Africans Rising Together 2063

Dr. James Tucker was born in New Madrid, Missouri, on May 6, 1951. Tucker began his crusade for justice and equality while earning an undergraduate degree in History and Political Science from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Army and served
three years on active duty at Fort Carson, Colorado. He also served 17 years in the Colorado Army National Guard. In 1985, Tucker received a Master’s
Degree in Counseling and Student Development from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama.

In 1991, Tucker served in the Gulf War as a legal specialist with the 217th Medical Battalion. While serving in Iraq, Tucker drafted an outline of African American Voice newspaper. He published the first edition in June 1991. The Pioneer Museum partnered with Colorado College to produce a documentary of Black newspapers, of which the African American Voice is the longest-running in southern Colorado. Documentary of Historical African American
Newspapers.

In 1995, he retired from the Colorado Army National Guard as a decorated war veteran who received three Bronze Stars. He taught social studies at Harrison High School for 24 years, retiring in 2001.

In 2007, Tucker received an Honorary Doctor of Management Degree from Colorado Technical University. In 2011, he received the Honorary Degree of the Lamidat of Garoua, Cameroon, while tracing his ancestral roots during a trip to Africa. In 2013, Dr. Malcolm Newton and the Denver Institute of Urban Studies and Adult College presented Tucker with his second Honorary Doctorate, a Doctor of Philosophy.

Tucker recently published Our Story: Looking Back: Moving Forward, his legacy chronicling his life in Colorado and highlighting the active involvement of Blacks within the political, social, and economic development of Colorado. The book is rich in cultural attractions and includes a resource of Black Banks throughout the United States.

Tucker serves as the President of the International Board of Directors for Africans Rising Together 2063 and a member of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. James Tucker is married to Beverly Pegues-Tucker. They are the proud parents of an adult daughter and an adult son with autism. Tucker continues today with no less enthusiasm and conviction.