18 Notable alumni of Talladega College

James Anthony Merriman was an American physician and newspaper publisher. Merriman was the first African American physician to practice medicine in Portland, and perhaps the first in the state of Oregon; he was recruited to care for Black workers of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1903. He was a cofounder of Portland's second Black newspaper, The Advocate, and edited The...

Alma Smith Jacobs was the first African American to serve as Montana State Librarian. She served as Head Librarian at the Great Falls Public Library from 1954 to 1973, and in 1973 was named Montana State Librarian, serving until 1981.

George Williamson Crawford was a lawyer, public servant, and an activist for African-American civil rights in New Haven, Connecticut.

Nathan Benjamin Young was an American educator who helped advance black education in the early 20th century. Born a slave in Alabama, Young later became an educator after Booker T. Washington, who witnessed Young’s skills in debating, invited him to teach at the Tuskegee Institute. Following his career as a teacher, Young later became a president of two major universities,...

Margaret Bush Wilson was an American lawyer and activist. Wilson broke many barriers as an African-American woman throughout her professional career.

Jeral Davis is an American former professional basketball player. He played overseas for the majority of his professional career, most notably in Mexico, Japan, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic. Previously he attended Talladega College.

Carol Brice was an American contralto. Born in Sedalia, North Carolina, she studied at Palmer Memorial Institute and later at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, where she received a Bachelor of Music in 1939. She continued her studies at the Juilliard School of Music from 1939 to 1943. She attracted considerable attention for her role in a 1939 production of...

Karla Francesca Holloway is an American academic. She is James B. Duke Professor of English & Professor of Law at Duke University, and holds appointments in the Duke University School of Law as well as the university's Department of English, Department of African & African American Studies, and Program in Women's Studies. Holloway is a member of The Wintergreen Women...

Henry "Hank" Sanders is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Alabama Senate from 1983 to 2018. He is married to Faya Ora Rose Touré.

Arthur Davis Shores was an American civil rights attorney who was considered Alabama's "drum major for justice". Admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1937, Shores played a leading role in the fight for civil rights for African-Americans in Alabama and was the first African American to sit on the Birmingham City Council.

Maxie Clarence Maultsby Jr. was an American psychiatrist, author of several books on emotional and behavioral self-management, Elected Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. He is the founder of the method of psychotherapy called Rational Behavior Therapy, the emotional self-help technique called Rational Self-Counseling,...

Nikema Natassha Williams is an American politician serving as the representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district. The district includes almost three-quarters of Atlanta. She was a member of the Georgia State Senate for the 39th district from 2017 to 2021, and served as Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia from 2019 to 2025. Williams served as one of 16...

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is an American poet and novelist, and a professor of English at the University of Oklahoma. She has published five collections of poetry and a novel. Her 2020 collection The Age of Phillis reexamines the life of American poet Phillis Wheatley, based on years of archival research; it was longlisted for the 2020 National Book Award for...

Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr., commonly known as Deion Sanders, is an American football coach and former player who is the head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Coach Prime", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens....

Brenda Calhoun Snipes was an American public official who was the Supervisor of Elections for Broward County, Florida. She was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2003. Snipes was registered as a Democrat.

Nikky Finney is an American poet. She was the Guy Davenport Endowed Professor of English at the University of Kentucky for twenty years. In 2013, she accepted a position at the University of South Carolina as the John H. Bennett, Jr. Chair in Southern Letters and Literature. An alumna of Talladega College, and author of four books of poetry and...

William Conan Davis was a professor emeritus and was chair of natural sciences at St. Philip's College in San Antonio, Texas. The William C. Davis Science Building is named in his honor.