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Twenty Five African Americans You Need to Know
Original
Publication Date: Jan/Feb 2001
These twenty-five African Americans have left their
mark on the nation and the world. This diverse group has another thing in
common—they have all called Michigan home.
(Click on [photo] to see photos of some featured
persons, used online with permission. Photos are the property of the identified contributors and
may not be reproduced in print or electronic format without their
permission.)
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Born in Alabama in 1914, Cora M. Brown was eight years old when her family
moved to Detroit. After graduating from Cass Technical High School and Fisk
University in Tennessee, she took a job with the Detroit Police Department. At
the same time, she attended the Wayne State University Law School. She graduated
in 1948 and was admitted to the Michigan Bar that same year. Intrigued with
politics, Brown ran for the Michigan Senate in 1950, but lost. After another
loss, she was elected in 1952—becoming the first African American woman to serve
in the Michigan State Senate. During her two terms in the senate, Brown earned a
reputation supporting civil rights. [photo]
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"When I see racism, I talk about it. I've been doing that all my
life."
As a young child, Coleman A. Young moved with his family to Detroit from
Alabama. After serving with the U.S. Army Air Corps' Tuskegee Airmen during
World War II, Young entered politics. In 1947 he became the first African
American to serve on the Wayne County Council. In 1961 he won his first
political race when he was elected a delegate to the state constitutional
convention. Three years later, he was elected to the Michigan State Senate. In
1973 Young became Detroit's first African American mayor. Reelected four times,
Young was a spellbinding speaker and charming conversationalist who became one
of the state's best-known political leaders in the latter half of the twentieth
century. [photo]
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"Kids would follow me down the street—not only black kids but white
kids."
The 1930s were a time when Westerns were the rage and singing
cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers carved out names for themselves. But
Detroit native Herbert Jeffries earned a place in the history books as the
"Bronze Buckaroo," the first—and only—African American to star in
these Western movies. Playing a dashing cowboy who only used his guns in
self-defense, Jeffries released his first movie, Harlem on the Prairie, in 1936.
After starring in four feature movies, Jeffries moved on to sing with Duke
Ellington's orchestra. With that famous band as his backup, Jeffries recorded
"Flamingo," which sold fourteen million copies and propelled him to
the top of the world's jazz singers. After playing and living in Europe for over
a decade following World War II, Jeffries returned to the United States where he
continued to perform. Described by President Bill Clinton as "a national
treasure," Jeffries released his latest CD, "The Duke and I,"
last year. [photo]
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Born in Virginia about 1840, Fannie Richards moved to Detroit with her family
in the 1850s. She received her early education in the Detroit public schools,
then went to Toronto, Canada, where she studied English, History and Drawing.
Returning to Detroit, Richards opened a private school for African Americans in
1863. Two years later, she was appointed to teach in Detroit's segregated
Colored School No. 2. In 1869 Richards and others, including future Republican
governor John Bagley, filed suit with the Michigan Supreme Court arguing that
segregated public schools were unconstitutional. The court agreed, and in 1871
Richards became the first African American teacher in Detroit's newly integrated
school system. [photo]
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Ed Davis was the first African American in Michigan, and only the fourth in
the United States, to own an automobile dealership. Working in a Detroit
automobile factory in the 1930s, Davis began his career by selling cars to his
fellow workers. In 1940 Studebaker gave Davis a franchise, and in 1963 he became
the Chrysler Corporation's first black dealer. Now retired, Davis is nationally
recognized as an automobile pioneer. [photo]
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"I just want to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and
wanted others to be free."
One December evening in 1955 Rosa Parks left work in her hometown of
Montgomery, Alabama, and boarded a bus. As the bus became crowded, she was
ordered to give up her seat for a white passenger. She refused. She was
arrested, which led to a boycott of the city's buses by Montgomery's African
American population. Her action is credited with beginning the successful
efforts to end institutionalized segregation in the South. Parks moved to
Detroit in 1957. Nicknamed the "Mother of Civil Rights," Parks was
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996—the highest civilian award
this nation can bestow.
