People, Locations, Episodes

John Thomas, Administrator born

*On this date in 1908, John Frederick Thomas was born. He was an African American diplomat and administrator.

Thurgood Marshall, Lawyer, and Judge born

*On this date, Thurgood Marshall was born in 1908. He was an African American lawyer and Supreme Court Justice.

Lyndon Johnson, Politician born

*Lyndon Johnson was born on this date in 1908.  Often referred to by his initials LBJ, he was a white-American politician and former teacher. Lyndon Baines Johnson was born in a farmhouse in Stonewall, Texas, the oldest of Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. and Rebekah Baines Johnson’s five children. The Johnson family, known for farming and ranching, settled in […]

Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Politician born

This date marks the 1908 birth of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. He was an African American minister, publisher, businessman, and politician.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Powell moved to New York City where his father administered the Abyssinian Baptist Church. After attending public schools, he graduated from Colgate University and received his M. A. in religious education from Columbia University.

E. Frederick Morrow, Administrator born

E. Frederic Morrow was born on this date in 1909. He is an African American businessman and politician.

G. J. Sutton, Civic Leader born

*G.J. Sutton was born on this date in 1909.  He was a Black civil leader and politician.   His birth name was Garlington Jerome (G.J.). He was the eighth of fifteen children. His parents, Samuel and Lillian, were both educators in Bexar County. He also served as principal of three high schools. All of his siblings graduated from college. […]

George Crockett, Lawyer, Judge, and Congressman born

*On this date in 1909, George Crockett was born. He was an African American lawyer, State Judge, and a U. S. Representative from Michigan.

Kwame Nkrumah, Pan-Africanist born

*On this date we mark the birth of Kwame Nkrumah in 1909. He was a Black African Statesman and political activist from Ghana.

Govan Mbeki, Activist, and Politician born

*Govan Mbeki was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black South African politician, journalist, Communist, and activist. Govan Archibald Mvuyelwa Mbeki, who belongs to the Xhosa ethnic group, was born in the Nqamakwe district of the Transkei region. He was the son of Chief Sikelewu Mbeki and Johanna Mahala and the father […]

Frances Wills, Naval Officer born

*This date in 1910 is celebrated as the birth date of Frances Wills, a Black writer and naval officer.  Frances Eliza Wills was born in Philadelphia; after high school, she attended Hunter College in New York City.  She was a Hunter College graduate who had worked with poet Langston Hughes while pursuing her MA in […]

Martin A. Martin, Attorney born

*Martin A. Martin was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black criminal and civil rights attorney. Martin Armstrong Martin was born to Romey Orlando Martin and his wife Hattie Inge in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The family included older sisters Costello Beatrice Martin and Willie Gladys Martin, older brothers, former Tuskegee Airmen pilot […]

Claude Lightfoot, Activist born

*The birth of Claude M. Lightfoot 1910 in celebrated on this date. He was an African American activist, politician, and author.

Clarence Mitchell Jr. , Lawyer, and Lobbyist born

*On this date in 1911, Clarence Mitchell was born. He was an African American lawyer and lobbyist.

From Baltimore, Mitchell attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania receiving an A.B. degree in 1932. The following year he joined the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper as a reporter. Five years later he ran unsuccessfully for the Maryland House of Delegates on the socialist party ticket. In 1938, he was named executive secretary of the Minnesota branch of the National Urban League.

Leona P. Thurman, Lawyer born

Leona Pouncey Thurman was born on this date in 1911. She was an African American attorney.

Born in Russellville, Arkansas, Thurman attended Henderson Business College in Memphis before settling in Kansas City in 1931. She became attracted to the law profession as a career while working as a secretary for attorney James D. Pouncey, whom she married in 1937. Following her husband’s death, Leona Pouncey attended Howard University Law School. She received her law degree in 1949 and became the first Black woman to practice law in Kansas City.

James Parsons, Judge born

*James Parsons was born on this date in 1911. He was an African American lawyer and judge.