February is Black History Month
CLARENCE SHIVERS

Clarence Laudric Shivers was born on Oct. 14, 1923 in St. Louis, Missouri, and departed this life Feb. 17, 2007. Clarence volunteered into the military during World War II. The high score he received on the entrance exam qualified him to be accepted into the elite Tuskegee Program, where the first black military pilots were being trained. He loved flying and always said he felt “at home” the first time he sat in a cockpit.
After the war ended, Clarence concentrated on completing his education. He is a graduate of Summer High School in St. Louis and an honors graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, IL, where he received a BFA Degree. His senior project, a huge mural at the Carver Community Center in Peoria, is still in existence today. After college, Clarence taught art at Jackson State University until recalled to military service during the Korean War, when pilots were much needed. He remained in the Air Force until his retirement in 1969 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Upon retirement, he and his wife Peggy relocated to Madrid, Spain where they remained for ten years. Though a career military man, Clarence always maintained an active art studio. In Spain he was able to paint full time for the first time. He became well known throughout Europe for his paintings of Spanish Guardias and colorful abstracts. One of his paintings from this time was featured prominently in the film “A Piece of the Action”, directed by Sydney Poitier.
The Shivers returned to live in the United States in 1979, settling in Colorado Springs where Clarence established a studio and continued to pursue his artistic endeavors. He was commissioned by Miller Brewing Company to create their 1983 and 1986 historic calendars entitled “Civil Rights Leaders” and “Black Political Firsts” respectively. In 1985, Clarence was commissioned by the Hooks Jones Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen to sculpt a life-sized statue as a memorial to the Tuskegee Airmen. It was unveiled May of 1988 and stands proudly on the grounds of the USAFA. In 1993, Clarence and his wife established the African American Historical and Cultural Collection at Pikes Peak Library District. They also established the Shivers Fund at the Library, which supports a concert series and encourages young people in the arts by awarding grants and providing educational opportunities.
FRANKLIN MACON

Frank Macon’s took his first flight in 1927 at four years old, in the back seat of an Alexander Eaglerock Biplane with his babysitters and their pilot boyfriends. From that day on, he knew he would fly.
His birth mother Eva Banks was only 14 when he was born, so he was raised by two great aunts, Maude Estella Gray Macon (Mama) and Ella Gray (Aunt LaLa). His grandfather Charles Banks was a Buffalo Soldier, and the great grandmother of Mama, Aunt LaLa and Clara (Eva’s mother) was half-sister to Frederick Douglass, the Great Orator. His only father figure, Frank Loper married Mama when he was a young boy. Frank Loper was born a slave on Jefferson Davis’ Plantation and came to Colorado Springs with the Hayes-Davis family a free man.
Franklin J. Macon, Documented Original Tuskegee Airman, grew up on Pine Street in Colorado Springs. Today, I-25 goes through town where his house sat and the train tracks were in his backyard. Frank attended Bristol Elementary, North Junior, and Colorado Springs High School, now Palmer High School. He did not like school and repeated second grade but despite all of that, is in Palmer’s Hall of Fame. Turns out, Frank dyslexic, but in those days, nobody knew what that was. Some people just thought he was dumb, but he showed them.
Frank worked in Jack Hanthorn’s shop after school to make money for flying lessons as “flying” off the chicken house was not working. Leo Schuth and Dorothy Jones taught him to fly in the Civil Air Patrol and by the time he graduated high school, he had soloed at Pine Valley airstrip known today as the Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Airfield at USAFA. Thanks to Dorothy and Leo, I learned about Tuskegee. He wanted to fly, so headed off to Tuskegee…TWICE. Frank may be the only pilot accepted to Tuskegee twice, after being sent home the first time for lying about his age. He was awarded the Tuskegee Airmen Congressional Gold Medal.
Frank helped fabricate The Pyramid statue, “Follow the Setting Sun” outside the Pioneer Museum and at 95, published I Wanted to be a Pilot: The Making of a Tuskegee Airman to share his childhood in Colorado Springs. In 2019, he donated his 1944 Stinson Vultee V-77 “Gullwing” aircraft to the National Museum of World War II Aviation.
Mr. Franklin Macon passed away on Nov.22, 2020, at age 97. Air Force Col. Mark Dickerson, president of the Hubert L. “Hooks” Jones Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., stated, “The City of Colorado Springs has lost a local icon, and the nation another hero…The Tuskegee Airmen are a national treasure.”
SAM HUNTER JR.

