In 1941 the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the construction agent for the War Department, maintained construction battalions that were deemed less valuable than units in other Army branches. Coupling this practice with the racial beliefs dominant in the Jim Crow South, it … Read More … Read MoreThe 97th Engineering Regiment (1941-1948)
Fani Taifa Willis is the first Black woman to hold the office of District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia. Willis was born on October 27, 1971, in Inglewood, California, and raised by her father, John Clifford Floyd III, in Washington, D.C. Learning at the feet … Read More … Read MoreFani Willis (1971- )
Earl Simmons was a rapper, songwriter, and actor best known by his stage name DMX. Simmons was born on December 18, 1970, in Mount Vernon, New York. At the time of his birth, his mother, Arnett Simmons, was nineteen years old, and his father, Joe … Read More … Read MoreDMX/Earl Simmons (1970-2021)
Dorothy Love Coates was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and composer. She was born Dorothy McGriff on January 30, 1928, in Birmingham, Alabama. Her minister father, Lillar McGriff, moved to the North when Coates was six, and her parents soon divorced. Thereafter, Lillar McGriff raised … Read More … Read MoreDorothy Love Coates (1928-2002)
Marion Barry Jr., a civil rights activist and later three term mayor of Washington, D.C., was born on March 6, 1936, in Itta Bena, Mississippi. His parents, Marion Barry and Mattie Barry, were sharecroppers; the family lived in relative poverty. When Marion was eight years … Read More … Read MoreMarion Barry, Jr. (1936-2014)
Laila Ali, the daughter of former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, and Jacqui Frazier, the daughter of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, became the first women in history to headline a pay-per-view event when they fought on June 7, 2001. It was also the first time … Read More … Read MoreLaila Ali (1977- )
Dr. Dre, pioneering West Coast hip-hop producer, rapper, and entrepreneur, was born Andre Romelle Young in Compton, California on February 18, 1965. His father, Theodore, and his mother, Verna, were both singers and members of bands before and after Dre was born. His parents soon … Read More … Read MoreDr. Dre/Andre Romelle Young (1965- )
Born on January 5th, 1926, in Attapulgus, Georgia, Hosea Williams became a prominent civil rights activist and war hero. Unfortunately, his mother died in childbirth, and his father was never in the picture, so Williams was raised by his grandfather, Turner Williams. Williams encountered racism early in his life. … Read More … Read MoreHosea Williams (1926-2000)
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 More … Read MoreOleta Adams (1953- )
De La Soul is a hip-hop trio that consists of Kelvin “Posdnous” Mercer, Kevin Jude “Trugoy” Jolicoeur, and Vincent Lamont “Maseo” Mason Jr., all from the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. De La Soul was formed in 1988 and released its first album, … Read More … Read MoreDe La Soul (1988- )
