John Wesley Gilbert, a trailblazing figure, broke barriers as an educator, missionary, and the first African American archaeologist. Notably, he was the inaugural graduate of Paine College and the first African American to earn a master’s degree from Brown University. | By Tamara Shiloh John Wesley Gilbert, a trailblazing figure, broke barriers as an educator, missionary, and the first African American archaeologist. Notably, he was the inaugural graduate of Paine College and the first African American to earn a master’s degree from Brown University. Born free on July 6, 1863, in Hephzibah, Georgia, to Gabriel and