Colin Powell was a retired four-star United States Army General who was the first African American to serve as National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, and Secretary of State. Colin Powell was born on April 5, 1937, in the Bronx, New … Read MoreColin Powell (1937-2021)
In 1921, Bessie Coleman became the first black woman to gain an international permit to fly. After learning French, she attended the famous flight school Ecole d’Aviation des Frères Caudron in Northern France. No schools in America would train a black person. She was inspired … Read MoreBessie Coleman (1892-1926)
Muhammad Ali, arguably the most famous professional boxer in the 20th Century and the only fighter to win the heavyweight championship three times, was born Cassius Clay in 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, to Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. and Odessa Grady Clay. At the age of 12 Clay began training … Read MoreMuhammad Ali (1942-2016)
Fredi Washington was an actress and founding member of the Negro Actors Guild of America as well as a journalist for People’s Voice. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Washington moved as a child to New York and began her professional career as a chorus dancer in … Read MoreFredi Washington (1903-1994)
Ira Frederick Aldridge was the first African American actor to achieve success on the international stage. He also pushed social boundaries by playing opposite white actresses in England and becoming known as the preeminent Shakespearean actor and tragedian of the 19th Century. Ira Frederick Aldridge … Read MoreIra Aldridge (1807-1867)
James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens is best known for his remarkable athletic performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he won four gold medals. Owens was born near Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913, the twelfth child of sharecroppers Henry Cleveland and Mary Emma Owens. Owens, … Read MoreJesse Owens (1913-1980)
Dr. Ernest E. Just was an eminent biologist and author recognized worldwide for his work unlocking the role of the cell surface in the development of organisms. He published some fifty scientific papers and two influential books, Basic Methods for Experiments on Eggs of Marine Mammals (1922) … Read MoreErnest Everett Just (1883-1941)
Described by President Bill Clinton as “one of the best advisors and the ablest people I ever knew,” Ron Brown was an influential leader in the Democratic Party. Ronald Harmon Brown was born in Washington, D.C., on August 1, 1941. His father, William, was a … Read MoreRonald H. Brown (1941-1996)
Joe Louis Barrow, known popularly as Joe Louis, was the second African American heavyweight boxing champion in the 20th Century. Louis was born on May 13, 1914 in Chambers County Alabama to sharecropper parents Monroe and Lilly Reese Barrow. He was the seventh of eight … Read MoreJoe Louis [Barrow] (1914-1981)
Leslie “Wildcat” Carter was born on December 12, 1909 and migrated to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his family as a very small boy. At fourteen, he and an older sister moved to Everett, Washington. One year later, at fifteen, he began his professional boxing career … Read MoreLeslie “Wildcat” Carter (1909-1985)
