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.
Born May 3, 1933, into poverty in racially segregated Barnwell, South Carolina, James Brown became the most assertively black rhythm and blues singer ever accorded mainstream acceptance before audiences throughout the world. Arrested for breaking and entering at age 15, Brown’s early run-ins with the … Read MoreJames Brown (1933-2006)
One of the original Greensboro four who took part in the Woolworth sit-ins, David Leinail Richmond is often described by those who were closest to him as “gentle, intelligent, generous to a fault, and able to take a stand.” He was born in Greensboro and … Read MoreDavid Leinail Richmond (1941-1990)
Althea Gibson, a sharecropper’s daughter, entered the world of sports when segregation severely limited opportunities for African Americans. She eventually became the first black athlete to cross the color line of international tennis and golf. Althea Gibson was born on August 25, 1927, to Daniel … Read MoreAlthea Gibson (1927-2003)
One of hip-hop culture’s most influential pioneers, Afrika Bambaataa was the first to articulate an ideology for the emerging youth culture, using the music to illustrate hip-hop’s expansive potential as a global movement. As a DJ and recording artist, Bambaataa embraced every musical genre to … Read MoreAfrika Bambaataa (1957- )
Sociologist Walter L. Wallace was born in Washington, D.C. on August 21, 1927. Educated at Columbia University (B.A., 1954) Atlanta University (M.A., 1955) and the University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1963), he was an instructor at Atlanta University and Spelman College between 1955 and 1957. From … Read MoreWalter L. Wallace (1927- )
Born in Hattiesburg, Virginia on November 5, 1926, Victoria Jackson Gray Adams became one of the most important Mississipians in the Civil Rights Movement. Her activities included teaching voter registration courses to domestics and sharecroppers, opening of the Freedom Schools during Mississippi’s Freedom Summer of … Read MoreVictoria Jackson Gray Adams (1926-2006)
Samuel George Harker Philander is Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences at Princeton University. Born in Caledon, Republic of South Africa on June 25, 1942, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Cape Town in 1962 and his Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University … Read MoreS. George Philander (1942- )
The unusual academic career of Rufus Paul Turner, born on Christmas Day 1907, was foreshadowed when the then 15-year-old Houston, Texas native began experimenting with crystal devises. At age 17 he wrote the first of his nearly 3,000 articles, mostly having to do with radio … Read MoreRufus P. Turner (1907-1982)
While a professor of biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, Robert Kent Trench earned the reputation as the world’s leading expert on corals and their symbiotic algae, more specifically strains of zooxanthellae adaptation to certain coral species. Born on August 3, 1940 … Read MoreRobert K. Trench (1940- )
The career of Robert Henry Bragg was highlighted by his success in employing x-ray techniques to reveal the structural makeup and electrical properties of carbon and composite materials. The son of a union organizer and a seamstress, he was born in Jacksonville, Florida on August … Read MoreRobert H. Bragg (1919-2017)
