarence Spigner, an epidemiologist and professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, assesses the early African American responses to COVID-19. COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory pandemic disease, stands for coronavirus disease, 2019. Symptoms for possible … Read MoreCOVID-19: The Myth and the Reality for Black America

The Honorable Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves is a lawyer and the first African American to serve as an Associate Justice on the Delaware Supreme Court. Justice Montgomery was born on April 29, 1981 in Jackson, Mississippi to Bettye Cribbs and Dewery Montgomery. She attended the University … Read MoreTamika Montgomery-Reeves (1981- )

Walter Fenner “Buck” Leonard was a professional baseball player who played the first baseman position in the Negro League Baseball and the Mexican League. Leonard was born on September 8, 1907 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to John Leonard and Emma Leonard. He had three … Read MoreWalter Fenner “Buck” Leonard (1907-1997)

Walter Peyton Manning was a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen and the only one known to be lynched as a prisoner of war. Born on May 3, 1920 in Baltimore, Maryland to Winifred Manning, he grew up in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By the age … Read MoreWalter Peyton Manning (1920-1945)

Lemuel Augustus Penn Sr. was the Assistant Superintendent of Washington, District of Columbia (D.C.) public schools, a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army, and a decorated veteran of World War II. Born on September 19, 1915 in Washington, D.C. to Henry Penn, a laborer … Read MoreLemuel Augustus Penn Sr. (1915-1964)

José Celso Barbosa Alcalá, physician, polemicist, professor, politician, and publisher, was born on July 27, 1857 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico to Carmen Alcalá and Hermógenes Barbosa, brick mason and San Antonio sugar mill overseer.  Barbosa’s life traversed significant periods: Spanish colonization; Grito de Lares; slavery, … Read MoreJosé Barbosa (1857-1921)

Julia de Burgos was a celebrated literary icon of the Americas whose themes of Blackness, feminism, love, migration, nationalism, and nature helped birth the 1960s Nuyorican movement. Julia Constanza Burgos García, teacher, activist, journalist, and poet, was born February 17, 1914 in Santa Cruz, Carolina, … Read MoreJulia de Burgos (1914-1953)

Viola Harris McFerren was a civil rights activist alongside her husband, John McFerren, in Fayette County, Tennessee. Viola Harris was born on October 19, 1931 in Benton County, Mississippi to Joseph and Rose Harris. She attended high school in Fayette County, walking five miles to … Read MoreViola Harris McFerren (1931-2013)