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The son of former American slaves, Elijah McCoy was born in Canada in 1843.
After studying in Scotland, he returned to Canada as a mechanical engineer.
McCoy settled in Ypsilanti and around 1870 took a job as fireman for the
Michigan Central Railroad. There, he invented an automatic lubricator that
eliminated the need for trains to make time-consuming stops to oil the
locomotive bearings. During the next fifty years, McCoy is credited with over
fifty other inventions, including a folding ironing table. But it was his
lubricating cup that left him famous. As railroad companies asked for "the
real McCoy" to ensure they weren't purchasing an inferior substitute, they
also provided us with the popular figure of speech we use to this day. [photo]
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According to one observer, Jackie Wilson combined "the graceful control
of Sam Cooke and . . . the frenzied dynamism of James Brown." Born in
Detroit in 1934, Wilson began performing with a local gospel group before
joining the Dominoes. Wilson's solo career took off in 1958 when he recorded
"Reet Petite," a song written in part by fellow Detroiter Berry Gordy
Jr. Nicknamed "Mr. Entertainment," Wilson scored two dozen Top Forty
hits, including "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" in
1967.
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Wallace and William Goodridge arrived in Michigan in 1863. Following in the
footsteps of their older brother, who had been working with photography in
Pennsylvania since the late 1840s, the Goodridge brothers opened one of the
first photography studios in East Saginaw. The Goodridges also worked outside
their studio, especially chronicling the area's lumber boom. In 1889 their
logging photos were featured at the world's fair in Paris, France. The Goodridge
studio remained opened until Wallace's death in 1922. Together, the Goodridges
created the most significant, prolific and enduring African American
photographic establishment in North America. [photo]
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"I knew I had to get Schmeling good. . . . The whole damned country was
depending on me."
At the age of twelve, Joe Louis moved with his family from Alabama to
Detroit. There, a friend introduced him to boxing. In 1934, at the age of
twenty, Louis won the U.S. amateur light-heavyweight championship. Turning
professional, Louis became the heavyweight champion in 1937. He held that title
for twelve years—a record that still stands today. Louis's sixty-seven victories
(fifty-four by knockout) included a legendary rematch against German boxer Max
Schmeling, who had beat him in 1936. In their 1938 bout, billed as "the USA
vs. the Nazis," Louis, nicknamed the "Brown Bomber," knocked out
Schmeling in the first round. From that day, Joe Louis became a lasting symbol
of American pride and African American equality in the dismal days of
segregation. [photo]
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Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1942, Aretha Franklin moved to Detroit at a
young age. She began singing in her father's church and recorded her first album
at the age of fourteen. The influence of secular singers led her to sign with
Columbia Records in 1960. Her first single, "I Never Loved a Man (the Way I
Love You)," was released in 1967 and unleashed the full force of Franklin's
voice to the world. That same year Franklin recorded "Respect," one of
the greatest songs of the rock age. In 1987 Franklin, dubbed the "Queen of
Soul," became the first female artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame.
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Born in Detroit in 1929, John Conyers has served Michigan in Congress for
nearly four decades. Educated in Detroit's public school system and earning a
Bachelor of Arts degree and a Doctor of Law degree from Wayne State University,
Conyers spent a year in Korea as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Conyers was elected to Congress in 1964 on a platform of "Jobs, Justice,
Peace." A founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Conyers is the
ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee. Congressman
Conyers's many awards for leadership include the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference Award presented to him by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today, Conyers
is the second most senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace
unless he has his freedom."
Born in Nebraska in 1925, Malcolm Little grew up in Lansing, Michigan. At the
age of twenty-one, following a troubled young life, Little was serving time in
prison for burglary. There, he heard Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad's
message of black pride and self-sufficiency. Little changed his last name to
"X" to symbolize an identity stolen by whites. After his release from
prison, he joined the Nation of Islam. Although he rose through the organization
of black Muslims, Malcolm left in 1964, citing philosophical differences.
