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.
Clarence Edwin “Cito” Gaston is a baseball manager, coach, and outfielder. In 1992 he became the first African American baseball manager to lead his team, the Toronto Blue Jays, to a World Series Championship. Clarence Gaston was born on March 17, 1944, to Sammy Gaston … Read MoreClarence Edwin “Cito” Gaston (1944- )
Actor and comedian Kenan Thompson was born on May 10, 1978, to Fletcher and Elizabeth Ann Thompson in Columbus, Ohio. When he was nine months old, his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. At age five, his mother enrolled him in acting classes. Thompson’s first acting … Read MoreKenan Thompson (1978- )
The New Year’s Day March, the first major civil rights demonstration in South Carolina, was a 1,000-person march that protested segregated facilities at the Greenville, South Carolina Municipal Airport (Now Greenville Downtown Airport) on January 1, 1960. The march was prompted by Jackie Robinson and … Read MoreNew Year’s Day March, Greenville, South Carolina (1960)
Stafford Fitzgerald Haney, an international businessman and diplomat, was born in Nashville, Tennessee on January 3, 1969 but grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He graduated from Central High School in Naperville and then attend the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, where … Read MoreStafford Fitzgerald Haney (1969- )
Crystal Nix-Hines is an attorney, screenwriter, producer, and diplomat who was born in Wilmington, Delaware on August 23, 1963. Her father, Theophilus R. Nix Sr., was the second African American attorney admitted to the Delaware bar, and her mother, Dr. Lulu Mae Nix, was the … Read MoreCrystal Nix-Hines (1963- )
Fani Taifa Willis is the first Black woman to hold the office of District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia. Willis was born on October 27, 1971 in Inglewood, California and raised by her father John Clifford Floyd III in Washington, DC. Learning at the feet … Read MoreFani Willis (1971- )
Johnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. is currently the baseball manager of the Houston Astros and a former major league player. Baker was born on June 15, 1949, to Johnnie B. Baker Sr. and Christine Baker in Riverside, California. Growing up, Baker played various sports, including … Read MoreJohnnie B. “Dusty” Baker Jr. (1949- )
Orchestral pianist, violinist, conductor, composer, and arranger of the Swing to Bebop eras, Teddy Wilson was born Theodore Shaw Wilson on November 24, 1912, in Austin, Texas. He and his brother Gus Wilson, however, were reared on the campus of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), … Read MoreTeddy Wilson (1912-1986)
Deion Luwynn Sanders is a college football coach, former professional football player, and baseball player. Sanders was born on August 9, 1967, to Connie and Mims Sanders in Fort Myers, Florida. Sanders’s parents divorced when he was two years old and his mother married Willie … Read MoreDeion Luwynn Sanders (1967- )
Chuck Leonard, a pioneering disk jockey known for his rich, smooth voice, was born Charles Wesley Leonard in Chicago, Illinois, on March 30, 1937 to Alma Leonard and Charles Leon. Chuck graduated from Hyde Park High School with honors in 1955, where he ran on … Read MoreChuck Leonard (1937-2004)
