List of people from North Omaha, Nebraska
Encyclopedia
There are a number of notable people from North Omaha, Nebraska
. This list includes people who lived in the community for any period of time, as well as groups and organizations of people within North Omaha.
North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha...
. This list includes people who lived in the community for any period of time, as well as groups and organizations of people within North Omaha.
Political figures
- Silas RobbinsSilas RobbinsSilas Robbins was the first African American admitted to practice law in the U.S. state of Nebraska in 1889, and the first black person in Omaha, Nebraska to be admitted to the Nebraska State Bar Association.- Biography :...
, first African American lawyer in Omaha - Malcolm XMalcolm XMalcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, civil rights leader - Ernie ChambersErnie ChambersErnest W. Chambers is a former Nebraska State Senator who represented North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature. He is also a civil rights activist and is considered by most citizens of Nebraska as the most prominent and outspoken African American leader in the state...
, Nebraska State Senator, historical North Omaha community leader - Dr. Matthew RickettsMatthew RickettsMatthew Oliver Ricketts was an American politician and physician. He was the first African-American state senator in the Nebraska Legislature, where he served for two terms...
, the first African American elected to the Nebraska State Legislature in 1892. - Joe RogersJoe RogersJoseph B. Rogers is a politician who was the youngest Lieutenant Governor in Colorado history.Rogers is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity....
, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
Lieutenant Governor, 1999-2003 (RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) - Standing BearStanding BearStanding Bear was a Ponca Native American chief who successfully argued in U.S...
, imprisoned and tried at Fort OmahaFort OmahaFort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ... - Thomas TibblesThomas TibblesThomas Henry Tibbles was a journalist and author from Omaha, Nebraska who became an activist for Native American rights in the United States during the late nineteenth century.- Life :Born in Ohio, he moved to Illinois with his parents...
, Journalist associated with the Standing Bear v. Crook trial - Susette LaFlesche TibblesSusette LaFlesche TibblesSusette LaFlesche Tibbles, also called Insta Theamba , was a well-known Native American writer, lecturer, interpreter and artist of the Omaha tribe in Nebraska. Susette LaFlesche was a progressive who was a spokesperson for Native American rights. She was of Ponca, Iowa, French and Anglo-American...
, PoncaPoncaThe Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
member associated with the Standing Bear v. Crook trial - Frank Brown (Omaha, Nebraska), City councilmember
- Brenda CouncilBrenda CouncilBrenda J. Council is a labor lawyer in North Omaha, Nebraska. She is currently a Nebraska State Senator. She represents the 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature, serving as the successor of Ernie Chambers.-Political career:...
, City councilmember - Lowen KruseLowen KruseLowen Kruse is a Nebraska state senator from Omaha, Nebraska, in the Nebraska Legislature and retired minister for Omaha First United Methodist Church. -Personal life:...
, Nebraska State Senator - Whitney YoungWhitney YoungWhitney Moore Young Jr. was an American civil rights leader.He spent most of his career working to end employment discrimination in the United States and turning the National Urban League from a relatively passive civil rights organization into one that aggressively fought for equitable access to...
, Former head of Omaha Urban League - George Wells ParkerGeorge Wells ParkerGeorge Wells Parker was an African American political activist and writer who co-founded the Hamitic League of the World....
, founder of Hamitic League of the WorldHamitic League of the WorldHamitic League of the World was an African American nationalist organization. Its declared aims were:The word Hamitic derives from Ham the son of Noah in the Old Testament. The organisation was founded in 1917 by George Wells Parker. In 1918 it published his pamphlet Children of the Sun...
Stage, film, theater and dance figures
- John BeasleyJohn Beasley (actor)John Beasley is an American actor known for his role as Irv Harper on the TV series Everwood and recurring roles on CSI, Millennium and The Pretender. He also portrayed General Lasseter in The Sum of All Fears and Rev. C. Charles Blackwell in The Apostle. In 1992 he played Jesse Hall's dad in the...
, television and film actor - Gabrielle UnionGabrielle UnionGabrielle Monique Union is an American actress and former model. Among her notable roles is as the cheerleader opposite Kirsten Dunst in the film Bring it On. Union starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the blockbuster film Bad Boys II and played a medical doctor in the CBS drama...
