The following are short descriptions of the women and men who have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
Osborne Hemsley Winfield was the first African American modern dancer and a contemporary of the pioneers of modern dance, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. He was described as a pioneer of Negro dancing who had obtained an eminence comparable with Paul Robeson in … Read MoreHemsley Winfield (1907-1934)
Lieutenant Colonel Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell is the first African American female fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. Kimbrell was born in Lafayette, Indiana on April 20, 1976. Her parents, Eve Blackman Ng A Qui and Dr. Norman N A Qui, migrated from Guyana … Read MoreShawna Rochelle (Ng A Qui) Kimbrell (1976- )
Hanif Johnson is the youngest Magisterial District Judge in Pennsylvania. He was born and raised in Harrisburg by his mother, Wendy Johnson-Thompson, a Drug and Alcohol Counselor in the city. Johnson had a difficult childhood and was jailed three times for minor offenses. Johnson attended … Read MoreHanif L. Johnson (1990- )
Dr. Christopher Barnes is a Hannah Gray Postdoctoral Fellow at California Institute of Technology. Presently, he is one of a few talented African American scientists working to find a vaccine for COVID-19, the coronavirus. Barnes’ contribution is the result of an early, and lasting, interest … Read MoreChristopher Barnes (1986- )
Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath, an immunologist, medical doctor, and policymaker, was named President and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) on June 1, 2020. She is the third chief executive of the world’s largest biotechnology advocacy group since its founding in 1993. In her role … Read MoreDr. Michelle McMurry-Heath (1979- )
On November 21, 2006, Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year-old African American woman, was killed by undercover police officers at her home in Atlanta, Georgia. The killing contributed to the demands for police reform and accountability that helped inspire the Black Lives Matter Movement seven years later. … Read MoreKathryn Johnston (1914-2006)
Joseph Louis Cook was an Afro-Iroquois leader and a Commissioned Officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Cook was born Nia-man-rigounant around the year 1737 in an area now known as Schuylerville, New York. His father was African, and his mother was … Read MoreColonel Joseph Louis Cook (ca. 1737-1814)
Nicholas “Nick” Scott Cannon is an American actor, rapper, and comedian. Cannon was born on October 8, 1980, to James Cannon, a televangelist, and Beth Hackett, an accountant, in San Diego, California. Cannon grew up in the Lincoln Park’s Bay Vista Housing Projects where he … Read MoreNick Cannon (1980- )
One of a handful of women to become members of the Tuskegee Airmen, Sergeant Amelia Robinson Jones was born on July 3, 1919, on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, the youngest of fourteen children of Sipio and Susan Robinson. The family moved to Savannah, Georgia in … Read MoreAmelia Robinson Jones (1919-2015)
Charlamagne Tha God is a radio presenter, television personality, and author who is best known as the co-host of the radio show The Breakfast Club alongside Raashaun “DJ Envy” Casey and Angela Yee. Charlamagne was born Lenard Larry McKelvey on June 29, 1978 to Larry … Read MoreCharlamagne Tha God (1978- )
