Listen Live
Fantastic Voyage Generic Graphics Updated Nov 2023
Black America Web Featured Video
CLOSE

smith-jpg-optimal

 

Dr. Frank Smith committed his life to both civil rights and to documenting Black history. Smith is a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and is the founding director of Washington, D.C.’s African-American Civil War Museum.

Smith was born September 17, 1942 in Newnan, Ga. He entered Morehouse College in 1959, and became involved in the early stages of the civil rights movement such as voter drives and desegregation. In 1962, Smith left Morehouse to involve himself deeper into the movement and with SNCC. Smith is best known as the first SNCC member sent to Mississippi to help organize voter drives.

After leaving Mississippi, Smith finished school at the Union Institute in Ohio and earned a Ph.D. The former activist turned his attention to politics after moving to Washington, and served on the city’s Board of Education along with serving 16 years as a city councilman.

His time in office ignited a passion for history and Smith began gathering the funding to establish the museum in the late 20th Century. In 1999, the African-American Civil War museum opened its doors right in the heart of D.C.’s “Black Broadway” corridor of U Street. In 2004, the African-American Civil War Memorial, a majestic structure that rests near the museum was unveiled near the museum.

In 2011, with funding from the city, the museum moved to a larger and updated facility. Today, it hosts classes, concerts, and even held a memorial service for the late Julian Bond last year. Smith, Bond, Fannie Lou Hamer and others were members of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a group that demanded inclusion in the state’s all-white delegation ahead of the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

PHOTO: African-American Civil War Museum

Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

The Ten Most Interesting Little Known Black History Facts
5 photos