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 with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice “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 … Read MoreDaniel W. Yohannes (1952– )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” William “Bill” G. Mays, entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader, was born in Evansville, Indiana to Joy and Theodore C. Mays, Sr. on December 4, 1945. The youngest of three sons, his older brothers, Theodore Jr. and Robert, were twins. Both parents … Read MoreWilliam G. Mays (1945-2014)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Don Thompson, president and Corporate Executive Officer of McDonald’s Corporation, was born near the Cabrini-Green Housing Project on Chicago, Illinois’s Near North Side. Little is known about his childhood except that he was raised by his grandmother. Thompson was a bright … Read MoreDon Thompson (1963- )
Cathy Hughes is the founder and chairperson of Urban One, Inc., (previously known as Radio One) the largest African-American owned and operated broadcast-company in the nation. In 2011, the corporation owned 53 broadcast stations in 16 urban markets across the United States. Urban One is … Read MoreCathy Hughes (1947- )
Robert Holland Jr. was an African American businessman who served as the first black Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ben and Jerry’s, the ice cream manufacturer. Holland was born in April 1940 in Albion, Michigan to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Holland, Sr., the third of … Read MoreRobert Holland Jr. (1940- )