Malcolm X then founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity to spread his
message of equality of the races. The following year he was assassinated in New
York by a Nation of Islam follower.
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"I'm a basketball player. That's what God blessed me with."
Born in
Lansing in 1959, Earvin Johnson developed an obsession with basketball at a
young age. Even a trip to the store became an opportunity to practice; he
dribbled with his right hand on the way there and with his left hand on the way
back. In high school a local sportswriter dubbed Johnson "Magic" for
his skills on the court. After leading Everett High School to the state
championship, Johnson entered Michigan State University. In 1979, he led the
Spartans to their first National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball
championship. That same year, Johnson was the first player picked in the
National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. During his rookie year, he made the
NBA All-Star team and helped guide the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA
championship. Over the course of twelve seasons, Johnson left a trail of records
that marked him as one of the best players in NBA history.
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Born in 1904, the son of a Detroit barber, Ralph Bunche was orphaned at the
age of thirteen. He then moved to Los Angles to live with his maternal
grandmother. There, he was the valedictorian of his high school class and
graduated with honors from UCLA. Bunche then earned a Ph.D. in government and
international relations from Harvard University. Following years of government
service during World War II, Bunche helped draft the provisions of the United
Nations Charter. Two years later, he became secretary to the U.N. Special
Committee on Palestine. In 1949 Bunche negotiated a cease-fire agreement among
warring countries in the Middle East. His accomplishment was recognized in 1950
when he became the first African American to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. [photo]
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"There was so much love when we made that music . . and that's why the
music had the magic."
The seventh of eight children, Berry Gordy Jr. was born in Detroit on
November 28, 1929. In 1953 Gordy opened a record store. After it failed, he went
to work in an auto factory. In his free time, Gordy also wrote songs and began
enjoying financial success when Jackie Wilson recorded "Reet Petite"
and other Gordy compositions. In 1958 Gordy formed his own recording company.
The following year, he borrowed eight hundred dollars to start the Tamla and
Motown record labels. With local talent like Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Mary
Wells, Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves and Stevie Wonder, Gordy created a media
empire that produced the soundtrack for American life in the 1960s and early
1970s. [photo]
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In 1966 Dave Bing arrived in Detroit from Syracuse University as the number
one draft choice of the Detroit Pistons. During his twelve-year professional
basketball career, he was an all-star eight times. The National Basketball
Association's Rookie of the Year, Bing reached the peak of his career in 1971
when one observer noted, "Maybe some other player does this better, and
another player does that better, [but] nobody does as much as Dave does."
After retiring from basketball in 1978, Bing stayed in Detroit and launched a
steel company that became the tenth largest African American-owned industrial
company in the nation in the early 1990s.
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In 1925 Dr. Ossian Sweet, a Florida physician who had studied in Europe,
purchased a house in one of Detroit's all-white neighborhoods. Immediately after
the Sweets moved in, a large mob of neighbors gathered around his house and
began throwing stones. Shots rang out from the Sweet home, leaving one protester
dead. Dr. Sweet and his wife, Gladys, were both charged with conspiracy to
commit murder. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
hired famed attorney Clarence Darrow to defend the Sweets in a murder trial that
drew national attention. Darrow successfully argued the Sweets' right to protect
their property. Although it was an important victory for integrationists,
African Americans continued to struggle for several decades to find equal
housing in Detroit. [photo]
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When sports journalists and historians rate the world's best athletes, many
consider Sugar Ray Robinson the best pound-for-pound boxer in history. Born in
Detroit on May 3, 1920, Walker Smith Jr., moved with his parents to New York
City as a teen. After training in a Harlem gym, nineteen-year-old Smith took the
name Sugar Ray Robinson and turned to pro boxing. After serving in the U.S. Army
during World War II, Robinson returned to boxing and was welterweight champion
from 1946 to 1950. By the end of his twenty-five-year career, Robinson had
racked up more than two hundred fights with only nineteen losses and was,
according to fellow boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, "the greatest."