Samuel C. Hunter, Jr. was born in Crockett, TX, to Samuel C. Hunter, Sr. and Elmira Jane (Wheeler) Hunter. He graduated from Colorado Springs High School in 1936 and received a BS in Business Administration in 1940 from West Virginia State College. He continued his education, graduating the next year from the Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago, Illinois. He passed away on Dec. 26, 2013 at the age of 94.
Sam served his country during World War II in the US Army Air Force. He graduated in the class of 44-J as a 2nd Lt. B-25 pilot and cadet captain of his class. He separated from the United States Army Air Force in 1945 with a commercial pilot license and was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force Reserve as a Captain in 1959. He is a DOTA (Documented Original Tuskegee Airman) and a recipient, with other DOTAs, of the Congressional Gold Medal, awarded in 2007.
Sam assisted his father and then directed the operation of Hunter Mortuary, and later was a funeral director affiliated with Evergreen Funeral Home. He was also the first black real estate broker in Colorado Springs, operating Hunter & Company Real Estate firm until 2000. He pioneered multi-family housing for minorities by developing the Payne Chapel Housing program and was chairman of the board when Prince Hall Housing was implemented.
Being active in business, civic and fraternal activities, Sam received numerous awards, acknowledgements and citations. Among them were the Colorado College Diversity Award as an advocate for equality in housing and contributions to the community, business, education and civic activities of Colorado Springs, and the NAACP Living Legends Award for Civil Rights Activism in the Colorado Springs community.
Sam was a past member of several organizations, including the original Head Start Board, the Colorado Springs Park & Recreation Board, the Golf Commission and the Board of Directors of the Colorado Springs Board of REALTORS. He is past president and life member of the local NAACP, past president of the local Urban League, and a former member of the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority. He tutored in the reading programs for elementary school students.
He was a Past Most Worshipful Grand Master of Prince Hall Masons, Jurisdiction of Colorado & Utah; an Active 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason and Deputy for Colorado & Utah in the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry, Prince Hall Affiliated, Northern Jurisdiction, U.S.A. Inc.; a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, an Elk and a charter member of the Xi Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He was a lifetime member and Trustee Emeritus of Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church.
Sam was an endeared family man and friend. He had lifelong friends from college and was an avid golfer, playing well into his 80s with his golf buddies. He was an example to his children and grandchildren of how to live life in the moment while also anticipating the future. “Do your best so you can be all you can be” were his last words of advice. He was supportive, forgiving, loving and always present. He is still here with us in our hearts.
ALICE MORGAN

Alice McAdams Morgan was born at St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs, the daughter of the late Earl and Eva (Taylor) McAdams. She was named after her grandmother Alice Woodley McAdams.
In 1954 she married Justus B. Morgan at Payne Chapel AME. Alice was employed as a nurse’s aide after High School, during the Polio epidemic. She was the first Black student admitted to the Beth-El School of Nursing, and later became the first African American to be promoted to head nurse at Memorial Hospital. After a long and successful career, Morgan eventually retired from the El Paso County Health Department after 21 years.
Alice was an active member of Morgan Memorial Church COGIC, Chi Eta Phi Sorority, NAACP, Urban League Guild, Area Agency on Aging, Colorado Black Nurses, Sickle Cell Association and The Negro Historical Association of Colorado. She stood as a tireless humanitarian and trailblazer, “In the Service of Humanity”.
Alice L. Morgan passed peacefully Dec.18, 2020 at the age of 91.
LEON YOUNG

Leon Young worked tirelessly on behalf of Colorado Springs. He was a husband, father, friend, entrepreneur, mentor and the first Black mayor of Colorado Springs. Born in West Monroe, La., on Feb. 10, 1924, Young was raised by his paternal grandmother Janie “Mama Janie” Young after both of his parents passed away. By the age of 10, Leon worked in nearby cotton fields, earning 75 cents a day. In 1942, Young moved to Colorado Springs with his grandmother and other family members. After serving in the Navy in World War II and the Korean War, Leon Young opened Young’s Janitorial Services in Colorado Springs. His business extended throughout the Front Range, and local leaders asked him to run for City Council in 1973. He eventually was elected vice mayor and served as interim mayor of Colorado Springs in 1997.
HORACE SHELBY

Under the recommendation of Marshal L.C. Dana, on April 30, 1888, Horace Shelby (age 40) was elected by the City Council as the first Black police officer in Colorado Springs. Shelby remained on the force until his retirement in 1906, and was known as the “policeman who never fired a shot in the line of duty but always got the man he went after…” As historian John Stokes Holley described, “One of the most highly respected policemen, it was said he treated rich and poor alike.”
FANNIE MAY DUNCAN

