Clark Atlanta University (CAU) was founded in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a private not-for-profit, coeducational historically black university, affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It is the largest of the United Negro College Fund … Read MoreClark Atlanta University (1988- )
The University of Maryland, Eastern Shore is a historically black land grant institution located in Princess Anne, Maryland. The school was initiated under the auspices of the Delaware Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and began as a branch campus for Morgan College (Morgan State … Read MoreUniversity of Maryland, Eastern Shore (1886- )
Jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, and cosmic philosopher Le Sony’r Ra, or Sun Ra, remains an influential and controversial figure in jazz history. He is largely remembered for his Astro Black Mythology that incorporated aspects of ancient Egyptian philosophy and science fiction, as well as his … Read MoreSun Ra/Le Sony’r Ra (1914-1993)
Powell Lindsay, actor, director, playwright, and producer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Virginia Union University as well as the Yale University School of Drama. At Yale, Lindsay became frustrated by the limited and often stereotypical African American roles presented by the School of … Read MorePowell Lindsay (1905-1987)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and eight-time Grammy Award-winning singer Tina Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Haywood, County, Tennessee. The youngest daughter of a family of sharecroppers, Turner’s father, Floyd Richard Bullock, was an African American … Read MoreTina Turner (1939-2023)
Bud Powell, jazz pianist, was born Earl Powell in New York City. His father, William Powell, worked as a building superintendent. Powell grew up surrounded by musicians, including his father, who played piano, his brother William, who played trumpet and violin, and his brother Richie, … Read MoreEarl “Bud” Powell (1924-1966)
Billy Preston, singer and musician, was born William Everett Preston in 1946 in Houston, Texas. He lived in Houston, Texas until his family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1949. Working as Victory Baptist Church’s organist, his mother, Robbie Preston Williams, supported Preston, his sister … Read MoreWilliam Everett “Billy” Preston (1946-2006)
Gospel music composer, conductor, pianist, and singer James Cleveland was born James Edward Cleveland on December 5, 1931, on the south side of Chicago, Illinois to Benjamin Cleveland, a retired Army sergeant, and Rosie Lee. He was introduced to gospel music at an early age … Read MoreJames Cleveland (1931-1991)
Robert Rochon Taylor was an architect and early housing activist in Chicago, Illinois who became Chairman of the Chicago Housing Authority in 1942. He is the son of Robert Robinson Taylor who was the first African American to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology … Read MoreRobert Rochon Taylor (1899-1957)
Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Hayes Washington was born December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. Growing up in a middle-class family, Washington was the second of three children, his father, Reverend Denzel Washington, Sr., was a Pentecostal minister and his mother, Lennis “Lynne” … Read MoreDenzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (1954- )
