1930 Chronology: Appendix 5: A Chronological Listing of Lynchings

APPENDIX 5
A CHRONOLOGICAL LISTING OF LYNCHINGS
1882 - 1968

Throughout the late 19th century racial tension grew throughout the United States.  More of this tension was noticeable in the Southern parts of the United States.  In the south, people were blaming their financial problems on the newly freed slaves that lived around them.  Lynchings were becoming a popular way of resolving some of the anger that whites had in relation to the free blacks.

From 1882-1968, 4,743 lynchings occurred in the United States.  Of these people that were lynched 3,446 were black.  The blacks lynched accounted for 72.7% of the people lynched.  These numbers seem large, but it is known that not all of the lynchings were ever recorded.  Out of the 4,743 people lynched only 1,297 white people were lynched.  That is only 27.3%.  Many of the whites lynched were lynched for helping the black or being anti lynching and even for domestic crimes.

Was lynching necessary?  To many people it was not, but to the whites in the late 19th century it served a purpose.  Whites started lynching because they felt it was necessary to protect white women.  Rape though was not a great factor in reasoning behind the lynching.  It was the third greatest cause of lynchings behind homicides and ‘all other causes’.

Most of the lynchings that took place happened in the South.  A big reason for this was the end of the Civil War.  Once black were given their freedom, many people felt that the freed blacks were getting away with too much freedom and felt they needed to be controlled.  Mississippi had the highest lynchings from 1882-1968 with 581.  Georgia was second with 531, and Texas was third with 493.  79% of lynching happened in the South.

Of the lynching that did not take place in the South, mainly in the West, were normally lynchings of whites, not blacks.  Most of the lynching in the West came from the lynching of either murders or cattle thief’s.  There really was no political link to the lynching of blacks in the South, and whites in the West.

Not all states did lynch people.  Some states did not lynch a white or a black person.  Alaska, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut were these few states that had no lynchings between 1882-1968.

Although some states did have lynchings, some of them did not lynch any blacks.  Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Nevada, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin were some states that did not lynch any blacks to record.

Quite a few states did in fact lynch more white people than black.  In the West these greater number of white lynchings was due to political reasons not racial reasons.  California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming lynched more whites than blacks.

1930 Chronology: Appendix 4: Ethiopian Imperial and Royal Titles

APPENDIX 4

ETHIOPIAN IMPERIAL AND ROYAL TITLES

Until the end of the Ethiopian monarchy in 1974, there were two categories of nobility in Ethiopia. The Mesafint, the hereditary nobility, formed the upper echelon of the ruling class. The Mekwanint were the appointed nobles, often of humble birth, who formed the bulk of the aristocracy. Until the 20th century, the most powerful people at court were generally members of the Mekwanint appointed by the monarch, while regionally, the Mesafint enjoyed greater influence and power. Emperor Haile Selassie greatly curtailed the power of the Mesafint to the benefit of the Mekwanint.

The Mekwanint were officials who had been granted specific offices in the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) government or court. Higher ranks from the title of Ras through to Balambaras were also bestowed upon members of the Mekwanint. A member of the Mesafint, however, would traditionally be given precedence over a member of the Mekwanint of the same rank. For example, Ras Mengesha Yohannes, son of Emperor Yohannes IV and thus a member of the Mesafint, would have outranked Ras Alula Engida, who was of humble birth and therefore a member of the Mekwanint, even though their ranks were equal.

There were also parallel rules of precedence, primarily seniority based on age, on offices held, and on when they each obtained their titles, which made the rules for precedence rather complex. Combined with the ambiguous position of titled heirs of members of the Mekwanint, Emperor Haile Selassie, as part of his program of modernizing reforms, and in line with his aims of centralizing power away from the Mesafint, replaced the traditional system of precedence with a simplified, Western-inspired system that gave precedence by rank, and then by seniority based on when the title had been assumed – irrespective of how the title was acquired.
Some of the imperial and royal titles are as follows:

The Negusa Nagast -- the "King of Kings" -- would be the Emperor of Ethiopia. Although several kings of Aksum used this title, until the restoration of the Solomonic dynasty under Yekuno Amlak,  rulers of Ethiopia generally used the title of Negus -- the "King" , although "King of Kings" was used as far back as Ezana.

