Black History Profiles

Kimberly Renee

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper | Abolitionist and Author

Orphaned at the age of three, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) would go on to become an influential abolitionist, suffrage...

Kimberly Renee

Maggie Lena Walker | First Black Woman to Found a Bank

More than fifteen years before women had the right to vote, Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934) became the first Black woman to start a bank...

Kimberly Renee

Floyd Joseph Calvin | Host of First Black Radio Show

At the height of radio broadcasting, Floyd Joseph Calvin (1902-1939) became the host of the first radio show that targeted an African...

Kimberly Renee

Dr. Frank S. Greene, Jr. | Tech Innovator

In the relatively tech-light 1960s, when a push-button phone was considered cutting edge, Dr. Frank S. Greene, Jr. (1938-2009) was...

Kimberly Renee

Zipporah Potter Atkins | First Black Woman Property Owner

In 1670, more than 100 years before Paul Revere would famously ride through the nearby countryside, Zipporah Potter Atkins (1645-1705)...

Kimberly Renee

Elizabeth Keckley | Dressmaker to Mary Todd Lincoln

Celebrated dressmaker and confidant of Mary Todd Lincoln, Elizabeth Keckley (1818-1892) was born enslaved and went on to author a memoir...

Kimberly Renee

Elizabeth Freeman "Mum Bett" | "Freedom Case"

In a time when slavery was an accepted practice, Elizabeth "Mum Bett" Freeman (1742-1829) challenged this notion, filing a lawsuit...

Kimberly Renee

Harriet E. Adams Wilson | First Published Black Woman Author

Harriet E. Adams Wilson (1825 - 1900) penned My Nig, or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black, which historians believe make her the...