Born April 17, 1823

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Died July 11, 1915

Little Rock, Arkansas

Abolitionist, pioneer, businessman, lawyer, elected official, college president

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs.

"Labor to make yourself as indispensable as possible in all your relations with the dominant race, and color will cut less figure in your upward grade."

Mifflin Wistar Gibbs was a pioneer in every sense of the word. In the 1850s he was among the many pioneers who set out for California in search of riches during the gold rush. Gibbs found not riches but racism, and he was forced to make his way not as a miner but as a shopkeeper. Refusing to accept the limits placed on him by racism, Gibbs became a pioneer for his race. He campaigned against discrimination in California before moving to Canada. In the 1870s he returned to the United States and began an illustrious career as...