Derrick Brown is a computer scientist, engineer, and technology entrepreneur who pioneered Black-related websites and search engines in the 1990s. Born in Ellorree, South Carolina, in 1969, Brown grew up playing baseball and writing essays. In the fifth grade he won a statewide essay writing … Read MoreDerrick Brown (1969- )
Garlin Gilchrist is a politician, entrepreneur, and activist serving as the 64th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. Gilchrist was born September 25, 1982, in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Farmington High School, in Farmington, Michigan. He then attended University of Michigan College of Engineering, graduating with … Read MoreGarlin Gilchrist (1982- )
Gary Stephen May is the second African American chancellor of a campus of the University of California after Michael Drake who served as chancellor of the University of California, Irvine from 2005 to 2014. (On July 1, 2020, Drake was named President of the entire … Read MoreGary Stephen May (1964- )
Ensign Jesse Leroy Brown, the first African American to complete flight training in the United States Navy, was also the first African American naval officer killed in the Korean War. Born October 13, 1926 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, he was one of six children; his father, … Read MoreJesse Leroy Brown (1926 -1950)
Few in the audience that began watching the 2019 Miss Universe Ireland Contest could have predicted that the winner, Fionnghuala O’Reilly, would not only be of African descent but also had arrived far from the shores of the Emerald Isle. Born August 20, 1993 in … Read MoreFionnghuala Isibeal Tome O’Reilly, (1993- )
On June 9, 2020, four-star general Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the be the Air Force’s representative on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), thus becoming the first African American to both head a branch of the military … Read MoreCharles Quinton Brown Jr. (1962- )
Dr. Eugene M. Deloatch is Dean Emeritus at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, and the founding Dean of the university’s Clarence J. Mitchell School of Engineering. His institution is credited with producing over 2,300 African American graduates in engineering, more than any other college … Read MoreEugene M. Deloatch (1936- )
Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee is a retired fighter pilot whose legendary career spans three wars and four hundred and nine combat missions. McGee was born on December 7, 1919, to Lewis Allen and Ruth Elizabeth (Lewis) in Cleveland, Ohio. His father’s position as a minister, … Read MoreCharles Edward McGee (1919- )
Richard A. Collins was an Engineering Executive and Chief Design Engineer at the Boeing Company for 40 years. Born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1939, Collins is the son of Marcellus Sterling and Anita Collins. Collins graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Miami, … Read MoreRichard A. Collins (1939- )
Joan Elizabeth Higginbotham was the third African American woman to go into space. Higginbotham was born on August 3, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. As a youngster she loved cycling, music, and motivational speaking. She attended Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago and graduated in 1982. She … Read MoreJoan Elizabeth Higginbotham (1964- )
