July 31, 1921 – March 11, 1971

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Whitney Young Jr. was arguably the National Urban League’s most influential executive director. During the decade he served as head of the civil rights organization, Young increased its budget 18-fold, pushed corporate America to provide more jobs for African Americans and swayed dignitaries to use federal funding to benefit inner cities. Learn more about Whitney Young and his legacy with the biography below.

June 21, 1927 – April 3, 1996

Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc.

Early Years:

April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Harold Washington was born in 1922. He was the last child of Roy and Bertha Washington. His father was a lawyer, a Methodist minister, and an active precinct captain and he instilled in his son a love of education, reading, and public service. Harold’s parents divorced when he was very young and he was raised primarily by his father, of whom he spoke admiringly. ”I knew who Santa Claus was,” Harold told writer Robert McClory. “He came home every night, put his feet under the table and had dinner with me.” Harold grew-up on Chicago’s hardscrabble South Side guided by a strong paternal hand. He briefly attended a boarding school in Milwaukee and then Forestville Elementary School in Chicago’s Third Ward. He attended DuSable High School and excelled as a high hurdler and middleweight boxer. His education was interrupted by a four-year stint in the Army Air Corps, where he reached the rank of sergeant and earned a high school equivalency diploma. After his discharge, he enrolled at the newly opened Roosevelt College in downtown Chicago. A voracious reader and eager student, Harold thrived in this academic setting; he was elected president of the student council and of his senior class.

Following the vocational footsteps of his father, Harold continued his education at Northwestern University’s School of Law, graduating in 1952. His father died a year later and Harold took over the family law firm. Roy Washington was the first black man appointed as assistant corporation council in Chicago and Harold also succeeded his father in that job. He later worked for the Illinois Industrial Commission. Well-versed by his father in the nuts-and-bolts of precinct politics, Harold became a coveted political strategist and he managed the successful campaign of Third Ward alderman Ralph Metcalfe. In 1964, he won a seat in the state legislature.

Harold served six distinguished terms in the state legislature — five as a state representative and one as a senator. He ran a somewhat symbolic campaign in a 1977 mayoral election called after the sudden death of Mayor Richard J. Daley. In 1980, Harold won the election to represent Illinois’ First Congressional District and quickly earned a national reputation as an articulate critic of President Ronald Reagan and his administration’s conservative policies.

But as his star was rising on the national stage, the clamor was growing among black Chicagoans urging him to run for mayor. He initially resisted their call and relented only after the demanding requisites he set for his supporters had been met. They easily met his conditions and when Harold stepped up, they exuberantly launched the Washington crusade/campaign. Harold campaigned as a proudly black candidate and a dedicated political reformer. African-Americans across the nation saw the Washington crusade as another step in the civil rights movement. Political reformers saw Harold’s run as a populist and progressive challenge to the encrusted corruption of Chicago’s machine politics. During a period when conservative forces were gaining national power, Harold had ignited a progressive prairie fire in the heartland.

Washington’s opponents in the 1983 primary election were incumbent Mayor Jane Byrne and Cook County State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley. Daley was the son of the legendary mayor Richard J. Daley, who died in office in 1976. Byrne, Chicago’s first female mayor, had won the first election held after the elder Daley’s death. Byrne and Daley basked in the headlines, while Washington’s candidacy sailed under the media radar. In the election, most white voters split between Byrne and Daley. Washington pulled about 73 percent of the black vote and 20 percent of the Latino vote to become the Democrats’ first black mayoral nominee. The pundits and much of the white public were stunned. Black Chicagoans, for the most part, were jubilant that their long political exile could be over. The general election was blighted by an ugly kind of racial politics that drew international attention. Chicago’s white electorate, which had become famous (even infamous) for its unvarying support of Democrats, rapidly changed political preferences and delivered their support to a formerly obscure state legislator named Bernard Epton. His campaign slogan was: “Epton, Before It’s Too Late.”

