First African-American Dean at B.U.

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First African-American Dean at B.U.

Hubert (Hubie) Jones became the first African-American dean at Boston University when he was appointed to head the School of Social Work in 1977. Since 1980 he has served also as a distinguished social commentator on public affairs every Sunday morning on the Channel 5 TV program, 'Five on Five.'

Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Wayne A. Budd, U.S. Attorney

Wayne A. Budd was nominated for U.S. Attorney by President George Bush in March 1989 and confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate in September 1989. A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, he was the first African-American president of the Massachusetts Bar Association (1979-80) and headed New

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Leading Tennis Player

Titus Sparrow was a leading tennis player in Boston and New England in the 1930s and 1940s. He was a tennis official of the old Boston Tennis Club and its offspring, the Roxbury Sportsmen. He was the winner of numerous trophies, including the New England Gardner Clase Bowl, awarded annually by the

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

World's Record Holder

Edward 'Ned' Gourdin (1897-1966), as a Harvard athlete, set a new world's record in the running broad jump - 25 feet, 3 inches - the first human to leap beyond 25 feet. A graduate of Cambridge Latin High and Harvard Law School (1924) he was crowned National Amateur Athletic Union Junior 100-yard

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Medical Breakthrough

Dr. William A. Hinton (1883-1959) directed the Wasserman Laboratory of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at Harvard Medical School from 1915 to 1949 and developed the famous Hinton test for syphilis, which was used to diagnose this venereal disease for over 40 years.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

'Black Nativity,' a folk-song rendering of the Christian story based on Langston Hughes's gospel song-play about the birth of Christ, has become an annual tradition in Boston since 1969. First presented in the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, it has attracted a wider audience in its performances on

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Dazzling Player on Ice

Leon L. Furr, Sr., was a 3-letter man in hockey at Medford High School and captain of the Medford hockey team in 1917. Playing both center and forward positions, Furr was one of the most dazzling and competent players on the ice in New England in the early 1900s. In 1977 he was named as an Honorary

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Early Boston City Councilors

The 19th-century African-American members of the Boston City Council were: George L. Ruffin 1876-77 James W. Pope, 1881 William O. Armstrong, 1885-86 Andrew B. Leattimore, 1887-88 Charles E. Harris, 1889-90 Nelson Gaskins, 1891 Walden Banks, 1892-93 Stanley Ruffin, 1894-95 J. Henderson

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Three Firsts for Black Physician

Dr. Kenneth C. Edelin was the first African-American physician to direct a major clinical department at Boston City Hospital when he was named Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1978, a position he held until 1989. Also, as Chairman and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Inventor of Light Bulb Filament

Lewis Latimer (1848-1928), born the son of a fugitive slave ( George Latimer) in Boston, became a significant inventor with his development of an improved process for manufacturing the electric light bulb filament. He received a U.S. patent for his filament and became a member of Thomas

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

First Black Female Law Firm

Attorneys Margaret Burnham, Geraldine Hines, and Judith Dilday established the first Black female law firm in New England in 1989. Located in Boston, Burnham, Hines and Dilday specialize in family law, divorce, wills, custody, and civil and criminal litigation.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Valiant Navy Admiral

Gerald E. Thomas of Natick and Boston rose to become Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. His first command was in 1962 aboard the USS Impervious, an ocean minesweeper operating in the western Pacific. He also commanded the Destroyer Squandron NINE and the Cruiser-Destroyer Group FIVE. Thomas's medals

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Major 20th-Century Artists

Among the leading 20th-century Black artists whose works have educated and contributed to the life of all Bostonians are Ellen Banks, John Barbour, Roger Beatty, Calvin Burnett, Dana Chandler, Robin Chandler, Allan Rohan Crite, Milton Derr, Paul Goodnight, James Guilford, Barbara Holt, Arnold

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Government Administrator

On his way to an affirmative action meeting with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on April 5, 1976, African-American attorney Theodore Landsmark was physically assaulted by anti-busing demonstrators on City Hall plaza. One of the demonstrators swung an American flag at him. Landsmark's flag

