Freedom Facts and Firsts. Jessie Carney Smith

      

      About the Editors

      

Jessie Carney Smith is University Librarian and William and Camille Cosby Professor in the Humanities at Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee. As scholar, researcher, editor, and writer, she has published over 20 books. Her works include Black Firsts, 2nd ed., and Black Heroes, both published by Visible Ink Press; other works include Notable Black American Women (Books 1-3), Notable Black American Men (Books 1 and 2), Encyclopedia of African American Business (two volumes), Epic Lives, Powerful Black Women, and Black Genealogy. Her numerous honors include being the recipient of the Women’s National Book Association Award, the Candace Awards in Education, Sage magazine’s Anna J. Cooper Award, Black Women in the Academy’s Distinguished Service and Leadership Award, Bennett College for Women’s Bell Ringer Award, and the ACRL/Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Dr. Smith is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, Michigan State University, and Vanderbilt University; she received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois.

      

Linda T. Wynn is the assistant director for state programs for the Tennessee Historical Commission and a faculty member in the history department at Fisk University. A graduate of Tennessee State University, she also earned M.S. degrees in history and in public administration from that institution. Devoted to teaching on the topic of civil rights, she helped to design the module “Civil Rights Movement in Nashville” for The Beloved Community: Then and Now, a collaboration course among American Baptist College, Fisk University’s Department of History, and Lipscomb University. She edited Journey to Our Past: A Guide to African-American Markers in Tennessee and co-edited Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee. Other works include contributions to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of Culture and History, Tennessee Women: Their Lives and Times, Notable Black American Men (Book 2), African American National Biography, The History of African Americans in Tennessee: Trials and Triumphs, and African American Almanac. Wynn also served as a consultant and contributor for the Encyclopedia of African American Business.

      Also from Visible Ink Press

      Black Firsts, ISBN 978-1-57859-142-8 Black Heroes, ISBN 978-1-57859-136-7

      The Handy History Answer Book, ISBN 978-1-57859-170-1

      For a complete list of titles, please visit us at visibleink.com.

      Jessie Carney Smith and Linda T. Wynn

      Copyright © 2009 by Visible Ink Press®

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      Managing Editor: Kevin S. Hile

       Art Director: Mary Claire Krzewinski

       Typesetting: Marco Di Vita

       Indexer: Larry Baker

       Proofreaders: Amy Marcaccio Keyzer, Kenneth R. Shepherd

       ISBN 978-1-57859-192-3

      Cover photos: Maya Angelou, AP Photo/Charles Dharapak; Eleanor Holmes Norton, AP Photo/Adrian Keating; Barack Obama, AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File; Angela Davis, AP Photo/Jeff Zelevansky; all others, AP Photo.

       Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

      Smith, Jessie Carney.

      Freedom facts and firsts: 400 years of the African American civil rights experience / Jessie Carney Smith and Linda T. Wynn.

      p. cm.

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN 978-1-57859-192-3 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-1-57859-243-2 (ebook) 1. African Americans—Civil rights—History. 2. United States—Race relations—History. 3. Civil rights workers—United States—Biography. 4. African American civil rights workers—Biography. 5. African Americans—Biography. I. Wynn, Linda T. II. Title.

      E185.61.S636 2009

      323.1196’073—dc22

      2008041503

      Printed in the United States of America

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Contributors

      Crystal Anne deGregory is a doctoral student in history at Vanderbilt University. She has contributed articles to African American National Biography, Encyclopedia of African American Business, and Notable Black American Men (Book 2).

      Rebecca Dixon is assistant professor in the Department of Languages, Literature, and History at Tennessee State University. Her concentrations are in American, African American, and Caribbean literature. She has contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of African American Business.

      Cheryl Jones Hamberg is assistant librarian for Technical Services at Fisk University and retired chief librarian from Meharry Medical College. Her writings are included in Encyclopedia of African American Business and Notable Black American Men (Book 2).

      Mary N. Hernandez is a volunteer in the Fisk University Library and a retired librarian from the District of Columbia Public Library. She has contributed to College and Research Libraries and Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Academic Libraries: Multicultural Issues.

      Helen R. Houston is professor of English at Tennessee State University. Her publications include The Afro-American Novel, 1965–1975 and articles in Encyclopedia of African American Business, Notable Black American Women (Books 1 and 2), Notable Black American Men, and the Oxford Companion to African American Literature.

      Fletcher F. Moon is assistant professor and head reference librarian at Tennessee State University. He is active in research, editing, music/ministry, and in other areas, and has published articles in Encyclopedia of African American Business and Notable Black American Men (Book 2).

      Victor Simmons serves as curator of Fisk University Galleries, adjunct art history instructor at Fisk, and as a commissioner for the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission. His work was recently included in the exhibition “Fragile Species: New Nashville Artists” at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. Simmons co-authored Building Your Future: Using Architecture in the Classroom.

      Frederick D. Smith is an information resource support specialist for the State of Tennessee, owner of the digital design company DigiDox, and a consultant in technology. He has contributed articles to Encyclopedia of African American Business, and Notable Black American Men (Books 1 and 2).