Nancy Leftenant, born September 29, 1920 in Goose Creek, South Carolina, became the first African American in the regular US Army Nurse Corps in March 1948. She trained at the Lincoln School for Nurses in the Bronx and joined the US Army Nurse Corps in 1945 as a second lieutenant.
In 1946, she was promoted and assigned to the 332nd Station Medical Group on Lockbourne Army Air Base in Ohio. Leftenant-Colon became a flight nurse in the US Air Force and served in Korea and Vietnam.
She was promoted to major and retired from the military and her post as Chief McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. She passed away in January 9, 2025 at 104 years old.
James Henry Conyers, born October 24, 1855 in South Carolina, was the first African American admitted to the US Naval Academy. He was nominated by South Carolina congress Robert B. Elliott, also an African American. After completing his exams, he was sworn in September 24, 1872 as a cadet-midshipman.
Life at the academy was particularly harsh and Conyers was the target of brutal hazing, being spit on, and physically attacked. In one incident, his fellow midshipmen tried to drown him. Nine cadets were dismissed from the academy after one brutal attack, but Conyers resigned in October 1873.
He returned to South Carolina and lived a quiet life until he passed November 29, 1935.
February 8, 1968 near the campus of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, law enforcement personnel opened fire on a crowd of unarmed African Americans, killing three and injuring twenty-eight more.
Weeks of unrest centered on a the All-Star Bowling Lane, a whites-only bowling alley, where a number of student protests took place. On Thursday, February 8, 1968, police set up a command post near the college campus. At 7pm, fifty State College students gathered to start a bonfire, but police intervened. At 9:30p, more students had joined the protest and a second attempt at building a bonfire was successful.
Police called the fire department to put out the fire. When the fire truck arrived, the crowd began moving back toward Lowman Hall, throwing rocks and bottles. A patrolman David Shealy was injured when a banister post struck him in the mouth. The other patrolmen thought he had been shot.
A few minutes later, nine policemen opened fire on the retreating students, hitting thirty-one people, although the shooting lasted less than ten seconds. Samuel Hammond was shot in the back. Delano Middleton was shot seven times, three to his arm, one to each hip, thigh, and heart. Henry Smith was shot five times from both times.
None of the students were armed, but the law enforcement insisted they fired in self-defense.
All the nine policemen who fired on the students were prosecuted and none were convicted.
The only person arrested, convicted, and sent to prison was Cleveland Sellers, who was charged with inciting a riot, and spent about seven months in jail.
Jehu Jones, born September 4, 1786 in Charleston, South Carolina, is the first African American to be ordained a a Lutheran pastor.
After being involved in the Episcopal Church, he became a member of St. John's Lutheran Church in Charleston. His pastor Reverend John Bachman encouraged him to go to New York to be ordained by the New York Synod. In 1832, he went to Liberia to help freed slaves transition.
After his return he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania ministry appointed him "to labor as a Missionary...among the colored people in Philadelphia..."
Jones founded St. Paul's Lutheran Church and on February 16, 1834, the congregation decided to build a church. Jones laid the cornerstone later in 1834.
Perry Henry Young, Jr., born March 12, 1919 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, became the first African American to fly for a commercial airline in the US. His family moved to Ohio and began attending Oberlin College. He earned his private pilot's license at 20 and dropped out of college to pursue a career in aviation.
Unfortunately, Young could not find work as a commercial pilot due to racial discrimination. When the US entered WWII, he got a job as one of 40 African American flight instructors for the 99th Pursuit Squadron, and trained over 150 Tuskegee Airmen during his tenure.
After the war, he still could not find employment as a pilot. In 1946, he tried to establish a small airline in Haiti, but it closed. He remained in Haiti, flying for the Societe Haitienne-Americaine de Development Agricole and in 1953 began working for the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority as an executive pilot.
He worked on Baffin Island, Canada as an aviation mechanic, and then moved to the Virgin Islands to pilot for KLM, flying passengers to the Dutch islands.
A helicopter airline, New York Airways, had previously rejected Young because he did not meet their minimum helicopter flight time, but decided to 'break the color line'. They contacted him in the Virgin Islands and hired him on December 17, 1956. He took his first official flight as a copilot on February 5, 1957.
He continued to fly for NYA until they went out of business in 1979. He flew sightseeing helicopter tours in New York until he retired.
He passed away in Middletown, New York on November 8, 1998.
Joseph Rainey, born June 21, 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina, was the first African-American to be elected to the United States House of Representative. His father managed to purchase freedom for his wife and two sons. Rainey worked with his father as a barber and developed a wide social network in his community.
He traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1959, where he met a free woman of color. They married and returned to South Carolina, where their three children were born. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Rainey was forced to work by the Confederates on fortifications in Charleston, SC. He escaped with his family to Bermuda in 1862, where he resumed work as a barber. He and his wife, a successful dressmaker, made a prosperous living and became well respected in Bermuda.
