Ambassador Eric Bost is currently the assistant director of External Relations for the Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University. Bost, a native of Concord, North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where he earned his Bachelor’s in Psychology in 1974. In 1985, … Read MoreEric M. Bost (1952- )
Jessie Locker was an attorney, politician, and community leader who was also the second black American to be appointed as United States Ambassador when he was sent to Liberia (1953). Jessie Dwight Locker was born in College Hill (Cincinnati), Ohio on May 31, 1891 to … Read MoreJessie Dwight Locker (1891-1955)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Edward Dudley was the first black American to lead a U.S. Mission abroad with the rank of Ambassador. Dudley was born on March 11, 1911 in South Boston, Virginia to Edward Richard and Nellie (Johnson) Dudley. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree … Read MoreEdward Richard Dudley (1911-2005)
“Photo Courtesy of Lavizzo Family” Dr. Philip V. Lavizzo, one of the first African American doctors to practice surgery in the Pacific Northwest, was born in 1917. Very little is known about his early life. He graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee and … Read MorePhilip V. Lavizzo (1917-1972)
Dr. Emory Hestus Holmes, World War II veteran, social scientist, professor, and California civil rights leader, was born on November 17, 1924 in Birmingham, Alabama to David H. and Dora Catherine Holmes. He attended segregated schools in Alabama and, at the age of 17, joined … Read MoreEmory Hestus Holmes (1924-1995)
Rev. Dr. Iyanla Vanzant was born as Rhonda Eva Harris in Brooklyn, New York on September 13, 1953. In 1983, after being ordained as a Yoruba priestess, she renamed herself Iyanla, meaning “great mother.” Vanzant is now a famous relationship coach, author, TV host, ordained … Read MoreIyanla Vanzant (1953- )
In 1943 Gordon Alexander McHenry became the first African American engineer hired by the Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington. He was later promoted to Boeing Executive management (1955). Prior to 1943 Boeing labor unions had hindered the hiring of African American engineers. During his forty-year … Read MoreGordon Alexander McHenry (1921-2001)
“Image Ownership: AP Photo” Jerome Farris, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, was nominated for appointment by President Carter July 12, 1979. Judge Farris took Senior Status on March 4, 1995. Judge Farris was born in Birmingham, Alabama on … Read MoreJerome Farris (1930-2020)
Irvin Hicks was a career Foreign Service Officer who rose from a communications clerk position to serve three times as a U.S. ambassador. Hicks served in the Department of State during the nascent years of African Independence from European colonial rule. Hicks was appointed Ambassador … Read MoreIrvin Hicks Sr. (1938- )
John L Handcox, poet, folksinger, and union organizer, was born near Brinkley, Arkansas, on February 5, 1904 to parents George and Vina Handcox. John began picking cotton at age six. He gained some education in a rural one-room school for African Americans but learned to … Read MoreJohn L. Handcox (1904-1992)
