I have to say I’m excited about this. Back in the day, I was routinely star-struck to see Lewis Lapham at the Noho Star when he was the editor @Harpers and I was an adjunct at the Cooper Union. Very happy to be included in @Laphamsquart.

Mary McLeod Bethune, national leader, college founder, journalist, entrepreneur & champion of democracy & gender & racial equality. She advised two US presidents on federal councils & led efforts to end lynching, integrate the armed services, advance education, & register voters.

RT @SchomburgCenter: #PuertoRicanHeritageMonth: Explore materials in our collections to learn more about the activism of our founder #Artur…

Mary Church Terrell, journalist, educator & activist for women’s rights, voting rights, anti-lynching & NAACP founder. Both of her parents were formerly enslaved, politically active entrepreneurs. Portrait by artist & suffragist Betsy Graves Reyneau.

Dr. Verina Morton Jones (b. 1865) was the 1st woman to pass Mississippi's medical board examination & the 1st woman to practice medicine in the state. She moved to New York where she worked as a physician, served on the board of the NAACP, & championed women's right to vote.

Mary Talbert (b. 1866 in Ohio) addressed the International Council of Women as a delegate in Norway in 1920: “The greatness of nations is shown by their strict regard for human rights, rigid enforcement of the law without bias, and just administration of the affairs of life.”

In the 1890s Fannie Barrier Williams founded a hospital, cofounded the National Association for Colored Women, served on the Chicago Public Library board & in the Chicago Women's Club (despite threats). A champion of voting rights, she was asked to eulogize Susan B. Anthony.

Dr. Luther P. Jackson (b. 1892) historian & civil rights leader, founded the Virginia League of Voters, wrote a weekly column “Rights and Duties in a Democracy,” challenged segregation in Richmond & produced outstanding scholarship at Virginia State University 1920s-1940s.

National Guard officer Octavius Catto was a scholar & champion of education, baseball, & voting rights. He was slain by white rioters targeting Black voters in Philadelphia on Election Day 1871. His body was lain in state & his funeral was the city's largest since Lincoln's.

In 1944, during WWII, Harriet Pickens, (b. 1909 in Alabama) was sworn in as an American Naval Officer. Pickens was the top ranking member of her officer candidate program class.

Abolitionists Nancy & Josiah Henson. Harriet Beecher Stowe acknowledged that Mr. Henson’s 1849 autobiography was the inspiration for her bestseller Uncle Tom’s Cabin that shaped US politics. The Hensons' work had a profound impact on 19th century history.

Born in Jamaica to an enslaved mother in 1799, John Russwurm attended Bowdoin College & studied the Haitian Revolution. After graduation, he & Samuel Cornish founded the anti-slavery newspaper Freedom’s Journal in 1827. The paper had a national & international readership.

John Johnson (b. 1878 in Nebraska) was a prolific & talented photographer & the son of formerly enslaved people, his father a veteran of the Civil War & his mother was self-liberated. This image from 1918 is Johnson & his wife Odessa.

Biochemist Dr. Marie Maynard Daly earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1947. She taught at Howard University, Columbia’s College of Physicians & Surgeons, & the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her research revealed the link between cholesterol & clogged arteries.

William Howard Day (b. 1825) abolitionist, newspaper editor, scholar, school board president, minister, graduate of Oberlin, & son of a self liberated formerly enslaved father, spent his career working towards the realization of democracy & ending slavery & discrimination.

Born in Trinidad, Dr. John Alcindor earned his MD in Scotland in 1899 & was a physician, political activist, & senior district medical officer in London. He was awarded a Red Cross medal for his work treating the wounded in WWI. His great-nephew is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

African American soldiers served in the 1898 Spanish-American War, seven were awarded the Medal of Honor. Among them was Edward Baker who rescued a drowning soldier under fire. Baker’s grandson, Dexter Gordon, was a founder of bebop jazz in the 20th century.

Portrait of Violet Anthony made by Jefferson Gauntt in 1832 displayed in the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. The museum label says Ms. Anthony was enslaved in Philadelphia & that she is a wearing a coral necklace, a traditional piece of jewelry for women of West Indian descent.

“If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence.” Bayard Rustin

Lieutenant Colonel Allen Allensworth (b. 1842) freed himself during the Civil War & enlisted in the US Navy where he was appointed Chaplain of the 24th Regiment by President Grover Cleveland. In 1908 he founded Allensworth, California, a free Black town that is now a state park.

Prince Saunders (b. 1775) was a scholar, diplomat, author, & Dartmouth alum. His father, born in Guyana & known for his great medical skill, served with the Patriots during the American Revolution & purchased his freedom with his enlistment bounty.