, television and film actress - Sandra Organ, longtime Houston BalletHouston BalletThe Houston Ballet, operated by the Houston Ballet Foundation, is the fourth-largest professional ballet company in the United States, based in Houston, Texas. The foundation also maintains a ballet academy, the Ben Stevenson Academy, which trains more than half of the company's dancers...
soloist - Ayesha Adu, writer and filmmaker
Literary figures
- Wallace ThurmanWallace ThurmanWallace Henry Thurman was an American novelist during the Harlem Renaissance. He is best known for his novel The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life, which explores discrimination among black people based on skin color.-Early life:...
, widely considered one of the greatest writers of the Harlem RenaissanceHarlem RenaissanceThe Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke... - Tillie OlsenTillie OlsenTillie Lerner Olsen was an American writer associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists.-Biography:...
, renowned Jewish author - Mildred D. Brown, founder of Omaha StarOmaha StarThe Omaha Star is a newspaper founded in 1938 in North Omaha, Nebraska by Mildred Brown and her husband S. Edward Gilbert. Housed in the historic Omaha Star building in the Near North Side neighborhood, today the Omaha Star is the only remaining African-American newspaper in Omaha and the only one...
, oldest and perhaps the only African American newspaper founded by a woman - Harold W. Andersen, Omaha World Herald reporter
Music figures
- Wynonie HarrisWynonie HarrisWynonie Harris , born in Omaha, Nebraska, was an American blues shouter and rhythm and blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. With fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952, Harris is generally considered one of rock and roll's forerunners, influencing Elvis Presley...
, Rhythm & Blues singer - Geneice WilcherGeneice WilcherGeneice Irene Wilcher is a beauty queen from Omaha, Nebraska who competed for the Miss USA title in 2007.Wilcher won the Miss Nebraska USA 2007 title in the state pageant held in Norfolk, Nebraska on 8 October 2006, beating 20 other delegates to win the crown. Her prizes include nearly $100,000 in...
, beauty pageant winner - Preston LovePreston LovePreston Haines Love was a renowned alto saxophonist, bandleader and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska.-Biography:Preston Love grew up in North Omaha and graduated from North High....
, jazz player - Buddy MilesBuddy MilesGeorge Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
, musician - Big Joe WilliamsBig Joe WilliamsJoseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
, musician - Lester AbramsLester AbramsLester Abrams is a singer, songwriter, musician and producer who has played with such artists as B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Peabo Bryson, Quincy Jones, Manfred Mann, Brian Auger, The Average White Band, The Doobie Brothers, Rufus and many others. Two of his co-compositions appeared on the Grammy...
, funk musician - Lloyd HunterLloyd HunterLloyd Hunter was a trumpeter and big band leader from North Omaha, Nebraska. He led band across the Midwest from 1923 until his death. Hunter had also worked with Jessie Stone in Kansas City, Missouri.-Biography:...
, big band leader - Anna Mae WinburnAnna Mae WinburnAnna Mae Winburn, née Darden was an African American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid 1930s...
, big band leader - Helen Jones WoodsHelen Jones WoodsHelen Jones Woods is a jazz and swing trombone player most renowned for her performances with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She was inducted into the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame in 2007.-About:...
, big band trobonist - Hank "Big Hank" Richard Davis, Drummer, jazz, funk and blues
Business figures
- Cathy HughesCathy HughesCathy Hughes, born Catherine Elizabeth Woods in Omaha, Nebraska on April 22, 1947, is an African-American entrepreneur, radio and television personality and business executive. Hughes founded the media company Radio One and later expanded into TV One, the company went public in 1998, making...
, founder and president of Radio One. - Mildred BrownMildred BrownMildred Brown was an African American journalist, newspaper publisher, and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska. Part of the Great Migration, she came from Alabama via Chicago and Des Moines, Iowa...