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"We are black not because we are cursed, for blackness is not a
curse."
Called
the "high priest of soul preaching," the Reverend Clarence L. Franklin
was a pioneer preacher, a successful recording artist, a dedicated civil rights
leader and a flamboyant performer who left his mark on Detroit. Born in
Mississippi in 1915, Franklin moved to Detroit in 1946. There, he became the
pastor of the New Bethel Baptist Church. In a city of distinctive preachers,
Franklin stood out. He was a spellbinding speaker whose traditional African
American oratory combined singing and public speaking. In June 1963 Franklin
played a prominent role in organizing Detroit's Great March to Freedom—the
nation's first great civil rights march. [photo]
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"I am as strong as any man."
Born a slave named Isabella in 1797, Sojourner Truth became one of the most
famous American women of the nineteenth century. Released from slavery in her
native New York in 1827, Truth changed her name because she believed God
requested she travel across the country showing "the people their
sins," most notably human slavery. Hailed for her "wonderful power of
expression," Truth was propelled into the national spotlight after the 1850
release of the Narrative of Sojourner Truth. The autobiography detailed Truth's
life in slavery and faith in God. In 1857 Truth moved to Battle Creek. When she
died in 1883 more than one thousand mourners turned out for one of the largest
funerals in the city's history. [photo]
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Born in 1857 the son of one of Detroit's earliest African American doctors,
William Ferguson attended Detroit public schools and successfully pursued
careers in printing, real estate and the law. After being kicked out of a
Detroit restaurant for refusing to sit in the "colored" section,
Ferguson filed a discrimination suit. He lost, but appealed to the Michigan
Supreme Court. In 1890 the court ruled segregation by race in public facilities
was illegal. A few years later, Ferguson won election to the Michigan House of
Representatives—the first African American to serve in the state legislature. A
Republican, Ferguson was reelected to a second term where he was instrumental in
having legislation adopted that made discrimination in selling life insurance
illegal. [photo]
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Born in Detroit in 1944, Diana Ross began her singing career in high school
when she teamed up with Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson, and formed a vocal
group called the Primettes. In 1961 the group signed a recording contract with
the Motown Record Company and changed its named to the Supremes. Between 1964
and 1967 the Supremes dominated the radio waves with twelve number one singles,
including "Stop! in the Name of Love" and "You Keep Me Hanging
On." In 1970 Ross embarked on a solo singing career. She also entered the
world of acting, starring in Lady Sings the Blues, for which she received an
Oscar nomination for her portrayal of blues singer Billie Holiday. In 1988 Ross
and the Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Willie Horton grew up in Detroit's Jeffries Projects near Tiger Stadium where
he would play professional baseball for fifteen seasons. A short, squat, but
immensely strong right-handed slugger, Horton was the Detroit Tigers' left
fielder from 1965 to 1974. One of the American League's most dangerous long-ball
threats—he hit two home runs per game thirty different times—Horton pounded
262 home runs in a Tiger uniform. In the 1968 World Series, Horton showed a
surprisingly strong throwing arm when he nailed St. Louis Cardinal Lou Brock at
home plate on a key play in Game Five. The play helped the Tigers win the
seven-game series in dramatic fashion. Today, Willie Horton and his family live
in Detroit. [photo]
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"When you let go of what you're familiar with to discover the new and
unique, then you will enjoy the ride of music."
Born in Saginaw in 1950, Steveland Morris permanently lost his sight when he
was given too much oxygen in an incubator shortly after birth. The disability
did not prevent Morris from developing his musical ability. In 1962 Berry Gordy,
president of Motown Records, signed Morris to a recording contract and dubbed
him Little Stevie Wonder. His first single, "Fingertips," was a number
one smash. It has been followed by nearly four decades of popular and critical
success. Wonder also became a political activist, campaigning for the cause of a
national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His song, "Happy
Birthday," released in 1980, is credited with getting the necessary
legislation passed establishing the January day of recognition for the martyred
civil rights leader.
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