Clarence Edwin “Cito” Gaston (1944- )
Clarence Edwin “Cito” Gaston is a baseball manager, coach, and outfielder. In 1992 he became the first African American baseball…
Kenan Thompson (1978- )
Actor and comedian Kenan Thompson was born on May 10, 1978, to Fletcher and Elizabeth Ann Thompson in Columbus, Ohio.…
New Year’s Day March, Greenville, South Carolina (1960)
The New Year’s Day March, the first major civil rights demonstration in South Carolina, was a 1,000-person march that protested…
Stafford Fitzgerald Haney (1969- )
Stafford Fitzgerald Haney, an international businessman and diplomat, was born in Nashville, Tennessee on January 3, 1969 but grew up…
5th Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment (1864-1865)
The 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry was a Union Army cavalry regiment during the Civil War. The cavalry regiment…
Crystal Nix-Hines (1963- )
Crystal Nix-Hines is an attorney, screenwriter, producer, and diplomat who was born in Wilmington, Delaware on August 23, 1963. Her…
Fani Willis (1971- )
Fani Taifa Willis is the first Black woman to hold the office of District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia. Willis…
Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. (1949- )
Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. is currently the baseball manager of the Houston Astros and a former major league player.…
Teddy Wilson (1912-1986)
Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic!Orchestral pianist, violinist, conductor, composer, and…
Jena Six (2006)
The case of the Jena Six exposed racial injustice and inequality following an incident involving six male African American teenagers.…
Deion Luwynn Sanders (1967- )
Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic!Deion Luwynn Sanders is a college…
Oleta Adams (1953- )
Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic!Sultry soulful vocalist, lyricist, composer, actor,…
Chuck Leonard (1937-2004)
Chuck Leonard, a pioneering disk jockey known for his rich, smooth voice, was born Charles Wesley Leonard in Chicago, Illinois,…
Frank Cavalier Braxton Jr. (1929-1969)
The African-American animator and director Frank Cavalier Braxton Jr. was born on March 31, 1929, in Los Angeles, California to…
David Drake (ca. 1801-1874)
Prolific David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter, was an enslaved artist born on a plantation in North Carolina…
Flip Wilson (1933-1998)
Flip Wilson was the first African American to host a hit variety series on television. The Flip Wilson Show aired…
Walter Franklin Anderson (1915-2003)
The grandson of formerly enslaved people, Walter Franklin Anderson, classical pianist, organist, composer, jazz musician, community activist, and academician, was…
Byron Allen (1961- )
Byron Allen (Folks) is an American businessman, television producer, and comedian, born in Detroit, Michigan on April 22, 1961. He…
Willie C. Stewart Sr (1935- )
Willie C. Stewart Sr. became Tacoma’s first Black school principal at Lincoln High School on June 25, 1970. Stewart’s appointment…
George Metcalfe (1911-1989)
George Metcalfe was a civil rights leader in Natchez, Mississippi who led one of the most successful yet little-known movements…
Richard John Warrick, Jr. (1880-1957)
Born on December 29, 1880, Richard John Warrick Jr. was one of six founding members of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity,…
Marlin Oliver Briscoe (1945-2022)
Marlin Oliver “The Magician” Briscoe was a football quarterback for the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).…
Eugene T. Hinson (1873-1960)
Eugene T. Hinson was one of six founders of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the oldest African American Greek Letter Fraternity…
Robert Jones Abele (1875-1929)
Robert Jones Abele was one of six founding members of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the oldest African American Greek Letter…
Pamela Sutton-Wallace (1969-)
Pamela Sutton-Wallace is a healthcare executive. In 2022 she was appointed COO of Yale New Haven Health, Connecticut’s largest and…
Ibtihaj Muhammad (1985- )
Ibtihaj Muhammad is a saber and United States fencing team member who won a bronze medal in the 2016 Summer…
John Bowman Banks (1862-1911)
Dr. John Bowman (“J.B.”) Banks was the first Black physician to practice medicine in Natchez, Miss. He recruited Dr. Albert…
Black Basketball Team Lost To History
Ask Philly basketball fans to name one of the city’s best professional teams, and they will probably say the 1967…
Dr. John Bowman Banks (1862-1911)
Dr. John Bowman (“J.B.”) Banks was the first Black physician to practice medicine in Natchez, Miss. He recruited Dr. Albert…
Gregory Gardner (1950-)
Opera singer Gregory Gardner was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 31, 1950, to Earl Gardner, a singer from Aliceville,…