The title of the Emperor of Ethiopia, Negusa Nagast, is typically accompanied with the honorific Seyoume Igziabeher -- "Elect of God"). The title Moa Anbessa Ze Imnegede Yehuda ("Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah") always preceded the titles of the Emperor. It was not a personal title but rather referred to the title of Jesus and placed the office of Christ ahead of the Emperor's name in an act of Imperial submission. Until the reign of Yohannes IV, the Emperor was also Neguse Tsion -- "King of Zion" -- whose seat was at Axum, and which conferred hegemony over much of the north of the Empire.

The Emperor was referred to by the dignitaries with the formal Girmawi -- "His Imperial Majesty" -- and, in common speech, as Janhoy --"Your [Imperial] Majesty",or literally "sire". In his own household, and by his own family members, the Emperor was called Getochu -- "Our Master" in the plural, and when referred to by name in the third person with the suffix of Atse -- effectively "Emperor", i.e. Atse Menelik.

All formal speech concerning the Emperor was in the plural, as was his own speech. Haile Selassie, for instance, referred to himself in the first-person plural at all times, even in casual conversation and when speaking in French (however, this was not the case when he spoke in English, in which he was not fully fluent).

A Negus -- a "king" -- was a hereditary ruler of one of Ethiopia's larger provinces, over whom collectively the monarch ruled, thus justifying his imperial title. The title of Negus was awarded at the discretion of the Emperor to those who ruled important provinces, although it was often used hereditarily. The rulers of Begember, Shewa, Gojjam, and Wollo all held the title of Negus at some point, as the "Negus of Shewa", "Negus of Gojjam", and so forth.

During and after the reign of Menelik II (1889-1913), virtually all of the titles either lapsed into the Imperial crown or were dissolved. In 1914, after having been appointed "Negus of Zion" by his son Lij Iyasu (Iyasu V), Mikael Wollo, chose a different title.  In consideration of the hostile feelings the title of "Negus of Zion" -- or "King of the North" -- provoked in much of the nobility in northern Ethiopia (particularly Le'ul Ras Seyoum Mengesha, whose family had resented being denied the title by Menelik), who were now technically made subordinate to him, Mikael Wollo instead elected to use the title of Negus of Wollo.  Tafari Makonnen, who later became Emperor Haile Selassie, was bestowed the title of Negus in 1928.  He would be the last person to bear the title.

Despite the cultural impropriety, European sources referred to the Ethiopian monarch as the Negus well into the 20th century, switching to Emperor only after the Second World War  – around the same time the name Abyssinia fell out of use in favor of Ethiopia in the west.

Le'ul or Leul  -- Prince -- was a title used by sons and grandsons of the Emperor. It conferred upon its holder the title of Imperial Highness. The title first came into use in 1916, following the enthronement of Empress Zewditu.

Abetohun or Abeto  – Prince -- is a title reserved for males of imperial ancestry in the male line. The title fell into disuse by the late 19th century.  Lij Iyasu attempted to revive the title as Abeto-hoy ("Great Prince").

Ras – Duke - is a title held by one of the powerful non-imperial males.  The combined title of Leul Ras was given to the heads of the cadet branches of the Imperial dynasty, such as the Princes of Gojjam, Tigray and the Selalle sub-branch of the last reigning Shewan Branch.

Bitwoded or Betwadad -- Beloved --  is an office thought to have been created by Zara Yaqob who appointed two of these, one of the Left and one of the Right. These were later merged into one office, which became the supreme grade of Ras.   Ras Betwadad equates the European title of earl. 

Lij -- child – is a title issued at birth to sons of members of the Mesafint, the hereditary nobility.

Dejazmach  -- Commander or General of the Gate – is a military title meaning commander of the central body of a traditional Ethiopian armed force composed of a vanguard, main body, left and right wings and a rear body. A dejazmach equates to a the European title of "count".  The heirs of the Leul Rases  were titled Leul Dejazmach to elevate them above the non-Imperial blood Dejazmaches.

