Author: luma

Dr. Walter Cooper is a distinguished research scientist, educator, and civil rights activist who has had a profound impact on the Rochester community. In 1956, he made history as the first African American to earn a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Rochester. Following his academic achievements, he began a successful career at […]

Constance “Connie” Mitchell was a transformative figure in Rochester’s political and civil rights landscape. In 1961, she became the first African American and the first woman elected to the Monroe County Board of Supervisors (now the Monroe County Legislature), representing the city’s Third Ward. Throughout her two terms, she focused on improving living conditions, expanding […]

Cab Calloway was a world renowned jazz singer, bandleader, and actor who spent his formative years in Rochester. His family lived at 153 South Washington Street in the Third Ward, a neighborhood that served as the center of Black life and culture in the city during that era. It was here that Calloway’s musical foundation […]

Howard Coles was a pioneering journalist, historian, and community advocate who spent his life documenting and championing the Black community in Rochester. In 1934, he founded the Frederick Douglass Voice, which became one of the longest-running African American newspapers in New York State. Through the publication, Coles addressed critical issues such as housing discrimination, employment […]

Dr. Alice Holloway Young was a pioneer in the Rochester City School District and a cornerstone of higher education in Monroe County. Arriving in Rochester in 1952, she became one of the first African American teachers in the district and subsequently broke barriers as the first Black vice principal and principal. Dr. Young was the […]