John Brown (also known as “Fed” and “Benford”) of Southampton County, Virginia is best remembered as an escaped enslaved person who wrote an account of his bondage that was published in England in 1854. Brown was born about 1818 on the Betty Moore farm, three … Read MoreJohn Brown (AKA ‘Fed’ and ‘Benford’) (1818-1876)
Though Roosevelt Grier is most known for his All-Pro football career with the New York Giants and Los Angeles (California) Rams, he has become associated with many other ventures. Grier’s more than half century of being in the public eye has included writing, acting, singing, ministry, and politics. Roosevelt “Rosey” Grier was born … Read MoreRoosevelt “Rosey” Grier (1932- )
Elmer C. Stoner, also known as E. C. Stoner, was an American artist that worked as a commercial illustrator. He is best known for his work creating the artwork for the “Mr. Peanut” mascot for the Planter’s Peanut Company. Stoner was born on October 20, 1897 to George … Read MoreElmer C. Stoner (1897-1969)
Roy Rudolph DeCarava was the first African American to receive the Guggenheim Fellowship. Born on December 9, 1919 in Harlem Hospital, New York City, New York, DeCarava was the only child of a Jamaican mother and American father, who separated when he was young. In 1938 DeCarava … Read MoreRoy DeCarava (1919-2009)
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) was founded in 1940 by John H. Sengstacke. Sengstacke, then in his 30s, was Vice President and General Manager of the Robert S. Abbott Publishing Company, which published the Chicago Defender, then the largest black newspaper in the United States. Sengstacke had been educated … Read MoreThe National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) (1940- )
Alice Allison Dunnigan was the first African American female correspondent at the White House and the first black female member of the Senate and House of Representatives press galleries. Dunnigan was born April 27, 1906, in Russellville, Kentucky, to Willie and Lena Pitman Allison. Her father worked as … Read MoreAlice Allison Dunnigan (1906-1983)
Samuel Scottron was a inventor of the late 1800s, best known for his invention of the curtain rod. It is unclear if Scottron was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or New England in the years 1841 or 1843. What is clear is that the Scottron family … Read MoreSamuel Raymond Scottron (ca. 1843-1905)
Afro-German politician, human rights activist, and scholar Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana was born in Bamako, Mali, but grew up in Dakar, Senegal, the daughter of a Cape Verdean mother, Dona Joaquina Semedo-Lopès, who was Christian, and a Guinean father who was Muslim. Her early experience with nationalities and religions greatly influenced the course of her life. A … Read MorePierrette Herzberger-Fofana (1949- )
Ronald Elbert Mickens is the Fuller E. Calloway Professor of Physics at Clark-Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. Born in Petersburg, Virginia, on February 7, 1943, he was the son of Joseph Mickens and Daisy Brown Mickens but was raised by his maternal grandparents. His grandfather, James Williamson, inspired Mickens to become a scientist … Read MoreRonald Elbert Mickens (1943- )
The novelist William Edward Demby Jr. was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Christmas day, 1922, to William and Gertrude Demby. He was raised in their family of seven children in the Fairywood district of Pittsburgh’s West Side. The family moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, shortly after Demby’s graduation … Read MoreWilliam Demby (1922-2013)