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 There are special imperial and royal titles attributable to the female members of the royal court.  They are as follows:

Nigiste Negestatt -- "Empress Regnant" -- literally "Queen of Kings" was a title held by Zewditu.  Zewditu (r. 1917–1930) was the only woman to be crowned in Ethiopia in her own right since ancient times. Rather than take the title Itege, which was reserved for empress consorts,  Zewditu was given the feminized version of Nigusa Nigist to indicate that she reigned in her own right. She was accorded the dignity of Girmawit ("[Her] Imperial Majesty") and the title of Siyimta Igzi'abher ("Electress of God"). She was commonly referred to as Nigist "Queen". The 1955 Constitution of Ethiopis excluded women from the succession to the throne so the title of Nigiste Negestatt was effectively abolished.

Itege -- "Empress Consort"  -- was the title held for the non-ruling mate of the Emperor.   Empresses were generally crowned as consorts by the emperor at the Imperial Palace. However, Taytu Betul, consort of Menelik II, became the first Itege to be crowned by the Emperor at church rather than at the Palace. Her coronation took place on the second day of the emperor's coronation holiday. Menen Asfaw became the first Itege to be crowned by the archbishop on the same day and during the same ceremony as her husband, Haile Selassie.  The Itege was entitled to the honorific of Girmawit ("Her/Your Imperial Majesty").

Le'elt  -- "Princess" -- was a title that came into use in 1916 upon the enthronement of Zewditu. Reserved at birth for daughters of the monarch and patrilineal granddaughters. Usually bestowed on the wives of "Leul Rases" as well as the monarch's granddaughters in the female line upon their marriages. The notable exception to the rule was Leult Yeshashework Vilma, Emperor Haile Selassie's niece by his elder brother, who received the title with the dignity of "Highness" from Zewditu upon the princess' marriage to Leul Ras Gugsa Araya Selassie in 1918, and then again from her uncle upon his coronation in 1930 with the enhanced dignity of "Imperial Highness".

The Enderase -- the "Regent" -- acted as the Regent of the Empire in times of the Emperor's youth, infirmity, or other limited capacity. Empress Zewditu, who reigned from 1917 to 1930, was obliged to share power with an Enderase, Ras Tafari Makonnen, who was also her designated heir, and thus assumed the throne as Emperor Haile Selassie in 1930.

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1930 Chronology: Appendix 3: Race and Ethnicity in Contemporary Latin America

There is no single system of races or ethnicities that covers all modern Latin America, and usage of labels may vary substantially. In Mexico, for example, the category mestizo is not defined or applied the same as the corresponding category of mestico in Brazil. In spite of these differences, the construction of race in Latin America can be contrasted with concepts of race and ethnicity in the United States. The ethno-racial composition of modern-day Latin American nations combines diverse Amerindian populations, with influence from Iberian and other European colonizers, and equally diverse African groups brought to the Americas as slave labor, and also recent immigrant groups from all over the world.

Racial categories in Latin America are often linked to both continental ancestry or mixture as inferred from phenotypical traits, but also to socio-economic status. Ethnicity is often constructed either as an amalgam national identity or as something reserved for the indigenous groups so that ethnic identity is something that members of indigenous groups have in addition to their national identity. Racial and ethnic discrimination is common in Latin America where socio-economic status generally correlates with perceived whiteness, and indigenous status and perceived African ancestry is generally correlated with poverty and lack of opportunity and social status.

The contemporary classification of individuals in Latin America includes the following categories:

• Amerindians.The indigenous population of Latin America, the Amerindians, arrived during the Lithic stage -- the earliest stage of human habitation of the Americas. In pre-Columbian times, the Amerindians numbered over one hundred million. In post-Columbian times, they experienced tremendous population decrease, particularly in the early decades of colonization. They have since recovered in numbers, surpassing sixty million by some estimates. With the growth of other groups, they now compose a majority only in Bolivia and Peru. In Guatemala, Amerindians are a large minority who comprise two-fifths of the population. Mexico's fourteen percent (14%) (9.8% in the official 2005 census) is the next largest population, and one of the largest Amerindian populations in the Americas in absolute numbers. Most of the remaining countries have Amerindian minorities, in every case making up less than one-tenth of the respective country's population. In many countries, people of mixed Amerindian and European ancestry make up the majority of the population (see Mestizo).