Everybody knew Fannie Mae Duncan – and they knew that “everybody was welcome” at her Cotton Club on West Colorado Avenue. Despite the 1935 Colorado Civil Rights Act banning discrimination based on race, many restaurants and bars refused to serve Black patrons. Or, like “George’s Place” on South Tejon Street, made Blacks come to the back door. Duncan stood up to Police Chief “Dad” Bruce when he told her not to “run” an integrated club. Instead, she did things her own way and by doing so, became a legend. In addition to her success as a businesswoman, Fannie Mae was noted for her philanthropy. She was one of the founders of the 400 Club, an organization that provided for those in need regardless of race or religion.
NINA STROUD PELLERIN

Nina Stroud Pellerin graduated with honors from Colorado Springs High School and earned a four-year scholarship to the University of Colorado, Boulder. After earning Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees, she did graduate work at Hampton University and studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She later received her Master of Arts degree in Education at Colorado College. In 1954, Pellerin became the first Black teacher in Colorado Springs School District 11. She taught music at Lincoln and Steele elementary schools, and the music and social studies at North Junior High School – her alma mater. In 1957-1958 Nina Stroud Pellerin was the director of choral music for the citywide Festival of Choral Music held at the Colorado Springs High School auditorium in May 1958.
JOHN NICHOLS

Born in Colorado Springs on March 18, 1925, John Nichols was a high school student when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. A few months later when he turned 17, John enlisted in the United States Army. He was initially posted to the 10th U.S. Cavalry, known as the Buffalo Soldiers, and served in World War II and the Korean War. He was stationed in many places, including Germany and Fort Carson, before retiring in 1964. After living abroad for two decades, Nichols returned to Colorado Springs where he was active in his church, and the Colorado Springs Buffalo Soldiers Community Memorial Committee, a group dedicated to the preservation and commemoration of the role that the Buffalo Soldiers had in the development of Colorado and the West.
LULU STROUD POLLARD

Born in 1917, Pollard was part of the large and respected Stroud Family of Colorado Springs. She broke barriers throughout her education and career. In 1951, Pollard became the first Black person employed by Fort Carson’s Civilian Personnel Office. At the end of her career, she became the first full-time Equal Opportunity Officer for the Military Traffic Command in Washington, D.C. When Lulu Stroud Pollard moved back home to Colorado Springs in the late 1970s, she looked around for Black History and could not find it. In 1981 John McDonald, Lulu and husband Leonard Pollard, and others formed the Negro Historical Association of Colorado Springs to collect and preserve photographs, stories, and artifacts documenting Black History.
JOHN STOKES HOLLEY

John Stokes Holley was born in Crockett, Texas, and grew up in Houston. He graduated from Tuskegee University and served in the United States Army during World War II. Later, Holley completed his graduate work at NYU. He, his wife Ruth, and their two sons relocated from Portland, Ore., to Colorado Springs when he was appointed the executive director of the local branch of the National Urban League in 1967. He was an active member of the Negro Historical Association of Colorado Springs and the author of Invisible People of the Pikes Peak Region, an indispensable history of Black life in Colorado Springs.
CHARLES BANKS

A veteran of the Spanish American War, Charles Banks served proudly with the all-Black Company B of the 24th Infantry Volunteers, known as the Buffalo Soldiers. After his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, Banks moved to Colorado Springs in 1905. Serving as president of the Colorado Springs branch of the NAACP for five years in the 1940s, Charles Banks worked tirelessly to promote equality and oppose racial segregation and discrimination. Banks worked as a page in the Colorado State House in the 1930s and used his personal contact with State Senator Edwin Johnson to urge enactment of the 1935 Colorado Civil Rights Amendment.
REV. DR. MILTON PROBY

Rev. Dr. Milton E. Proby was a renowned civil rights leader in Colorado and the United States. He met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at a church conference while still a teenager and participated in the peaceful March on Washington in 1963. In 1958, Proby arrived in Colorado Springs to become the pastor of St. John’s Baptist Church. During his 47 years at St. John’s, he delivered holistic gospels, as exemplified by his words: “In the streets people are dying and going hungry, and you call yourselves the chosen of God? Quit coming to church to satisfy yourself. The reason for living is beyond yourself.” Under his leadership, health and welfare programs were established— including the St. John’s Food Bank— and a new church was built in 1976.
SUZANNE ROGERS

