Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Yancey, William Lowndes

(Encyclopedia)Yancey, William Lowndes, 1814–63, American leader of secession, b. Warren co., Ga. Admitted (1834) to the bar in Greenville, S.C., he soon moved to Alabama. There he became an outstanding lawyer, wa...

National Museum of the American Indian

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of the American Indian, institution devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the culture of the indigenous populations of the Western Hemisphere, a division of the ...

Economic Community of West African States

(Encyclopedia)Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), organization established in 1975 to increase economic cooperation and development in West Africa. Members include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, C...

Brownell, Herbert, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Brownell, Herbert, Jr. brounĕlˈ [key], 1904–96, U.S. attorney general (1953–57), b. Peru, Nebr. A lawyer in private practice in New York City (1927–53, 1957–89), he became active in the Repu...

Nkoli, Simon Tseko

(Encyclopedia)Nkoli, Simon 1957–1998, anti-apartheid and LGBTQ rights activist. Born in Soweto, Nkoli (sometimes referred to as Nkodi) was an influential South Afri...

Ellison, Keith Maurice

(Encyclopedia)Ellison, Keith Maurice, 1963–, African-American politician, the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress; b. Detroit. A convert to Islam from Roman Catholicism while at Wayne State Univ. (B.A...

parent education

(Encyclopedia)parent education, movement to help parents' understanding of the problems of children at home and in the school. Much parent education is carried on through the channels of adult education, both forma...

Tuskegee

(Encyclopedia)Tuskegee təskēˈgē [key], city (1990 pop. 12,257), seat of Macon co., SE Ala., in a cotton, corn, and dairy region; settled before 1763, inc. 1843. It has gristmills and plants that make cottonseed...

Johnson, James Weldon

(Encyclopedia)Johnson, James Weldon, 1871–1938, American author, b. Jacksonville, Fla., educated at Atlanta Univ. (B.A., 1894) and at Columbia. Johnson was the first African American to be admitted to the Florida...

Gibson, Althea

(Encyclopedia)Gibson, Althea ălthēˈə [key], 1927–2003, African-American tennis player, b. Silver, S.C. In 1948 she won the first of 10 straight national black women's singles championships. She was the first ...