They returned to South Carolina settling in Charleston in 1866 after the war ended. Rainey's wealth and experience helped establish him as a leader in the city, which was 43 percent African-American. He became involved in politics and was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1870. That same year, he won a special election to fill a vacancy created by the departure of Benjamin Whittemore, who had been censured for corruption.
Rainey was seated December 12, 1870, becoming the first African-American to be elected to the US House of Representatives. He served a total of four terms, a record for black Congressman, until William Dawson in the 1950s.
After leaving Congress, Rainey continued to work in the government in both Washington, DC and South Carolina. He returned to South Carolina when he retired in 1886. He contracted malaria in died in August 1887 in Georgetown.
November 1, 1958, Jack Dobbins was murdered by John Mahon in Charleston, South Carolina. Dobbins attended a Halloween Party with several friends, and reportedly left the party at 2am. He went to Club 49, a mixed bar where he met Mahon. They had a few drinks, but left Club 49 to go to the Elbow Cocktail Bar. Mahon was denied entry because he did not meet their dress code.
They went to Dobbins' house. Later that morning, the maid Elizabeth Brant found Dobbins naked and dead on the living room sofa. Dobbins' housemate Edward Otey called the police.
The autopsy revealed that Dobbins had been struck nine times with a brass candlestick, but the coroner found no signs to indicate a struggle had taken place. This suggests that it was a surprise attack on Dobbins.
Mahon turned himself into the police, admitting to the murder, but claiming self defense. He alleged that Dobbins served him whiskey and made improper advances to him. Mahon said he ran upstairs and grabbed a candlestick, using it to kill Dobbins.
Mahon went to trial on December 9, 1958 (that was quick), and the all-male jury found him not guilty under the argument of self-defense. There was never an indication that Dobbins had "forced himself" on Mahon.
The verdict caused the gay community to distrust the justice system. Billy Camden, a member of the Charleston gay community, said "...those in Charleston looking to maintain the old social order of veiled white supremacy and racial segregation".
Chadwick Boseman, born November 29, 1976 in Anderson, South Carolina, first made waves in his performance as Jackie Robinson in 42, but garnered millions of more fans when he appeared as T'Challa, or Black Panther, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He first appeared as T'Challa in Captain America: Civil War and went on to play the character in his own movie Black Panther. He performed as T'Challa in Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and the TV series What If...?
He many awards for his performance as T'Challa and for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Unfortunately, Boseman passed away in August 2020 after a long battle with colon cancer.
Frank Culbertson, born May 15, 1949 in Charleston, South Carolina, has been in space three times, and is the only American not on Earth during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as pilot in November 1990. The mission carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense.
His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51) as commander in September 1993. The astronauts were filmed by a camera crew from the United Kingdom and the documentary was released as Space Shuttle Discovery.
His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-105), launched in August 2001 as mission specialist to the International Space Station. He was commander of the ISS during Expedition 3. He conducted one space walk with fellow astronaut Vladimir Dezhurov for just over 5 hours. He returned to Earth on Endeavour (STS-108) in December 2001.
Catherine "Cady" Coleman, born December 14, 1960 in Charleston, South Carolina, has been into space three times. She received a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in polymer science and engineering from University of Massachusetts.
Her first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as mission specialist in October-November 1995.
Her second trip was aboard Columbia (STS-93) as mission specialist in July 1999. The main objective of this mission was the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
Her third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-20 launched in December 2010 to the International Space Station. She was part of Expeditions 26 and 27. She returned to Earth in May 2011.
John Casper, born July 9, 1943 in Greenville, South Carolina, is a veteran of 4 space shuttle flights. After getting a Maser of Science degree in Astronautics from Purdue University in 1967, he attended U.S. Air Force to become a fighter pilot. He flew 229 combat missions in the Vietnam War.
He served as pilot on his first space flight on Atlantis (STS-36) February-March 1990. It was a Department of Defense flight so its payload was confidential.
His second flight was as commander on Endeavour (STS-54) January 1993, during which the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite was deployed.
Casper was assigned as commander aboard Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994. The landing of the mission was chronicled by the Discovery Channel for a special featuring the Space Shuttle program.
His fourth and final mission was as commander aboard Endeavour (STS-77) in May 1996. A Coca-Cola fountain dispense with Coca-Cola and Diet Coke was taken aboard.
Dr. Ronald McNair, born October 21, 1950, was aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger when it exploded after launch January 28, 1986. It was his seecond trip into space, since he had flown on the Challenger in February 1984. He is the second African American and the first Baha'i in space.
He was also a saxophone player and was to play a solo during the Challenger mission but never got the chance. There is a moon crater named after him and he was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame.