• Asians.  People of Asian descent number several million in Latin America. The first Asians to settle in the region were Filipino, as a result of Spain trading in Asia and the Americas. The majority of Asian Latin Americans are of Japanese or Chinese ancestry and reside mainly in Brazil and Peru.  There is also a growing Chinese minority in Panama.  Brazil is home to about two million people of Asian descent; this includes the largest ethnic Japanese community outside Japan itself (estimated as high as 1.5 million), and about 200,000 ethnic Chinese and 100,000 ethnic Koreans. Ethnic Koreans  number tens of thousands in Argentina and Mexico.  Peru, with 1.47 million people of Asian descent, has one of the largest Chinese communities in the world, with nearly one million Peruvians being of Chinese ancestry. There is a strong ethnic-Japanese presence in Peru, where a past president (Alberto Fujimori) and a number of politicians are of Japanese descent. The Martinican population includes an African-White-Indian mixed population, and an East Indian (Asian Indian) population. The Guadeloupe East Indian population is estimated at fourteen percent (14%) of the population.

• Blacks.  Millions of Africans were brought to Latin America from the 16th century onward, the majority of whom were sent to the Caribbean region and Brazil.  Today, people identified as "Black" are most numerous in Brazil (more than 10 million) and in Haiti (more than 7 million).  Among the Latin American nations, Brazil has the largest number of Blacks with seven percent (7%) of the population being Afro-Latin American. Significant populations are also found in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Uruguay.  Latin Americans of mixed Black and White ancestry, called Mulattoes, are far more numerous than Blacks.

• Mestizos. Intermixing between Europeans and Amerindians began early in the colonial period and was extensive. The resulting people, known as Mestizos, make up the majority of the population in half of the countries of Latin America. Additionally, Mestizos compose large minorities in nearly all the other mainland countries.

• Mulattoes.  Mulattoes are people of mixed European and African ancestry. In Latin America, Mulattoes descend primarily from Spanish or Portuguese settlers on one side, and African on the other. Brazil is home to Latin America's largest mulatto population. Mulattoes are a population majority in the Dominican Republic and, depending on the source, Cuba as well. Mulattoes are also numerous in Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Uruguay. Smaller populations of mulattoes are found in other Latin American countries.

• Whites.  Beginning in the late 15th century, large numbers of Iberian colonists settled in what became Latin America. The Portuguese colonized Brazil primarily, and the Spaniards settled elsewhere in the region. At present, most White Latin Americans are of Spanish or Portuguese origin. Iberians brought the Spanish and Portuguese languages, the Catholic faith, and many Iberian-Latin traditions. Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela contain the largest absolute numbers of Whites in Latin America. Whites make up the majorities of Argentina, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Chile, Uruguay, and depending on the source in Cuba. Whites make up nearly half of Brazil's population. Ever since most of Latin America gained independence in the 1810s–1820s, millions of people have immigrated there. Of these immigrants, Italians formed the largest group, and next were Spaniards and Portuguese. Many others arrived, such as French, Germans, Greeks, Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Croats, Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Irish, and Welsh. Also included are Jews, as well as Arabs of Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian descent; most of them are Christian.  Whites presently compose the largest racial group in Latin America (approximately thirty-six percent [36%]) and, whether as White, Mestizo, or Mulatto, the vast majority of Latin Americans have white ancestry.

• Zambos. Intermixing between Africans and Amerindians was especially prevalent in Colombia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Brazil, often due to slaves running away (becoming cimarrones: maroons) and being taken in by Amerindian villagers. In Spanish speaking nations, people of this mixed ancestry are known as Zambos in Middle America, and Cafuzos in Brazil.

