Steve Harvey is a media conglomerate personified in a man whose career began doing stand-up comedy in the mid-1980s. His success as a stand-up comedian led to multiple TV shows and movies, acting, hosting, writing and producing. He became a top-rated radio host, fashion entrepreneur, … Read MoreSteve Harvey (1957- )
Image Ownership: John Matthew Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0) Actress Phylicia Rashad was born June 19, 1948 in Houston, Texas to Andrew Allen, a dentist, and Vivian Ayers, a Pulitzer Prize nominated poet and playwright. Rashad’s siblings are also entertainers; her brother “Tex” Arthur Allen Jr. … Read MorePhylicia Rashad (1948- )
David Kato was founding father of Uganda’s emergent gay rights movement, the first openly gay man in the country, and an international gay rights activist. He was brutally murdered in January 2011. Born around 1964, Kato joined his twin brother John Wassawa Mulamba and family … Read MoreDavid Kato (c1964 – 2011)
John Adam “Sleepy” Estes, born into a sharecropping family just outside of Ripley, Tennessee but raised in Brownsville, was a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and generally recognized as one of the most important artists in blues history. He got the nickname “Sleepy” from his frequent naps. … Read MoreJohn Adam “Sleepy” Estes (1904-1977)
Whitney Houston, singer and actress, sold close to 100 million albums worldwide during her lifetime. Her recognitions include two Emmy Awards, five Grammy Awards, 19 American Music Awards, five People’s Choice Awards, five Soul Train Awards, and seven NAACP Image Awards. Houston was born in … Read MoreWhitney Houston (1964-2012)
Marlon Riggs was a black gay writer, filmmaker, and social activist. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas to a military family on February 3, 1957, and spent his childhood at various military posts, including time spent living in Georgia and Germany. Riggs graduated with … Read MoreMarlon Riggs (1957-1994)
Actress Pam Grier is best known for her portrayal of tough and sexy crimefighters in the 1970s genre of “blaxploitation” films. Her later work in the 1998 film Jackie Brown earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Pamela Suzette Grier was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina … Read MorePam Grier (1949- )
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer and actress. She was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 26, 1944 to Fred and Ernestine Ross, who lived in the low-income Brewster Housing Project. Growing up, Diana, who was referred to as “Diane,” studied design and … Read MoreDiana Ross (1944- )
Herbert “Herbie” Julian Hancock is an African American pianist, composer, bandleader, and keyboardist, with a career spanning over five decades. Hancock was born on April 12, 1940 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Winne Belle Griffin, a secretary and Waymand Edward Hancock, a government meat … Read MoreHerbie Hancock (1940- )
Spencer Williams is widely known for his portrayal of the character Andy in the controversial 1950s television comedy series Amos ‘n Andy. His contributions to the world of film and television, however, far surpassed the limitations of the popular but widely criticized Amos ‘n Andy … Read MoreSpencer Williams (1893-1969)
