Matshidiso Rebecca Natalie Moeti is a medical doctor, public health specialist, and medical administrator from Botswana who has served as regional director of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, since 2015. She is also the first … Read MoreMatshidiso Moeti (1954- )
Paul Biya has been President of Cameroon since 1982. Biya was born on February 13, 1933, at Mvomeka’a, Meyomessala Subdivision, Dja-et-Lobo Division, South Region. He is the son of Etienne Mvondo Assam and Anastasie Eyenga Elle. Biya attended schools in Cameroon, graduating from the Lycee … Read MorePaul Biya (1933- )
Albertina Sisulu was a South African politician and nurse known for her anti-apartheid activism. Sisulu was born Nontsikelo Thethiwe on October 21, 1918 in Tsomo, Eastern Cape province, formerly a part of Transkei, then a British protectorate but later an autonomous region reserved for Xhosa … Read MoreAlbertina Sisulu (1918-2011)
Lieutenant Colonel Charity Edna Adams Earley was the first African American woman officer of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. She served as the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, making her the highest-ranking Black female officer in the Army, during World War II. … Read MoreCharity Earley (1918-2002)
Blues Guitarist Gary Lee Clark Jr. was born on February 15, 1984, in Austin, Texas, to Sandy Clark and Gary Clark Sr., a car salesman. Clark received the first guitar at Christmas when he was 13, an Ibanez RX20. During that time, he read music … Read MoreGary Lee Clark Jr. (1984- )
Booker T. & The MGs (the Memphis Group), a biracial jazz ensemble, was formed in 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee. The group’s original members were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), born December 11, 1944; Lewie Steinberg (bass), born September 13, 1933; Al Jackson, Jr. (percussions), born … Read MoreBooker T & the MGs (1962-2017)
African investment banker Tidjane Thiam who was co-CEO of Credit Suisse from 2015 to 2020, was born one of seven children into a politically prominent family in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) on July 29, 1962. His father, Amadou Anna Thiam, was a journalist and … Read MoreTidjane Thiam (1962- )
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)
Mabel Byrd, a life-long educator, researcher, and civil rights activist, was the first African American to attend the University of Oregon. Born in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania on July 3, 1895, Byrd was the youngest daughter of Robert Byrd, a bricklayer, and Jennie Byrd. She moved with … Read MoreMabel Janet Byrd (1895-1988)
Composer, Jazz pianist, and vocalist Leslie Coleman “Les” McCann was born September 23, 1935, in Lexington, Kentucky. His early education began at the all-Black Rosenwald School in the city. In 1956, the self-taught pianist McCann, played and sang in school bands and in the U.S. … Read MoreLes McCann (1935 – )
