FAMOUS FOOTSTEPS

Famous Footsteps HAMPTON IS DISTINGUISHED BY A NUMBER OF AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERS WHO HAVE LIVED, VISITED, WORKED OR STUDIED HERE. THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS CLEARED PATHS FOR MANY THAT FOLLOWED AND FOR THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO FORGE AHEAD.

WILLIAM TUCKER B. 1624, D. UNKNOWN Two of the first Africans to come to Virginia, Anthony and Isabell, became servants of Captain William Tucker commander of the fort at Point Comfort. Their child William became the first recorded baby of African descent to be baptized in English North America. The service was held on January 3, 1624.

CESAR TARRANT B. 1740, D. 1797 During the Revolutionary War, this Hampton slave successfully piloted an American schooner, the Patriot, into a Royal Navy vessel, rendering the British ship unnavigable. Tarrant, who was owned by Carter Tarrant, was freed from slavery on November 14, 1789, when the Virginia legislature passed an act that gave him freedom for his heroic efforts during the war. Hampton’s Cesar Tarrant Middle School is named in his honor.

MARY PEAKE B. 1823, D. 1862 In 1861, Mary Peake began in Hampton what is believed to be the first organized effort to teach African Americans to read and write. Born free, Peake rejected the laws that prohibited such teaching. Her role as a prominent educator was publicly recognized on the 100 th anniversary of her death, when a Hampton elementary school was named in her honor. Her grave can be found at Elmerton Cemetery on Wine Street, north of Pembroke Avenue.

Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker and James Townsend

SHEPARD MALLORY, FRANK BAKER AND JAMES TOWNSEND

Shortly after the onset of the Civil War, three enslaved men escaped and sought refuge at Fort Monroe, setting in motion a series of events that would have far-reaching consequences for African Americans. Arriving in May 1861, the three men purported to have been Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker and James Townsend, were given refuge by Major General Benjamin F. Butler under the declaration that they were “contraband of war.” Soon thousands of runaways journeyed to the Union post that had earned the nickname “Freedom’s Fortress.”

BOOKER TALIAFERRO WASHINGTON B. APRIL 5, 1856, D. NOV. 14, 1915 One of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute’s most famous graduates and a formerly enslaved man, Booker T. Washington traveled to the Hampton school from southwest Virginia on foot and then worked as a janitor to pay for his education. He graduated in 1875. Washington helped integrate Native Americans into the Hampton Normal and Agriculture Institute program in 1878. He later founded Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute.

Booker T. Washington

HARRIET TUBMAN

B. 1820-25, D. MARCH 10, 1913 Harriet Tubman’s efforts as one of the daring “conductors” of the Underground Railroad resulted in her guiding more than 300 enslaved men and women to safety, including her own parents, and earned her the nickname “Black Moses.” Following the war, she arrived in Hampton in 1865 to serve as a nurse to the formerly enslaved who had made their way to Fort Monroe. Soon after, she was appointed to the position “Matron,” or nurse, of Hampton’s Colored Hospital by the Surgeon of the United States Army. WILLIAM ROSCOE DAVIS B. 1814, D. NOV. 19, 1904 Born in the 1830s, Davis was raised in Norfolk and taught by his owner

to read and write. An original contraband, Davis escaped to Freedom’s Fortress. An eloquent speaker, Davis became a minister and progressive Hampton leader, speaking on tour nationally in effort to raise funds to benefit the American Missionary Association. Davis married Nancy Davis, sister of Thomas Peake, the husband of Mary Peake.

SARAH COLLINS FERNANDIS B. 1863, D. JULY 11, 1951 A member of the Hampton Normal & Agricultural Institute class of 1882, Collins Fernandis founded the first black social settlement house in the United States in Washington, D.C. She became the first black female social worker in the state of Maryland and established the Women’s Cooperative Civic League in Baltimore. Collins Fernandis was also known for her essays on social issues and her poetry.She wrote the words for the Hampton University alma mater.

DR. WILLIAM H. SHEPPARD B. MARCH 8, 1865, D. NOV. 25, 1927 Hampton University’s distinguished museum, the oldest African American Museum in the United States and one of the oldest museums in Virginia, has more than 9,000 artifacts and objects of art in its African American and Native-American collections. The strength and diversity of its African displays are largely due to Dr. William H. Sheppard, a black missionaryexplorer, Hampton Institute alumnus and internationally-known advocate for the rights of Africans. While he lived in the Congo Free State (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between 1890 and 1910, he assembled a remarkable collection of African art from the Kuba people, 400 pieces of which were purchased from him by Hampton Institute in 1911.

Tuskegee Airmen

The controversial Tuskegee Airmen Experiment, which cleared the way for African Americans to join ranks of the Army Air Force, was implemented in 1941 to prove blacks could fly combat missions. Dozens of Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) students were recruited for flight training at Tuskegee Army Airfield (TAAF) in Alabama. The first aviation cadet class completed training in March 1942. They were Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., and Lieutenants Mac Ross, Lemeul R. Custis, Charles DeBow, Jr., and George S. Roberts.

Nearly 1,000 black pilots were trained at TAAF but only 450 of the pilots served overseas in either the 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) or the 332nd Fighter Group. The remainder comprised the 477th Bomber Group and were either assigned as Instructor

or Bomber Pilots. Throughout World War II, the Tuskegee Fighter Pilots participated in campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy and earned one of two Distinguished Presidential Unit Citations for “extraordinary heroism” and “outstanding tactical air support” while flying the longest WW II escort mission to Berlin, Germany on March 24, 1945. The Tuskegee Fighter Pilots never lost a single aircraft during this escort mission; a record unmatched by white fighter pilots that averaged 25 bomber losses per day at the time.

