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.
Warrick De’Mon Dunn is a former National Football League (NFL) running back who played for twelve seasons. Dunn was born on January 5, 1975 in New Orleans, Louisiana to single mother Betty Smothers. He attended Catholic High in Baton Rouge and played on the football … Read MoreWarrick De’Mon Dunn (1975- )
Actress and activist Denise Nicholas spent over thirty years as a television actor before embarking on a new career as a writer. While she appeared in several films, she made her greatest mark as a television actress, most notably in the hit shows Room 222 … Read MoreDenise Nicholas (1944- )
Benjamin Lloyd Crump is an American Civil Rights lawyer who is best known as the attorney of the families of Black Lives Matter victims starting with the case of Genie McMeans Jr in 2002. Crump, the oldest of nine siblings, was born on October 10, … Read MoreBenjamin Lloyd Crump (1969- )
Although much attention is paid to Crispus Attucks who died during the 1770 Boston Massacre, the first African American to take up arms and fight in the American Revolutionary War was a slave who in his youth was known simply as Prince. Though some scholars … Read MorePrince Estabrook (1740?-1830)
In the pre-Civil War United States, a black man who allegedly murdered a prominent white businessman could expect to be summarily tortured and lynched. But in one of most unusual criminal cases of the era, Moses Tate not only avoided a gruesome death but was … Read MoreMoses Tate (1821?- ?)
Philip “Felipe” Luciano, poet, activist, musicologist, and journalist was born November 24, 1947 in East Harlem to Aurora Olmo Luciano, a factory worker and practical nurse, and Joseph Luciano, Jr., He was reared in East Harlem and Brownsville. Aurora, a devout Pentecostal, read extensively to … Read MoreFelipe Luciano (1947- )
Activist, existential philosopher, professor, and Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Dr. William “Bill” Ronald Jones dedicated his career to the analysis and methods of oppression, religious humanism, and liberation theology that influenced Africana philosophers such as Anthony B. Pinn and Lewis R. Gordon. Born July 17, … Read MoreBill Jones (1933-2012)
John Warren Davis was the fifth and the longest president of West Virginia State University from 1919 to 1953. He is also known for founding one of the first chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Davis was born in … Read MoreJohn Warren Davis (1888-1980)
Artist Nancy Elizabeth Prophet was born in Warwick, Rhode Island on March 19, 1890, the second of three children. Her mother, Rose Walker Profitt was African American; her father, William H. Profitt was a Narragansett Indian. Prophet was married to Francis Ford from 1915 to … Read MoreNancy Elizabeth Prophet (1890-1960)