In addition to the foregoing groups, Latin America also has millions of tri-racial peoples of African, Amerindian, and European ancestry. Most are found in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Peru with a much smaller presence in other countries.

1930 Chronology: Appendix 2: Colonial Racial Categories

A casta is a term which has been interpreted by certain historians during the 20th century to describe mixed-race individuals in Spanish America, resulting from unions of Spaniards (españoles), Amerindians (Indios), and Africans (Negros). Basic mixed-race categories that appeared in official colonial documentation include Mestizo, generally offspring of a Spaniard and an India; Castizo, offspring of a Spaniard and a Mestiza; Mulatto, offspring of a Spaniard and a Negra; and Morisco was the offspring of a Spaniard and a Mulatta. There were a plethora of terms for mixed-race persons of indigenous and African ancestry, some of which appear in official documentation, but many do not.

Racial category labels had legal and social consequences, since racial status was a key organizing principle of Spanish colonial rule. Often called the sistema de castas or the sociedad de castas, there was, in fact, no fixed system of classification for individuals. There was considerable fluidity in society, with individuals being identified by different categories simultaneously or over time. Individuals self-identified by particular terms, often to shift their status from one category to another to their advantage. For example, Mestizos were exempt from tribute obligations, but were subject to the Inquisition, unlike Indios, who paid tribute and were exempt from the Inquisition. A Mestizo might try to "pass" as an Indio to escape the Inquisition. An Indio might try to pass as a Mestizo to escape tribute obligations.

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Affranchi is a former French legal term denoting a freedman or emancxipated slave, but was a term used to refer pejoratively to mulattoes. It is used in the English language to describe the social class of freedmen in Saint-Domingue, and other slave-holding French territories, who held legal rights intermediate between those of free whites and enslaved Africans. In Saint-Domingue, roughly half of the affranchis were gens de couleur libres (free people of color; Mulatto) and the other half African slaves.

The term is derived from the French word for emancipation — affranchissement, or enfranchisement in terms of political rights. But, the affranchis were barred from the franchise (voting) prior to a 1791 court case, which followed the French Revolution. The decision in their favor prompted a backlash from the French white planter class on Saint-Domingue, who also exerted power in France. These elements contributed to the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution.

The affranchis had legal and social advantages over enslaved Africans. They became a distinct class in the society between whites and slaves. They could get some education, were able to own land, and could attend some French colonial entertainments. Planters who took slave women or free women of color as concubines, often sent their sons to France for education. In some cases these sons entered the French military. The parents were more likely to settle property on them as well. Because of such property and class issues, some free men of color considered themselves to have status above that of the petits blancs, shopkeepers and workers. Nonetheless, the latter had more political rights in the colony until after the Revolution.

The colonists passed so many restrictions that the affranchis were limited as a separate caste. The affranchis could not vote or hold colonial administrative posts, or work in professional careers as doctors or lawyers. There were sumptuary laws: the free people of color were forbidden to wear the style of clothes favored by the wealthy white colonists. In spite of the disadvantages, many educated affranchis identified culturally with France rather than with the enslaved population. A social class in between, the free people of color sometimes had tensions with both whites and enslaved Africans.

Ambitious mulattoes worked to gain acceptance from the white colonists who held power in that society. As they advanced in society, affranchis often also held land and slaves. Some acted as creditors for planters. One of the affranchi leaders in the late 18th century, Julien Raimond, an indigo planter, claimed that affranchis owned a third of all the slaves in the colony at that time. In the early years of the French Revolution and Haitian Revolution, many gens de couleur were committed to maintaining the institution of slavery. They wanted political equality based on class - that is, extended to men of property, regardless of skin color.

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Plaçage was a recognized extralegal system in French and Spanish slave colonies of North America (including the Caribbean) by which ethnic European men entered into civil unions with non-Europeans of African, Native American and mixed-race descent. The term comes from the French placer meaning "to place with". The women were not legally recognized as wives but were known as placées; their relationships were recognized among the free people of color (gens de couleur libres) as mariages de la main gauche or left-handed marriages. They became institutionalized with contracts or negotiations that settled property on the woman and her children, and in some cases gave them freedom if they were enslaved. The system flourished throughout the French and Spanish colonial periods, reaching its zenith during the latter, between 1769 and 1803.

