Michigan State Representative Amos O’Neal was born on July 17, 1961, in Saginaw, Michigan. He attended Saginaw Public Schools and graduated with a business degree from Northwood University in Midland, Michigan. O’Neal raised his three daughters in Saginaw with his late wife, Sherry, who was … Read MoreAmos O’Neal (1961- )
Henry Louis Gates Jr. is an award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, and cultural critic. He was born on September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia, to Henry Louis Gates Sr. and Pauline Augusta Coleman Gates. He has one brother, Paul Edward Gates. In 1968, Gates … Read MoreHenry Louis Gates Jr. (1950- )
Penfield Tate II was a politician, LGBTQ supporter, and Boulder, Colorado’s first African American mayor. Tate was born on June 11, 1931, to Penfield Tate Sr and Vera Jane Houston Tate in New Philadelphia, Ohio. He was the second eldest of ten children. Growing up, … Read MorePenfield Wallace “Pen” Tate II (1931-1993)
Oscar DuConge, a resilient politician, overcame the odds to become Waco, Texas’s first African American mayor. Born on April 19, 1909, to unnamed parents in Pass Christian, Mississippi, DuConge was the fourth of nine children. His early years were marked by hard work, as he … Read MoreOscar DuConge (1909-1978)
Williams Stanford Hart Sr was a politician who served as mayor of East Orange, New Jersey between 1970 and 1978. This made him the first African American mayor of a major New Jersey city. Hart was born on November 19, 1925, to Margaret and John … Read MoreWilliam Stanford Hart Sr. (1925-1999)
The first African American mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Johnny DuPree was also the longest serving mayor of that city. DuPree was born in Fort Benning, Geogia to poor, illiterate parents who separated when he was young. At the age of eight his mother moved to … Read MoreJohnny DuPree (1953- )
The first African American mayor of Buffalo, New York, Byron Brown, was born on September 24, 1958 in Hollis, Queens, New York. He attended PS 134 in Hollis and, later, junior high at PS 109. He attended August Martin High school and, after graduation, enrolled … Read MoreByron Brown (1958- )
George Carroll made history in 1964, as the first African American to be elected mayor of Richmond, California which made him the first black mayor of any large American city. Carroll was born on January 6, 1922, to unnamed parents in Brooklyn, New York. Growing … Read MoreGeorge Carroll (1922-2016)
M.W. “Teddy” Thornhill Jr., a civil rights activist and first African American mayor of Lynchburg, Virginia, was born Murrell Warren Thornhill, Jr. on March 31, 1921, to Murrell W. Thornhill, Sr. and Alease Gilbert Thornhill. He had a younger brother, Kyle Thornhill, and a sister, … Read MoreM.W. “Teedy” Thornhill Jr. (1921-2016)
Daniel T. Brown, the first African American mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee in the city’s 220-year history, was born at home in the Five Points area of Knoxville, Tennessee, on December 25, 1945. Brown’s early education began at Maynard Nursery School in the Mechanicsville section of … Read MoreDaniel T. Brown (1945- )