Frank M. Snowden, Jr. was a distinguished historian, professor, and diplomat most notably in the area the lives of blacks in the ancient world. Of his many esteemed works, Blacks in Antiquity is his most significant scholarship. Snowden was born on July 17, 1911, in York County, Virginia. His family moved to … Read MoreFrank M. Snowden, Jr. (1911-2007)
Although the African ancestry of Alessandro de’ Medici (1510-1537), the first Duke of Florence, is widely known, few people are aware of Raimondo di Cabanni who a century earlier exercised significant authority in late-medieval Italy. He was a slave purchased from pirates by a Neapolitan merchant, and details … Read MoreRaimondo di Cabanni (a.k.a. Raymond of Campagno) (?-1334)
Image Ownership: Public domain Police official, business leader, and civil rights advocate Elbert T. Hudson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on November 16, 1920. Three years later, his family moved to Los Angeles, California. In 1924, his father, H. Claude Hudson, became president of the … Read MoreElbert T. Hudson (1920-2017)
Image Ownership: Public domain Darryl Dawkins (also known as Chocolate Thunder—a name music legend Stevie Wonder gave him), was born in Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 1957. Born to Harriet James and Frank Dawkins, he was raised by his grandmother, Amanda Celestine Jones, in Orlando … Read MoreDarryl Dawkins (1957-2015)
Image Ownership: Public domain Tyra Lynne Banks is one of the most famous African American models of the late twentieth century. Banks is also a television personality, actress, author, businesswoman, and singer. She was born on December 4, 1973, in Inglewood, California, to Carolyn London, … Read MoreTyra Lynne Banks (1973- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Gordon Hawkins was born in Clinton, Maryland, in 1959, into a family with six older brothers and sisters. He graduated from the University of Maryland’s School of Music. He is a baritone opera singer and considered one of the very best … Read MoreGordon Hawkins (1959- )
James Lopez Watson was the first African American to serve as the head of a federal court in the Deep South. He was born in Harlem, New York City, New York, on May 21, 1922, to Violet and James S. Watson, a New York judge. … Read MoreJames Lopez Watson (1922-2001)
Image Ownership: Public domain Veronica Webb is an African American model, actress, writer, and television personality. Webb was the first African American to have a major cosmetics contract when she signed with Revlon in 1992. Webb also appeared on the covers of Vogue, Essence, and … Read MoreVeronica Webb (1965- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Mohammed Ali “Nicholas” Said, an enslaved African from Bornu in what is now northeastern Nigeria, traveled through Europe to the United States. He was born in Kouka, Bornu, the thirteenth of nineteen children to Barca Gana and his wife, Dalia, in … Read MoreMohammed Ali “Nicholas” Said (1836-1882)
Commonly known as Al Jarreau, Alwin Lopez Jarreau was an African-American jazz singer and musician who received a total of seven Grammy Awards. Jarreau is best known for participating in the charity song “We Are the World” and his 1981 album Breakin’ Away. Born March … Read MoreAl Jarreau (1940-2017)