Blog Posts | Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Mar 4, 2018 Biographies

Rev. Johnson came to Buffalo from Meridian Mississippi, where he had been very active in community life. He was a native of Greensboro, Alabama. His parents were Horace and Josephine Bell Johnson. He ...

AL Greensboro Religion United States

Hannah Dee Elizabeth Barnes Johnson

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Mar 4, 2018 Biographies

Mrs. Johnson was a native of Montgomery, Alabama. Her parents were Charles and Caroline Johnson Barnes. Mrs. Johnson was a graduate of Alabama State Teachers School. She met her future husband, Rev. S...

AL Community Montgomery United States

Otis Davenport Jackson

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Feb 24, 2018 Biographies

Otis Jackson came to Buffalo in 1923 because her husband, William, was recruited to start the first YMCA for African Americans in the city. Mrs. Jackson, the daughter of Virgil and Hattie Davenport wa...

AL Community Troy United States

Louisiana Thomas Hilliard

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Nov 13, 2017 Biographies

Louisiana Hilliard is the first lady of the Humboldt Parkway Baptist Church. She was born in Anniston, Alabama and is the oldest of twelve children. Nine siblings are still living. Her mother was May ...

AL Anniston United States

Ottowa (O.W.) Gurley

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Aug 14, 2017 Biographies

Once proclaimed the wealthiest man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, O.W. Gurley saw his property and his wealth disappear on May 31st - June 1, 1921 in the flames of the Tulsa Race Riot. While the majority of the ...

AL Business Huntsville United States

Bessie Lee Smiley Robinson

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Aug 13, 2017 Biographies

Bessie Lee Smiley Robinson was born December 25, 1916 to Bessie Dixon Smiley and Willie Lee Smiley in Town Creek , Alabama . Bessie was the third eldest child of four children that included twin siste...

AL Community Town Creek United States

Andrew Jackson Smitherman

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Aug 3, 2017 Biographies

Andrew Jackson Smitherman, publisher of the Tulsa Star at the time of the Tulsa "Race Riot" of 1921, epitomized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s definition of a principled man. King wrote, "The ultimate m...

AL Media Talladega United States

Ira Lee Tatum

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Jul 13, 2017 Biographies

Ira Lee Tatum was a businesswoman who reached out and used her resources to help others in her community. She was born in Montgomery, Alabama and came to Buffalo with her family at the age of 14. She ...

AL Business Montgomery United States

Mary Carter Smith

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Jul 13, 2017 Biographies

Mary Carter Smith was born in Birmingham, Alabama on February 10, 1919 and has resided in Maryland for 60 years. Smith is known nationwide for reviving and promoting storytelling as an art, as a teach...

AL Birmingham Education United States

Gus Eugene Pratchett

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Jul 3, 2017 Biographies

Gus E. Pratchett was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. His parents were Gus and Australia Pratchett. He graduated from Druid High School in Tuscaloosa before the family relocated to Buffalo, New York in 19...

AL Healthcare Tuscaloosa United States

Alphonso Rafi Greene Jr.

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Jul 3, 2017 Biographies

Alphonso "Rafi" Greene, Jr. was born in Aniston, Alabama on May 31, 1943. His parents were Alphonso, Sr. and Lillie Mae Greene. Rafi served his country honorably in the United States Army and upon his...

AL Anniston Community United States

William I. Gaiter

by Uncrowned Queens Institute, Inc.

Feb 12, 2017 Biographies

William (Bill) L. Gaiter is the son of the late Eula and Julius Curry, and the late Julius Gaiter. He was born in Anniston, Alabama. The history of Bill Gaiter is the history of the Buffalo Afro Ameri...

AL Anniston Community United States