As part of its celebration of February as Black History Month, the Black Student Alliance at Yale has been featuring profiles of some of the Universitys pioneering African American alumni on its Facebook. The following are brief descriptions of those individuals. For the complete biographies, visit the BSAY Facebook page.

Nimrod Booker Allen, who earned a bachelors degree in sacred theology from Yale Divinity School in 1915, was head of the Columbus (Ohio) Urban League for nearly 40 years, leading the organization through the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, the economic collapse of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the growth of the black population during World War II, and the civil rights movement of the 1950s. Through all of these years, Allen always advocated a non-confrontational approach to race relations.

John H. Lewis, who earned a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School in 1913, was a pastor and educator who served for two terms as president of Morris Brown College in Georgia (19201928 and 19511958). During his career, he also served as pastor of First AME Church in Pasadena, California; principal of Dunbar High School and Junior College in Little Rock, Arkansas; president of the AME-supported Shorter College of North Little Rock; and dean of Payne Theological Seminary at Wilberforce University.

Harry G. Tolliver, who graduated from Yale Law School in 1908, was a practicing attorney in New Haven and the citys first African-American alderman, representing the 19th ward for two terms. His election marked a new era in political circles for African Americans as this was the first office of any consequence to which an African American had been elected in the history of Connecticut politics.

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Honoring Yale’s pioneering African-American alumni