Ericka Yadira Cruz Escalante became the first Miss Mexico of African descent. With that victory she completed in the Miss Universe pageant in Roberto Clemente Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2002. Cruz was born in Mérida, Yucatán, México, on November 16, 1981 to … Read MoreEricka Yadira Cruz Escalante (1981- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Yannick Noah is a former professional tennis player who is best known as the winner of the French Open in 1983 and later as the captain of the French Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. After his tennis career ended Noah … Read MoreYannick Noah (1960- )
“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- )
Malou Hansson, a Miss Universe competitor in Puerto Rico in 2002, was crowned Miss Sweden earlier that year. She had just turned 19 at the time. Miss Sweden was born Malou Mercedes Hansson on February 2, 1983, in Järfälla, a Stockholm suburb. Her mother is … Read MoreMalou Mercedes Hansson (1983- )
Image Courtesy of Ruby Bishop Ruby Carol Bishop is a legendary jazz performer in the Pacific Northwest. Graced with ebullient humor, loving her adoring audiences, and always dressed in sparkly sequins, Bishop at 94 continues to play piano in Seattle nightclubs while belting out jazz … Read MoreRuby Bishop (1919 – 2019)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Vanoye Aikens was a star dancer and choreographer for the famous Katherine Dunham Dance Company. The Dunham Company popularized African American dance and pioneered the Dunham Technique, which combined Caribbean and African dance with European ballet. A native of Georgia, Aikens … Read MoreVanoye Aikens (1917-2013)
Beauty pageant queen, model, and actress Denny Andreina Méndez de la Rosa was born on July 20, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Her mother, Lidia Chavez, who had divorced her biological father, met a vacationing Italian, Sergio Casabianca, who became her stepfather. At age five, … Read MoreDenny Méndez (1978- )
Youssou N’Dour, West African humanitarian, activist, and musician, often cited as father of modern Afro-pop, was born in 1959 in the Medina neighborhood of Dakar, the capitol of Senegal. His father, Elimane N’Dour, of the Serer ethnic group, supported his family as an auto mechanic. … Read MoreYoussou N’Dour (1959- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain Jazz trumpeter Thomas “Tommy” Ladnier was born in Florenville/Mandeville, Louisiana on May 28, 1900. His father was Alfred Ladnier and his mother Willie Williams Ladnier. He played in local bands beginning in 1914 and one of his teachers was trumpeter Bunk … Read MoreThomas James Ladnier (1900–1939)
Adolf Badin, also known as Adolf Ludvig Gustav Fredrik Albert/Couschi, was born in St. Croix, Danish West Indies in 1747, and died in 1822 in Sweden. Badin came to Sweden a slave but became a titled person in the courts of King Fredrick and Queen … Read MoreAdolf Badin (1747-1822)
