Douglas Turner Ward, an actor, director, and playwright, was considered a legend in African American theatre. Although he has achieved much during his lifetime, his co-founding of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) in 1968 ranks as his greatest achievement. NEC has spawned over 200 productions … Read MoreDouglas Turner Ward (1930- )
Octavia was born in Pasadena California to Laurice and Octavia Butler. Her father passed away when she was a baby, so she was raised by her grandmother and her mother. As a girl, she was known as Junie, derived from “Junior” since her mother was … Read MoreOctavia E. “Junie” Butler (1947-2006)
David Scott represents Georgia’s 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 13th district includes portions of Cobb, Clayton, Douglas, Fulton, Henry, and DeKalb counties. The son of a minister, Scott was born in Aynor, South Carolina, on July 27, 1946. He attended elementary … Read MoreDavid Scott (1946- )
Corrine Brown is a former politician and now convicted felon who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1993 to 2017. Brown was born on November 11, 1946 in Jacksonville, Florida. She attended the local schools and then enrolled … Read MoreCorrine Brown (1946- )
Melvin Luther Watt is a politician (Democrat) who has been the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency since 2014. Watt, a former member of the United States House of Representatives, was born on August 26, 1945 in the small community of Steele Creek in Mecklenburg … Read MoreMelvin L. Watt (1945- )
Jesse Binga’s rise from relative poverty to become the wealthiest African American entrepreneur and banker in Chicago in the late 19th century earned him a national reputation. Binga was born on April 10, 1865, in Detroit to William W. Binga, a barber and native of … Read MoreJesse Binga (1865-1950)
Born on October 5, 1929 in Shiloh, Alabama, Autherine Lucy was one of ten children in a family of farmers. Despite this modest background, Lucy would impact history as the first African American to integrate the University of Alabama. Lucy will also be remembered as … Read MoreAutherine Juanita Lucy Foster (1929-2022)
On January 1, 1923, a massacre was carried out in the small, predominantly black town of Rosewood in central Florida. The massacre was instigated by the rumor that a white woman, Fanny Taylor, had been sexually assaulted by a black man in her home in … Read MoreRosewood Massacre (1923)
Roy Emile Alfredo Innis is the current National Director of the Congress for Racial Equality. He is a controversial civil rights activist whose conservative stance on many issues continues to draw national attention. Innis was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands on June 6, 1934. … Read MoreRoy Innis (1934- )
Richard Gordon Hatcher, the first African American mayor of Gary, Indiana and one of the first African Americans to serve as mayor of a major city, was born on July 10, 1933, in Michigan City, Indiana. Hatcher was elected mayor of Gary, Indiana in 1967 … Read MoreRichard G. Hatcher (1933-2019)
