William Pickens

William Pickens (1881–1954) was an American orator, educator, journalist, essayist, and civil rights leader born to former slaves in South Carolina. He earned degrees from Talladega College and Yale University, taught at several colleges, authored autobiographies including *The Heir of Slaves* (1911) and *Bursting Bonds* (1923), served as NAACP field secretary from 1920 to 1942, and later worked for the U.S. Treasury Department promoting savings bonds.[1][2][4]