Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, Prime Minister of Guyana from 1966 to 1980 and then President of the nation from 1980 to 1985, was one of the Caribbean region’s most controversial political leaders. He gravitated between support for Marxist regimes such as Fidel Castro’s Cuba and … Read MoreForbes Burnham (1923-1985)
Howard Kent Walker is a military veteran, diplomat, and educator who was born on December 3, 1935 in Newport News, Virginia. His father was a high school chemistry and mathematics teacher and his mother a homemaker. Upon graduation from high school Walker enrolled at the … Read MoreHoward Kent Walker (1935- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” On August 5, 1999 President William Clinton appointed Gregory Lee Johnson U.S. Ambassador to Swaziland. He served in that post from November 16, 1999 to October 18, 2001. Johnson began his career in the Foreign Service in 1968 and has served … Read MoreGregory Lee Johnson (1945- )
Career Foreign Service officer Pamela L. Spratlen was nominated by President Barack Obama in July 2014 to become U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan, and after confirmation by the U.S. Senate was sworn in on January 6, 2015. This important Central Asian appointment rewarded her outstanding policy … Read MorePamela L. Spratlen (1954- )
“Image Ownership: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Perú“ Politician, mining engineer and expatriate intellectual Luis Gilberto Murillo grew in a poverty stricken village of Andagoya, Colombia, an area inhabited mostly by people of African descent. Murillo was one of six children of a mine … Read MoreLuis Gilberto Murillo (1967- )
Communist Party Leaders: Claudia Jones, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Pettis Perry & Betty Gannet, ca. 1951 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” U.S. Communist Party leader Pettis Perry was born on January 4, 1897, on a tenant farm near Marion, Alabama. His mother died when he was a … Read MorePettis Perry (1897-1965)
Michael Lee-Chin is best known as a business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the founder and Chairman of Portland Holdings Inc., a privately held investment company which owns a collection of diversified operating companies in media, tourism, health care, telecommunications, and financial services. He … Read MoreMichael Lee-Chin (1951- )
The Black Belt Republic was a proposed black autonomous state in the American Deep South proposed by African American communists and for a time endorsed by the Soviet Union and the international communist community. The Black Belt itself is a crescent shaped band of predominately … Read MoreBlack Belt Republic (1928-1934)
Known as one of the fashion world’s most recognized personalities, Talley stepped down as Vogue’s editor-at-large after three decades to become the editor-in-chief for Numero Russia, an international magazine based in Russia. Talley was the son of William C. Talley, a taxi driver, and Alma … Read MoreAndré Leon Talley (1949-2022)
The Jamaica Bobsled Federation (JBF) was initially created in 1987 by two American businessmen living in Jamaica, George Fitch and William Maloney. After watching a local pushcart race, Fitch and Maloney recognized similarities with bobsledding. Already aware of Jamaica’s athletic history, particularly around sprinting and … Read MoreJamaica Bobsled Team (1987- )
