BMM WALL OF FAME

The Black Men of Measure Wall of Fame honors Black men whose work, skill, and

presence shaped or continue to shape their communities.

BMM Predecessors: Black Men Who Paved The Way

Before Black Men of Measure, there were other Black men of the Missionary Generation (born between 1860–1882), the Lost Generation (born between 1883–1900), the Interbellum Generation (born between 1901–1913) and the Greatest Generation (born between roughly 1910/1914–1927).

They were builders, thinkers, and visionaries who shaped the foundations of Black skilled labor and intellectual life in America. They were the ones who picked up tools, pens, and principles to carve out possibility in a world designed to limit them. Some were known in their time; most were not.

This section honors their brilliance and bravery—those whose measured steps made it possible for future generations to thrive, create, and dream freely. Each snapshot here is a small act of remembrance and recognition—a way to remind ourselves that legacy isn’t just inherited, it’s constructed, purposeful and sometimes, tragic.

J. A. Rogers

(September 6, 1880 – March 26, 1966)

Joel Augustus Rogers emigrated to the United States around 1906 and, after working for a time in Chicago (including service as a Pullman porter), settled in Harlem, New York. While working his rail-car job and travelling the country, he educated himself, built a wide knowledge base, and began writing. In 1917 he published From “Superman” to Man, a dialogue-novel in which a Black Pullman porter debates a white supremacist politician, and he went on to publish major works (including World’s Great Men of Colour) that catalogued African-diaspora achievement and challenged racial hierarchy. Rogers stands as a self-made scholar-journalist whose intellectual labour disrupted dominant understandings of race.

Samuel O'Quinn

(c 1901 – August 14, 1959)

Samuel O’Quinn was a skilled tradesman, entrepreneur, and landowner in Centreville, Mississippi. Certified as a plumber and trained at Tuskegee Institute, he ran multiple businesses, including plumbing, funeral services, and farming, while raising a family of 11 children. His 235-acre property, known as Whitaker Plantation, stood as a symbol of Black economic independence in the Jim Crow South. In 1959, he was tragically murdered at his own gate—a stark reminder of the dangers faced by upwardly mobile Black men. O’Quinn’s life exemplifies courage, skill, and civic presence, qualities that resonate with the men celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

Bernard Garrett

(September 19, 1925 – September 9, 1999)

Bernard Garrett was a self-taught real-estate investor, strategist, and entrepreneur. Texas-born, with beginnings as a janitor and handyman in Los Angeles, he taught himself the mechanics of property acquisition, banking, and finance, eventually buying buildings and banks that white institutions said he could not own. His business ventures challenged racial barriers in mid-20th-century America and created opportunities for wealth and empowerment in Black communities. Garrett’s life exemplifies ingenuity, skill, and audacious vision—the same qualities celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

Charles Vernon Stewart

(August 7, 1910-February 13, 2006)

Charles Vernon Stewart was a skilled electrician, labor organizer, and union advocate in Chicago. Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1910 and raised in Omaha and later Chicago, he trained at Greer College and became one of the first African Americans admitted to the electrical union in the city. Stewart co-founded a Black electricians’ union, opening doors for Black skilled laborers in an era of exclusion. His life exemplifies technical skill, leadership, and a commitment to community empowerment—the same qualities celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

Chicago's Black Steelworkers

(Early to mid-20th century)

Skilled ironworkers, riggers, and high-rise laborers helped to build and shape Chicago’s skyline during the first half of the 20th century. Many were excluded from unions or worked in segregated crews, and their contributions went largely undocumented, even as they raised some of the city’s most iconic structures. These men combined technical mastery, physical courage, and ingenuity to accomplish feats few could imagine, often at great personal risk. Their work exemplifies skill, resilience, and quiet leadership—the same qualities celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

Horace King

(1807-1885)

Horace King was a master architect and legendary engineer who rose from enslavement to become the premier bridge builder of the 19th-century South. A self-taught genius in geometry and engineering, King constructed over 100 bridges and the iconic "floating" spiral staircases of the Alabama State Capitol. During the Civil War, his technical expertise was so vital that he was conscripted to build river defenses and ironclad ships. Beyond his architectural feats, King was a dedicated advocate for community uplift, serving as an Alabama State Representative during Reconstruction to fight for labor rights and education. He founded a family bridge-building dynasty that provided high-skilled jobs and economic stability for the Black community, embodying the "truest sense" of respect through his lifelong commitment to service and skill.

