BMM Wall of Fame

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 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 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 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.

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.

Born and raised in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, Cornelius served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea before navigating a series of blue-collar and public service jobs, including selling tires, automobiles, and insurance, and serving as a Chicago police officer. In 1966, with little savings and a family to support, he quit his day job to take a three-month broadcasting course and soon became an announcer, news reporter, and DJ at WVON, one of Chicago’s premier Black radio stations. Before he became the face of Soul Train, Cornelius’ early career demonstrates ingenuity, discipline, and the ability to translate technical skill into opportunity—the quiet labor and foresight that laid the groundwork for his later cultural impact.

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.

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.

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 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.

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