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.
Nineteenth-century politician John P. Green was born on April 2, 1845 in New Bern, North Carolina to free African Americans who were of mixed-race ancestry. His father John used his skills as a tailor to buy his freedom but died in 1850, which put the … Read MoreJohn P. Green (1845-1940)
John Brown (also known as “Fed” and “Benford”) of Southampton County, Virginia is best remembered as an escaped enslaved person who wrote an account of his bondage that was published in England in 1854. Brown was born about 1818 on the Betty Moore farm, three … Read MoreJohn Brown (AKA ‘Fed’ and ‘Benford’) (1818-1876)
Pioneering scholar in black women’s history, Rosalyn Marian Terborg-Penn was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 22, 1941, to Jeanne Van Horn Terborg, a clerical worker, and Jacques Arnold Terborg, a jazz musician born in Suriname. Terborg and her brother Jacques Jr., spent their … Read MoreRosalyn Terborg-Penn (1941-2018)
Carol Channing was an Afro-European actress and performer. Channing was born in Seattle, Washington on January 31, 1921. She was the only child of Adelaide Glaser and George Christian (Stucker) Channing. Her father moved the family to San Francisco, California when Channing was two years … Read MoreCarol Elaine Channing (1921-2019)
Vivian O’Dell Lee, a native of Spring, Texas, is the youngest child of Alvirita and Arthur Booker. She was born on January 28, 1938. Growing up, Lee traveled extensively with her mother and stepfather, US Master Sergeant Frank Little, to Army locations in the US … Read MoreVivian O. Lee (1938- )
Donald Walbridge “Don” Shirley was an American classical and jazz composer and pianist. Shirley was born on January 29, 1927, to Stella Gertrude Young and Edwin Samuel Shirley in Pensacola, Florida. His mother and father were Jamaican-born immigrants. Shirley was a prodigy, taught to play … Read MoreDon Shirley (1927-2013)
Through her work in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Evelyn J. Fields has broken barriers for women, African Americans, and African American women. Born January 29, 1949 in Norfolk, Virginia, Fields attended Booker T. Washington High School and then graduated from Norfolk State College in 1971 … Read MoreEvelyn J. Fields (1949- )
Stacey Plaskett is the current delegate to the US House of Representatives for the Territory of the Virgin Islands. Plaskett was born on May 13, 1966 in Kings County, Brooklyn, New York. Her parents are both from St. Croix. Her father was a New York … Read MoreStacey E. Plaskett (1966- )
In 2018, Ayanna Soynini Pressley became the first African American woman to be elected to represent the 7th District in Massachusetts. She unseated ten-term congressman Michael Capuano, a Democrat in the August primary of that year. Ayanna Soynini Pressley was born on February 3, 1974, … Read MoreAyanna Pressley (1974- )
John Lee Love was an African American inventormost known for his invention of the hand-cranked pencil sharpener, the “Love Sharpener,” and an improved plasterer’s hawk. Little is known about the early life of Love. His date and place of birth are unknown, but it is conjectured … Read MoreLove, John Lee (?-1931)