Timuel Dixon Black, Jr.

(December 7, 1918 – October 13, 2021)

American educator, civil rights activist, historian and author. A native of Alabama, Black was raised in Chicago, Illinois, and studied the city's African-American history. He was active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, most notably participating in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Chicago Freedom Movement during 1965 and 1966. Black was part of a coalition of Black Chicagoans that worked to elect Chicago's first African-American mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983, and he mentored a young Barack Obama, the future U.S. president, on building a political base on Chicago's South Side.

Rev. Dr. Leon Sullivan

(October 16, 1922 – April 24, 2001)

Rev. Dr. Leon H. Sullivan was a prominent African-American minister, civil rights leader, and social activist known as the "Lion of Zion" for his fight against economic inequality. Based in Philadelphia, he pioneered "selective patronage" boycotts (1960s) to create black jobs and founded the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) to provide vocational training.

Silas Purnell

(1923-2003)

Known as the man who sent over 50,000 students to college, Silas Purnell was a powerhouse of Chicago’s South Side. After serving in the U.S. Army and working in steel foundries, he earned his degree from the Sheil Institute and became a marketing manager for Coca-Cola. In 1966, he pivoted to his true calling, founding the Ada S. McKinley College Preparation & Placement Program. Operating with grit and creativity from a basement office in the Dearborn Homes, Purnell was a community fixture who saw potential where others saw "poor" transcripts. He personally scouted students on street corners and secured millions in aid, bridge-building the gap between skilled labor and higher education for an entire generation.

Pearl Fryar

(1939–2026)

Pearl Fryar was a self-taught topiary artist and visionary who transformed a barren cornfield in Bishopville, South Carolina, into an internationally recognized garden. A man of immense grit and discipline, Fryar spent 36 years as a factory engineer at a Coca-Cola manufacturing plant, often spending his nights sculpting his garden under spotlights after working 12-hour shifts. A U.S. Army veteran, Fryar first encountered topiary art while stationed in Korea, a memory that would later fuel his creative mission to dispel local stereotypes through excellence. Though his formal education began at North Carolina Central University, his greatest lessons were shared through his "living classroom," where he preached a message of "Love, Peace, and Goodwill." Fryar’s commitment to community uplift extended beyond his garden; he established scholarships for students with "untapped potential" and turned his hometown into a global destination, proving that a Black Man of Measure can cultivate beauty and economic pride from the ground up.

Herman Roberts

(1924-2021)

Herman Roberts was a hospitality pioneer and self-made tycoon who transformed Chicago’s South Side. He began his journey in skilled labor washing taxis, eventually buying his own medallion at 15. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, Roberts returned home to expand his business into the Roberts Cab Company, operating 50 taxis that provided essential service to Black neighborhoods.

Though his formal education began at Englewood High School, Roberts’ true mastery was in economic infrastructure. In 1960, he founded the Roberts Motel chain after seeing Black entertainers barred from downtown hotels. His empire grew to eight motels and the legendary Roberts Show Club, creating a safe, world-class hub for the community. A true Black Man of Measure, Roberts used his technical grit and business sovereignty to provide thousands of jobs, proving that presence and ownership are the ultimate tools for community uplift.

Louis C. Mason, Jr.

(1921-1992)

Louis C. Mason Jr. was a visionary entrepreneur who transformed the hospitality landscape in New Orleans. A graduate of Xavier University, Mason moved from grocery store ownership into a booming lodging empire. In 1962, he opened Mason’s Motel, providing "ultra-modern" safe havens for Black travelers and icons like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. His business mastery peaked with Mason’s Las Vegas Strip, an entertainment hub on South Claiborne Avenue. As a Black Man of Measure, Mason used his dapper presence and technical grit to build an empire centered on Black dignity, ownership, and joy.