, Founder, Omaha StarOmaha StarThe Omaha Star is a newspaper founded in 1938 in North Omaha, Nebraska by Mildred Brown and her husband S. Edward Gilbert. Housed in the historic Omaha Star building in the Near North Side neighborhood, today the Omaha Star is the only remaining African-American newspaper in Omaha and the only one...
newspaper - Ernie ChambersErnie ChambersErnest W. Chambers is a former Nebraska State Senator who represented North Omaha's 11th District in the Nebraska State Legislature. He is also a civil rights activist and is considered by most citizens of Nebraska as the most prominent and outspoken African American leader in the state...
, Nebraska State Senator - Edward CreightonEdward CreightonEdward Creighton was a prominent pioneer businessman in early Omaha, Nebraska. The brother of John A. Creighton, the Creightons were responsible for founding many institutions that were central to the growth and development of Omaha...
, Pioneer businessman - John A. CreightonJohn A. CreightonCount John A. Creighton was a pioneer businessman and philanthropist in Omaha, Nebraska who founded Creighton University...
, Pioneer businessman, philanthropist - Manuel LisaManuel LisaManuel Lisa, also known as Manuel de Lisa , was a Spanish-American fur trader, explorer, and United States Indian agent. He was among the founders in St. Louis of the Missouri Fur Company, an early fur trading company...
, Fur trapper; see Fort Lisa
Sports figures
- Bob GibsonBob GibsonRobert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
, National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher for St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to... - Johnny RodgersJohnny RodgersJohnny Steven Rodgers is a former American college football player voted the University of Nebraska's "Player of the Century" and the winner of the 1972 Heisman Trophy.-College career:...
, 1972 Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
Winner, College Football Hall of FameCollege Football Hall of FameThe College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
Inductee and voted University of Nebraska's "player of the century". - Bob BoozerBob BoozerRobert Louis "Bob" Boozer is a retired American professional basketball player. Boozer was born and raised in North Omaha, Nebraska and graduated from Tech High in Omaha....
, former National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player and gold medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics1960 Summer OlympicsThe 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
. - Gale SayersGale SayersGale Eugene Sayers also known as "The Kansas Comet", is a former professional football player in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Chicago Bears....
, professional football player, Pro Football Hall of FamePro Football Hall of FameThe Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
inductee - Kenton KeithKenton KeithKenton Jermaine Keith is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an undrafted free agent in 2003...
, professional football player - Ahman GreenAhman GreenAhman Rashad Green is a retired American football running back. He is the all-time leading rusher for the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 3rd round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
, professional football player - Ron PrinceRon PrinceRon Prince is an American football coach who currently is the assistant offensive line coach with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. From 2006 through 2008, Prince was the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was one of six African-American head coaches in the NCAA Division I-Bowl...
, head football coach at Kansas State UniversityKansas State UniversityKansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States... - Carmen Butler, current Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader
- Houston AlexanderHouston AlexanderHouston Alexander is an American professional mixed martial artist, who fights as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He also works as a DJ in North Omaha, Nebraska...
, Mixed Martial ArtsMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
fighter
Military
- Alfonza W. DavisAlfonza W. DavisAlfonza W. Davis was the first African-American aviator from North Omaha, Nebraska to be awarded his "wings." He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a recipient of the Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Unit Citation...
, Captain in the Tuskegee AirmenTuskegee AirmenThe Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps....
, born 1918 in North Omaha, graduate Technical High School (Omaha, Nebraska)Technical High School (Omaha, Nebraska)Technical High School was a public high school that was located at 3215 Cuming Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1923, the school was said to be the largest high school west of Chicago. It was the largest in the Omaha area before it was closed in 1984...
, graduate Omaha University, member Kappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha PsiKappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...
. First black military aviator from Omaha to receive his wings from Tuskegee Field. October 29, 1944 Davis was KIAKilled in actionKilled in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
over GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... - George CrookGeorge CrookGeorge R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
, leader of Fort OmahaFort OmahaFort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ... - Stuart HeintzelmanStuart HeintzelmanMajor General Stuart Heintzelman was an American soldier.He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry from the United States Military Academy in 1899...
