If you have flown on a commercial airliner in recent years, chances are you benefited from the engineering and computer science expertise of Walt Braithwaite. During his almost four decades at The Boeing Company (Boeing), Braithwaite helped transform the field of aerospace design from a manual time-consuming process to … Read MoreWalt Braithwaite (1945- )
David Satcher, physician, educator, and administrator, was born in Anniston, Alabama, on March 2, 1941 to Wilmer and Anne Satcher. In 1963 Satcher graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned a M.D. and Ph.D. in cytogenetics from Case Western Reserve University in 1970. In 1979 Satcher became a professor … Read MoreDavid Satcher (1941- )
Jack Greenberg was a prominent civil rights lawyer, directing the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) for 23 years and arguing crucial cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. He was born in New York City, New York on December 22, 1924 to Jewish immigrant parents Max and Bertha Greenberg. During World War II, … Read MoreJack Greenberg (1924-2016)
An accomplished scientist, physician, and educator, Dr. Julian Herman Lewis challenged racism in the American medical and scientific communities in his prominent 1942 text Biology of the Negro. Drawing on his background as both a doctor and as a recipient of a Ph.D. in physiology and pathology, Lewis demonstrated … Read MoreJulian H. Lewis (1891-1989)
Over the course of three decades in the early twentieth century, Dr. William Harry Barnes greatly influenced the field of otolaryngology, a medical subspecialty focused on the ear, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. An accomplished surgeon and researcher, Barnes’ used his surgical acumen to … Read MoreWilliam Harry Barnes (1887-1945)
Army 4-star General Dennis L. Via was born in 1958 in the industrial town of Martinsville, Virginia, the son of Henry Via, a house painter and small-contract repairman, and Margaret Via, a homemaker. He had worked in a local textile mill and intended to skip college and … Read MoreDennis L. Via (1958- )
Roland Sebastian Martin is a journalist, columnist, and author. Martin was on born November 14, 1968 to Emelda and Reginald Lynn Martin Sr. in Houston, Texas. His maternal great grandparents emigrated from Haiti to the United States and settled in Louisiana. Martin graduated from Yates … Read MoreRoland Sebastian Martin (1968- )
Orlando Ashford is the former president of Holland America Line. He assumed this position in 2014 and stepped down in 2020. Holland America Line was founded in 1873, and until 1989, it was a Dutch-owned passenger and cargo shipping line operating primarily between the Netherlands … Read MoreOrlando Ashford (1968- )
“Image Ownership: Fair Use” Marcus Foster was an educator who gained national prominence for educational excellence while serving as a principal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and as the first black superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District in California. Known as a titan in the areas … Read MoreMarcus A. Foster (1923–1973)
Bernard J. Tyson was a leading figure within the field of healthcare and a notable African American businessman. Tyson was the chairman of the board and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. With 175,000 employees, including 18,000 physicians, and over ten million members in eight states and … Read MoreBernard J. Tyson (1959-2019)
