Image Ownership: Public domain Known as the Queen of R&B, Ruth Brown was a rhythm and blues singer and actress who crusaded for musicians’ rights. Brown was born Portsmouth, Virginia, on January 12, 1928. After a string of unfortunate events, Brown ended up in Washington, … Read MoreRuth Brown (1928-2006)
Image Ownership: Public domain Rosângela Cristina Oliveira Santos is a track and field sprint athlete who competes internationally for Brazil, specialising in the 100 and 200 meter sprints. Born to Brazilian parents in Washington D.C., on December 20, 1990, she contracted pneumonia as a baby and was one year old … Read MoreRosângela Cristina Oliveira Santos (1990- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Labor leader Layle Lane was born on November 27, 1893, in Marietta, Georgia. She was the fourth of five children of Calvin Lane and Alice Virginia Clark Lane. Lane was vice president of the American Federation of Teachers union and a … Read MoreLayle Lane (1893-1976)
Image Ownership: Public domain Gordon Hawkins was born in Clinton, Maryland, in 1959, into a family with six older brothers and sisters. He graduated from the University of Maryland’s School of Music. He is a baritone opera singer and considered one of the very best … Read MoreGordon Hawkins (1959- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Francisca da Silva de Oliveira, better known as Chica da Silva (or spelled Xica da Silva), was a Brazilian woman born into slavery, who went on to gain her freedom and become a powerful and well-known member of Brazilian society. Silva … Read MoreChica da Silva (1731/5-1796)
Image Ownership: Public domain Born Lucille Campbell on April 15, 1883, in Christianburg, Virginia, Green was the second of three children of William and Josephine Campbell. A graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., she worked as a hairstylist in an upscale New York salon. … Read MoreLucille Campbell Green Randolph (1883-1963)
Image Ownership: Public domain Bernice Mathews is a small business owner and the director of the nursing program at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, Nevada. She is best known as a former Democratic member of the Nevada State Senate. Mathews was born on November … Read MoreBernice Mathews (1933- )
Image Ownership: Public domain Omarosa Manigault, commonly known as simply “Omarosa,” is a political aide in the Donald J. Trump Administration. She currently operates out of the White House as Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison. Manigault was born and grew up … Read MoreOmarosa Manigault (1974- )
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Jocko Graves was a young African American boy whose service during the American Revolutionary War earned him the commemorative statue, the “lawn jockey.” Graves’s story is a short and tragic one. It begins on Christmas Eve, December of 1776, with General … Read MoreJocko Graves (1764–1776)
"Image Ownership: Public Domain" Dorothy Johnson Vaughan was a teacher who became a leading mathematical engineer in the first aerospace program with NACA (now NASA), and the first African American female promoted as supervisor in the program. Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on … Read MoreDorothy Johnson Vaughan (1910–2008)