John E. (Jack) Nail, a successful Harlem, New York realtor, was born in New London, Connecticut in 1883. His parents, Elizabeth and John B. Nail, moved to New York City where the senior Nail bought a hotel, restaurant, and billiard parlor after working for a … Read MoreJohn E. Nail (1883-1947)
Shelby Steele, author and self-described African American conservative, was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 1, 1946. His father Shelby Sr., a black man, worked as a truck driver while his mother Ruth, a white woman, worked as a social worker. Both of his parents … Read MoreShelby Steele (1946- )
Halle Berry, who was born Maria Halle Berry, is a multiracial model, actress, and former beauty queen who was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1968. Her mother Judith Hawkins Berry, who is white, worked as a psychiatric nurse in a Cleveland hospital. Berry’s African American … Read MoreHalle Berry (1968- )
The Harlem Riot of 1935, the first in New York City in the 20th Century, was the consequence of a lingering unemployment crisis and police brutality. At 2:30 p.m. on March 19, 1935, a 16-year-old black Puerto Rican boy named Lino Rivera stole a 10 … Read MoreHarlem Race Riot (1935)
Jesse Max Barber, journalist, dentist, and civil rights leader, was born on July 5, 1878 in Blackstock, South Carolina to former slave parents. As a young man he worked as a barber while completing the teacher’s training course at Benedict College, Columbia, S.C. His literary … Read MoreJ. Max Barber (1878-1949)
The Newark Riot of 1967 which took place in Newark, New Jersey from July 12 through July 17, 1967, was sparked by a display of police brutality. John Smith, an African American cab driver for the Safety Cab Company, was arrested on Wednesday July 12 … Read MoreNewark Riot (1967)
Calloway Jr. and Martha Eulalia Reed in Rochester, New York. Calloway was raised in Baltimore, Maryland and in high school he sung with a group called the Baltimore Melody Boys. Calloway attended Crane College in Chicago for pre-law but soon abandoned his studies for a … Read MoreCab Calloway (1907-1994)
U.S. Congressman Gregory W. Meeks was born on September 25, 1953 in East Harlem, New York City. He was raised in a public housing project in East Harlem and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Political Science from New … Read MoreGregory W. Meeks (1953- )
Frederick Randolph Moore, a political activist and journalist, was born in 1857 to his slave mother and white father in Virginia. While Moore was still very young, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where Moore attended public schools and to make money, sold newspapers on … Read MoreFrederick Randolph Moore (1857-1943)
Félix Houphouet-Boigny was born near Yamoussoukro, the southern part of the Ivory Coast, on October 18, 1905. His father was a Boulé tribal chief and a wealthy cocoa farmer. At five years old, Houphouet-Boigny inherited his father’s chief status and his cocoa plantation. He studied … Read MoreFélix Houphouet-Boigny (1905-1993)
