Omer Jean Winborn

Omer Jean Winborn, born in Ann Arbor and educated in the Ann Arbor public school system, including the historic Jones school and Ann Arbor (Pioneer) High School. Jean’s family came to Ann Arbor from Tennessee in the 1940s and her father and mother began exposing Jean...

James Donald (J. D.) Hall

James Donald Hall was born March 4, 1918 in Louisiana to Wesley and Alma (Newt) Hall in Louisiana and raised in nearby Arkansas. One of eleven children, Mr. Hall came to Michigan in 1946 to attend school. He quickly became a barber and opened two shops; one in...

Martha Neely

Martha (Starks) Neely was born January 15, 1895 in Windsor, Ontario to Vincent and Sarah (Brooke) Starks.  The her father joined his brother, Charles Starks, in Ypsilanti around 1904. Martha attended a number of Ypsilanti schools and was one of the few Black women of...

Hazen A. King Jr.

Hazen A, King Jr. was born November 23, 1918 to Hazen and Ethel (Thomas) King  on Ypsilanti’s South Adams Street. The King’s came to Ypsilanti from Canada. After an early first marriage, Hazen wed Geraldine Kennedy and together they had one daughter....

John Barfield

John William Barfield was born on February 8, 1927 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Lena (James) and Edgar Barfield. Mr. Barfield’s family came to Ypsilanti during World War Two. Barfield After serving in the United States Army, Mr. Barfield found work as a custodian...