A successful entrepreneur, Richelieu Dennis, was born February 25, 1969 in Liberia the son of Mary Dennis. Dennis grew up in Liberia during the civil wars, a time of violence and disruption. However, he was able to attend elementary and high school in Liberia and … Read MoreRichelieu Dennis (1969- )
Otha Edward Thornton, Jr., the first African American President of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), was born in October of 1967 and reared in Elberton, Georgia, to Otha Edward Thornton, Sr., a Vietnam Veteran, and Estelle J Thornton. He was the oldest of seven. … Read MoreOtha Edward Thornton, Jr. (1967- )
Global marketer Frank Cooper, III was born on May 8, 1964, in San Francisco, California. He received the Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986 and the Juris Doctorate in Constitutional Law from Harvard Law School in … Read MoreFrank Cooper III (1964- )
Arlan Hamilton is the founder of Backstage Capital and the author of “It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage,” which was published in 2020. Hamilton was born on October 30, 1980, in Dallas, Texas. Her first interest was the … Read MoreArlan Hamilton (1980- )
Johnnie Wilson is a retired Four-Star United States Army General. His generous service to the Ordnance Corps led to him being inducted into the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame. Wilson was born on February 4, 1944 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father worked in a steel mill … Read MoreJohnnie E. Wilson (1944- )
Orlando Ashford is the former president of Holland America Line. He assumed this position in 2014 and stepped down in 2020. Holland America Line was founded in 1873, and until 1989, it was a Dutch-owned passenger and cargo shipping line operating primarily between the Netherlands … Read MoreOrlando Ashford (1968- )
Aliko Dangote is the first billionaire from Nigeria and is considered the richest black man in the world and the fifty-first richest person overall according to Forbes in 2016. He amassed his fortune by founding the Dangote Group, the multinational company that operates throughout West … Read MoreAliko Dangote (1957- )
Janet Emerson Bashen is the founder and CEO of the Bashen Corporation, a private consulting group that investigates Equal Employment Opportunity complaints under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. She is the first African American woman in the United States to hold a … Read MoreJanet Emerson Bashen (1957- )
Kase Lawal is a Nigerian-born businessman best known for his large oil company CAMAC headquartered in Houston, Texas as well as leading a diverse group of affiliate companies that comprise the second largest African-American owned company in the United States with more than 1,000 employees … Read MoreKase Lawal (1954- )
Ambassador Daniel Yohannes “Image Ownership: Public Domain” Daniel W. Yohannes, a businessman, philanthropist, and diplomat, was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on September 22, 1952. He moved to the United States at age 17 as an exchange student in the 11th grade, attending high … Read MoreDaniel W. Yohannes (1952– )
