Lincoln Ragsdale
Dr. Lincoln Johnson Ragsdale Sr.
1926 - 1995
Dr. Lincoln Ragsdale was a Tuskgee Airman, an Arizonan, and a selfless champion of Civil Rights. Ragsdale was not just a resident of Arizona and a graduate of Arizona State University. Dr. Ragsdale was an entrepreneur that opened the first Black owned funeral home in Arizona. Dr. Ragsdale and his wife Eleanor did not just believe in desegregating schools - they fought for an end to housing discrimination, voting discrimination, and the desegregation of neighborhoods and social accommodations. The Ragsdale’s contributions would prove invaluable to the Civil Rights movement in Arizona.
Ragsdale is originally from Oklahoma. After he graduated from Tuskegee flying school in Alabama, he relocated to Arizona and spent the rest of his life (besides a short stint in Ohio) fighting for equality. He graduated from Arizona State University, but earned his doctorate in business administration from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati. Among his achievements, Ragsdale was most proud of his service. Seeing the joy and awe on the faces of young Black children when they saw him and other Tuskegee Airmen in uniform brought Ragsdale great pride.
Arizona has long been a conservative bastion. Even in the Civil Rights era Ragsdale likened it to the Mississippi of the west. Despite that reality, Dr. Ragsdale and Eleanor were committed to fighting for Black Arizonans. Experiencing racism in the military and Arizona gave him the resolve needed to endure the inevitable adversity that accompanies demands for equality.
Ragsdale’s commitment to fighting racism was real. After settling in Phoenix, Ragsdale joined a local chapter of the NAACP, the Phoenix Urban League, and the Greater Phoenix Council for Civic Duty. After working with Eleanor to desegregate the Encanto District in Phoenix, Ragsdale set his sights on education. A year before the Brown v. Board decision, the Ragsdale’s helped desegregate Phoenix area high schools, and eventually, highly major corporations like Motorola, General Electric, and Sperry Rand. Ragsdale’s last noteworthy achievement was utilizing his social capital lead the Martin Luther King Holiday movement. Ragsdale’s efforts culminated in Arizona becoming the first state in the union to create a Martin Luther King holiday by popular vote in November of 1992.
