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Notable People

The objective of gathering these 88 stories is not to focus on the well-known individuals, but to include those people who in their everyday lives exemplified the strength and resilience of the Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color of Southern Maryland.  Appreciating their stories provides a view into the history of Southern Maryland like no other.

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Notable People History Photo Gallery
| Bishop William Sampson Brooks of Calvert County used his talents and faith, during the Jim Crow era, to become powerful international leader and activist
Notable People History Photo Gallery
| Harriet Elizabeth Brown, teacher, activist, role model, during racial segregation, sued the Calvert County Board of Education in 1937 for equalization of pay for
Notable People History Photo Gallery
| With no proof, Issac Brown’s enslaver accused Issac of shooting him. Issac was jailed, tortured and sold South. His story includes the Underground Railroad,
Notable People History Photo Gallery
| Washington Burch went from enslaved to landowner, bailiff, politician, and community activist. He was highly regarded in his community of Port Tobacco.
Notable People History Photo Gallery
| John F. Butler, a teenager, went from enslaved to enlisting with the U.S. Colored Troops to Civil War hero.
Notable People History Photo Gallery
| Because of carefully crafted colonial Maryland marriage laws, Eleanor (Irish Nell) went from indentured servant to enslaved. How did this impact her descendants?
Notable People History
| Minty Caden daringly escaped to the British during the War of 1812 to gain freedom and a new life in Canada.
Notable People History Photo Gallery
| Agnes Kane Callum was a distinguished genealogist on Maryland African American history; her vision created the Sotterley Descendants Program.
History Notable People Photo Gallery
| Alexander Covington fled enslavement in Lusby, Maryland and join the British during the War of 1812.
Notable People History
| William A. Diggs a Charles County educator and founder of the African American Museum