Early in the morning on April 21, 2012, Sharmel T. Edwards, a 49-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot by five Las Vegas, Nevada police officers. Her death occurred while the national discussion of police brutality was gaining publicity in the wake of similar killings and about a year before … Read MoreSharmel Edwards (1962-2012)
La David Terrence Johnson was an African American Army Sergeant, vehicle mechanic, and father who was killed in the Tongo Tongo Ambush on October 4, 2017 in the West African nation of Niger, alongside three other American soldiers, Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Dustin … Read MoreLa David Terrence Johnson (1992-2017)
Jaya, born Maria Luisa Ramsey, is one of the most renowned singers in the Philippines. Born to popular Afro-Filipino comedienne Elizabeth Ramsey and Filipino singer and musician Reynaldo Kagahastian on March 21, 1970 in Manila, Jaya’s parents separated when she was three years old. Her father emigrated to Canada. … Read MoreJaya/Maria Luisa Ramsey Kagahastian-Gotidoc (1970- )
The shooting death of Sylville Smith, a 23-year-old African American man, by Dominique Heaggan-Brown, an African-American police officer in the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Police Department, yet again intensified the national debate over the shooting of unarmed black citizens at the hands of police and reinforced the call by Black … Read MoreSylville Smith (1993-2016)
The shooting death of Christian Taylor, a 19-year-old college student, by Arlington, Texas police officer Brad Miller at a car dealership in the city in the early morning hours of August 7, 2015 helped continue the ongoing debate promoted by Black Lives Matter and other social justice groups concerning young African … Read MoreChristian Taylor (1995-2015)
Tamon Robinson, a twenty-seven-year-old African American man was killed by a police car by two unnamed NYPD officers at the Bayview Housing Project in Canarsie, Brooklyn in 2012. His death at the hands of law enforcement continued the ongoing debate about unarmed African Americans dying at the … Read MoreTamon Robinson (1985-2012)
On January 4, 2008, Tarika Wilson, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot by Lima, Ohio, police officer Joseph Chavalia. She was unarmed and holding her one-year-old son, who was injured by the shot that killed his mother. The shooting, and the subsequent acquittal of the officer, highlighted … Read MoreTarika Wilson (1981-2008)
Russel L. Honoré is a three-star general known for his relief work during Hurricane Katrina. He was born in Lakeland, Louisiana during a hurricane in 1947 to farmers Lloyd Honoré and Eudell St. Armant Honoré. As one of twelve children, Honoré became the first in his family to attend college … Read MoreRussel L. Honoré (1947- )
Ryan S. Green is bass-baritone opera singer. Born April 1, 1986 in Suffolk, Virginia, his parents, Cecil and Valerie Green, separated when he was a child. The divorce forced his mother, an Air Force veteran, to move her children to a crime-ridden housing project in Suffolk. Green suffered … Read MoreRyan Speedo Green (1986- )
In 2012 Timothy Russell, an African American man, was involved in a car chase by Cleveland, Ohio police officers. At the end of the chase he and Malissa Williams were shot and killed by one of the officers. Their controversial deaths helped inspire the Black Lives Matter movement the following year. … Read MoreTimothy R. Russell (1968-2012)
