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.
Deion Luwynn Sanders is a college football coach, former professional football player, and baseball player. Sanders was born on August 9, 1967, to Connie and Mims Sanders in Fort Myers, Florida. Sanders’s parents divorced when he was two years old, and his mother married Willie … Read MoreDeion Luwynn Sanders (1967- )
Chuck Leonard, a pioneering disk jockey known for his rich, smooth voice, was born Charles Wesley Leonard in Chicago, Illinois, on March 30, 1937, to Alma Leonard and Charles Leon. Chuck graduated from Hyde Park High School with honors in 1955, where he ran on … Read MoreChuck Leonard (1937-2004)
Sultry, soulful vocalist, lyricist, composer, actor, and activist Oleta Adams was born in Seattle, Washington, on May 4, 1953, and began piano lessons at seven. When she was 11, her family moved to Yakima, Washington, where she sang in the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church choir, … Read MoreOleta Adams (1953- )
The African-American animator and director Frank Cavalier Braxton Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 31, 1929, to Frank Cavalier Braxton from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mignon A. Callaway Braxton from Atlanta, Georgia. As a child, Frank had a gift and talent for drawing … Read MoreFrank Cavalier Braxton Jr. (1929-1969)
Prolific David Drake, also known as Dave the Potter, was an enslaved artist born on a plantation in North Carolina in 1801. He toiled the soil and labored on several plantations and, throughout his lifetime, was sold or traded by a number of plantation owners. … Read MoreDavid Drake (ca. 1801-1874)
The grandson of formerly enslaved people, Walter Franklin Anderson, classical pianist, organist, composer, jazz musician, community activist, and academician, was born on May 12, 1915, in segregated Zanesville, Ohio. Walter was the sixth of nine children of humble beginnings. Information regarding his parents is not … Read MoreWalter Franklin Anderson (1915-2003)
Byron Allen (Folks) is an American businessman, television producer, and comedian born in Detroit, Michigan, on April 22, 1961. His media company, Entertainment Studios, owns assets in television production, broadcasting, film production, and digital media. Byron Allen Folks was born in Detroit to Carolyn and … Read MoreByron Allen (1961- )
Willie C. Stewart Sr. became Tacoma, Washington’s first Black school principal at Lincoln High School on June 25, 1970. Stewart’s appointment by School Superintendent Angelo Giaudrone, considered truly historic at the time, was but one of many achievements of this notable educator. Stewart was born … Read MoreWillie C. Stewart Sr (1935- )
George Metcalfe was a civil rights leader in Natchez, Mississippi, who led one of the most successful yet little-known movements in the Deep South. Metcalfe was born on September 20, 1911, in Franklin, Louisiana, to parents Ernest Metcalfe and Alberta Simon Metcalfe. He was a … Read MoreGeorge Metcalfe (1911-1989)
Robert Jones Abele was one of six founding members of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the oldest African American Greek Letter Fraternity in the United States. The five others were Henry Minton, Algernon Jackson, Edwin Howard, Eugene Theodore Hinson, and Richard John Warrick, Jr. Abele was … Read MoreRobert Jones Abele (1875-1929)
