Follow movements, public leaders and campaigns for rights, citizenship and representation.
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Loading image…1823–1882
Robert Morris (June 8, 1823 – December 12, 1882) was one of the first African-American attorneys in the United States, and was called "the first really successful colored lawyer in America."
1928–2003
Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix Jr. (July 13, 1928 – August 23, 2003) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as the chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 1984 to 1996. Nix was the first African-American Chief Justice of any state's highest…
Loading image…1898–1987
Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix Sr. (August 9, 1898 – June 22, 1987) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1958 until 1979. He was the first African American to represent Pennsylvania in the House of…
Loading image…Dates not recorded
Robert Norton (born about 1840) was a former slave who became a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1869 until 1874 and 1876 until 1883. He was one of three brothers who held office. His much older brother Frederick S. Norton was a member of the…
1951–
Robert P. Young Jr. (born June 13, 1951) is a former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Young was first appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court in 1999, elected in 2000 and 2002, and again won reelection in 2010 for a term ending in 2019. Justice Young…
1872–1944
Robert Page Sims (1872–1944) was an early African American academic, civil rights leader, scientist, and college president who held positions at Virginia University of Lynchburg and Bluefield State College. Sims was born in Meyerstown, West Virginia, to…
Loading image…Dates not recorded
Robert Poindexter was a state legislator who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives and Louisiana State Senate during the Reconstruction era.
Loading image…1810–1898
Robert Purvis (August 4, 1810 – April 15, 1898) was an American abolitionist in the United States. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and was likely educated at Amherst Academy, a secondary school in Amherst, Massachusetts. He spent most of his…
Dates not recorded
Robert Powell III (born 20th century) is an American stand-up comedian and political satirist. He is known for his work as part of Shaquille O'Neal's All-Star Comedy Jam, on HBO's All Def Comedy, and for his appearance in an episode of Atlanta on FX.
1937–2021
Robert Shaw (July 31, 1937 – July 22, 2021) was an American politician. He served as a City of Chicago Alderman in the 9th ward for four terms, first in 1979 through 1983 and again from 1987 until 1998. Shaw also served as commissioner on the Cook County…
Dates not recorded
Robert Simmons was an African American conscientious objector and anti-war activist who was imprisoned on Alcatraz Island shortly after World War I.
1839–1915
Smalls commandeered a Confederate vessel to win freedom and later became a U.S. congressman from South Carolina.
1936–2002
Robert "Sonny" Carson (also known as Mwlina Imiri Abubadika; May 22, 1936 – December 20, 2002) was a civil rights activist, militant black protestor, and community leader in Brooklyn, New York. Carson gained prominence in the 1960s for organizing protests…
Born 1902
Robert L. Stanton (born 1902) was a dentist and state politician in Indiana. He served two terms in the Indiana House of Representatives. He was elected in 1932 and 1934 from Lake County, Indiana.
1830–1878
Robert Sutherland (1830–June 2, 1878), a native of Jamaica, was the first known Black graduate at a Canadian university, and the first Black man to study law in British North America. A graduate of Queen's University, Sutherland qualified to practise law…
Born 1889
Robert Theophilus Bess Jr. (February 5, 1889 – after October 1958) was a British Guiana-born American stockbroker, civil rights activist, public relations manager, and pharmacist. He founded the R. T. Bess Company in New York City, a stock brokerage firm,…
Loading image…1929–2020
Robert Traynham Coles (24 August 1929 – 16 May 2020) was an architect, educator, and social justice activist. Coles was the first African American to win the Rotch Traveling Scholarship awarded by the Boston Society of Architects, the first African…
1948–
Robert Thomas Johnson (born 1948) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court in the county of the Bronx. He was previously a New York City Criminal Court judge, an acting justice of the New York State…
Loading image…1864–1912
Robert Thomas Teamoh (March 25, 1864 – June 20, 1912; pen name: Scribbler) was an American journalist, newspaper editor, printmaker, and politician. He worked as a reporter for The Boston Globe, and was a state legislator in Massachusetts. He lived in…
Dates not recorded
Robert Tarlton was an American farmer and state legislator in South Carolina. He represented Colleton County in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1870 to 1874 during the Reconstruction era. He was born in South Carolina and documented as…
Loading image…1830–
Robert Thompson (born c. 1830) was a state legislator in Mississippi. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1874 and 1875 from Lowndes County, Mississippi. He was born in South Carolina and worked as a laborer. He served on a committee…
1939–
Robert F. Van Lierop (born 1939) is a United States and ni-Vanuatu lawyer, diplomat, political activist, filmmaker, writer and photojournalist.
1883–1943
Robert Wellington Bagnall Jr. (1883–1943) was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1883. He was a minister for the St.
1926–2000
Robert Winston "T-90" ("Tee-Niny") Scales, born June 22, 1926, died October 30, 2000, was an American civic leader, politician, and small business owner in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Scales was the first African-American elected to the City Council of…
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