Jesse Owens (1913-1980)

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens is best known for his remarkable athletic performance at the 1936 Berlin Olympics where he won four gold medals.  Owens was born near Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913, the twelfth child of sharecroppers Henry Cleveland and Mary Emma Owens.  Owens, … Read MoreJesse Owens (1913-1980)

Ernest Nathan Morial (1929-1989)

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 9, 1929, Ernest “Dutch” Morial grew up in the city’s English and French-speaking Seventh Ward.  His father was a cigar maker and his mother was a seamstress.  Graduating from Xavier University, a historically black Catholic institution in 1951, … Read MoreErnest Nathan Morial (1929-1989)