Virtually every black voter chose Harold in that historic general election in 1983. With more than one-half of the Latino vote and about 12 percent of whites, Harold won a narrow victory to become Chicago’s first black mayor. He outlined an ambitious agenda, but many of his reform policies were blocked by what became known as “Council Wars.” On one side of this conflict were 29 white aldermen led by Edward Vrydolyak and loyal to remnants of the political machine and on the other side was a multiracial group of 21, known as the Washington reformers. This political rivalry became so rancorous it earned Chicago the moniker “Beirut-on-the-lake.” Through it all, Harold continued pushing for progressive changes, slowly gaining converts for his commitment to fairness and transparent government. A special aldermanic election in 1986 changed the ratio of Washington and Vrydolyak forces and allowed Washington to execute his agenda just a year before the end of his first term.

Washington’s re-election effort focused on his progress in the face of an obstructionist opposition. Although the racist character of attacks on Washington subsided a bit in the 1987 campaign, there was a racial subtext nonetheless. After defeating former mayor Byrne in the primary, Washington had to ward off challenges from two former Democratic officials who had formed entirely new parties to challenge him. Even the GOP candidate was a former Democrat. Harold won re-election with a slightly larger portion of the white vote than he got the first time, but he solidified his hold on black voters and made gains among the Latino electorate.

Political momentum was moving in his direction and his second term seemed promising. He had broadened his electoral coalition and gained the City Council majority. The Daley machine finally looked to have lost its grip on municipal power and Harold Washington was poised to pick up the reins and steer a new progressive course. But then: a massive heart attack felled Washington the day before Thanksgiving 1987, just seven months into his second term. His sudden death traumatized black Chicagoans, but it soon it became clear that the city’s first black mayor was not just a local hero. His charismatic presence and widening reputation as a people’s intellectual gave him a personal appeal that spanned geography, social class and race. His principled struggle against racist opposition and machine politics — and his eventual triumph — inspired activists of all persuasions and provided hope that successful multiracial alliances were possible. During his tenure, Washington opened city government to those previously excluded, he unified the black electorate into a powerful and influential political force, and he unleashed the forces of reform. However, Washington’s coalition was a collection of disparate interests that were unified only through his unique appeal.

Twenty years have passed since his death and several books have chronicled the Washington years, but something about Harold — which is how nearly everyone refers to him still — remains mysterious. A certain quality of his baritone voice … his rhetorical skills … a peculiar tilt of his head — all connoted an intangible something, something uniquely “Haroldesque.” He seemed unimpressed with the accoutrements of power. In fact, his indifference to financial rewards accounts for one of the most conspicuous blemishes on his professional record — his conviction for failing to file his income tax returns. The other major stain on Washington’s resume was a temporary suspension of his law license for failing to perform legal work for which he was paid. His supporters dismissed those crimes as careless indiscretions, products of the man’s absentminded political intensity.

Following his death, the coalition he constructed collapsed and dissipated into the political mist.

Original Source

September 10, 1949–August 20, 2008

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998, becoming the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in the U.S. Congress. In the 110th Congress (2007–2009), Jones became the first African-American woman to chair a standing House committee.1 Representative Jones, who chaired the Standards of Official Conduct Committee and held a seat on the influential Ways and Means Committee, focused on the economic issues affecting her Cleveland-centered district: financial literacy, access to health care, retirement security, and education.

