Choreographer, dancer, and teacher Lorraine Graves was born Lorraine Elizabeth Graves on October 5, 1957, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Tommy E. Graves Jr., founder and CEO of Graves Funeral Home, and Mildred Odom Graves, a public school teacher. Lorraine had one brother, Tommy E. Graves … Read MoreLorraine Graves (1957-2024)
Writer Gary Younge was born in January 1969 in Hertfordshire, England, to Barbadian parents. He grew up in the town of Stevenage, which had a very small Black population at the time. Gary and his two elder brothers, Pat and Wayne, were brought up by … Read MoreGary Younge (1969- )
Alessandro Sinigaglia was among several notable anti-fascist and anti-Nazi partisan fighters in Europe during World War II who were of African descent. Sinigaglia, born in the town of Fiesole near Florence, Italy, on January 2, 1902, was the son of an Italian Jew, David Sinigaglia, … Read MoreAlessandro Sinigaglia (1902-1944)
Olga “Ollie” Burgoyne, also known as Ollie Burgoyne-Calloway, was a singer and dancer specializing in Russian and other ethnic dances. She was also an actress and businesswoman who gained popularity during the Harlem Renaissance and left her mark as one of the most influential African … Read MoreOlga (Ollie) Burgoyne (1879-1974)
Maria Mambo Café was an Angolan economist and politician. She was a career member of the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola – Partido do Trabalho. Café was born in 1945 in Cabinda Province, an exclave of Angola in the northern part of the country. … Read MoreMaria Mambo Café (1945-2013)
Russian military leader, Chief Commander of the Kherson, and General-in-Chief, Ivan Hannibal, was the eldest of Abram Hannibal’s eleven children with Christine Regina von Sjöberg and the great-uncle of Alexander Pushkin, regarded as the father of Russian literature. Enamored of his African heritage, Pushkin wrote … Read MoreIvan Hannibal (1737 – 1801)
Emma Harris was a multi-talented African American cultural influencer in Europe, the Russian Empire (later the Soviet Union) as well as the Middle East. Harris was born into a poor family in Georgia on October 7, 1871. Her parents were washerwoman Sarah Green and millworker … Read MoreEmma Harris (1871-1940)
The current president of Mali is Assimi Goita. Goita is the son of a military officer and director of the military police who grew up in the military barracks near Bamako. As a child, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the … Read MoreAssimi Goita
(1983- )
The current president of the Central African Republic (CAR) is Faustin-Archange Touadera who was born on April 21, 1957, in Bangui, the capital. His father was a driver and farmer. Touadera attended school in Bangui. His secondary school was Barthelemy Boganda College. He then attended … Read MoreFaustin-Archange Touadera
(1957- )
