Eve Jihan Jeffers Cooper is a rapper and actress best known as Eve, the First Lady of Ruff Ryders Entertainment, and for her appearances in the Barbershop movie series. Jeffers was born on November 10, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father, Jerry Jeffers, was a … Read MoreEve/Eve Jihan Jeffers Cooper (1978- )
Rita Gertrudis Bosaho is the first person of color, male or female, to be elected to a seat in the Spanish Parliament. She was born on May 21, 1965, in Malabo, the capital city of the coastal central African nation of Equatorial Guinea, a former … Read MoreRita Gertrudis Bosaho (1965- )
George Warren McCrae, Jr., a baritone/falsetto R&B singer, was born on October 19, 1944, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to George Warren McCrae, Sr., and Mary McCray. He was the second of nine children. In 1962, McCrae formed a vocal ensemble called the Jivin’ Jets. However, … Read MoreGeorge McCrae (1944- )
Singer-composer, champion athlete, and actor Benny Cristo was born Ben da Silva Cristóvão in Plzeň, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), on June 8, 1987. The son of a Czech woman and an Angolan man (Bénis Cristóvão), he has not publicly shared many details of his early … Read MoreBenny Cristo (aka Ben da Silva Cristóvão) (1987- )
Pontus Carlsson has been competing in chess matches since age 5 and he is currently a chess Grandmaster. His improbable journey to chess stardom started in 1985 when as a toddler he was adopted from an orphanage in Cali, Colombia, South America by Ingvar Carlsson, … Read MorePontus Carlsson (1982- )
Rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur known by his stage name, Nelly, was born Cornell Iral Haynes Jr., on November 2, 1974, in Austin, Texas to Rhonda (Mack) and Cornell Haynes. Haynes’ father was in the U.S. Air Force, and shortly after his birth, the family … Read MoreCornell “Nelly” Iral Haynes Jr. (1974- )
Arabella Fields was a singer and actress known as “The Black Nightingale” and had a storied career performing in Europe. She was born on January 31, 1879, as Sarah Arabella Middleton in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Early reports state she was performing at the young age of … Read MoreArabella Fields (1879-1933)
Pop singer, disco lyricist Carlton George “Carl,” Douglas was born on October 10, 1942, in Kingston, Jamaica. After the death of his grandmother, his family migrated to Tottenham in North London, England, when he was seven. There his youth was filled with playing soccer and … Read MoreCarl Douglas (1942 – )
Lydia Fedorovna Arkhipova was a prolific painter who achieved fame in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and abroad. She also developed her original style which challenged the major trends in Soviet-era art. Arkhipova’s father was Frederick Bruce Thomas, widely known before the Russian Revolution … Read MoreLydia Fedorovna Arkhipova (1914-1997)
Few people realize that the percentage of people of African ancestry in the South American nation of Colombia (7%) is slightly more than half the percentage of people of African ancestry in the United States (13%). Yet we know even less about the origins of … Read MoreLadinos and Bozales: A Brief Early History of Africans in Colombia: 1500-1800
