William H. Grier was a psychiatrist who published the groundbreaking book, Black Rage, along with fellow psychiatrist Price M. Cobbs in 1968. Published in the aftermath of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and subsequent outburst of race riots, the book sought … Read MoreWilliam H. Grier (1926-2015)
Al-Shabaab fighters disengage and lay down arms, September 2012 “Image Ownership: AMISOM Public Information” Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, more commonly known as Al-Shabaab (meaning youth), is a clan-based jihadist terrorist group in East Africa. Originating as the militant youth wing of the Somali Council of Islamic … Read MoreAl-Shabaab (2006- )
Mellody Hobson is the co-CEO of Ariel Investments (AI), which was founded in 1983 by John W. Rogers Jr. With the continued growth of the African American middle class, the number of black investors has risen. Ariel Investments is one of the nation’s few African … Read MoreMellody Hobson (1969- )
The theoretical physicist Sylvester James Gates, known for his work in supersymmetry, string theory, superconformal algebra, Adinkra symbols, and bihermitian manifolds, was born on December 15, 1950 in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Gates has three siblings: two younger brothers, and one younger sister. Sylvester James Gates … Read MoreSylvester James Gates (1950- )
Ali Al’amin Mazrui was a Kenyan intellectual in the fields of political science, African studies, and Islamic studies. The father of the African Liberalism ideology (an economic perspective on Africa critical of western powers and Marxism/Socialism) was an often controversial figure due largely to his … Read MoreAli Al’amin Mazrui (1933-2014)
Temple Beth El is a historically, and to this day predominantly, African American synagogue located in the West Oak neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Not to be confused with Ethiopian Jewish communities (most of which reside within present-day Israel), Temple Beth El was founded in the … Read MoreTemple Beth El (Bethel or Beth’El) (1951- )
Edward A. Carter Jr. was a career non-commissioned officer for the United States Army and one of the few African American recipients of the Medal of Honor during World War II. Carter was born May 26, 1916, in Los Angeles, California to missionary parents and … Read MoreEdward A. Carter, Jr. (1916-1963)
The 92nd Infantry Division, a military unit of approximately fifteen thousand officers and men, was one of only two all-black divisions to fight in the United States Army in World War I and World War II. The 92nd Division was organized in October 1917 at … Read More92nd Infantry Division (1917–1919, 1942–1945)
Norris Bumstead Herndon was the second president of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, founded by his father, Alonzo Herndon, in 1905. Herndon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 15, 1897, the only child of Adrienne Elizabeth McNeil, a graduate and teacher at Atlanta University, … Read MoreNorris Bumstead Herndon (1897-1977)
The Second Italo-Abyssinian War was Italy’s conquest of Ethiopia, a process it began after the 1885 Partition of Africa. Italy was defeated in its first attempt at conquest at the battle of Adwa in 1896, allowing Ethiopia to become the only African nation to remain … Read MoreThe Second Italo-Abyssinian War (1935–1936)
