“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Sometime in 2013, the African American consumer market exceeded the trillion dollar mark for the first time. To put this figure in perspective, that market is larger than the market for the entire nation of Spain. In the article below business … Read MoreThe Trillion Dollar African American Consumer Market: Economic Empowerment or Economic Dependency?
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Abolitionist and civil rights activist William Lambert was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1817, the son of a manumitted father and a freeborn mother. As a young man Lambert was educated by abolitionist Quakers. Twenty-three year old Lambert arrived in … Read MoreWilliam Lambert (1817-1890)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Austin Steward, author, businessman, abolitionist, and temperance leader, was born a slave in Prince William County, Virginia to Robert and Susan Steward sometime around 1793. By the age of seven he was working as a house slave on the plantation of … Read MoreAustin Steward (1793-1869)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Bill Powell was the first African American to design, construct, and own a professional golf course in the United States. In 1946, Bill and his wife Marcella did most of the landscaping by hand when they transformed a 78-acre dairy farm … Read MoreWilliam James “Bill” Powell (1916-2009)
Image Ownership: Public Domain Harold “Hal” Jackson, legendary broadcaster, radio station owner, and philanthropist was born November 3, 1915 in Charleston, South Carolina to Eugene and Laura Jackson. Eugene Jackson owned a successful tailor shop in Charleston allowing the family to live in a comfortable … Read MoreHal Jackson (1915-2012 )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Herman Cain, Republican Party activist and 2012 Presidential candidate is also a newspaper columnist, popular radio talk show host in Atlanta, and former chairman and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, a Pillsbury subsidiary. Cain was born on December 13, 1945 in Memphis, … Read MoreHerman Cain (1945- )
George Ellis Johnson, Sr. was an African American entrepreneur and founder of Johnson Products Company, a hair care firm, and Independence Bank in Chicago, Illinois. Johnson was born on June 16, 1927 in Richton, Mississippi to Priscilla Johnson. He is perhaps best known for being … Read MoreGeorge Ellis Johnson Sr. (1927– )
The C.R. Patterson & Sons Company was a carriage building firm, and the first African American-owned automobile manufacturer. The company was founded by Charles Richard Patterson, who was born into slavery in April 1833 on a plantation in Virginia. His parents were Nancy and Charles … Read MoreC.R. Patterson & Sons Company (1893-1939)
Marjorie Judith Vincent, the fourth African American to be crowned Miss America, was born on November 12, 1964 in Oak Park, Illinois. She was Miss America 1991. Vincent is the daughter of Lucien and Florence Vincent of Cap Haitien, Haiti. Vincent’s parents migrated to the … Read MoreMarjorie Vincent (1964- )
Arthur George Gaston, wealthy businessman and civil rights activist, was born on July 4, 1892 in Demopolis, Alabama to Tom and Rosa McDonald Gaston. He was raised by his former slave grandparents Joseph and Idella Gaston. In 1905 Arthur Gaston moved to Birmingham where he … Read MoreA. G. Gaston (1892-1996)