, stationed at Fort OmahaFort OmahaFort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ... - Dan Christie KingmanDan Christie KingmanDan Christie Kingman was born in Dover, New Hampshire. He graduated second in the United States Military Academy class of 1875 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served as an instructor at the Military Academy and as the engineer officer of the Army's Department of the Platte...
, stationed at Fort OmahaFort OmahaFort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ... - Frank Purdy Lahm, stationed at Fort Omaha Balloon School
- Benjamin FouloisBenjamin FouloisBenjamin Delahauf Foulois , was a United States Army general who learned to fly the first military planes purchased from the Wright Brothers. He became the first military aviator as an airship pilot, and achieved numerous other military aviation "firsts"...
, stationed at Fort Omaha Balloon School - Thomas SelfridgeThomas SelfridgeThomas Etholen Selfridge was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and the first person to die in a crash of a powered airplane. He was a passenger while Orville Wright was piloting the aircraft.-Biography:...
, stationed at Fort Omaha Balloon School
Cultural figures
- Buffalo BillBuffalo BillWilliam Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
- Founded his Wild West Show in North Omaha - Bertha CallowayBertha CallowayBertha Calloway is an African-American community activist and historian in North Omaha, Nebraska. The founder of the Negro History Society and the Great Plains Black History Museum, Calloway won awards from several organizations for her activism in the community and Nebraska...
- Founded the Great Plains Black History MuseumGreat Plains Black History MuseumThe Great Plains Black History Museum is located at 2213 Lake Street in the Near North Side neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska. It is housed in the Webster Telephone Exchange Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places... - Thomas Rogers KimballThomas Rogers KimballThomas Rogers Kimball was an American architect in Omaha, Nebraska. An architect-in-chief of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha in 1898, he served as national President of the American Institute of Architects from 1918–1920 and from 1919-1932 served on the Nebraska State Capitol...
- Early Omaha architect; designed Webster Telephone Exchange BuildingWebster Telephone Exchange BuildingThe Webster Telephone Exchange Building is located at 2213 Lake Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. It was designed by the well-known Omaha architect Thomas R. Kimball. After the Easter Sunday Tornado of 1913, the building was used as the center of recovery operations...
and several other significant buildings in North Omaha - Rowena MooreRowena MooreRowena Moore was a union and civic activist, and founder of the Malcolm X Memorial Foundation in Omaha, Nebraska. She led the effort to have the Malcolm X House Site recognized for its association with the life of the national civil rights leader...
- Founder of the Malcolm X House SiteMalcolm X House SiteThe Malcolm X House Site located at 3448 Pinkney Street in North Omaha, Nebraska, marks the place where Malcolm X first lived with his family. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and is also on the Nebraska list of heritage sites.-History:Malcolm Little was born... - Ken Vavrina - Influential Liberal activist priest in North Omaha
- Clarence W. WigingtonClarence W. WigingtonClarence Wesley "Cap" Wigington was an African-American architect who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. After winning three first prizes in charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink at an art competition during the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1899, Wigington went on to become a renowned architect across...
- The first African American municipal architect in the U.S. was raised and began his career in Omaha.
Other
- Joe CoeJoe CoeJoe Coe, also known as George Smith, was an African-American laborer who was lynched on October 18, 1891 in Omaha, Nebraska. Overwhelmed by a mob of one thousand at the Douglas County Courthouse, the twelve city police officers stood by without intervening...
- Local worker lynched by white mob - Willy Brown - Local worker lynched by white mob
- Jack BroomfieldJack BroomfieldJack Broomfield was a leader of the African American community in Omaha, Nebraska in the early 20th century.-About:After Dr. Matthew Ricketts left Omaha in 1903, Jack Broomfield stepped into the position of the political leader of Omaha's African American community. Broomfield was an ex-Pullman...
- Locally significant community figure - Rick Galusha - Host blues & roots radio program, 'Pacific St. Blues' (20+ years)
See also
- List of people from Omaha, Nebraska
- African Americans in Omaha, NebraskaAfrican Americans in Omaha, NebraskaAfrican Americans in Omaha, Nebraska are central to the development and growth of the 43rd largest city in the United States. The first free black settler in the city arrived in 1854, the year the city was incorporated....