The first popularly elected African American mayor of Flint, Michigan, James A. Sharp, Jr. was born in New York City on May 28, 1933. His parents were James Alfred Sharpe and Clementine Banks Sharpe. At the age of 18, James Sharp joined the United States Marines and remained with them until his retirement in 1977. Sharp saw military action in […]

Pamela Goynes-Brown, the first African American major of North Las Vegas, was born in 1962 on a Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah. Her parents were Theron and Naomi Goynes. In 1964 the family moved to North Las Vegas so they could pursue careers in education. Pamela Goynes attended local schools in North Las Vegas but after high school graduation she […]

The Freedom House Ambulance Service was an emergency medical service (EMS) founded in 1967 to provide medical services to the predominantly African American Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The service was staffed entirely by African Americans. The Freedom House Ambulance Service was also the first EMS in the United States to be staffed by paramedics with medical training beyond first […]

The Wiley debate team’s history goes back to 1924 when Melvin Beaunorus Tolson took a job teaching English and speech at Wiley College (now Wiley University). Tolson also served as the football coach and speech and debate coach. On October 28, 1924, he founded the Forensic Society of Wiley College debate team. In early 1930, the Wiley Debate Team debated […]