Placage was widely practiced in New Orleans, where planter society had created enough wealth to support the system. It also took place in the Latin-influenced cities of Natchez and Biloxi, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; Saint Augustine and Pensacola, Florida; as well as Saint-Domingue (now the Republic of Haiti).  Placage became associated with New Orleans as part of its cosmopolitan society.

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1930 Chronology: Appendix 1: Spingarn Medal Recipients

APPENDIX 1: SPINGARN MEDAL RECIPIENTS

The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for outstanding achievement by an African American. The award was created in 1914 by Joel Elias Spingarn, chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAACP.  It was first awarded to biologist Ernest E. Just in 1915, and has been given most years thereafter.

At its annual convention, the NAACP presents the award after deciding from open nominations. Should the organization end, it would be managed by Howard or Fisk Universities.  Spingarn left $20,000 in his will for the NAACP to continue giving the award indefinitely.

1915: Ernest E. Just 

Head of Physiology, Howard University Medical School for research in biology.

1916: Charles Young

Services in organizing the Liberian Constabulary and constructing roads in the Republic of Liberia.

1917: Harry T. Burleigh

Excellence in the field of creative music.

1918: William Stanley Braithwaite

Distinguished achievements in literature.

1919: Archibald H. Grimke

U.S. Consul in Santo Domingo; President of American Negro Academy; for seventy years of distinguished service to his race and country.

1920: William Edwards Burghardt (W.E. B.) DuBois

Author, Editor Crisis Magazine; founding and calling of Pan-African Congress.

1921: Charles S. Gilpin

Notable performance in the title role of The Emperor Jones and for excellence as an actor.

1922: Mary B. Talbert

Former President of the National Association of Colored Women and for continued service to women of color.

1923: George Washington Carver

Head of Department of Research and Director of the Experiment Station of Tuskegee Inst. For researching Agricultural Chemistry.

1924: Roland Hayes

Singer; for artistry through interpreting Negro folk song; soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

1925: James Weldon Johnson

Former U.S. Consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua; former editor and secretary of NAACP.

1926: Carter G. Woodson

Historian and Founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History; editor, Negro Orators and Their Orations for his outstanding work as an historian.

1927: Anthony Overton

President of Victory Life Insurance Company, the first black company certified by the state of New York.

1928: Charles W. Chestnutt

Author; for his pioneer work as a literary artist, depicting the life and struggle of Americans of Negro descent.

1929: Mordecai Wyatt Johnson

President of Howard University. For distinguished leadership as first black president.

1930: Henry Hunt

Principal of the Fort Valley High and Industrial School, Fort Valley, GA. For twenty-five years of service in the education of black students.

1931: Richard Berry Harrison

For his fine and reverent characterization of the Lord in Marc Connelly’s Play – The Green Pastures.

1932: Robert Russa Moton

Principal of the Tuskegee Institute. For excellent leadership and service in the field of education.

1933: Max Yergan

American Y.M.C.A. Secretary; missionary of intelligence, tact and self-sacrifice. For the excellence of his work in Africa.

1934: William Taylor Burwell Williams

Dean of Tuskegee Institute, long service as field agent of the Slater and Jeanes Funds and the General Education Board.

1935: Mary McLeod Bethune

Founder and President of Bethune Cookman College. For outstanding leadership and service to education.

1936: John Hope (posthumously)

President of Atlanta University; distinguished leader of his race.

1937: Walter White

Executive Secretary of NAACP. For his personal investigation of more than forty-one lynchings.

1938: NO AWARD GIVEN

1939: Marian Anderson

Chosen for her special achievement in music.

1940: Louis T. Wright

Surgeon; chosen for his contribution to the healing of mankind and for his courageous position in the face of bitter attack.

1941: Richard Wright

Author; Uncle Tom’s Children and Native Son. For his outstanding contributions to literature.

1942: A. Philip Randolph

International President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. For his role in securing the presidential order to establish the FEPC in 1941.

