Film and theatrical actor Jeffrey Wright has been one of the most sought-after and versatile actors in Hollywood and Broadway since the 1990s. Born on December 7, 1965 in Washington, D.C., Wright’s father died when he was a year old. His mother, a U.S. Customs Bureau attorney, took … Read MoreJeffrey Wright (1965- )
Kathleen Neal Cleaver emerged in the late 1960s as one of the most influential leaders of the Black Panther Party (BPP). Neal was born in Memphis, Texas on May 13, 1945. Her father Ernest Neal was a sociology professor at Wiley College. Her mother, Juette (Johnson) Neal, earned a … Read MoreKathleen Neal Cleaver (1945- )
The Sierra Leone Civil War was an armed conflict in the West African country of Sierra Leone from 1991 t0 2002. The war began on March 23, 1991, when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) under Foday Sankoh, with support of Liberian rebel leader Charles Taylor … Read MoreThe Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002)
The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel army that fought in the Sierra Leone Civil War, 1991–2002. The RUF was created by Foday Sankoh along with allies that included Abu Kanu, Rashid Mansaray, and most of the Mende ethnic group in the southern and … Read MoreRevolutionary United Front (1991–2002)
Foday Saybana Sankoh was the founder and leader of the Sierra Leone rebel group, Revolutionary United Front (RUF), during the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002). That conflict, the first civil war in the nation’s history, resulted in the death of an estimated fifty thousand people … Read MoreFoday Saybana Sankoh (1937–2003)
Ishmael Beah is a Sierra Leonean author and human rights activist who rose to fame with his personal history, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider. Beah was born on November 23, 1980, in Mattru Jong, Bonthe District, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. … Read MoreIshmael Beah (1980- )
Idrissa Akuna “Idris” Elba is a British actor best known for his roles in The Wire and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. He has been nominated four times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a miniseries or television film, for which he … Read MoreIdrissa Akuna “Idris” Elba (1972- )
Lorenzo Dow Turner was an African American linguist who headed the English department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. from 1920 to 1928, and later headed of the English department at Fisk University (1929 to 1946). His accomplishments within his career in academia include the … Read MoreLorenzo Dow Turner (1890-1972)
In the article below, Carlton McLellan, PhD, a senior fellow at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), briefly describes the history of the more than one hundred and forty black women and men who have led diplomatic delegations as U.S. Ambassadors in ninety-five … Read MoreAmerica’s Black Ambassadors: A Historical Snapshot
“Image Ownership: Arkansas Black Hall of Fame” Ambassador June Carter Perry was born November 13, 1943 in Texarkana, Arkansas. After completing grade school, Perry was accepted at the Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois where in 1965 she earned her degree in history. Two years later … Read MoreJune Carter Perry (1943- )
