Ambassador George E. Moose’s career in international diplomacy resulted from his spending a college summer in the 1960s building a three-room schoolhouse in Tanzania. The high point of that career came in 1983 when President Ronald Reagan nominated him to be U.S. Ambassador to Benin … Read MoreGeorge E. Moose (1944- )
Austin Steward, author, businessman, abolitionist, and temperance leader, was born a slave in Prince William County, Virginia to Robert and Susan Steward sometime around 1793. By the age of seven he was working as a house slave on the plantation of Capt. William Helm. The … Read MoreAustin Steward (1793-1869)
LL Cool J, rapper and actor, was born James Todd Smith, the only child of James and Ondrea Smith on January 14, 1968 in St. Albans, Queens, New York City, New York. Early in James’ life, the relationship between his mother and father turned violent … Read MoreLL Cool J [James Todd Smith] (1968- )
KRS-One, MC (Master of Ceremonies) producer, philosopher, and activist was born on August 20, 1965 to Jacqueline Jones and Sheffield Brown in South Bronx, New York City, New York. KRS’s mother was a secretary while his father, who worked as a handyman, was deported to … Read MoreKRS-One/Lawrence Kris Parker (1965- )
Image Ownership: Public Domain William Melvin Kelley is a renowned African American author known for his experimental style and exploration of African American cultural identity. Born on November 1, 1937 in the Bronx, New York, to Narcissa Agatha Kelley and William Kelley, an editor, he … Read MoreWilliam Melvin Kelley (1937- )
Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), founded in 1986 in New York City, is one of the oldest organizations working toward the welfare of black gay men in the United States. They began offering services for persons with AIDS toward the beginning of the US … Read MoreGay Men of African Descent (GMAD) (1986- )
Jazz pianist, Willie “the Lion” Smith was born William Henry Joseph Bonaparte Bertholoff on November 25, 1897. Smith was born to parents Ida Oliver and Frank Bertholoff in Goshen, New York. Bertholoff passed away in 1901, and Oliver married mechanic John Smith. The two raised … Read MoreWilliam [Willie “the Lion”] Smith (1897-1973)
Image Ownership: BeeCeePhoto (CC BY-SA 4.0) Harold “Hal” Jackson, legendary broadcaster, radio station owner, and philanthropist was born November 3, 1915 in Charleston, South Carolina to Eugene and Laura Jackson. Eugene Jackson owned a successful tailor shop in Charleston allowing the family to live in … Read MoreHal Jackson (1915-2012 )
Celia Cruz, the “Queen of Salsa,” was one of the most notable 20th Century ambassadors of Cuban culture. Cruz was born “Ursula Hilaria Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso” to working-class parents in Havana, Cuba. Her father, Simon Cruz, was a railroad stoker, and her mother, Catalina … Read MoreCelia Cruz (1925-2003)
Educator and civil rights advocate John A. Davis Sr. began his career in activism in the 1930s as leader of the New Negro Alliance, which pressured businesses to hire black employees. Two decades later he assisted with the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court … Read MoreJohn Aubrey Davis Sr. (1912-2002)
