2022 US Black Heritage call to identify/create/improve African-American Notable profiles

Question

The  US Black Heritage Project would like to honor as many Black/African-American notables as we possibly can.  We currently have over 1600 African-American Notable profiles identified as such, but there are many, many more people deserving recognition.  Please help us identify, create, and/or improve these profiles.  This year we want to specifically include LIVING notables as long as they meet the WikiTree Guidance for Living Notables, so if you have a favorite current singer, sports player, astronaut, etc we would love for you to get a profile started for them!  

Emma's 2021 Post on African-American Notables contains helpful information on what constitutes a USBH Notable and why we are grouping them separately from general American notables.

Here's what to do for any profile you think worthy of recognition as an African-American notable; it does not have to be a profile managed by you:
(If you are not comfortable creating or editing profiles and just want to identify them then just answer this post with the person's Wiki-ID or wikipedia or other link and we will gladly take care of it)

1.  Add {{US Black Heritage}} above the == Biography ==  line
2.  Add  {{Notables Sticker|African-American Notables}} right below the ==Biography== line  (this adds it to the African-American Notables Category in addition to adding the Notables sticker)
3.  Answer this post with the Wiki-ID for the person and we will send you or the present manager instructions on how to add the USBH Project as profile managers
4. IMPORTANT FOR LIVING PROFILES:  Notify us ASAP once you've created the profile so we can verify and add the appropriate protections. 

CONNECTING and IMPROVING Notable profiles are also themes this year.  This read-only African-American Notables Spreadsheet  shows profiles that we think could use various profile improvements (first tab) and those that just need to be connected to the WikiTree (2nd tab).  Any WikiTreer is welcome to help connect and/or improve.  (Note this spreadsheet is only updated monthly; however if you are a USBH Project Member you can view our real-time Notables spreadsheet.  This spreadsheet is a work in process so not all notables are logged there yet.)   

Thanks for helping to help recognize and honor these amazing people!

Comments

This article will prove useful for many doing history and genealogy. 

More than 1,700 congressmen once enslaved Black people, a Post investigation finds.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/interactive/2022/congress-slaveowners-names-list/

Answer 1

I worked on Sadie Lewis Adams yesterday and am working to get her connected. I love how we are now tracking how many family members are in the trees for those who need connection.

Answer 2

I have just discovered this interesting family. Thomas Nelson Baker, Sr. (1860-1941) born into slavery, PhD from Yale,  writer and minister. Wikipedia.  Also see Black Past. Father of Thomas Nelson Baker, Jr., PhD in Chemistry, Ohio State. (See "Celebrating our Diversity." and Black Past) Grandfather of Newman Taylor Baker (born 1943) Musician. (Wikipedia). Great-grandfather of Andrea Baker, mezzo-soprano. (website.) See also Opera Pod: Andrea Baker.

And here's another interesting website!

Comments

Thanks Joyce!  Always fun to see these family connections!  Are you up for creating the profiles or would you like us to?

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Ahh, Katie, I will let you have the fun of this. I just enjoy finding the information. Thank you!

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I got it, thanks!

Answer 3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabel_Fairbanks

Here's one, a US Figure Skating Hall of Famer.  I don't have time to work on this at the moment, but since you're looking for notables...

Also Afro-Cuban-American author/activist Piri Thomas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piri_Thomas

Comments

Thanks Jaki!  I will create a basic profile for her and add her to our list for future work.

Answer 4

James "Jimmy" Winkfield...won the Kentucky Derby twice and was the last African-Amerian to ride and win in the Derby.

Winkfield-19

Comments

Very cool, thank you!

Answer 5

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Clemons-1631

Clarence Clemons, musician and member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the E Street Band.  The Big Man!

Comments

Thanks Natalie!

Answer 6

Janet Emerson Bashen. And I believe I have connected her to the one-tree yesterday through the Breeding-Winton family.

Emerson-4555

Comments

Thanks Ruby!  I'll see if we can get it Project-Protected under US Black Heritage so that some of her information can be made visible under the current Living Notables guidelines.

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Ruby, can you add the project as co-manager and I'll open her for viewing? She qualifies under the living notables rules.

Answer 7

I'm still poking away at the family of Hank Aaron. While he's no longer with us, I'm building family members into his tree and have dozens of additional families that can be researched and added to his tree.

I did a recent check and his unconnected tree now contains over 200 profiles, so I feel like I'm making progress, but no connection yet.

Comments

Scott, really appreciate your continued effort for Hank Aaron!

Answer 8

I created a profile for Alethia Tanner (Tanner-7287).  She was an incredible woman! The tree of her former enslaver needs some serious work so I have not linked them yet - she is connected to the wrong parents and has a duplicate profile.  See research note on Alethia's page.  I would love to take this project on but fear my skills are not strong enough to untangle this!

Comments

Thanks for creating the profile and the research note.  I'll put a merge request in on her former enslaver and see what happens.  I'll send you a separate message requesting you add USBH as a co-manager if you don't mind.

Answer 9

I will be working on Rufus C. Thomas, who I just adopted. He was an American rhythm-and-blues and soul singer, songwriter, dancer and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. I visited the Sun Records Studio there last week and will be able to add a photo I took there. I hope that I will be able to connect him by adding more family members.

Comments

Profile for Rufus Thomas: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Thomas-43268

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Great job, Alexis, thanks for working on him!  I will send you a separate message requesting you add USBH as a co-manager if you don't mind.

Answer 10

Came across this existing profile for [[Johnson-117832|Charles Spurgeon Johnson (1893-1956)]] in my winding path of research.  He has a Wikipedia page here: Charles S. Johnson.  

The profile does not currently have an African-American sticker. I haven't come across an un-stickered notable with a profile already created before - let me know if there is anything I can do to help or if the project will take it from here.   Thanks! :)

Comments

Thanks for pointing that out!  We'll add him to our Notable List and get him taken care of!

Answer 11

A new notable.  Harvey Clarence Russell-33196, Jr.  This is the spouse of the youngest daughter of Robert Abbott's second wife.  He was a Coast Guard officer during WWII and a corporate VP with Pepsi Co.

Comments

Thanks Leah!  We'll get him on our lists.