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.
John Edward James is an Iraq War Veteran, businessman, and former Republican United States Senate candidate from Michigan. James became a rising star in the Republican Party after defeating Sandy Pensler, another Michigan businessman, in the 2018 Michigan GOP Senate primary. James went on to … Read MoreJohn Edward James (1969- )
During World War II, thirty African-American correspondents risked their lives reporting news home from the front-lines of the war. Covering the war took two forms. First, they were reporters of the combat between the Allies and the Axis. Concurrently, they reported on the treatment of … Read MoreDeton Brooks (1909-1975)
Fred “The Hammer” Williamson is an African American actor-director-writer-producer who built and sustained a long career as a black action hero from the “blaxploitation” era of the 1970s to well into the twenty-first century. Born on March 5, 1938 in Gary, Indiana to parents Frank … Read MoreFred Williamson (1938- )
Politician and educator Judson W. Lyons was born on August 15, 1858 in Burke County, Georgia. In 1871, his family moved to Augusta, Georgia where Lyons was educated at the Augusta Institute. Lyons got involved in Republican Party politics as a young man, being selected … Read MoreJudson W. Lyons (1858-1924)
Betty Jean Owens, an African-American woman and Florida A&M University student, was raped by four white men, William Collinsworth, Ollie Stoutamire, David Beagles, and Patrick Scarbourough, on May 2, 1959. Unlike most cases involving white men raping black women in the pre-1970 era, the four … Read MoreBetty Jean Owens (193?- ?)
The St. Louis Cardinals’ efforts at integration began in 1953, when brewing company Anheuser-Busch bought the franchise. Company chairman August A. Busch Jr. soon realized that no black players on the field, meant very few black faces in the crowd. To remedy the situation, he … Read MoreTom Alston (1926-1993)
American author and journalist Denene Millner was born on October 21, 1968. She grew up in Bay Shore, New York, raised by her adoptive parents, James and Bettye Millner. She earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communications from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York … Read MoreDenene Millner (1968- )
Calvin Coolidge Hernton, poet, author, teacher, mentor, and literary critic was born April 28, 1932, in Chattanooga, Tennessee to Virgil and Magnolia Jackson Hernton. Hernton is best known for his seminal work Sex and Racism in America, which gives a bold historical and sociological analysis … Read MoreCalvin Coolidge Hernton (1932-2001)
Wilson Alexander, Sr. was the third of seven children born on in 1919 to Charles and Pearl Alexander of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. Alexander grew up in a a tight-knit community of sugar plantation sharecroppers in southern Louisiana. On July 24, 1942, he was drafted … Read MoreWilson “Ducktail” Alexander, Sr. (1919-1950)
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)