1943: William H. Hastie

Jurist and Educator; chosen for his distinguished career as a jurist and uncompromising champion of equal justice.

1944: Charles Drew

Scientist; chosen for his outstanding work in blood plasma; research led to establishment of blood plasma bank.

1945: Paul Robeson

Singer and Actor chosen for distinguished achievement in the theatre and concert stage.

1946: Thurgood Marshall

Special Counsel for NAACP. For distinguished service as a lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court.

1947: Dr. Percy Julian

Research Chemist chosen for many important discoveries that have saved many lives.

1948: Channing H. Tobias

In recognition of his consistent role as a defender of fundamental American liberties.

1949: Ralph J. Bunche

International civil servant; acting UN mediator in Palestine. For singular service to the United Nations.

1950: Charles Hamilton Houston

Chairman, NAACP Legal Committee and stalwart defender of democracy.

1951: Mabel Keaton Staupers

Leader of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses.

1952: Harry T. Moore

NAACP leader in the state of Florida and a martyr in the crusade for freedom.

1953: Paul R. Williams

Distinguished architect, for his pioneer contributions as a creative designer of livable, attractive modern dwellings.

1954: Theodore K. Lawless

Physician, educator and philanthropist. For pioneering achievements in dermatology.

1955: Carl J. Murphy

Dedicated editor, publisher and farsighted civic leader.

1956: Jack Roosevelt Robinson

Brilliant and versatile athlete; for superb sportsmanship and for his singular role in athletics.

1957: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dedicated and selfless clergyman; for leadership role in the Montgomery bus protest movement.

1958: Mrs. Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine

For their pioneer role in upholding the basic ideals of American democracy in the face of continuing harassment and constant threats of bodily injury.

1959: Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington

Composer and orchestra leader. For outstanding and unique musical achievements.

1960: Langston Hughes

Poet, author and playwright.

1961: Kenneth B. Clark

Professor of Psychology at the College of the City of New York; founder/director of the Northside Center for Child Development. For his dedicated service and inspired research in the field of psychology.

1962: Robert C. Weaver

Administrator, Housing and Home Finance Agency; for his long years of dedicated public service at municipal, state and federal levels.

1963: Medgar Wiley Evers

NAACP field secretary for the state of Mississippi. For his dedication and steadfast courage in the face of continued death threats.

1964: Roy Wilkins

Executive Director, NAACP. For his leadership, integrity and his dedicated service.

1965: Leontyne Price

Metropolitan Opera star, in recognition of her divinely inspired talent.

1966: John H. Johnson

Founder/President of the Johnson Publishing Company of Chicago.

1967: Edward W. Brooke, III

First African American to win popular election to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.

1968: Sammy Davis, Jr.

Broadway/Hollywood star and civil rights activist.

1969: Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr.

Director, Washington Bureau, NAACP and civil rights lobbyist. For his pivotal role in the enactment of civil rights legislation.

1970: Jacob Lawrence

Artist, teacher and humanitarian.

1971: Leon Howard Sullivan

Clergyman, activist and prophet.

1972: Gordon Alexander Buchanan Parks

In recognition of his unique creativity, as exemplified by his outstanding achievements as photographer, writer, film maker and composer.

1973: Wilson C. Riles

Educator, in recognition of the stature he has attained as a national leader in the field of education.

1974: Damon J. Keith

Jurist; in tribute to his steadfast defense of constitutional principles.

1975: NO AWARD GIVEN

1976: Hank Aaron

Athlete, in recognition of his singular achievement in the sport which symbolizes America – baseball; his impressive home run record.

1977: Alvin Ailey

Innovative dancer, choreographer and artistic director.

1977: Alexander Palmer Haley

Author, biographer and lecturer; exhaustive research and literary skill combined in Roots.

1978: NO AWARD GIVEN

1979: Andrew Jackson Young

Minister plenipotentiary and extraordinary United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

1979: Rosa L. Parks

In recognition to the quiet courage and determination exemplified when she refused to surrender her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus.

1980: Rayford W. Logan

Educator, historian, author for his prodigious efforts to set before the world the black American’s continuing struggle against oppression.

