Charles W. Dryden was a Tuskegee Airman, author, and professor. Born on September 16, 1920 in New York City, Dryden was the son of Jamaican immigrant parents Charles Levy Tucker Dryden, a World War I veteran and teacher, and Violet Adina Buckley Dryden, also a … Read MoreCharles Walter Dryden (1920-2008)
Dolphus Milligan was an internationally acclaimed American chemist, best known for his spectroscopic studies of free radicals and other reactive molecules. Dolphus Edward Milligan was born on June 17, 1928 in Brighton, Alabama. Little is known about his childhood, but his secondary education always centered around chemistry. … Read MoreDolphus Milligan (1928-1973)
William Jones, one of the last Buffalo Soldiers, was also a U.S. Army Master Sergeant, Prisoner of War (POW) in Korea and successful entrepreneur. Jones was born in Tamo, Arkansas to farmers Joseph and Elizabeth Jones on July 15, 1918, the youngest of seven children. Jones grew up in Kansas and attended the … Read MoreWilliam Jones (1918-2009)
As an Army Major General, Frederic Ellis Davison paved the way for many African Americans who became military officers. Through Davison’s decorated career, those he led and served alongside respected him. His legacy as an officer in World War II and the Vietnam War marked his place in both military and … Read MoreFrederic Ellis Davison (1917-1999)
Lyric soprano soloist Alyne Dumas Lee was born on March 22, 1903, in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Joseph and Clora Dumas. She spent her childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois developing her musical abilities. At age eight, Lee was her local church’s organist, and by thirteen she had obtained a musical diploma … Read MoreAlyne Dumas Lee (1903-1970)
In the description of his 2015 book, African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement, historian Vincent Intondi describes the long but little-known history of black Americans in the Nuclear Disarmament Movement. His essay, which appears below, tells the compelling … Read MoreFighting For Freedom, Fighting Against the Bomb: African Americans and the Campaign for a Nuclear-Free World, 1945-
Margaret Tynes is an African American opera, concert, and oratorio soprano and singing actress. Tynes was born on September 11, 1919 to parents Rev. and Mrs. J. W. Tynes, in Saluda, Virginia. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 1939. While there she … Read MoreMargaret Tynes (1919-2024)
American Olympic athlete Rafer Johnson was born on August 18, 1935 in Hillsboro, Texas to parents Lewis Johnson and Alma Gibson Johnson. When he was around nine years old, the family moved from Texas to Kingsburg, California. He attended Kingsburg High School where he was part of the football, basketball, baseball, … Read MoreRafer Johnson (1935-2020)
Teju Cole is a photographer, art historian, and an award-winning author of four books which display the wide range of his interests: Every Day is for the Thief (2007), a novella; Open City (2012), a full-length novel; Known and Strange Things (2016), a collection of essays; Blind Spot (2017), a photobook. Teju Cole, the nom de plume of … Read MoreTeju Cole (1975- )
The heroic soldier and trusted personal assistant of the revered Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi was a man of African descent nicknamed Andrea il Moro (Andrew the Moor), but born into slavery as Andrea Aguyar in Montevideo, Uruguay. His exact birth date and parents are unknown. One major consequence … Read MoreAndrea Aguyar (a.k.a. Andrea Aquyar and Andrea il Moro), 1810?-1849
