Jacob Vanderpool (1820-188?)

Jacob Vanderpool (1820-188?)

Jacob Vanderpool was the only person known to have been legally expelled from Oregon on the basis of its anti-Black exclusion laws. Born in the West Indies in 1820, Vanderpool was classified in court documents as “mulatto,” likely the descendant of a Dutch plantation...
Derek Walcott (1930-2017)

Derek Walcott (1930-2017)

A professor, poet, and playwright of English, Dutch, and African descent, Derek Walcott was a 1981 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant recipient who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. Born on January 23, 1930 to Warwick, a civil servant, and Alix Maarlin...