1981: Coleman Alexander Young

Mayor, City of Detroit; public servant, labor leader.

1982: Benjamin Elijah Mays

Educator, theologian and humanitarian.

1983: Lena Horne

Artist humanitarian and living symbol of excellence.

1984: NO AWARD GIVEN

1985: Tom Bradley

Government executive, public servant, humanist; Chief Executive of Calvert, Texas.

1985: William H. Cosby

Humorist, artist, educator, family man and humanitarian.

1986: Benjamin Lawson Hooks

Executive Director, NAACP. In tribute to his precedent-setting accomplishments.

1987: Percy Ellis Sutton

Public servant, businessman, community leader.

1988: Frederick Douglass Patterson

Educator, doctor of veterinary medicine, visionary and humanitarian.

1989: Jesse Louis Jackson

Clergyman, political leader, civil rights activist; first American of African descent to become a major presidential candidate.

1990: Lawrence Douglas Wilder

Governor, public servant, attorney and visionary in tribute to an extraordinary life of accomplishment.

1991: Colin L. Powell

General of the U.S. Army, 12th Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Department of Defense.

1992: Barbara Jordan

Lawyer, educator, political leader and stateswoman.

1993: Dorothy Irene Height

National Council of Negro Women; National YWCA; The Center for Radical Justice; President, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. For extraordinary leadership in advancing women’s rights.

1994: Maya Angelou

Poet, author, actress, playwright, producer, educator and historian.

1995: John Hope Franklin

Historian, scholar and educator; in recognition of an unrelenting quest for truth and the enlightenment of Western Civilization.

1996: A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.

Jurist, Scholar, teacher and humanitarian; in honor of a distinguished jurist who emerged a giant of jurisprudence during a three-decade tenure as the nation’s longest serving active Federal Judge.

1997: Carl T. Rowan

Journalist, publicist, civic leader and public servant.

1998: Myrlie Evers-Williams

Civil rights activist, risk-taker, mother, true believer.

1999: Earl G. Graves, Sr.

Founder, Black Enterprise Magazine; Businessman, publisher, educator, advocate, entrepreneur, family man.

2000: Oprah Winfrey

Actress, producer, educator, publisher and humanitarian.

2001: Vernon E. Jordan

Lawyer, Advisor to Presidents, Champion of Civil Rights and Human Rights, Exemplar and True Believer.

2002: John Lewis

Public servant, protector of civil and human rights, community leader and inspirer of youth.

2003: Constance Baker Motley

Civil rights pioneer, jurist, public official, for her commitment and pursuit of the goal of equal opportunity and justice for all Americans.

2004: Robert L. Carter

Attorney, educator, federal judge and guardian of civil rights; for his extraordinary achievement of winning twenty-one cases argued before the Supreme Court.

2005: Oliver W. Hill

For his key role in the United States Supreme Court Case, Brown v. Board; for his determined, quiet and persistent pursuit of justice.

2006: Benjamin S. Carson, Sr.

In tribute to a lifetime of growth and singular achievement, from the bottom of his fifth grade class, to become the youngest ever Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery in the United States.

2007: John Conyers, Jr.

Guardian of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, consummate legislator and public servant.

2008: Ruby Dee

Actress, poet, playwright and civil rights activist.

2009: Julian Bond

Former Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors and legendary civil rights activist.

2010: Cicely Tyson

Actress and civil rights activist.

2011: Frankie Muse Freeman

Attorney and civil rights activist.

2012: Harry Belafonte

Singer, song writer, actor and social activist.

2013: Jessye Norman

Opera singer, Grammy Award winner.

2014: Quincy Jones

Composer, Producer, Grammy Award winner.

2015: Sidney Poitier

Actor, social activist, and Oscar winner.

2016: Nathaniel R. Jones

Lawyer, Jurist, Academic and Public Servant.

2017: NO AWARD GIVEN

2018: Willie Brown

Former Mayor of San Francisco and Speaker of the California State Assembly

2019: Patrick Gaspard

Former United States Ambassador to South Africa