Cornel West is one of the most recognizable and preeminent intellectuals of his generation. West has authored 19 books and edited another 13. He is best known for his book Race Matters (1994) and in his role as a public intellectual. West graduated Magna Cum … Read MoreCornel Ronald West (1953- )
Francis Johnson Webb, newspaper editor, educator, equal rights activist, and the second published African American novelist, was born free on March 21, 1828, in Philadelphia to Louisa Burr and Francis Webb. His mother, Louisa Burr (c1785-1878), was the illegitimate daughter of former vice president Aaron … Read MoreFrancis Johnson [Frank J.] Webb (1828-1894)
The black Magus, or King, in Renaissance Adoration pictures is an enigmatic figure as no black African king is known to have visited Europe during this period. However, blacks, at the time, were known in a wide range of other guises from slaves to saints. … Read More[King Magi] The Black Magus (ca. 1350- )
The Ahosi (Amazons) of Dahomey were a military corps of women appointed to serve in battles under the direction of the Fon king, who ruled over a nation that included much of present-day southern Togo and southern Benin. They emerged during the Eighteenth Century and … Read MoreAhosi (Amazons) of Dahomey
Norris McDonald, a leading black environmentalist, is the founder and president of the African American Environmental Association (AAEA), an organization dedicated to protecting the environment, enhancing human, animal and plant ecologies, and increasing African American participation in the environmental movement. Norris McDonald was born to … Read MoreNorris McDonald (1958- )
Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of the multitude of richly deserved tributes to composer, pianist, and educator George Theophilus Walker. His prolific career continued into his 90s with his commissioned Sinfonia No. 4 (Strands), premiered in 2012 by the New Jersey Symphony … Read MoreGeorge Theophilus Walker (1922-2018)
Over a long distinguished career Kermit Moore has been a cellist of outstanding acclaim, an orchestra conductor, composer, teacher, and mentor. Through these activities in classical music he has been successful in breaking down racial and social barriers. Moore was born in Akron, Ohio on … Read MoreKermit Moore (1929-2013)
Henry Jay Lewis, musician and conductor, was born October 16, 1932 in Los Angeles to automobile dealer Henry J. Lewis, and nurse Mary Josephine Lewis. Lewis started playing the piano when he was five, and in junior high he learned to play the double bass … Read MoreHenry Jay Lewis (1932-1996)
Lucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert was a pianist, composer, arranger, and music teacher. Born in 1858 in Vernouillet, France, a then-small village near Paris, he was the son of Charles Lucien Lambert, an American, and an unknown French mother. Guillaume Lambert was one of several renowned musicians … Read MoreLucien-Leon Guillaume Lambert (1858-1945)
Charles Dean Dixon, a conductor, was born January 10, 1915, in New York, New York, to West Indian parents Henry Charles Dixon and McClara Rolston Dixon. Dixon’s parents exposed him to classical music at an early age, and his mother taught him to play the … Read MoreCharles Dean Dixon (1915-1976)
