Clémence Botino, born to an Indo-Caribbean mother, Katia Botino, and an Afro-Caribbean father, Oliver Botino, on January 22, 1997, in Baie-Mahault on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, was named Miss France 2020. Her parents encouraged her interest in fashion, dance, music (she plays piano), … Read MoreClémence Botino (1997- )
On October 1, 2021, Mamady Doumbouya was sworn in as the interim president of Guinea. This was after the former president, Alpha Conde, was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by Doumbouya on September 5, 2021. Mamady Doumbouya was born in Kankan, Guinea on March 4, … Read MoreMamady Doumbouya (1980- )
H. Patrick Swygert served as 15th president of Howard University for 13 years (1995-2008). He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 17, 1943 and raised by his working-class parents, Leroy and Gustina Swygert and had a close aunt, Denise P. Swygert-Huzzy. He was the … Read MoreH. Patrick Swygert (1943- )
Both a pharaoh of Egypt and a king of Kush (in present-day Sudan), Taharqa (meaning “young man” or “young warrior”) was the son of Piankhi (or Piye), the king of the Kushites who conquered Egypt in 744 and founded its 25th dynasty that lasted 88 … Read MoreTaharqa (?-664 B.C.E.)
Nissim Baruch Black, formerly known as D. Black, is an African American Jewish rapper who now lives in Israel. Nissim, whose real name is Damian Jamohl Black, was born on December 9, 1986 to James “Captain” Church Croone and Mia Black in Seattle, Washington. Nissim’s … Read MoreNissim Black (1986- )
Kofi Atta Annan, born on April 8, 1938 in Kumasi, Ghana, served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) between 1997 and 2006. He was the first person of African descent to hold that post. Annan grew up in Kumasi but attended Mfantsipim School, … Read MoreKofi A. Annan (1938-2018)
In 1969, Sa’adia Marciano and Charlie Biton—along with four other Moroccan-Jewish youth living in the poor Moroccan-Jewish section of Jerusalem, Israel—started meeting to discuss North African Jews’ experiences of joblessness, police beatings, housing and education discrimination, and exclusion from government political offices and positions. When they read … Read MoreIsraeli Black Panther Party (1971-1977)
Alysa Stanton is the first ordained African American female Rabbi in the United States. Stanton was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 2, 1963, and was raised in a Pentecostal Christian home. When she was 11 years old, the family moved into a Jewish community in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Her mother invited her … Read MoreAlysa Stanton (1963- )
William E. “Kip” Ward is a former 4-star general. War was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 6, 1949 to Richard Isiah Ward and Phyllis Mary Ward. He graduated from Morgan State University in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He was a distinguished ArmyROTC cadet at Morgan … Read MoreWilliam E. Ward (1949- )
