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.
The first African American mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska, James C. Hayes was born in Sacramento, California on May 26, 1946. His parents were Caustella and Juanita Metoyer Hayes. In 1955, after his parents divorced, James and his mother relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska. As a teenager, … Read MoreJames C. Hayes (1946-2022)
Jayne Kennedy Overton is a model, actress, and corporate spokeswoman. Kennedy was born Jayne Harrison on October 27, 1951, to Herbert and Virginia Harrison in Wickliffe, Ohio. She attended Wickliffe High School in Wickliffe, Ohio, and graduated in 1969. In 1970, Kennedy was crowned the … Read MoreJayne Kennedy Overton (1951- )
Jazz singer Betty Carter was born Lillie Mae Jones on May 16, 1929, in Flint, Michigan, to James Jones, a church musical director, and Bessie Jones, an active member of the NAACP. However, Betty was reared in Detroit and sang in the Hartford Avenue Baptist … Read MoreBetty Carter (1929-1998)
Claude William Black Jr. was one of the most important advocates for civil rights and social justice in San Antonio, Texas. He was born on November 28, 1916, in San Antonio, Texas, to Claude William Black Sr., the Vice President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping … Read MoreClaude William Black Jr. (1916-2009)
Television pioneer and Emmy-nominated actor John Amos was born John Allen Amos Jr. on December 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, to John A. Amos, an automobile mechanic, and Annabelle P. Amos, a nutritionist. He was reared in East Orange, where he attended Stockton School … Read MoreJohn Amos (1939-2024)
Howard Nathaniel Lee made history in 1969 as the first African American to be elected mayor of any majority-white city in the South. Lee was born on July 28, 1934, in Lithonia, Georgia, to sharecroppers Howard Lee and Lou Temple who had six other children. … Read MoreHoward Nathaniel Lee (1934- )
Wilmont A. Barclay, a professional escape artist, mind reader, and hypnotist, was one of the most successful Black magicians of the early 20th Century. Barclay was born in St. Andrew Parish (now the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation), Jamaica, West Indies, on February 28, 1877. … Read MoreWilmont A. Barclay (1877-1944)
Dr. Oscar James Cooper, a physician, is most remembered as one of the co-founders of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the first Greek letter fraternity founded by students at an HBCU (Howard University). Other cofounders were his classmates Edgar Amos Love and Frank Coleman and … Read MoreOscar James Cooper (1888–1972)
Six-foot-eight NBA Superstar legend Connie Hawkins, one of the first basketball players capable of swooping and soaring in flights to the hoop, was born Cornelius Lance Hawkins on July 17, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York. A playground legend, he was dunking at the age of … Read MoreConnie Hawkins (1942-2017)
Anthony “Spice” Adams is a former American football player for the National Football League (NFL), actor, comedian, and television host. He was born on June 18, 1980, to Anthony Adams Sr. and Constance Davis in Detroit, Michigan. Adams, who had two siblings, attended Martin Luther … Read MoreAnthony “Spice” Adams (1980- )
