Black Wall Street
Black Wall Street, former byname of the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in the early 20th century African Americans had created a self-sufficient prosperous business district. The term Black Wall Street was used until the Tulsa race riot of 1921. The name has also been applied more generally to districts of African American high economic activity. Historically, African Americans worked mainly as servants […]
John Mercer Langston
John Mercer Langston was the son of Ralph Quarles, a white plantation owner, and Jane Langston, a black slave. After his parents died when Langston was five, he and his brothers moved to Oberlin, Ohio, to live with family friends. Langston enrolled in Oberlin College at age 14 and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from […]
National Council of Negro Women
National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), founded by Mary McLeod Bethune in New York City on December 5, 1935, whose mission is “to advance opportunities and the quality of life for African American women, their families and communities.” Disappointed with the lack of unity and cooperation between African American women’s groups, Bethune called upon […]