Black Men of Measure: Men Who Shaped The Blueprint

The Black Men of Measure—Baby Boomers like my father—built on the foundations laid by those who came before.

Born roughly between 1946 and 1964, they were the skilled laborers, thinkers, visionaries, and community builders who set the standard for integrity, service, and measured leadership in their families, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

They worked with purpose, courage, and discipline—often quietly, often unseen—to define what it meant to be a Black man of measure in their time. Their choices, actions, and values created a living blueprint for the generations that followed.

This section honors their vision, their labor, and their lives. Each snapshot is a recognition of the paths they carved, the principles they embodied, and the enduring legacy they shaped—a legacy that continues to inspire, guide, and challenge those who come after them.

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Parallel Legacies: Organizations and Collectives

Shaped by Black Men of Measure

These collectives spanning generations were composed of everyday Black men. They demonstrated courage, technical expertise, and lasting impact. They also embodied the restless drive to create opportunities that reflected their skill, vision, and determination.

Safe Bus Company

(1926-1972)

The Safe Bus Company (1926–1972) in Winston-Salem, NC, was a historic Black-owned transportation system founded by 21 independent jitney operators to serve Black neighborhoods. Renowned for safety and efficiency, it became the world's largest Black-owned bus company,, operating 35 buses with over 80 drivers at its peak before being sold to the city in 1972. Their work exemplifies skill, courage, and community leadership—the same qualities celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

The Augusta Caddie Corps

(1934-1982)

The Augusta Caddie Corps was a legendary group of Black men whose technical mastery was indispensable to the success of the Masters Tournament for nearly 50 years. Based out of the Sand Hills neighborhood, these men were "green-reading" geniuses who navigated the complex terrain of Augusta National with unmatched precision. Many members were U.S. Army veterans who brought military discipline to the bag, serving as strategic advisors to world champions who relied on their self-taught expertise to win. Until a rule change in 1982, no golfer could compete at Augusta without their presence. They remain the "silent masters" of the game, proving that the Black Man of Measure commands respect through elite skill and professional integrity.

The Men of the Freedom House Ambulance Service

(1967-1975)

Founded in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Freedom House Ambulance Service was the first emergency medical service in the United States staffed by formally trained paramedics, many of whom were African-American military veterans. They provided advanced medical care in underserved neighborhoods, arriving where city services were slow or unavailable, and trained a generation of Black EMTs and emergency responders. Their work exemplifies skill, courage, and community leadership—the same qualities celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

The Deacons for Defense and Justice

(1964-1968)

Founded in Jonesboro, Louisiana, the Deacons for Defense and Justice were composed primarily of African-American military veterans from World War II and Korea. Using their combat training, discipline, and strategic skills, they organized armed patrols to protect civil rights activists and Black communities from white supremacist violence. Their presence allowed marches, boycotts, and voter registration drives to proceed safely in some of the most dangerous areas of the South. The Deacons exemplify courage, tactical skill, and community leadership—the same qualities celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

92nd Infantry Division

(Active 1917-1919, 1942–1945)

Organized in October 1917, the 92nd Infantry Division was a segregated African-American unit that served with distinction during World War II, primarily in the Italian campaign. Composed of Black soldiers who demonstrated discipline, strategic skill, and courage under fire, the division overcame both the challenges of combat and systemic racism within the military. Their service exemplifies leadership, resilience, and commitment to community and country—the same qualities celebrated in Black Men of Measure.

BMM Successors: Men Who Continue The Legacy

Following the blueprint set by the Black Men of Measure, these older GenX men carry forward the principles, discipline, and integrity that define a man of measure. They live in the shadow and light of those who came before them, building on the legacy of vision, service, and leadership that the Baby Boomers and their predecessors modeled.

These men demonstrate that the measure endures—through their work, their communities, and the ways they guide and inspire those around them. Their stories remind us that legacy is not static; it is lived, practiced, and extended into each new generation.

This section honors their ongoing contributions, celebrating the men who keep the spirit of measured lives alive today. Through snapshots, interviews, and personal reflections, we see how the torch is passed, carried, and renewed.

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