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Noted Immigration Lawyer

Attorney John W. Schenck (1869-1962), admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1914, was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney in Boston in 1920 and held that position until 1933. During that time he handled most of the immigration cases in the Commonwealth.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

First City Appointment

The first appointment of an African-American to a city position in Boston appears to have been that of W. W. Bryant, who in 1885 was made deputy sealer of weights and measures.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

First Black Woman in Legislature

Doris Bunte was the first African-American woman to serve in the Massachusetts legislature. Elected in 1972, she served as state representative until 1985.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

20 Years or More in Journalism

An impressive roster of journalists have 'made news' on the Boston scene for more than 20 years. Among them: Robert (Bob) Jordan, columnist and editorial writer with the Boston Globe and the first African-American elected to head theGlobe's 1,200 member employees' union in 1989; Sarah Ann Shaw and

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

The historic Pioneer Club, a semi-private club owned by Shag and Bal Taylor and a landmark in the history of jazz, was a funky after-hours night spot located in a brick, three-story row house at the end of a short alley off Tremont Street (where the new Douglass Plaza now stands). Socially and

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

President of Boston Bar Association

In 1989 Rudolph F. Pierce became the first African-American to be elected President of the Boston Bar Association, the oldest local bar association in the nation, founded in 1761 by John Adams.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Prosperous Hat Maker

Stephen Jackson was a prosperous hat maker in Boston in the 1730s, when 'a man would as soon go without his head as go without a hat.'

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Dimock Community Health Center

Dimock Community Health Center in the Roxbury section of Boston is the oldest health facility in the city oriented to the care of Black and low income people. Founded in 1863 as the New England Hospital for Woman and Children to provide medical training for white women, the hospital also included

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Histrionic Club

The Histrionic Club, the first Black drama group in Boston, was founded in the late 1840s. Many of the plays it produced were written by William C. Nell.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Plymouth Hospital - 2nd Picture

Pictures: Operating room at Plymouth Hospital Dr. Cornelius Garlandctx_20th_Plymouth_Hosp_2 Nursing graduates of Plymouth Hospitalctx_20th_Plymouth_Hosp_3 Plymouth Hospital and Nurses' Training School, founded and operated by Dr. Cornelius Garland, a Black doctor, from 1908 to 1928, contributed to

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Master Artists in Residency

The African-American Master Artists in Residency Program ( AAMARP) at Northeastern University was established in 1977 by renowned artist and professor Dana Chandler. AAMARP has been dedicated to providing its constituencies with the best aesthetic presentations from the widest spectrum of artists

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Newspaper Professional

Dexter D. Eure, Sr., completed 25 years of service atThe Boston Globe in 1989. He had started as an assistant to the manager of circulation in 1963 and five years later became an assistant to the editor for urban affairs. For two years he was the only Black American in Boston with a weekly

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Leading City Official

Clarence 'Jeep' Jones was the first African-American to serve as a Deputy Mayor of Boston in 1976, where he served until 1981 under Mayor Kevin H. White. In 1989 Jones was appointed by Mayor Raymond L. Flynn as Chairman of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, another first for an African-American.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Ex-Slave Founded Church

In 1871 ex-slaves from Virginia, led by Rev. Peter Randolph, founded Ebenezer Baptist Church, which celebrated 100 years of service in Boston in 1981.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Prosperous Dressmaker

Eliza Ann Gardner conducted a prosperous dress-making business in Boston before the Civil War and did the delicate needlework for the first banner made for the Plymouth Rock Chapter of Odd Fellows.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Colored American Magazine

The Colored American Magazine, the first significant Black periodical to appear in Boston in the 20th century, was started in Boston in May 1900 by the Colored Cooperative Publishing Company. It was 'devoted to Literature, Science, Music, Art, Religion, Facts, Fiction, and Traditions of the Negro

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

Bucks of America

During the American Revolutionary War, the Bucks of America, commanded by George Middleton, a fiery Black resident of Boston, was one of two all-Black units. The Bucks of America were hailed throughout the Commonwealth for their bravery and performance at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775.

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Source: African Americans in Boston: More Than 350 Years

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