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.
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock is the Senior Pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, once led by Reverends Martin Luther King Sr., and Martin Luther King Jr, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a 2020 Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate from Georgia. Warnock was born July … Read MoreRaphael G. Warnock (1969- )
Madeline M. Turner is the inventor of Turner’s Fruit-Press (the original blueprint/ design on which all modern juicers are based). The machine engineered by Turner allows consumers to enjoy the beverages we know as juices as well as juice bars and popular juice cleanses. It … Read MoreMadeline M. Turner (? – ?)
Edward G. Irvin was a co-founder of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Irvin was born on August 13th, 1893, in Spencer, Indiana, as the seventh of nine siblings. His father was an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) preacher. Irvin grew up in Spencer but was part of … Read MoreEdward Giles Irvin (1893-1982)
Former University President Ivory Vance Nelson was born on June 11th, 1934 in Curtiss, Louisiana. Not much is available about Nelson’s youth. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Curtiss in 1951 at the age of 16 and then enlisted in the U.S. … Read MoreIvory V. Nelson (1934- )
James H. Sills, Jr., the first African American mayor of Wilmington, Delaware, was born in North Carolina in 1931. We know little about his early life before he arrived in Wilmington. At various times he was a billiards hustler, farm laborer, and solider before he … Read MoreJames H. Sills Jr. (1931- )
Steven L. Reed is the first African American mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. Reed was born in 1974 in Montgomery, to Mollie and Joseph L. Reed. His mother was an educator, and his father was a former educator and well-known politician who served on the Montgomery … Read MoreSteven L. Reed (1974- )
On January 1, 2020, Dr. Tony Allen became the 12th President of historically Black Delaware State University in its 129-year history. The son of a father who never completed the 11th grade and a mother who raised him as a single parent, he was the … Read MoreTony Allen (?- )
Donald Dean Haley, was an attorney King County Superior Court judge, one of thirteen founders and past president of the Loren Miller Bar Association, formerly the Loren Miller Bar Club (a black legal association), and a lifelong member and former president of the Seattle-King County … Read MoreDonald Dean Haley (1932-2018)
Jerome A. Holmes, is the first African American to serve as an United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Holmes was born in Washington D.C. on November 18, 1961. His parents were Ryland and Hattie Holmes. Holmes graduated from Wake Forest University in 1983 … Read MoreJerome A. Holmes (1961- )
James Golden, also known as Bo Snerdley, is a successful producer and political activist engaged in changing the nation’s perception and knowledge about the Republican Party. Finding information about Golden’s background is difficult. Although his birthdate is unknown, he was born in Queens, New York … Read MoreJames Golden/ Bo Snerdley (?- )
