Leonard Jeffries, Jr., university administrator, professor, and Pan-Africanist was born January 19, 1937 in Newark, New Jersey to Leola Smith Jeffries of Lynchburg, Virginia, an office secretary, and Leonard Jeffries of Akron, Ohio, a tailor at Irvington Cleaners & Dryers. Reared in Newark’s Roseville section, … Read MoreLeonard Jeffries (1937- )
Johnny Lester (Johnny) Nash Jr. was a singer-songwriter and actor, best known for his 1972 hit song “I Can See Clearly Now.” Nash was born on August 19, 1940 in Houston, Texas, to Eliza (Armstrong) and John Lester Nash. He sang in his church choir … Read MoreJohnny Nash (1940-2020)
The transition of African American actress Meghan Markle to Duchess of Sussex in 2019 brought about by her marriage to Prince Harry, a member of the British royal family, overshadowed the earlier occurrence of the first person of African descent to marry into European royalty … Read MorePrincess Angela of Liechtenstein (née Angela Gisela Brown, 1958- )
World-class symphony conductor Rafael Payare was born February 23, 1980 in the northern port city of Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela, the son of cartographer Juan R. Payare and elementary school teacher Trina Torres de Payare. In 1994, at age 13, Payare began studying French horn … Read MoreRafael Payare (1980- )
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the current Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the first non-physician to hold the position. Ghebreyesus was born in 1965 in Asmara, Eritrea, East Africa, to Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Melashu Weldegabir. He attended the University of Asmara … Read MoreTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (1965- )
Marcus Samuelsson is an Ethiopian-Swedish chef and restaurateur. Samuelsson was born Kassahun Tsegie on January 25, 1973, in Ethiopia. His father was president of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. His unnamed mother died during the Ethiopian tuberculosis epidemic of 1974. Samuelsson and his sister, Fantaye, … Read MoreMarcus Samuelsson (1973- )
Elmer Simms Campbell was an early syndicated cartoonist and jazz critic. Born on January 2, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, Campbell was the son of Elmer Cary Campbell, a high school chemistry teacher and assistant principal, and Elizabeth Simms Campbell, also a teacher. Inspired by … Read MoreE. Simms Campbell (1906-1971)
Born in 1980 in apartheid-dominated Johannesburg, South Africa, Sizwe Lawrence Ndlovu was a member of a family of seven. His interest in athletics began when he was exposed to the typical South African sports, cricket, European football, and rugby. Once he became older, he discovered rowing, which would become his major sport. Ndlovu … Read MoreSizwe Lawrence Ndlovu (1980- )
Kofi Atta Annan, born on April 8, 1938 in Kumasi, Ghana, served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) between 1997 and 2006. He was the first person of African descent to hold that post. Annan grew up in Kumasi but attended Mfantsipim School, … Read MoreKofi A. Annan (1938-2018)
Best known as the co-founder of the Crips, the largest street gang in the United States, Stanley Tookie Williams lived in a life of crime and violence. He was born on December 29, 1953, in New Orleans, Louisiana to a mother who was seventeen years old at the time of … Read MoreStanley (“Tookie”) Williams, III (1953-2005)
