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.
Kristen Nicole Hayden is the first African American woman to win a national diving championship. Born March 2, 1998 in Hillsborough, New Jersey, she is the second child of Kay and Glen Hayden. As a youngster she practiced gymnastics and swimming until age ten when … Read MoreKristen Nicole Hayden (1998- )
Emery Neal Brown is one of a small number of African American scientists who came to prominence near the start of the 21st century. Brown is a medical doctor (anesthesiologist), statistician, and a neuroscientist. Born in Ocala, Florida on December 20, 1956, he is the … Read MoreEmery Neal Brown (1956- )
Captain Theresa Mae Claiborne was the first African American woman to become a U.S. Air Force pilot. Capt. Claiborne referenced the historic Tuskegee Airmen for paving her way to becoming the first Black woman pilot in the Air Force. Theresa Mae Claiborne was born May … Read MoreTheresa M. Claiborne (1959- )
Alexander Louis Jackson II, historian, journalist, athlete, and one of five founders of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), was born on March 1, 1891, in Englewood, New Jersey, to Alexander Louis Jackson and Evelyn Martha Lewis Jackson. They … Read MoreAlexander Louis Jackson, II (1891-1973)
Ralph Elwood Brock is generally recognized as the first African American forester. Brock was academically trained and became an experienced manager of foresters in his home state of Pennsylvania. Born on February 15, 1881 near Pottsville, Pennsylvania, he was one of the seven children of … Read MoreRalph Elwood Brock (1881-1959)
Jacob Hudson Carruthers Jr. was a historian and educator. Carruthers was born on February 15, 1930, to unnamed parents in Dallas, Texas. The family relocated to Houston, Texas, where he attended Phyllis Wheatley High School. After graduating high school, he attended Samuel Huston College in … Read MoreJacob Hudson Carruthers Jr. (1930-2004)
On August 1, 1974, twenty-six-year-old Ron LeFlore made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut for the Detroit Tigers. Thirteen months earlier, LeFlore was serving a five-to-fifteen-year sentence for armed robbery. LeFlore’s remarkable trajectory began when he was born in Detroit, Michigan, on June 16, 1948, … Read MoreRonald LeFlore (1948- )
Screenwriter, filmmaker, actor, and social critic Carlton Moss was born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 14, 1909. The son of Frederick Douglass Moss, a coachman for an affluent family, and Sarah Vincent Moss, he grew up both in New Jersey and North Carolina. As … Read MoreCarlton Moss (1909-1997)
Sheila Guyse was an actress and singer during the 1940s and 1950s. She was born Etta Drucille Guyse on July 14, 1925, in Forest, Mississippi. Her parents, Wilbert Vincent Guyse and Ethel Williams, separated and divorced shortly after she was born. Guyse was raised by … Read MoreSheila Guyse (1925 -2013)
Marie Walker Johnson was a Black Creole civil rights activist in Oakland, California, during the 1960s. A mother of five and a nurse, she also played a crucial role in multiple grassroots groups in the East Bay area. In these organizations, she marched, wrote letters, … Read MoreMarie Clara Delpit Walker Johnson (1921-1974)