Suzanne Rodgers was born January 7, 1928, in Harrisburg, PA, to Charles Gardner and Susan Esther Stephens Thomas, the youngest of four – Betty, Adelaide, and Gardner. Raised in Harrisburg, she attended a segregated elementary school and William Penn High. She won Ms. Harrisburg in 1946.
At 11, in 1939, Suzanne was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes, Type 1. Treatment was even harder to manage then. Insulin dependent for over 74 years, she founded the Colorado Springs Juvenile Diabetes Chapter. She also survived cancer by 43 years and founded the Springs Ostomy Association.
In 1948, she visited sister, Betty, and brother-in-law, Charles Moore at Lockbourne Airbase (a segregated military installation) in Ohio. Charles introduced Suzanne to Marion Raymond Rodgers – a Tuskegee Airman. She dated him, the next year, only returning home to help with the Thomas family dry cleaning business.
In 1949, “Rodge” followed her to Harrisburg and proposed. She said yes! A very large wedding was held at Capital Street Presbyterian Church on April 2, 1949. Several Airmen, including Rip Harder, best man, arrived by way of a “borrowed” plane. To this union two children were born: Denise A. – September 23, 1952 and Thomas S. – May 11, 1954. She hosted many parties.
Civil Rights was a passion. In 1953, when in their 20’s, she spent an hour talking with Martin Luther King, Jr., where the Rodgers were renting his soon-to-be first church parish, now a museum. Suzanne served in leadership for the NAACP, six years; Urban League, 10 years; Civil Rights Commission; War on Poverty; and at the beginning of Head Start.
Suzanne was famous for her tulips and irises. She founded the Elmohr Iris Society and won numerous ribbon awards at county and state fairs. She participated in the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum’s award-winning oral history project; Voices and Visions, and her life-story is permanently preserved in the CSPM archives.
On December 21, 2013, (Nora) Suzanne Thomas Rodgers, 85, went home to be with her heavenly father. She was preceded in death by her son, Thomas S. Rodgers, her parents, and siblings.
K. DOLPHUS STROUD

Kelley Dolphus Stroud was one of the most prolific scholars and elite athletes to ever emerge from the Pikes Peak Region.
Dolphus was one of 11 children, five boys and six girls, born in Colorado Springs to the Reverend K.D. (Kimball Dolphus) Stroud and Lulu McGee Stroud. The Stroud family moved from the Oklahoma Territory to Colorado Springs in May of 1910, seeking to leave prejudice and oppression behind them. Colorado and Colorado Springs was barely kinder to the Strouds, and each member of the family encountered harrowing racism in their time here. Dolphus distinguished himself in scholarship and athletics at an early age, despite years of assaults, persecutions, and opportunities denied him because of his race.
Stroud’s successes on the running track mirrored his excellence in the classroom; he first attended Bristol School and then Colorado Springs High School (now William J. Palmer High School). Despite his high school not letting him run on the track team, he won the Pikes Peak Marathon several times, and in 1928 he broke the record that had stood for a quarter-century.
He began at Colorado College in 1926, previously having been accepted at Harvard University but unable to attend there due to a lack of funding options. Local businessman and entrepreneur Henry Sachs recognized Dolphus’ achievements and potential, and provided funding for him to attend CC. At CC, he was the sole black student until his younger sister, Effie, joined him the following academic year. He was awarded several scholarships, including the Perkins Scholarships of $400 each for the 1929-1930 and 1930-1931 academic years, given only to students with the highest academic standing in the class. As an elite athlete, Stroud was on CC track teams all four years of his time at the college, winning races across the region.
In the middle of his CC education, Stroud continued to race at a prolific rate beyond the college track circuit. Despite qualifying for an U.S. Olympic tryout spot in the 5,000-meter race, he was denied funding to travel to Boston for the Olympic trials. Certain that if he got to Boston, he would qualify for the 1928 Olympics, he decided to hitchhike nearly 2,000 miles from Denver to Boston in the middle of July. He made it to Boston with six hours to spare before the qualifying race. Exhausted, hungry, and with only change in his pocket, his race didn’t go as planned, and he wasn’t able to finish, falling on the sixth lap.
He returned to Colorado College in the fall and graduated from CC with a degree in political science, receiving A’s in all of his classes but one, and was the first black CC student ever elected to Phi Beta Kappa. From CC, Stroud married and moved to Forsyth, Georgia, to work at the State Teachers and Agricultural College as an athletics coach and political science teacher. Later, he continued his studies at the University of Mexico, where his thesis – written entirely in Spanish – chronicled the history of black people in America. With his M.A., Stroud returned to the U.S., teaching across Texas before moving to Portland, Oregon, where he ran a moving and storage company, and founded his own golf tournament. He died on a visit to Washington, D.C., in 1975. Kelley Dolphus Stroud was inducted into the CC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. Biography from Colorado College
MAMA SUSIE PERKINS