The Tuskegee Airmen Experiment was deemed a great success as the Airmen flew over 15,000 sorties and more than 1,500 missions. It has been said these Airmen claimed a double victory as they fought two wars - one against a Nazi military force overseas and the other against racism at home and abroad. Many Tuskegee Airmen retired in Hampton after serving in WW II. Seven were on-hand in Washington, D.C. to receive the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 and four were present in the viewing of George Lucas’ Red Tails 2012 film. Harry Truman’s Executive Order 9981 in 1948 integrated the military. Visit the exhibit interpreting the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen at the Virginia Air & Space Center.

WILLIAM TRUSTY B. 1862, D. 1902 A respected businessman at the turn of the century, William Trusty served as a councilman in the Black Fifth Ward of Phoebus (an independent city that became part of Hampton in 1952). He was one of the first African Americans to be so elected.

KATHERINE JOHNSON B. AUG. 26, 1918, D. FEB. 24, 2020 An African American NASA Langley mathematician, Johnson chartered the courses of Alan Shepard, America’s first astronaut, in 1961, John Glenn in 1962 and Neil Armstrong in 1969. Johnson’s life story was featured in the 2016 book Hidden Figures (ital) by Margot Lee Shetterly and an award-winning feature film adaptation of the same name. Johnson died at the age of 101.

JANIE PORTER BARRETT B. AUG. 9, 1865, D. AUG. 27, 1948 An 1884 Hampton Institute graduate, Barrett formed the Locust Street Social Settlement in 1890. The settlement’s child welfare department provided young mothers and children with guidance. Barrett was a founding member of the of the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, an organization that remains today. In 1915, Barrett opened the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls in Hanover County, Virginia. It is now named in her honor. She is buried in Elmerton Cemetery.

DR. GEORGE PERLEY PHENIX B. 1864, D. 1930 In 1930, as Hampton Institute achieved formal accreditation, Phenix was the first person to hold the title of president of Hampton Institute. Initially located on the Hampton Institute campus, the George P. Phenix Training School, named in Phenix’s honor, operated from 1932 to 1968 providing education for elementary and secondary students. The school’s final location was on LaSalle Avenue. During integration, the Phenix High School was renamed Pembroke High School. The building currently is home to the Hampton location of the YMCA of Hampton Roads.

ALONZO G. MORON B. APR. 12, 1908, D. OCT. 1, 1971 The eighth Hampton Institute president and the first African American president, Moron was a 1927 graduate of the school. He served as president from 1948 to 1959, and is credited with a distinguished tenure that included the phasing out of agricultural studies and trade skills and establishing the Institute’s academic program. Moron died in the Virgin Islands in 1971.

BRUCE ROBINSON

Stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Robinson was the installation’s first African American to be appointed command chief master sergeant.

DR. JEROME HOLLAND B. JAN. 8, 1916

Dr. Holland’s presidency is credited for Hampton Institute’s phenomenal growth from 1961 to 1971. New programs, including internships, exchange programs, accreditations, and nationally esteemed faculty, garnered national attention. In 1971, Holland was appointed ambassador to Sweden by President Richard Nixon.

JOHN MALLORY PHILLIPS (I) B. JUN. 12, 1857, D. FEB. 1, 1922 In the late 1800s, the seafood industry became vital to Elizabeth City County and Hampton’s economic success. John Mallory Phillips was a successful African American who owned oyster grounds during a time when many other African Americans in the industry were employed by seafood processing plants.

JOHN MALLORY PHILLIPS (II) B. MAR. 10, 1920, D. JAN. 13, 1985 Grandson of his namesake, John Mallory Phillips served on Hampton City Council from 1974 to 1986 and became the first African American vice mayor, serving from 1982 to 1986. Serving two four-year terms beginning in 1984, Ms. Wharton-Taylor was the first African American woman to serve on Hampton City Council.

DR. WILLIAM H. HARVEY

Serving as university president from 1978 to present, Dr. Harvey has served the longest of any of the institution’s principals and presidents and is one of the longest serving sitting University presidents in the United States. In 1984, under his leadership, the school’s name changed to Hampton University. In 2010, Hampton University opened the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute, located at 40 Enterprise Parkway Hampton, VA 23666.

DR. MARY T. CHRISTIAN B. AUGUST 9, 1924, D. NOVEMBER 11, 2019 A Hampton University professor, in 1975 Dr. Christian was the first African American woman to serve on the Hampton school board and, in 1986, became Hampton’s first African American to become a state representative in post-Reconstruction.

DR. MAMIE LOCKE

Serving on Hampton City Council from 1996 to 2004, Dr. Locke was the first African American mayor of the City of Hampton. In 2004, Dr. Locke became Virginia’s first African American female state senator.

CONGRESSMAN ROBERT C. “BOBBY” SCOTT

Bobby Scott was the first African American congressional representative to be elected to office since Reconstruction. A Newport News native, Scott served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1979 to 1983, in the Virginia State Senate from 1983 to 1992, and has served as a member of Congress since 1992. He represents Virginia’s 3 rd District, which includes portions of Hampton and portions of other cities from Richmond to Norfolk, Virginia.