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.
R&B and Pop singer Regina Elaine Belle was born on July 17, 1963, in Englewood, New Jersey, to Eugene Belle and Lois Belle. She has one brother, Bernard. At a young age, she began performing at Englewood’s Mount Calvary Baptist Church. In 1972, when Belle … Read MoreRegina Belle (1963- )
Singer and actress best known by her mononym, Brandy, was born Brandy Rayana Norwood on February 11, 1979, in McComb, Mississippi. Her mother, Sonja (Bates), worked for H&R Block as a district manager, and her father, William Ray Norwood Sr., was a singer in a … Read MoreBrandy (1979- )
Antoine James Hodge was a critically acclaimed opera singer, best known for his role in Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” Hodge was born on August 5, 1982, in Albany, Georgia, to Mildred Wingfield and Larry Hodge. Educated in the Dougherty school system, Hodge graduated from Dougherty … Read MoreAntoine Hodge (1982-2021)
Jazz baritone and composer Gregory Porter was born on November 4, 1971, in Sacramento, California, to Rufus Porter from Memphis, Tennessee, and Ruth Porter, a minister from Shreveport, Louisiana. However, he and his seven siblings were reared in Bakersfield, California. Porter was taught to sing … Read MoreGregory Porter (1971- )
The mulatto slave William Lee appears together with his owner, U.S. President George Washington, in two and quite possibly three paintings, including the iconic Washington Crossing the Delaware by the artist Emanuel Leutze, where he is seen third from left in the boat where Washington … Read MoreWilliam Lee (aka Billy Lee/ Will Lee) (1752?-1810)
Nikole Sheri Hannah-Jones, most famous for her role in the 1619 Project, is an investigative journalist, who was born on April 9, 1976, in Waterloo, Iowa. She is of mixed heritage, as her father, Milton Hannah, is African American, and her mother, Cheryl A. Novotny, … Read MoreNikole Hannah-Jones (1976- )
Paul Gladney was a dancer, comedian, writer, social critic and actor best known by his stage name Paul Mooney. Gladney was born on August 4, 1941, in Shreveport, Louisiana to teenage parents George Gladney and LaVoya Ealy. Along with his brother Rudy, mother and grandparents, … Read MorePaul (Mooney) Gladney (1941-2021)
Currently California Secretary of State, Shirley Nash Weber was born September 20, 1948, in Hope, Arkansas, one of the eight children of David Nash, a semi-literate sharecropper and later steel mill worker, and Mildred Nash, a homemaker. When her father disagreed with a white farmer … Read MoreShirley Nash Weber (1948- )
Fulfilling a dream he held onto for nearly a decade, on September 23, 2020, three-star Gen. Richard M. Clark, at a ceremony in Falcon Stadium, took command as top administrator of the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, in … Read MoreRichard Milo Clark (1964- )
Legendary composer Barrett Strong, Jr. was born on February 5, 1941, in West Point, Mississippi, to Barrett Strong Sr. and Cloteal Gladney Strong. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan after his parents moved to the city. His siblings were Vera Mar Cole, Carolyn Ward, Lessie … Read MoreBarrett Strong (1941- )