From farm girl to teenage mother to prominent businesswoman, “Mama Susie” Perkins was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and visionary who provided jobs and homes to thousands of people and became known as one of the wealthiest Black woman in Colorado Springs. Mama Susie was born September 27, 1902 to Tom and Lila Brown Harrison in Winona, Mississippi and gave birth to her only son, Thomas Alpha Wright, when she was 14 years old. She passed away December 3, 2000 at 98 years of age and was preceded in death by her husband William Harvey Perkins and her brother, Alfie “Round Boy” Harrison.
As a girl, Mama Susie saw her grandparents evicted from their farm by the owner and declared, “”I promised God that if I ever got grown and had children, I’d own my own home and nobody but God would take it away from me.”” Her mother, Lila, suffered from asthma and heart trouble for most of her life and was told by a doctor she wouldn’t have long to live. They moved to Colorado Springs in 1937 where Lila’s health improved, and she actively lived for 30 more years.
While in Colorado Springs, Mama Susie made her own distinctive mark on the civic and business world for more than half a century. She purchased her first truck and grew and operated her own trash hauling business for 12 years when few Black people – let alone women – owned businesses. By the time she sold her trash hauling business, she had 7 trucks and 7 crews.
Mama Susie married William “Daddy Bill” Perkins on June 7, 1947 and for a short time they owned “Bill and Susie’s Cafe” on Colorado Avenue. Mama Susie used her businesses’ earnings to buy 100 rental properties over the years in downtown Colorado Springs and renovated them with the help of her husband and family. She was also unique for renting to those no one else would, including military, underprivileged families, and people of color.
Mama Susie was a great supporter of St. John Baptist Church and gave liberally to the poor and needy. She was a charter member of the NHACS and was named “Woman of the Year” by the Western States Baptist Convention in 1973. She also received special recognition for her help and service with the Washington School’s lunch program and was recognized by Thomas B. Doherty, Superintendent of Schools in District 11, for her “thoughtfulness in helping our schools and our pupils.” Mama Susie touched many lives with her dedicated work in our state and local communities.
Generously Submitted by Brianne Smith, Great-Granddaughter
JOYCE GILMER

Joyce Gilmer was an extraordinary person who left a legacy of kindness, grace, intelligence, professionalism, and extraordinary hospitality. Born and raised in Hayti, Missouri, Joyce was the daughter of a carpenter father and former schoolteacher mother. She was a standout student who dreamed of getting a college degree. Unfortunately, her family was unable to afford college tuition for any of their six children. After her high school graduation, Joyce sought work in Chicago before marrying a former schoolmate. Unfortunately, Joyce and her military husband divorced in 1971, shortly after moving to Colorado Springs. Joyce decided to put down roots and raise her three children here.
After attending real estate school, she became the first Black female real estate agent in Colorado Springs, opening her own company – Joyce Realty in 1976. Remarkably, as a single working mother, Joyce Gilmer graduated from UCCS with a Business Degree at the age of 47 in 1983. Her gold UCCS graduation gown – specially made for her – is on permanent exhibit in Any Place That is North and West at the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.
All the while, Gilmer ensured that her children’s educational goals and extracurricular activities were priorities, stating, “Being a single parent, I was always consciously doing something to make the children feel happy and secure.” Son Keith and daughter Karen went to the Colorado Springs School, and daughter Kim attended the Fountain Valley School —all on academic scholarships. Additionally, all three Gilmer children graduated from college, with son Keith earning a medical degree and practicing as a physician.
The tightknit family enjoyed cooking and enjoying meals together, food always serving as the “glue that holds things together.” The Gilmer home was a well-known “gathering place” for family and friends, including neighbors, scout troops, community leaders, exchange students, and anyone who needed connection, conversation, and a home-cooked meal served with incredible style. Joyce Gilmer’s cookbook, “A Few of My Favorite Things” is dedicated to single parents and their children.
Want to learn more about our local history?
We highly encourage you to visit the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum to see exhibits such as The Story of Us, Una Familia Grande, COS@150 and others. The museum is a valuable resource for the cultural history of the Pikes Peak Region and admission is free.
Up next on Cultural Corridor
November Native American History Month
February Black History Month
March Women’s History Month
May Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
June Pride Month
September 15-October 15 Hispanic Heritage Month
Now accepting nominations of historical figures that have helped shaped our diverse community.