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- )
World-class symphony conductor Rafael Payare was born February 23, 1980 in the northern port city of Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela, the son of cartographer Juan R. Payare and elementary school teacher Trina Torres de Payare. In 1994, at age 13, Payare began studying French horn … Read MoreRafael Payare (1980- )
Meadow “Meadowlark” Lemon III was most famous as the longtime star player of the Harlem Globetrotters. Lemon was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on April 25, 1932. He adopted the name “Meadowlark” while he was with the Harlem Globetrotters. Lemon attended Williston Industrial School in … Read MoreMeadow “Meadowlark” Lemon III (1932-2015)
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- )
Professional basketball player Rui Hachimura was born on February 8, 1998 to a Japanese mother, Makiko Hachimura, father, Zakari Jabil, an African immigrant from Benin, in Toyama Prefecture of Japan. Hachimura also has three younger siblings, one brother and two sisters. He got involved playing … Read MoreRui Hachimura (1998- )
In the following article independent historian Charles Kastner describes the 1944-1945 tour of Alberta Hunter and the Rhythm Rascals who became the first black USO performing unit to Visit the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II. The China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of World War Two, was … Read MoreAlberta Hunter and the Rhythm Rascals in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II
Wade Kornegay is largely regarded as a scientific expert in missile defense during the Cold War. Through his knowledge of physics, he aided in developing a system that could track ballistic missiles that simultaneously differentiated them based on their level of threat to the United … Read MoreWade Kornegay (1934- )
Anne Moody was a writer and civil rights activist best known for her memoir, Coming of Age in Mississippi (1968). In the early 1960s, while a student at Tougaloo College, she worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Student … Read MoreAnne Moody (1940-2015)
Surgeon and oncologist Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall Jr. was born on May 22, 1930 in Tallahassee, Florida to Lula Jordan and LaSalle Leffall Sr. Leffall grew up in Quincy, Florida where his father taught agriculture at Florida A&M College, a historically black college located in … Read MoreLaSalle D. Leffall Jr. (1930-2019)
Frances Elizabeth Williams was an actress, activist, organizer, and community worker. She served on the board of Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity, and because of her efforts helped open doors for many people of color in the film industry. Born in East Orange, New … Read MoreFrances E. Williams (1908-1995)