Stephanie Tubbs was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 10, 1949, the youngest of three daughters raised by Mary Tubbs, a factory worker, and Andrew Tubbs, an airline skycap. Raised in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, Stephanie Tubbs graduated from Collinwood High School, earning 10 academic and athletic awards. At Case Western Reserve University, Tubbs founded the African-American Students Association and, in 1971, earned a B.A. in sociology with a minor in psychology. “All my life I had wanted to help others, and I had been active in helping others,” she recalled. “I was always interested in service. In my day, the college watchword was relevant. . . . With a law degree, I thought I could bring about relevant change in the world.”2 She enrolled in the Case Western University Law School and graduated in 1974 with a J.D. Tubbs then served as the assistant general counsel for the equal opportunity administrator of the northeast Ohio regional sewer district. In 1976, Tubbs married Mervyn Jones. They raised a son, Mervyn. Stephanie Tubbs Jones later worked as an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor and trial attorney for the Cleveland district equal employment opportunity commission. When Jones and several friends worked on a successful political campaign in 1979, the group pledged to select one among them to promote for public office. Noting a lack of minority members on the bench, they chose Jones, who eventually won election as a judge on the Cleveland municipal court. Ohio Governor Richard Celeste appointed Jones to the Cuyahoga County court of common pleas, where she served from 1983 to 1991. In 1992, she was appointed the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, making her the state’s first African-American prosecutor and the only black woman prosecutor in a major U.S. city. Jones was re-elected twice.3

In 1998, when 30-year veteran U.S. Representative Louis Stokes retired from his Ohio district seat, Jones entered the Democratic primary to succeed him. She ran on the basis of her 17-year career in public office in the district and on her well-established political connection to constituents.4 Capturing 51 percent of the vote among five primary candidates, she later won 80 percent in the general election. Jones faced no serious challenges in her four re-election bids, winning by 75 percent or more of the vote.5 In 2006, Jones won with 83 percent.6

When she took her seat in the 106th Congress (1999–2001), Jones received assignments on the Banking and Financial Services (later renamed Financial Services) and Small Business committees. In the 107th Congress (2001–2003), in addition to serving on those two panels, she served on the Standards of Official Conduct Committee, which oversees House ethics guidelines for Members and staff. In the 108th Congress (2003–2005), Jones won a seat on the prestigious Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax law.7

Representative Jones’s district encompassed some of Cleveland’s most affluent suburbs and parts of poor, inner-city neighborhoods. Her seat on Financial Services helped her secure funding for business and housing development. In the 108th Congress, Jones chaired the Congressional Black Caucus Housing Task Force, investigating allegations against subprime lenders and introducing legislation against predatory lenders.8 Jones’s seat on Ways and Means enabled her to focus legislative efforts on shoring up Social Security and Medicare, pension law, and long-term care.

Jones also took a legislative interest in children’s issues, health, and education. She authored and passed the Child Abuse prevention and enforcement Act of 1999 to increase training funds for child-protection workers through money generated from bail bonds, fines, and forfeited assets. In the 107th through the 109th Congresses (2001–2007), Representative Jones introduced the Uterine Fibroids Research and Education Act and also authored the Campus Fire Prevention Act to provide federal funds to equip college housing with fire suppression equipment. In 2005, Jones introduced the Count Every Vote Act to improve electronic voting systems. Additionally, she authored legislation to clarify the legal status of cash balance pension plans. In the 109th Congress, she chaired the Congressional Black Caucus Retirement Security Task Force.

Representative Jones died suddenly of a brain aneurism on August 20, 2008. She was succeeded by Marcia L. Fudge—one of her former aides and the mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio—in a special election on November 18, 2008.

Click here for more info on Stephanie Tubbs Jones

December 7, 1942 – January 19, 1993

Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.

Reginald F. Lewis was born on December 7, 1942, in a Baltimore, Maryland, neighborhood he later described as “semi-tough.” Strongly influenced by his family, he began his career at the age of ten by delivering the local Afro-American newspaper. Fortune Magazine reported that “as a child, Lewis kept his earnings in a tin can known as ‘Reggie’s Hidden Treasure.’” The tin can had been given to him by his grandmother, who taught him the importance of saving some of everything he earned. Reginald later sold his newspaper business at a profit.

During his high school years at Dunbar, Reginald excelled in both his studies and sports. As quarterback of the football team, shortstop on the baseball team, and a forward on the basketball team, he served as captain for all three teams. Reginald was also elected vice-president of the student body; his friend and classmate, Robert M. Bell (current Chief Judge of Maryland), was elected president. In addition, Reginald worked nights and weekends at jobs with his grandfather, a head waiter and maitre d’.

