C.1798-1865 Betsey Stockton was born into slavery, and emerged as a religious and academic pioneer. She was instrumental in bringing formal education to indigenous Hawaiians and Native Americans, and in establishing numerous schools. A Young Missionary Sets Sail Stockton was born sometime in 1798, into childhood slavery in Princeton, New Jersey. The identity of her
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1877-1935 Arnold Josiah Ford was a self-proclaimed Rabbi and the founder of a black synagogue in Harlem. An accomplished musician, he wrote the enduring and inspiring “The Universal Ethiopian Anthem” in tandem with Marcus Garvey’s back-to-Africa movement. Immersed in Music Ford was born in the West Indies, in the city of Bridgetown on the Island
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1837-1915 Amanda Berry Smith devoted her life to the ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Her most noted achievement is the opening of the first orphanage for black children in Illinois. Called to God Smith was born January 23, 1837, in Long Green, Maryland. Her lather, Samuel Berry, and her mother, Mariam Matthews,
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1746-1818 Absalom Jones was born into slavery, but purchased his freedom and became the first African American to be ordained an Episcopal minister. He responded to the overt racism prevalent in white churches during the 18th century by pioneering the establishment of African American congregations. A Passion for Reading Jones was born in Sussex, Delaware,
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1897-1975  Elijah Muhammad guided the Nation of Islam from its modest beginnings during the Great Depression, when a handful of African Americans met in a Detroit storefront, to its meteoric rise after World War II. Under his leadership, it became one of the most powerful religious and social institutions in the country. A Mysterious Messenger
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1926-1990  Ralph David Abernathy was an inspirational church pastor and an important activist in the struggle for civil rights. His leadership role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and his alliance with Martin Luther King, Jr., helped spur desegregation and create a more promising future for African Americans in the United States. An Ambitious Beginning Abernathy
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1941 –  Ron Karenga’s early work as an activist and Black Nationalist leader grew into a career as an academic specializing in African American studies. His interest in promoting black culture and identity led to his creation of Kwanzaa, a weeklong celebration of African culture and heritage. Farm to City Karenga was born Ronald McKinley
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1760-1831 Richard Allen was raised as a slave in the century leading to the American Civil War, but managed to obtain his freedom and went on to a religious career as an itinerant preacher. Later, after an experience with racism in a Philadelphia church, he embarked on a path of activism and devotion that led
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