Dwayne Mack, Author at • Page 2 of 5

Academic Historian

Dwayne Mack is Associate Professor of history and affiliated faculty with African/African American Studies at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky where he holds the Carter G. Woodson Chair in African American History. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, attended college in North Carolina, and received his Ph.D. in American history at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, where he served as coordinator of the Talmadge Anderson Heritage House, the campus African American Cultural Center. He is the lead editor of Mentoring Faculty of Color: Essays on Professional Development and Advancement in Colleges and Universities (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2013). He is also the author of several peer reviewed articles and book chapters on the African American experience in the West and South. His work in progress includes a book manuscript, “We Have a Story to Tell: The African American Community in Spokane, Washington, 1945-1990.”

Kobe Bryant (1978-2020)

Professional basketball superstar Kobe Bryant played for the Los Angeles (California) Lakers since 1996, when he came to the team as an eighteen-year-old, the youngest player in National Basketball Association (NBA) history, until his retirement in 2016. Bryant was a long-time philanthropist, using his well-known … Read MoreKobe Bryant (1978-2020)

Angela Davis (1944-)

Angela Davis, activist, educator, and scholar, was born on January 26, 1944, in the “Dynamite Hill” area of Birmingham, Alabama. The area received that name because so many African American homes in this middle class neighborhood had been bombed over the years by the Ku … Read MoreAngela Davis (1944-)

Francis Johnson (1792-1844)

Francis Johnson, musician, composer, and bandmaster, was born in 1792 in Martinique in the West Indies and emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1809 at the age of 17. By that point, he had already mastered the keyed bugle and the violin. By his early 20s, … Read MoreFrancis Johnson (1792-1844)

Thomas L. Purce (1946- )

Thomas “Les” Purce, politician, businessman, educator, university administrator, and grandson of pioneering Black Idahoans, was born on November 13, 1946, to John and Idaho Purce in Pocatello, Idaho. His grandfather, Tracey Thompson, was a well-known Idaho rodeo star. As one of five siblings, he attended … Read MoreThomas L. Purce (1946- )

Oberlin College (1833- )

Oberlin College which was named Oberlin Collegiate Institute until 1850, is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. In 1833, Presbyterian ministers John Jay Sipherd and Philo P. Stewart founded the institution as a college preparatory institute to promote Christian values. Oberlin’s progressive history … Read MoreOberlin College (1833- )

Talmadge Anderson (1932-2011)

Talmadge Anderson, educator and activist scholar, was born in Hazlehurst, Georgia on July 22, 1932 to Viola Lee Baker Anderson and raised in Dublin, Georgia. He attended the all black Telfair Street Elementary School and Washington Street High School. In 1953 he earned a BA in … Read MoreTalmadge Anderson (1932-2011)

Ed Bradley, Jr. (1941-2006)

Edward Rudolph Bradley Jr., journalist, was born June 22, 1941, in Philadelphia. His father was a businessman and his mother a housewife. After Bradley’s parents divorced, he spent summers with his father in Detroit. He attended primary and secondary school in Philadelphia. In 1960 he … Read MoreEd Bradley, Jr. (1941-2006)

Percy Sutton (1920-2009)

Percy Sutton, attorney, politician, civil rights activist, and businessman, was born on November 24, 1920, in San Antonio, Texas to school teachers Samuel and Lillian Sutton. Percy Sutton attended Prairie View A&M University, Tuskegee Institute, and Hampton Institute. In 1942, Sutton joined the military. He … Read MorePercy Sutton (1920-2009)

Basil Alexander Paterson (1926-2014)

Basil Alexander Paterson, attorney, politician, and educator, was born on April 27, 1926 in Harlem, New York to parents of West Indian descent, Evangeline Alicia and Leonard James Paterson. Paterson attended New York City public schools and in 1942, at the age of 16, he … Read MoreBasil Alexander Paterson (1926-2014)

Julie Dash (1952- )

Filmmaker Julie Dash was born on October 22, 1952 in Queens, New York. She received her B.A. in film production from City College of New York in 1974 and went on to earn a two-year fellowship to the Center for Advanced Film Studies at the … Read MoreJulie Dash (1952- )