Claudia Lynn Thomas (1950-)
Claudia Lynn Thomas is an orthopedic surgeon, civil rights activist, and change agent. She was born in Brooklyn, New York,…
George Alfred Strait, III (1945-)
George Alfred Strait, III, an award-winning journalist, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1945. He received a Bachelor of Science…
“Marlin Oliver Briscoe (1945-2022),”
Marlin Oliver “The Magician” Briscoe was a football quarterback for the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL).…
John Henderson Cartwright (1933-2011)
John Henderson Cartwright is a minister, and university administrator, was born in Houston, Texas, on August 17, 1933, he graduated…
Paul Timothy Roberts Sr. (1945- )
Paul Timothy Roberts Sr., an academic fellow of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in Celigny, Switzerland, and an activist. He…
Dr. Elijah Saunders (1934-2015)
Elijah Saunders, M.D., was a cardiologist and expert on hypertension whose work addressed issues of race and ethnicity in healthcare.Saunders…
Frank Charles Coleman (1890-1967)
Frank Charles Coleman was an American physicist who co-founded Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, one of the oldest African American Greek…
Mildred Coleman Crump (1939-)
Mildred Coleman Crump became the first African American councilwoman in the 336-year history of the Newark City Council in New…
Angela Bassett (1958- )
Angela Evelyn Bassett is an actress and producer known for her depictions of powerful women in history on stage, television,…
Januário Garcia Jr (1943-2021)
Januário Garcia Jr. hailed from Minas Gerais, a Brazilian state renowned for its significant population of Afrodescendentes, or Black Brazilians.…
Sanaa Lathan (1971- )
Sanaa McCoy Lathan is an actress best known for her early roles in 1990’s television shows such as In The…
King Curtis (1934-1971)
Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic!King Curtis, a famed saxophonist, bandleader,…
Patrick Mahomes Sr. (1970-)
Patrick Mahomes, who is also known as Patrick Lavon Mahomes, Sr. or Pat Mahomes, is a former American professional baseball…
“Patrick Mahomes Sr (1970-)”
Patrick Mahomes, who is also known as Patrick Lavon Mahomes, Sr. or Pat Mahomes, is a former American professional baseball…
Alexander A. Moorhead, Jr. (1945-2023)
Sen. Alexander A. Moorhead, Jr. served three terms, from 1971 to 1976, in the 9th through 11th sessions of the…
John S. Moorhead (1905-2008)
John S. Moorhead was a physician, surgeon, federal public health officer, and the first local Commissioner of Health in the…
Thelma Harper (1940-2021)
Thelma Marie Claybrooks Harper, born in Brentwood, Davidson County, Tennessee, on December 2, 1940, was the first African American woman…
Golden Elizabeth Johnson (1944-2010)
Newark’s first Black woman municipal court judge, Golden Elizabeth Johnson, was born April 10, 1944, in Newark, New Jersey, to…
Alvin Leonard Bragg, Jr. (1973-)
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Leonard Bragg, Jr. made history in 2023 with the indictment of former President Donald J. Trump…
Nora Holt (1885 – January 25, 1974)
Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic!Nora Holt was an important figure…
Jonathan L. Jackson (1966 – )
Jonathan Luther Jackson is a United States congressman representing Illinois’ 1st Congressional District, elected in November 2022 and taking office…
Marietta Cooper Bryant (1912-2003)
Marietta Cooper Bryant was an Arizona educator and civil rights activist best known for fighting for her right to teach…
Frank S. Greene, Jr. (1938-2009)
Frank S. Greene, Jr. is an inventor, scientist, venture capitalist investor, educator, and the first African American to graduate from…
Johnathan L. Jackson (1966 – )
Johnathan Luther Jackson is a United States Congressman representing Illinois’ 1st Congressional District since January of 2023. Reputably known as…
Dr. Carol Johnson-Dean (1948-)
Carol Johnson-Dean was the first black woman superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools. She held that post from 1997 to 2003.…
Richard Allen Tucker (1850-1924)
Richard Allen Tucker, born on February 13, 1850, was an ordained minister, educator, and poet. He was the son of…
Philip Jefferson
Philip Nathan Jefferson is an American economist who has been a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since…
Wayne Shorter (1933-2023)
Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic!Twelve-time GRAMMY-winning composer, conductor, librettist, and…
Raymond Lawrence Finch (1940-2023)
Raymond Lawrence Finch, a Federal District Court and contributor to the development of the Virgin Islands Legal System, was born…
Freddie Stowers (1896-1918)
Let it play in the background as you study and immerse yourself in this topic!Freddie Stowers, recognized posthumously for his…