In 1961, Reginald entered Virginia State University on a football scholarship, majoring in economics. He graduated on the Dean’s List despite having a rough first year academically as well as losing his scholarship due to an injury. After losing his scholarship, he worked in a bowling alley and as a photographer’s assistant to help pay his expenses. In his senior year, the Rockefeller Foundation funded a program at Harvard Law School to select a few black students to attend summer school at Harvard to introduce them to legal studies in general.

At the end of the program, Reginald was invited to attend Harvard Law School—the only person in the 148-year history of Harvard Law to be admitted before applying to the school. He arrived at Harvard with $50 in his pocket. During his third year at Harvard, he discovered the direction for his future career in a course on securities law. He wrote his third-year paper on takeovers. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1968 and went to work for a prestigious New York law firm (Paul, Weiss.)

Within two years of graduation, Reginald established his own law firm, the first African American law firm on Wall Street. He focused on corporate law, and he also helped many minority-owned businesses secure badly needed capital using Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Companies (venture capital firms formed by corporations or foundations, operating under the aegis of the Small Business Administration).

A desire to “do the deals myself” led him to establish the TLC Group L.P. in 1983. His first major deal involved the $22.5-million leveraged buyout of the McCall Pattern Company. Reginald nursed the struggling company back to health and, despite a declining market, led the company to enjoy the two most profitable years in its 113-year history. In the summer of 1987, he sold it for $90 million, making $50 million in profit.

In October 1987, Reginald purchased the international division of Beatrice Foods, with holdings in 31 countries, which became known as TLC Beatrice International. At $985 million, the deal was the largest leveraged buyout at the time of overseas assets by an American company. As Chairman and CEO, he moved quickly to reposition the company, pay down the debt, and vastly increase the company’s worth. By 1992, the company had sales of over $1.6 billion annually, and Reginald was sharing his time between his company’s offices in New York and an office in Paris (most of the company’s businesses were in Europe).

With all of his success, Reginald did not forget others; giving back was part of his life. In 1987 he established The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, which funded grants of approximately $10 million to various non-profit programs and organizations while Reginald was alive. His first major grant was an unsolicited $1 million to Howard University—a school he never attended—in 1988; the federal government matched the grant, making the gift to Howard University $2 million, which was used to fund an endowment. Interest from this endowment is used for scholarships, fellowships, and faculty sabbaticals. In 1992, Reginald donated $3 million to Harvard Law School—the largest grant in the history of the school at the time. In gratitude, the school renamed its International Law Center the Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center. Among other programs, the grant supports a fellowship to teach minority lawyers how to be law professors.

In January 1993, Reginald’s remarkable career was cut short by his untimely death at the age of 50 after a short illness. At his funeral, a letter from his longtime friend, David N. Dinkins, former mayor of New York, was read. In the letter, Dinkins wrote “Reginald Lewis accomplished more in half a century than most of us could ever deem imaginable. And his brilliant career was matched always by a warm and generous heart.” Dinkins added, “It is said that service to others is the rent we pay on earth. Reg Lewis departed us paid in full.”

Even after his death, Reginald’s philanthropic endeavors continue. During his illness, he made known his desire to support a museum of African American culture. In 2002, the Vice President of the foundation read an article in the Baltimore Sun describing a museum of Maryland African American History and Culture slated to be built near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

After further research and discussion, especially relative to the partnership between the museum and the Maryland State Department of Education to develop an African American curriculum to be taught in all public schools in the state of Maryland, the foundation made its largest grant to date to the proposed museum; $5 million dollars. The money is an endowment with the interest to be used for educational purposes.

Lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Chairman, CEO, husband, father, son, brother, nephew, cousin, friend—Reginald F. Lewis lived his life according to the words he often quoted to audiences around the country: “Keep going, no matter what.”

For more information: Reginald F. Lewis Museum

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